5X Points

American Express Platinum Card Gets An Overhaul

March 2, 2017By Edward Pizzarello12 Comments

American Express is revamping their Platinum card. Their changes are making me take notice of a card I don’t currently carry in my wallet.

So, You Want To Know More About Me….

If you’ve been following my blog for any length of time, you know I share stories about my family from time to time. The vast majority of pictures you see on our blog and Instagram that don’t have donuts are of my kids, not me. After almost 100 combined podcast episodes of me interviewing folks on Miles To Go and NowBoarding, the tables were finally turned on me! In this week’s episode, I’m the subject of the interview. Gilbert from God Save The Points does a hell of a job asking the questions. […]

Check To See If Your Personal Info Was Stolen In The Marriott Data Breach

Marriott now has a website where you can request if your info was stolen. They won’t tell you immediately whether you were affected. But, they might tell you someday.

Hyatt Launches Their First Promotion of 2019 (And Includes Award Stays)!

World of Hyatt launches their first promotion of 2019 where members can earn up to 1,500 bonus points per night for stays at Hyatt hotels.

The Biggest Point Redemption I’ve Ever Seen

Over 3 million points. I can’t recall any redemption quite that big. There was the 1 million points to throw out the first pitch in Game 7 of the World Series. That seems kinda cheap compared to this.

That Day My Daughter Completely Embarrassed My Wife On Southwest Airlines

Kids bring an incredible amount of joy to our lives. I never saw it coming, and I couldn’t be happier showing my kids the world. Every once in a while, we see life through their eyes and it can be equal parts embarrassing and hilarious. That’s this story.

I Flew Frontier, Saved $400 And Didn’t Die. My Frontier Airlines Review

Those low-cost carriers always have very appetizing fare sales. Who wouldn’t want to pay $20 to fly somewhere? But, what does $20 really buy you? I found out exactly what Frontier does (and doesn’t) offer customers on my first flight with them recently.

How To Use New Metro Silver Line To Get Between Dulles and Reagan National Airports

People talk about how bad the traffic is in places like Los Angeles with plenty of adjectives. And, it is quite bad. But, the traffic in DC is what I refer to as “stealthy bad”. It doesn’t get the same press that LA traffic does, but a trip that normally takes an hour can easily turn into a 3-hour ordeal. With visiting dignitaries, protests and construction as variables, weather can also wreak havoc on a system that consistently backs up during rush hour. For those of us that live in […]

A Summary Of United Airlines Global Services Benefits

As travel has gotten more stressful the benefits of elite status are even more valuable. In some cases, what used to be free for everyone is now only free for those customers that fly most frequently. I value my American Airlines Executive Platinum status more highly than any status I’ve earned, including 1K service with United Airlines. However, Global Services is another matter. For those not aware, Global Services is an invitation-only status level that United bestows on their best customers. What defines a best customer? Well, United doesn’t list […]

Update: American Airlines Variable Choice Plus Pricing A Feature, Not A Bug

I have to admit, I was pretty pleased with the original announcement that American Airlines was creating bundled pricing that included change fees at a lower apparent cost. Things got a little better when American also announced they were expanding the timeframe you could request a same day change to your flight. And, then things started to get a bit screwy. It started with just one flight I couldn’t get to price right with Choice Plus as an add-on. But, then I did a bit more digging and found out […]

Is Foursquare Dead?

Venture Beat doesn’t think so, and I’m not 100% sure they’re wrong. But, before I discuss the article, a little background on why someone allergic to social media like me became a Foursquare nut. A few years ago, a company called TopGuest came up with this concept where you could earn airline miles and hotel points for checking in at various places on Foursquare. I can’t say I thought it was a terribly good business model, but they convinced a bunch of hotel chains to hand out miles for this. […]

Dom - February 19, 2019:
This episode was so entertaining. Might I suggest a bi-weekly Gib/Ed [...]

rick3515 - February 18, 2019:
I enjoy listening and learning about each guest and yourself on both [...]

Credit Card Offer Of The Year, Worst Flight In America, Spending 3,000,000 Marriott (Bonvoy), Rewards & More - Your Mileage May Vary - February 17, 2019:
[…] Ed from Pizza in Motion writes about the biggest points redemption [...]

Jennifer Pohle Lee - February 17, 2019:
She’s 21 now. Still feels entitled (she’s the college kid that is [...]

Edward Pizzarello - February 17, 2019:
Jennifer, I'm not laughing at you. I'm laughing near you! Hopefully [...]