Not everything is user-friendly in this hobby – maybe we can help? [Week in Review]

Because it’s part of my training as a web designer, I might think about the usability of websites more than the average person, but I’m betting every single one of you, regardless your profession, has encountered a website, tool, or program within the points and miles space that has made you pull your hair out and proclaim “this is so dumb!”

The truth is – so many things we consumers face (websites, products, programs, you name it) are indeed “so dumb”. Or at least, they aren’t designed with user-friendliness as the top priority. If you think about it, that’s why blogs like this are useful – because so many things are not that intuitive and require extra focus.

There are a lot of examples of that this week, and I hope these posts will help you sort through some of the chaos. This week on the blog, we shared the usual points and miles news and updates, but also a resource for how to book awards with one of the more confusing program websites, how to figure out your 5/24 status, how to determine where you can’t use a Hyatt Suite Upgrade Award, and even an updated version of our own Best Offers Page with a new set of sorting and filtering options. (User-friendliness may feel scarce in this hobby, but it’s something we do care about here at Frequent Miler.)

All that and more below…

It’s Raining Mail! (From the Giant Mailbag) | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep308 | 5-30-25 | Podcast

Greg and Nick just happened to both be on vacation this week, so they showed up for this podcast recording a week or so early, already decked out in their Hawaiian shirts. Lucky for them, many of you send your fascinating tips, tricks, datapoints, and anecdotes to our “giant mailbag”. For this episode, they did a complete “giant mailbag” episode, pulling a collection of gems from the mail pile. (If you ever want to send something our way for possible feature in the “giant mailbag” or “question of the week” segments, email us at mailbag@frequentmiler.com!)

JetBlue and United announce partnership

It’s a social media app… it’s a plane…no, it’s an airline partnership! (Well..actually, it’s also a social media app, but that’s irrelevant to this post.) JetBlue and United have announced a new partnership called “Blue Sky” which will introduce reciprocal elite perks, mileage earning, and mileage redemptions later this year. In 2027 this partnership will also mean United will have access to (up to) seven daily JetBlue slots at New York (JFK), and JetBlue will have access to (up to) eight daily United slots at Newark (EWR). All elites (of either program) will receive free checked bags, preferred seats at booking, extra legroom seats at check-in and access to free same-day changes.

Best Offers Card Exploration Tool (Beta)

For years we’ve used a series of anchor links and hyperlinks to organize our Best Offers page so that users can jump around the very large page to card lists for each bank (and various rewards-types within each bank). We dispersed the link menu throughout the page frequently to help make it feel a little less tedious to scroll from place to place, but we’ve long thought that an actual filter and sorting menu would be ideal. We’ve now launched a beta version which is ready for you to try out! Check it out and let us know if you encounter any quirks or bugs that make it hard to use.

How to book EVA Air Infinity MileageLands awards (for multiple people)

Not all websites are designed with users in mind. (And some seem to flat out ignore usability all together.) For example booking awards via EVA Air’s own website search engine is no simple task, and many find themselves just not bothering. Fear not – we’ve finally created this post outlining how to search for EVA Air award flights.

5-star service in training: A stay at Cornell University’s Statler Hotel

Nick recently stayed at the Statler Hotel in the middle of the Cornell University campus. He had a sort of mixed experience. The elevators stopped working and breakfast wasn’t included, was somewhat pricey, and wasn’t all that impressive. Mostly it seemed that the various imperfections Nick encountered were punctuated by the expensive ~$300+ rate (paid for with existing Hotels.com credit from a previous price guarantee claim). On the other hand, Nick felt much better about dinner at Taverna Banfi and the Cornell Dairy Bar.

Where Hyatt Suite Upgrade Awards don’t work

Hyatt’s Suite Upgrade Awards don’t work at brands like Caption by Hyatt hotels or resorts, Hyatt Place hotels or resorts, Hyatt Studios hotels, Me and All Hotels properties, and Destination by Hyatt Residences. If you want a more complete list though, our list of Suite Award Ineligible Properties has now been updated.

Frequent Miler origin story – Tim’s story | Coffee Break Ep57 | 5-27-25 | Podcast

In this week’s Coffee Break episode, we returned to our “origin story” series to hear all about how Tim entered the points and miles world and ended up at Frequent Miler. My favorite part of this story is the role Safeway played in magically sealing the Frequent Miler job for him. Though it’s also fascinating to hear how he went from funding travel with medical-trials to the points and miles tricks he uses today.

Hermitage Bay, an SLH Hotel Bottom Line Review (Guest Review)

People have been quite excited about the Hermitage Bay Resort, an SLH property bookable with Hilton points which tends to get glowing reviews. We asked our Frequent Miler Insiders group to weigh in on their experiences with the property in hopes of putting together a complete bottom line review. One follower contributed a very thorough review for us, which you can read here. For an even more complete picture, make sure to read the comments on this post where others weigh in on their experiences too.

Complete Guide to Avios: British Airways, Finnair, Qatar, Iberia, Loganair and Aer Lingus

Avios has seen some changes this year, which we’ve incorporated into our “Complete Guide to Avios”. For instance, the addition of Loganair to Avios. You’ll also find crucial information about earning Avios, redeeming Avios, Avios sweet spots, and details about how to combine Avios across programs (e.g. move points from Iberia to BA). This is a post you’ll want to bookmark.

Chase 5/24 Rule: How to Count Your Status – 3 Easy Ways

Because we’re super clever, on 5/24 we decided to publish a post about how to track your Chase 5/24 status. As a reminder, for many of its cards, Chase won’t approve you if you’ve opened 5 or more cards (with any bank) within the past 24 months. (AKA, the 5/24 rule.) It can be hard to figure out where you’re at in that count, though, so we put together a post to help. This post includes 3 easy ways to figure out where you’re at in your “5/24” status.

That’s it for this week at Frequent Miler. Keep an eye on our month-ending last chance deals to take advantage of them before they expire.

The post Not everything is user-friendly in this hobby – maybe we can help? [Week in Review] appeared first on Frequent Miler. Frequent Miler may receive compensation from CHASE. American Express, Capital One, or other partners.