Government Travel Crackdowns, Southwest's New Seat Game, Chase Freedom Turns 15 & Best Trips of 2024

MTM Travel - The Fun Side of Points & Travel!

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Episode Description

This week the government began cracking down on a few things in the travel/finance space. First, they are targeting resort and other junk fees with new rules that will help consumers a lot. The government is also suing many of the big banks and Zelle over the service. Will this end up with better consumer protections? In other news Chase Freedom turns 15 this year, but is their celebration worth actually pursuing? We also discuss our favorite flights, hotels and trips of 2024, Southwest's new elite perks and seating scheme, 5% bonus categories for 2025, Hilton's sudden devaluation and a crazy video of an AA flight flooding in midair. Episode Guide

• 0:00 Crazy flooded AA plane
• 1:06 New junk fee rules for resort fees and more
• 3:45 Why resort fees aren’t always bad in the miles & points hobby
• 4:24 CFPB sues big banks over Zelle fraud issues
• 6:48 Southwest announces how new seating policy works
• 8:39 All of the credit card 5% bonus categories for Q1
• 10:00 Chase Freedom’s “big” 15th birthday celebration
• 12:00 Chase cuts Ink referral amounts and limits
• 13:46 Credit card “triple dip” opportunities
• 15:58 Hilton’s big devaluation & new variable pricing
• 17:42 Cool S - Our favorite travel from 2024
• 18:38 Our favorite flight from 2024
• 20:08 Favorite hotel(s) from 2024
• 21:38 Our favorite trips of 2024

Links

• AA flood - https://x.com/hustlebitch_/status/1869410368176771159?s=46
• FTC Rules - https://milestomemories.com/ftc-bans-hidden-fees/
• CFPB Zelle - https://dannydealguru.com/cfpb-sues-chase-bank-of-america-and-wells-fargo/
• Southwest Seating - https://travel-on-points.com/southwest-seating-policy/
• 5% Cats - https://travel-on-points.com/5-categories-for-first-quarter/
• Chase referral cap - https://travel-on-points.com/chase-ink-referral-offers/
• Triple dips - https://travel-on-points.com/bank-of-america-increased-offers/
• https://travel-on-points.com/why-december-is-the-best-time-to-open-new-amex-cards/
• Hilton Deval - https://travel-on-points.com/hilton-no-notice-devaluation/

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Music: Rewind by Jay Someday | https://soundcloud.com/jaysomeday Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License