Getting MileagePlus'd and Spending $10k at a Dollar General

“An agent informed me she was making an exception and correcting the problem…(by refunding)…me back 65,000 miles and then proceeded to take out 15,000 more.”After Richard's Bonvoy'd anniversary trip battle of wills, it seems like Ed Pizza is set to give him a run for his money. This week's program that is behaving badly is none other than United MileagePlus. Ed recounts all the headaches and hassles from spending 9 hours on the phone for a simple route change request, only to have 170k miles just go missing. Just goes to show that no matter your status level, sometimes you can't get any love. This week the fellas also dish up an intro to manufactured spend. Best case example? Richard spending $10,000 at a Dollar General in one transaction! Tune in to hear the benefits and risks associated with this type of earning strategy.Timestamps2:00 - Richard & Ed = the new Statler and Waldorf3:25 - Spending 9 hours on the phone with United MileagePlus7:45 - Ed is a points hoarder11:00 - Losing options for booking travel when agents give you the wrong info17:55 - What is manufactured spend?19:55 - Who drops $10k at a Dollar General?24:41 - Walking the fine line between legal vs. ethical27:36 - Risks of manufactured spendToday's GuestEd Pizza founded the Pizza In Motion blog on the BoardingArea network. He's considered one of the preeminent voices in the loyalty program space and is a successful entrepreneur. He's also the host of the Miles to Go and NowBoarding podcasts.Where to Find UsThe Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.You can also email us at [email protected] your Award Travel 101 Merch hereReserve tickets to our Late Summer 2026 Meetup in Milwaukee now. award.travel/mke2026Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions! Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!Technical note: Some user experience difficulty streaming the podcast while connected to a VPN. If you have difficulty, disconnect from your VPN.