Huge 1 Million Mile Giveaway, Shawn's Hong Kong Dilemma & IHG's Best Kept Status Secret! episode artwork

EPISODE · Sep 2, 2026 · 33 MIN

Huge 1 Million Mile Giveaway, Shawn's Hong Kong Dilemma & IHG's Best Kept Status Secret!

from MTM Travel - The Fun Side of Points & Travel!

Get a $230 gift card after your first payment of $500 with Melio (affiliate) - https://milestomemories.com/go/melio/ Shawn's InKind referral ($25 off $50) - https://milestomemories.com/go/inkind Shawn has to get to Hong Kong and the choice is uglier than it should be: premium economy nonstop or Philippine Airlines through Manila on an angled seat, because the last minute Cathay Pacific first class trick that worked for years is gone. We also get into why renewing a Chinese visa is still a pain, the intra-Asia award secret everyone planning a trip should know, and the one Seoul airport you want to fly into. Then Benji has us rethinking IHG Diamond, the top tier almost nobody has and hotels actually honor. Plus T-Mobile is giving away ten prizes of one million Atmos miles each and you do not need to be a customer, which leads to the full story of the time Mark won Arby's in Hawaii, surprise tax bill and all. And McDonald's just closed a loophole that says a lot about how rewards programs really work. Premium economy or Manila? Vote in the comments. Episode Guide: 0:00 Welcome to MTM Travel 0:27 The Accidental Golf Podcast 4:33 Renewing a Chinese Visa Is Still a Pain 5:35 Premium Economy or Philippine Airlines to Hong Kong? 8:01 Cathay Pacific, the One That Got Away 11:10 Intra-Asia Awards Are Wide Open 12:13 The $500 Tokyo to Seoul Problem (and the Gimpo Tip) 14:57 Melio: $230 Gift Card After a $500 Payment 15:39 Why IHG Diamond Is Underrated 20:38 Shutdowns, Status Matches & Looking Over Your Shoulder 22:46 Win 1 Million Atmos Miles From T-Mobile 24:09 The Arby's in Hawaii Story (and the Surprise Tax Bill) 27:58 A Free 25K Companion Cert on the Summit Card 29:02 McDonald's Closes a Loophole 32:09 Final Thoughts Links IHG undervalued - https://milestomemories.com/ihg-one-rewards-diamond/ 1M Atmos - https://milestomemories.com/enter-to-win1-million-atmos-rewards-points/ ✈️ Track your travel credit cards for free 📧 Free newsletter 💳 Join our free Facebook group (16,000+ members) 🏆 Diamond Patreon — bonus shows + Slack community 🥇 Gold Membership ($10/mo) 🎧 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts 📖 Miles to Memories website

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Sep 2, 2026

Embed this episode

Ready to play

Huge 1 Million Mile Giveaway, Shawn's Hong Kong Dilemma & IHG's Best Kept Status Secret!

0:00 33:15

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of MTM Travel - The Fun Side of Points & Travel!?

This episode is 33 minutes long.

When was this MTM Travel - The Fun Side of Points & Travel! episode published?

This episode was published on September 2, 2026.

Can I download this MTM Travel - The Fun Side of Points & Travel! episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!