July 2, 2024 | View Online
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 As you read this, I’m 36,000 feet up—probably somewhere over Central Africa.
Sadly, I failed to pull out some magic and cover the most expensive flight I’ve forked out on over the last four years.
My only saving grace is that I’ve already saved $4,000 in flights this year–so I’m still in the black. I’ll explain why the options I had didn’t make sense below.
Let’s get to the points:
Cheers,
Steven
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| CARD OF THE WEEK
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Back in Business With 100,000 Points
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I’ve been slacking on the business card front for a little while, mainly because I don’t have them myself. So, I thought it’d be good to remind you of some of the tremendous cards out there that could help take you and your business around the world for a fraction of the price.
💎Â Â A 100,000 point showstopper
100,000 points should turn the head of any serious points and miles enthusiast. That’s an incredible injection of high-value, super-adaptable travel currency, capable of earning you well over $2,000 in airfare and hotels. You’ll need to spend $8,000 within three months of opening the card, which is well within reach for many small business owners. On top of that, it’s got serious staying power thanks to its palatable annual fee and strong earning categories. If you’re in the market for a new business card, this should be on your list.
🤔 A 75,000-point alternative
If your business is a little smaller and that $8,000 spending threshold is a little beyond your current expenses, this one might tick all the boxes. It is technically a cash card, offering $750 after spending $6,000 within three months of opening an account, but if you already have a points-earning card with the same issuer, like this one, you can transfer that cashback into 75,000 points. With no annual fee either and solid
flat-rate earnings, it’s an approachable but lucrative option.
🦺 Tried, trusted, and dead simple
I can actually name this one (yay)! The Capital One Venture X Business card is everything the personal version is and a little bit more. Well, a big bit more. 75,000 miles more to be precise.Â
Yes, the Venture X Business’ intro bonus is a whopping 150,000 miles after spending $30,000 within three months of opening it. I know that’s a hefty number, and if you’re nowhere in that ballpark, walk away. But, for those of you whose ears perked up knowing they rattle off that volume of spending should be taking a serious look. That’s a lot of mileage.
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| BABBEL'S FOURTH OF JULY SALE
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| STEVEN'S TIPS
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Everything ls expensive in Dubai. The flight out may as well be, too.
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Why I Paid for My Cape Town Flight Instead of Using My Points
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As I explained last week, award flights to Cape Town were alarmingly thin, forcing me to think outside the box or cough up the cash. As it turned out, both options I found fell through, leaving me with one single points option–a 105,000-point direct flight with $400 in fees.
🤔 Why Didn’t I Just Take It?
It’s a last resort, but it was going to save me money right? I may as well have opted for the points redemption. But, it’s not that simple. You see, I ended up spending $1,100 on the flight. That’s bloody expensive for a flight, but it was last minute, the most convenient route, and in the long run, better value than dropping those points.
To work out the value of the points redemption, I took the cash price of the flight ($1,100) subtracted the fees ($400), and divided it by the number of points (104,000). That brought me to a pitiful 0.6 cents per point valuation. If I did the same calculation for the cheapest ($840) but hectic flight schedule, I’d still only be getting 0.8 cents per point. Not only that, but I’d have arrived a day later, effectively wasting a night in my Airbnb.
🤔 I thought about what those points could get me
As the points valuation wasn’t good, I was already sold on opting for cash. I cemented it by remembering what the same volume of points could get me. Here’s a quick example of flights I found that I could use this year and next:
A Qsuite flight from New York to Doha (70k points or $10,000)
Two economy class roundtrips to North Carolina to see Jess’ family this Thanksgiving
Two business-class flights from New York to Madrid
All of our intra-Europe travel later this year
The list could continue but, in short, paying $1,100 for a flight this time means I’ll be able to save far more than that in the future. I’ve already saved somewhere in the realm of $4,000 this year, so I’m still doing okay.
This is also a good reminder that it won’t always go your way.
Interested in learning more? Check out my crash course in points and miles.
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| TRAVEL HACKING NEWS
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If you understand this reference, you're my age and you're welcome. Sorry, everyone else.
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Fiji Airways Adopts American Airlines, AAdvantage Miles
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This is an interesting development worth keeping an eye on, especially if you’re a big Pacific Island vacation lover: Fiji Airways is adopting American Airlines AAdvantage Miles as its loyalty program currency.
⚖️ What does that mean?
While exact details are slim at the moment, it means that Fiji Airlines and American Airlines customers will now share the same miles system. As such, you can expect members of both airlines to share the same or similar earning and redemption capabilities as well as earned perks like priority boarding, complimentary baggage allowance, and more.Â
👀 Is that a good thing?
On the whole, it should be great. It will, in theory, open up new routes on both airlines that allow miles to be redeemed for high value. Of course, with these kind of changes, it’s normal to see adaptions to the program itself. However, whether or not another devaluation is ahead is unclear.
It’s not an unprecedented move. JetSmart did the same thing earlier in the year, and of course, British Airways’ Avios system has been adopted by Qatar and Finnair along with early signups Aer Lingus and Iberia. It’s possible to move points between these airlines to exploit sweet spots when applicable.
When we know more about this partnership, I’ll let you know.
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| WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING
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*This link is sponsored.Â
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