July 11, 2023 | View Online | Sign Up
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I’m back in Bosnia after a speedy beer-fueled weekend in Frankfurt with my family.
It was an excellent reminder of how easy European travel is compared to the US. A two-hour flight took me across five countries and cost $150 for a round trip last minute. A similar flight from NYC would take me to Raleigh, NC, and cost $373.
Keep that in mind on your next Transatlantic trip. Pay for a big flight in points, and use cash for a cheap flight to more off-the-beaten-path destinations.
Let’s get to the points.
In this week’s cheatsheet:
Cheers,
Steven
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| CARD OF THE WEEK
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Why It’s Almost Crazy Not to Have This Card
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It’s borderline lunacy not to open this card. Let me show you why.
It’s basically free for the first year
If you typically spend $200 on travel within a six-month period, the card’s $150 annual fee is nullified. That’s because the card comes with a 20% statement credit on travel purchases up to $200. If you buy a flight, stay in a hotel, commute on the subway, or rent a car. You’ll get $200 back. A month pass on the NYC subway is $127.
In short, the card comes at virtually no cost to you for the first year.
If you spend $500 a month and you'll get $1,400 back in travel
The card’s limited-time 60,000-point intro bonus is activated after spending $3,000 in the first six months. Basic math tells you a monthly spend of $500 is enough to cross that threshold. The massive bonus is worth up to $1,400 in travel. Where else can you spend $3,000 and get $1,400 back? Definitely not your debit card.
To summarize
Spend $500 a month for six months, including $200 of travel expenses, and you get up to $1,400 in travel for no other reason than using the card. Close it if you don’t have much use beyond the first year. But if those spending requirements are comfortably within your usual habits, you’re saying no to a tremendous amount of travel.
And remember, the 60,000 point bonus is a temporary offer. We don’t know when it’s goingto disappear. It’s better to act now and not miss out on an extra 20,000 points.
Convinced? Learn more here.
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| TRAVEL HACKING NEWS
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This 30% Transfer Bonus Could Save You Hundreds
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I’m piggybacking on the card above’s bonus, just to drill the point home.Â
(As a side note, I’m sorry I can’t name the cards and companies I’m talking about for legal reasons; it’s frustrating for me too. Just bear with me. I promise the advice is still worth it.)
Now, if you’ve already opened the card above and earned the 60,000 point bonus, you have an excellent opportunity to increase them even more. That’s because the card’s parent company is running a 30% transfer bonus to British Airways. As points from the company usually transfer at a 1:1 ratio, you’re now getting a 1:1.3 ratio.
That’s a big deal.
If you transferred all 63,000 points (because you’ve spent at least $3,000 already) to British Airways, you’d have 81,000 Avios.
Here’s what you can get with 81,000 Avios:
A one-way flight from anywhere in the US to Doha in Qatar Airways’ legendary Q-Suite. As they only cost 70,000 points, you’d have 11,000 points left–enough to fly you to the Caribbean or Hawaii.
A roundtrip economy flight to Dublin for 26,000 points.
10 short-haul flights in the US (under 650 miles).
9 short-haul flights in the US (between 651 and 1,151 miles).
These are just some of the high-value flights you can score with the bonus. I wouldn't recommend transferring all your points to British Airways without a plan–only do it as you need them–but there’s no denying there are some massive discounts to be had.
It ends on August 31st, so you have some time to work it all out.
Here’s that card again.
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| AMAZON HACKS
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6 Weird Things to Try if You Pay for Amazon Prime
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Do you shop on Amazon? If so, you might be missing out on huge savings and a chance to earn extra cash on every purchase you make.Â
In this list, you'll find different hacks that you should know about if
you're an Amazon shopper. They'll help you save money, earn cash, cancel unwanted subscriptions, and much more.
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| STEVEN'S TIPS
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Prioritizing the Right Points
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If you’re just getting into the travel hacking game, you might find yourself a little overwhelmed by the different airline currencies available. Should you be saving Delta SkyMiles? Focusing on Avios? Or just sticking to Chase rewards?
There’s no simple answer to that question, and it depends on a number of factors. Ask yourself these questions:
1. How much do you travel?
If you’re always catching flights, like me, you want deep pockets for your points. But there are different kinds of frequent travelers. I fly once or twice a month to random countries. A business traveler might fly every week to the same two destinations. If you’re the latter, a lot of a single currency might work best. For someone like me, or a less frequent traveler, a variation can go a long way.
2. Who do you fly with, and what’s the best value way to fly with them?
Just because you fly with Delta, a lot doesn’t mean you should hoard SkyMiles. The airline’s currency is super volatile, and even short flights can cost hundreds of thousands of points. Using Virgin points or KLM/AirFrance points is usually a better deal. Having a card like this one allows you to transfer to any of those airlines, including Delta, if there’s a sudden deal.
3. Where do you fly to?
If you know your flights are going to be limited to Caribbean resort destinations, look what which airlines fly there the most and for the best value. I mentioned British Airways Avios above, as you can book American Airlines flights for as little as 9,000 points to the Caribbean. Those are distance-based award flights, so Avios is a great, reliable points currency to have a lot of.Â
Asking yourself all these questions help keeps your travel hacking strategy on point. I switch my strategy based on the broader trajectory of my travel. If I know I’ll be in Asia for a long time, I shift to points that help me there. Spending time back in the States? I shift again.
It'll take time to build your strategy, but it's worth it.
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| WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING
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*This link is sponsored
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