January 30, 2024 | View Online | Sign Up
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I hosted the first day of the live course today, and I’m stoked with how it went.
The whole tutor thing is a new venture for me, but it turns out loving the sound of your own voice goes a long way with this stuff! Hopefully, the content was as helpful.
It’s too late for the live course now, but don’t forget, the on-demand version launches on Monday!
Let’s get to the points:
Cheers,
Steven
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| CARD OF THE WEEK
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My graphic design skills have reached their limits...
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Bilt’s February Rent Day Deals
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If you’re a renter and don’t have the Bilt Mastercard, it’s time you take a good look at yourself.
Your rent is your most significant outgoing expense (unless you’ve got a rough gambling habit–in which case, a credit card probably isn’t a good idea), and millions aren’t getting anything back from that investment…besides shelter, warmth, and a crippling realization that the economy is against you.
The Bilt Mastercard changes that. It’s the only card, from my knowledge, designed to earn rewards on your rent payments. It doesn’t matter if your landlord doesn’t accept card payments, Bilt will send them a check on your behalf. And there’s no transaction fee. It’s an unbelievable deal.
You’ll accrue 1x point per dollar up to 100 thousand points a year, and you can transfer those to a number of high-value partners, including British Airways, Hyatt, United, and Air Canada.
Air Canada brings me to the next point: Bilt’s Rent Day. Every month, the guys at Bilt launch a ton of promotions, from bonus point contests to freebie experiences with its partners.
This month’s big-ticket promotion is a mega-transfer bonus to Air Canada’s Aeroplan. Even the lowest tier will earn a 75% bonus. For example, if you have 50,000 Bilt Reward Points in your account and you move them all to your Aeroplan account on February 1, you’ll get 87,500 points. Aeroplan is one of the most valuable programs to redeem flights with, and that’s a huge haul. I used Aeroplan to book my lay-flat business class seat to Bangkok for 60,000 points.
On top of that, Bilt’s got a bunch of Valentine’s Day-related offers, including dinners for two at some of the best restaurants in the country. They’re only around 15,000 points per experience!
The small print for earning your points is pretty simple. You just need to make sure you use the Bilt Mastercard to make at least five purchases during a statement period.
And did I mention there’s no annual fee?Â
If there’s ever been a no-brainer credit card. It’s the Bilt Mastercard.Â
Learn more here. Â
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| STEVEN'S TIPS
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Don’t Let Annual Fees Spook You
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There are two kinds of people in the world: those who are terrified of annual fees and those with zero respect for annual fees.
While it’s certainly safer to be the former, combining your trepidation with the latter’s Devil-may-care outlook is the expert play.
I understand the fear. If you’re not a big spender and are still learning the points and miles ropes, it might be hard to grasp how a $400 fee could be a good value for you. In some cases, it might not be. That’s important to remember. But every product needs analysis.
Look at a card like the Capital One Venture X.Â
The card has an annual fee of $395. It’s not an insignificant number, and you might be tempted to opt for its cheaper sibling. But let’s look at how that card’s attributes annul that financial burden.
The card comes with a $300 travel statement credit. You need to use the Capital One Travel portal, but this credit applies to any booking made on the site. In short, if you typically spend at least $300 a year on travel, your annual fee is now effectively down to $95 (the same as the cheaper card).
It then offers you 10,000 bonus miles a year. At the very least, those miles are worth $100 in travel. Assuming you have a way to use these, you’re now up $5.
We haven’t even looked at the card’s earning potential or intro bonus. Its intro bonus alone is worth a minimum of $750, and a 2x miles per dollar earning rate on everything means spending $2,000 a month would earn you 48,000 miles a year–worth a minimum of $450.
So, that first year, you’re now looking at a $395 investment and getting at least $1,200 of direct value in return.Â
Not every card is as generous as this, but the right product with the right person can almost always earn value, regardless of the annual fee. Keep doing the math to ensure you’re not losing money on a card.
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| HOTEL DEALS
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1 Hotels’ Winter Solstice Sale: Save 40% on Stays
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1 Hotels, renowned for its commitment to wellness and sustainability, is kicking off the new year with a special treat for travelers. The global chain, with 1 Hotel West Hollywood, 1 Hotel Cabo, 1 Hotel Toronto, and various other properties, is inviting guests to indulge in its “Winter Solstice” sale.
This exclusive offer includes up to a 40% discount on room rates, complimentary food and beverage credits, and more. Interested travelers have until March 20 to book their stay.
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| TRAVEL HACKING NEWS
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Points and Miles in Practice
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I love my newsletter. It’s my baby. But three short sections mean I’m limited in how much practical information I can squeeze in. That’s one of the reasons we launched the course, as we could consolidate a ton of information into one product.
But we’re trying to expand the content and offer our readers more specific advice. As such, I’ve started penning step-by-step destination-centered points and miles pieces. In each one, I’ll highlight the best ways to get to a specific place using points and miles, as well as the cards you can open to earn the required points. Here are some of the highlights so far:
🦘 How to Get to Australia Using Points and Miles
We started with a big one. Heading to the land down under can be expensive, but I highlighted some of the best ways to do it for pennies on the dollar.
🎰 How to Get to Las Vegas Using Points and Miles
This is a super helpful one as, while it’s Vegas-centric, many of the redemptions apply to almost any domestic destination in the US. Definitely check this one out.
🇧🇷 How to Get to Brazil Using Points and Miles
With Carnival almost upon us, we’re showing you how you might be able to score a last-minute redemption to Brazil.
Keep an eye out for more on The Daily Navigator. We’ll be heading to Hawaii on points this week.
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| WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING
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*This link is sponsored.Â
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