September 13, 2022 | View Online | Sign Up
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Welcome to the first-ever Smart Points with Steven. If you’re already subscribed to our other newsletters, you might be familiar with me. If not, no worries. My mum says you'll like me just fine as long as I be myself (and teach you a thing or two).
Although I’d love to be the sole reason you’re here, I know you clicked because you want free travel. Thankfully, I know a bit about it. In three years of non-stop globetrotting, I’ve built credit card and points strategies that help me save thousands. In fact, I’ve just returned from London, where I enjoyed three free nights with all the perks, just because I needed a new laptop. But I’ll explain all that later.
Let’s get to the points.
This week’s cheat sheet:
Alaska Airline’s sneaky good 50k point intro bonus
My Centurion experience in Buenos Aires
First class to Asia for 50K points
How my laptop paid for my London trip
Cheers,
Steven
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| AIRLINE CARDS
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Image: Alaska Airlines
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Alaska Airlines Visa Signature 50,000 points plus companion fare
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Alaska Airline’s Mileage Plan Miles are often lauded as some of the best to have in your arsenal. To be clear, that doesn’t mean you have to fly Alaska Airlines to find them useful. Their value comes from their excellent array of partner airlines. Put as simply as possible: Their miles go a long way if used properly.
All this means that Alaska's most recent offer is an especially big deal, as Alaska’s points aren’t easy to earn. For a limited time, travelers can earn 50,000 bonus points plus a companion fare if they spend $2000 within 90 days.
So how far can 50K points get you?
Using JFK as the home airport, here are five examples of how you can use 50,000 Mileage Plan points.*
Economy roundtrip to London, Paris, or Barcelona (normally $940)
Economy one-way to Singapore (normally $600-$1000)
Two economy roundtrips to Los Angeles or one First Class (normally $400, $700)
Business Class one-way to Hong Kong (normally $2000 minimum)
On top of these fantastic potential routes, you can also bring a friend on your next trip with Alaska's highly sought-after companion fare. It can only be used on Alaska Airline’s flights, but saves hundreds if used correctly. You’ll also enjoy a free checked bag for your whole party, and an additional 3 miles per dollar spent on Alaska Airlines purchases.
As bang for your buck goes, Alaska's current sign up bonus could be a winner, even with the $75 fee. And if you’re a business owner, combining it with the impressive Alaska Airlines Business Visa card offer would see you take home 120,000 points overall. That’s huge.
*all routes are 50K points or under and require small additional fees of $19, $41, $12, and $41 |
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| WEEKLY SWEET SPOT
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Fly business class to Japan for 50k miles with Alaska
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Piggybacking on Alaska Airlines' offer above and combining it with the news that Japan looks to be fully open soon and even Hong Kong could be on the horizon, I thought it’d be a good idea to delve into a long-running sweet spot that’s there for those willing to put in the work.
Alaska’s mileage chart is one of the simplest ways to understand the value on offer. A quick glance at reward flights from the US to Asia shows one-way fares in economy to Japan, Singapore, and even Hong Kong for as little as 30 thousand points. These are great in themselves, but if you’re feeling like experiencing something special, the extra effort can get you a business or first-class ticket.
Business class and First Class seats with Cathay Pacific are some of the best in the world and run for 50,000 and 70,000 points one-way, respectively. The caveat? You’ll need to call Alaska Airlines directly to get your seat booked and research reward flights yourself using AAdvantage or another OneWorld Alliance program. Thankfully, Japan Airlines can be booked directly on Alaska Airlines’ website, and also have excellent
premium seats.
Any trip to Asia should be prefaced with a visit to Alaska’s points page.
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| LOUNGE LIFE
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Image: LoungeBuddy
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The EZE Centurion Lounge Buenos Aires
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I’d been anticipating baggage loss, canceled flights, and a string of other travel chaos-related problems on my way to the UK from Argentina in August. What I hadn’t anticipated was being barred from the US and having to reroute our entire flight.
Thankfully, after the initial stress, my partner and I got through customs and into Amex’s EZE Centurion Lounge in Buenos Aires. It’s a solid effort from Amex, which is dotting Centurions around the world, and was actually more spacious than some of the others I’ve visited, like Houston’s.
The usual perks included complimentary wine, beer, and liquor, as well as a limited range of food that I ordered from my spot at a workstation. The food is even brought to you, although this may be a lingering Covid precaution to avoid buffets. The work area is excellent and even has a few Macs to hook into. There are well-maintained showers and washrooms, and plenty of sofas to hang out while you wait. We spent an hour or two working before hitting the Malbec. When in Argentina…
How I did it
Centurion lounges can only be accessed by big-ticket Amex credit card holders. I own an Amex Platinum Card, which grants me free access with a guest to any Centurion. You can stay for three hours before a flight or as long as your connection lasts. Sadly, the free guest benefit will end in 2023 unless you spend a whopping $75 thousand a year on the card. If you don’t, a guest will cost $50.
The lounge access shouldn’t be a reason in itself for grabbing an Amex Platinum. It’s an excellent perk, but its true value lies in other places. Still, the Centurion is an excellent example of how strong premium card lounges can be, and another reason I’m so glad to be armed with the Platinum.
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| TOGETHER WITH
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Five stocks under $49
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| CREDIT CARD OF THE WEEK
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image: DFC
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Why we're loving the Chase Sapphire Reserve
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Simply put, the Sapphire Reserve is a beast. While its high yearly fee may leave many reluctant to bite the bullet, it's an easy card to maximize value with, comfortably earning back the initial investment.
It's $550 a year for the Sapphire, but the card comes with a $300 annual travel credit. Unlike competing cards, that $300 isn’t limited to things like in-flight purchases or baggage checking, so you can enjoy $300 worth of flights, hotels, Airbnbs, or whatever you like every year you have the card. From there, the Reserve's 60,000-point intro offer can score you flights worth over $1000. That fee doesn’t seem so bad now, huh?
Pros
High reward rates (10x on hotels and cars booked through Chase, 5x on flights booked through Chase, 3x on travel and dining)
Priority Pass Membership (worth $299 a year)
Global Entry and TSAPrecheck Fee
DoorDash Dashpass Subscription
10x Points on Lyft rides
Chase Coverage on purchases and travel
Chase Points transfer well to other partners
Cons
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| STEVEN'S TIPS
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Make big purchases pay for your travel
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I mentioned above that my new laptop paid for a recent London stay, and I wasn’t lying. One of the best ways to kick-start your point-building is using necessary big purchases strategically. Here’s what I did.
I’ve been needing a new laptop for well over a year. I’d decided to splurge and grab the new Dell XPS 15, which costs around $2500. I’m a reluctant spender, but an upcoming London trip meant I could grab serious value from the purchase.
Knowing that London can be brutally expensive, I checked out some hotel credit cards. I’m a Hilton Diamond member, so I looked at those first and found the Hilton Surpass Amex Card. Its intro bonus offered me 130,000 Hilton Honors points if I spent $2000 in the first three months, and it has no fee for the first year. I immediately opened the card and bought my laptop. The points were in my account in a matter of days.
I scanned hotels in London and settled on the Double Tree Tower of London. My points covered all but $50 of the stay. I could have stayed completely free elsewhere, but the location was worth it. It would have cost around $1200 if I had paid cash for the same hotel. My diamond status gave me immediate upgrades to a room worth even more, and my executive lounge access granted me a free full breakfast and even complimentary booze in the afternoon.
Moral of the story: Analyze any necessary big purchases and maximize the return value with intro bonuses.
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