Michael's Miles Round-Up

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Happy Friday Reader!

Listen to this segment on: Spotify or Apple Podcasts

I booked a last-minute trip this week and wanted to share how I did it so you can see what went into it and pick up some random earning and redeeming tips. I’ll number the tips as we go along.

My wife is back working shift work and suddenly found out she had a bunch of days off, so we pulled off a last-minute trip. I booked this on Thursday, and the trip was Sunday through Wednesday, so I scrambled to put together an itinerary.

Here’s what we ended up doing:

• Sunday: Fly from Austin to LAX early in the morning, pick up our Turo, drive two hours to Palm Springs, and spend the first night at the Hyatt Vacation Club Desert Oasis. We drove around town and visited a botanical garden, but didn’t get to do many hikes in the area because we were quite tired.
• Monday: Full day at Joshua Tree staying at the same Hyatt.
• Tuesday: Drive back to LA in the morning, hike up to the Griffith Observatory for the first time, stroll down Manhattan Beach, and return the car that evening before checking in at the Hyatt Regency LAX.
• Wednesday: Early morning flight home.

Honestly, we didn't best manage our time in Palm Springs, but it was the perfect change of scenery. We loved being able to go from the city to mountain backdrops in Palm Springs, the desert landscape of Joshua Tree, and the beach all in one trip.

And now here’s what it all cost:

• Hyatt Vacation Club Desert Oasis: 20k Hyatt points (8k + 12k)
• Hyatt Regency LAX: 12k Hyatt points
• Turo: $170
• Flights: 31,000 Southwest Points + $22.40
• Austin airport parking: $60
• Total: 63,000pts + $252

Now for how I put it together: We have the Southwest Companion Pass, so we wanted to take advantage of that. We were flexible on where we went and just wanted something that wouldn’t cost a crazy amount of points.

Southwest doesn’t have a way to search multiple destinations across a set of dates, and award search tools don’t pick up Southwest availability.

1) But their points prices generally follow the cash price, so cheaper cash flights will cost less in points. (That’s also generally true for JetBlue.) So I went to Google Flights and used their “Explore Deals with AI” feature, where I typed in my dates and said I wanted the cheapest Southwest flights, preferably nonstop from Austin. It gave me a few options, and LA was one of the cheaper ones, with flights at times that worked for us.

2) When I booked the flight on Southwest, I finally used the 10% off promo code you get with the Southwest Plus card. Yes, it does apply to points bookings, and sometimes you can get more than 10% off, depending on the booking!

That’s what led to the itinerary of flying into LAX and figured out the plan from there based on Hyatt hotel availability because as you know, I'm a Hyatt gut.

I generally transfer points from my Sapphire Reserve, and this worked well because Palm Springs has a couple of Hyatt options.

3) I chose the Hyatt Vacation Club Desert Oasis, even though it was about 10 to 15 minutes from downtown, because it had a cheaper points price. I also hadn’t stayed at a Hyatt Vacation Club branded hotel before, so I wanted to check it off my list for Hyatt’s Brand Explorer and get closer to a free night certificate.

I booked one night on my account and another on my wife’s account. Then we booked our last night at the Hyatt Regency LAX to be close to the airport.

4) To get points to my wife, I transferred them from my Hyatt account to hers through their new transfer page, but I regret how I did it. You can only transfer points once a month and 6 times a year, which I didn’t know until it was too late.

I wish I had sent more points to her because my wife has a Hyatt credit card and has accumulated more nights toward status and more milestone rewards. Now I have to wait until next week to make some other bookings I’m trying to arrange. So be careful when you’re combining points.

5) For the rental car, I checked Autoslash first to look for cheap traditional rentals. I will say I’ve found cheaper options by searching separately, but I start there to get an idea of what prices are like before dedicating time to hunting for deals.

6) In this case Turo was cheaper thanks to a Chase Offer that gave me $30 off. I found the offer thanks to Savewise (use code NMT20 for 20% off a Pro subscription), which automatically adds my Chase Offers with one click and lets me view offers across all my Chase cards. The Turo rental came to $170 for three days. Since we returned the car the night before we flew out, we didn’t have to pay the $70 overnight parking fee at the Hyatt Regency. I hate paying for parking.

7) When I booked the Turo rental, I made sure to go through the Qatar-Turo portal, where you earn 1 Avios per dollar spent, or more if you have status. There was once a United and Delta portal too, but those have gone by the wayside.

This isn't always how I go about booking trips, this one obviously had a weird mixture of flexibility and inflexibility. And we really prioritized somewhere that had points hotel and flight options which sometimes can be tricky.

I’d actually planned a trip to Palm Springs once before that we didn’t end up taking, so this destination was already somewhat templated in my head. Now you have that template, too!

Stop Guessing Where Your Points Will Go Furthest

The Redemption System includes the Sweet Spot Explorer.

Tell the Award Explorer which points you have, and it shows your best options, the lowest cost available, and where to search. Then hop to another region and compare.

• A few updates to the Amex Platinum (personal and business) cards. The Amex Platinum's Fine Hotels & Resorts credit now requires a 2-night stay to qualify for the $300 semi-annual credit effective January 1st.
  • Additionally, The Hotel Credit is becoming a "Lodging credit" and now includes the ability to book Airbnb Luxe options (2-night minimum as well).
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  • If you book an Airbnb Luxe property, you'll also get a $250 statement credit for an Airbnb experience, once per calendar. year.
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  • The Amex Business Platinum now includes coworking membership access through ZO Clubhouses.
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• Bilt adds JetBlue as a 1:1 transfer partner. JetBlue is now a transfer partner of all the major transferrable points currencies, but Amex and Capital One transfers at inferior ratios of 1:0.8 and 1:0.6 respectively.
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• JetBlue's "BlueFirst" cabin is now available to book for domestic first class. See routes.
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• On February 17th, the Amex Business Gold card is narrowing its 4x advertising category to payments to the following merchants: Meta, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, GoDaddy, and Yelp.
  • It's also narrowing the merchants eligible for its 4x "monthly wireless telephone service charges." See merchants.​
• The Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select card now permanently comes with a $30 Turo statement credit that can be used 6x/year. Link your card. ​
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• Get $20 off a $150 StubHub purchase when you check out with Paze. Don't forget other stackable promos like 10x earnings on Chase cards and/or your Stubhub credit with the Chase Sapphire Reserve. You'll see the offer advertised at checkout.

Point Sales:

Purchasing points on sale is a way to access travel sweet spots at a cash discount, especially useful for those who can't earn points quickly through credit cards (those living outside the U.S.) or those who want to fast-track specific luxury redemptions.

I recommend only purchasing points with a redemption in mind, or if you're topping off an account. ​
​
Air Canada up to 80% bonus as low as 1.36 cents each, exp 10/29​
American Airlines up to 40% bonus as low as 2.26 cents each, tiered
​Delta SkyMiles up to 50% bonus as low as 2.51 cents each, exp 10/31
​Hilton Honors up to 120% bonus as low as 0.45 cents each, exp 11/21
​IHG One Rewards up to 100% bonus as low as 0.50 cents each, exp 11/5
​JetBlue TrueBlue up to 120% bonus as low as 1.47 cents each, exp 11/5
​Lufthansa up to 50% bonus as low as 1.39 cents each, exp unk.
​Marriott Bonvoy up to 55% bonus as low as 0.81 cents each, exp 11/23
​Southwest up to 50% discount as low as 1.50 cents each, exp 10/29
​World of Hyatt up to 20% discount as low as 2.08 cents each, exp 12/21

Here's a recap of Southwest's changes and what to do from here.

Here are some of the best sign-up bonuses that I've found. I've included referral links to the offers I have access to. For offers not linked, I'd recommend applying through other channels to support creators' work.

"***" = Different from last week

Flexible Points Cards:​
-Chase Sapphire Preferred $95 - 75k, after $5k spend.​
​-Chase Sapphire Reserve $795 - 100k after $6k spend.
-Chase Sapphire Reserve Business $795 - 200k after $30k spend in 6 months
-Chase Freedom Unlimited $0 - 20k/$200 after $500 spend in 3 months
-Chase Freedom Flex $0 - 25k/$250 after $500 spend in 3 months
-Chase Ink Unlimited $0 - 75k points after $6,000 spent in 3 months
-Chase Ink Cash $0 - 75k points after $6,000 spent in 3 months
-Chase Ink Business Preferred $95 - 100k points after $8,000 spent in 3 months.

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-AMEX Gold $325 has an offer for "as high as" 100k
​-AMEX Business Gold $375 - "as high as" 200k Targeted Offer after $15,000 spent in 3 months. Try copying and pasting link into Private/Incognito browser. ​
​-AMEX Platinum $895 - "as high as" 175k after $12k spend
-AMEX Business Platinum $895 - "as high as 300k" after $20,000 spent in 3 months; Also here's a 200k No Lifetime Language link.
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-Capital One Venture X $395 - 75k points after $4,000 in 3 months.
-Capital One Venture $95 - 75k + $300 travel credit after $4,000 in 3 months.
-Capital One Venture Business $95 - 100k after $10k in 3 months.
-***Capital One Venture X Business $395 - 300k bonus + $1,000 travel credit, after $120,000 in 4 months.
-Capital One Savor $0 - $200 cash back (20k points) after $500 in 3 months
-Citi Strata Elite $595 - 75k points after $6,000 in 3 months
-Citi Strata Premier $95 - 60k points after $4,000 in 3 months

Hotel Cards​
​-Amex Hilton Honors $0 - 70k + Free Night Certificate after $2,000 spent in 6 months. Ends 1/13/27​
-Amex Hilton Surpass $150 - 130k + Free Night Certificate after $3,000 spent in 6 months. Ends 1/13/27​
-Amex Hilton Aspire $550 - 200k after $6,000 spent in 6 months. Ends 1/13/27
-Chase IHG Premier $150 - 180k after $3,000 spent in 3 months. Ends 11/18
-Chase IHG Premier Select $350 - 200k after $5,000 spent in 3 months. Ends 11/18

Airline cards:​
-***Alaska Airlines Atmos Summit - 100k miles + 25k Global Companion Award after $6,000 in 90 days.
-***Alaska Airlines Atmos Ascent - 80k miles + $99 Companion Fare after $5,000 in 90 days.
-Chase Southwest Premier Business - 80k miles after $3,000 spend in 3 months. Ends 10/26
​-***Chase Southwest Plus Personal Card - 80k miles after $1,000 spend in 3 months. If my referral link doesn't show it, try here.​
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- Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select $99, waived first year - 80k miles after $3,500 spend in 4 months.
- Citi AAdvantage Executive Mastercard $695 - 125k miles after $15,000 in 5 months.
-Delta SkyMiles Gold $150, waived first year - "as high as" 80k miles + $250 statement credit after $3,000 spend in 6 months. Ends 11/4.
(Business version also available)
-Delta SkyMiles Platinum $350 — as high as 90k miles + $300 statement credit after $4,000 spend in 6 months. Ends 11/4
(Business version also available)
-Delta SkyMiles Reserve $650 — 50k miles + two domestic round-trip Comfort certificates after $10,000 spend in 6 months. Ends 11/4
- Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business​ $650 — 200k miles after $20,000 spend in 6 months. Ends 11/4

Atlanta (ATL) - Beijing (PEK): Economy for 30k Miles
Austin (AUS) - Europe: Premium Economy for 30k Miles
Boston (BOS) - Europe: Economy for 18.75k Miles
Chicago (ORD) - Europe: Economy for 18.75k Miles
Chicago (ORD) - Europe: Premium Economy for 30k Miles
Chicago (ORD) - Shanghai (PVG): Business for 86.25k Miles
Houston (IAH) - Beijing (PEK): Premium Economy for 48.75k Miles
Houston (IAH) - Europe: Economy for 18.75k Miles
Las Vegas (LAS) - Europe: Premium Economy for 30k Miles
Miami (MIA) - Europe: Economy for 18.75k Miles
Miami (MIA) - Europe: Premium Economy for 30k Miles
New York (JFK) - Mauritius: Economy for 30k Miles
New York (JFK) - Nairobi (NBO): Premium Economy for 48.75k Miles
Raleigh/Durham (RDU) - Europe: Economy for 18.75k Miles
Seattle (SEA) - Europe: Business for 45k Miles
Toronto (YYZ) - Europe: Economy for 18.75k Miles

**New York (JFK) - Europe: Premium Economy for 30k Miles
​**Orlando (MCO) - Europe: Business for 45k Miles
​**Vancouver (YVR) - Europe: Economy for 18.75k Miles

**These awards are only available for Flying Blue Extra subscribers, this subscription starts at 379 EUR per year.

- Book by the end of October for travel dates up to March 31st, 2027. Includes reversed routing.
(Here's how to book it step by step.)

- Flying Blue Promo Awards are 25% discounted fares offered by KLM & Air France. Offer changes every month, and is released on the first weekday of the month. Above are U.S.-based routes, click here for other international-based deals.

American Express:​
​Aeromexico 20% - Ends 10/30​
Flying Blue 25% - Ends 10/30
​Marriott 35% - Ends 12/10​
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Capital One:​
​British Airways 20% - Ends 10/31
​Virgin Atlantic 30% - Ends 11/20

Chase: ​
​None.

Citi:​
​Avianca 25% - Ends 10/24
​Japan Airlines 30% - Ends 10/24
​Qatar 15-35% - Ends 10/31 (Offered by Qatar, may not get points until November)

Rove:​
Japan Airlines 50% - Ends 10/31
Flying Blue (Air France/KLM) 40% - Ends 10/31
Qatar up to 35% - Ends 10/31
​JetBlue 20% - Ends 11/14

Have a good weekend!
​
​Michael​
​Nurse Michael Travels