Michael's Miles Round-Up

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Happy Friday Reader!

Listen to this segment on: Spotify or Apple Podcasts

I've been rambling about booking hotels with Chase for a while now, and I wanted to shine some light on some ways to use your American Express Membership Rewards to book hotels.

1) The newest way is through a new transfer partner: Leading Hotels of the World (LHW). Previously, only Citi transferred to this program, but Citi transfers at a 5:1 ratio, whereas Amex transfers at a superior 4:1 ratio.

(However Citi currently has a 25% transfer bonus which increases the ratio to 4:1 as well through 9/19).

Now that ratio is confusing but LHW points tend be worth around 8 cents each so each Amex point is being redeemed at a value of 2 Cents Per Point which is great.

The hotels partnered with LHW are luxury hotels and you get the following perks just by booking with points (no status required): ​
- Daily continental breakfast for two​
- Free upgrade as available
​- Early check-in and late check-out as available

Learn more about this program in this video.

2) Amex transfers to Hilton at 1:2 which is nice, but an easy counterpoint is that Hilton hotels typically cost a lot more points compared to other programs compared to Hyatt for example. This is true. But when we start getting into some of the moderately luxury hotels - ones where Hyatt starts charging ~25k+/night - you can find that Hilton might charge a standard rate of 50k, 60k, etc which would be 25k-30k Amex points which actually isn't too bad. Also worth noting, Hilton doesn't charge resort fees when you book rooms with points just like Hyatt.

Of course your mileage may vary based on location and dates, but there are ways to make this Hilton option more valuable. It requires Hilton status which you may already have from either the Amex Platinum, or maybe a Hilton card like the Surpass or Aspire. Hilton status comes with a lot of different perks but there's two I'll focus on:

a) When you have Silver status or higher you get your 5th award night free when you pay for the stay with Hilton points. Your stay has to be on a single reservation so you can't try to piece together a free night certificate with points, but this can save you a good chunk of points and increase the value you get from your redemption.

b) When you have Hilton Gold status you get free breakfast. Gold status is relatively easy to get with the right card (like the Amex Platinum). But it's important to note this benefit varies by brand and region. Generally speaking internationally you get free breakfast, in the U.S. you often get a food and beverage credit which can vary by property as well.

3) Last on the list of transfer partners, Marriott and Choice. Both transfer at 1:1, and generally I don't usually recommend either as a first choice. The price of the hotels compared to the number of points required make it so it's not worth the transfer. The exception that could change the math would be if there's a transfer bonus and the price is right, or maybe just to top off the account.

4) Outside of points, if you have the Amex Platinum specifically, you also have access to their Fine Hotels and Resorts (FHR) program as well as The Hotel Collection (THC) which are similar but do have their differences.

Similar to Chase's The Edit program, with FHR: you get a property credit, upgrade if available, early check-in if available, guaranteed 4pm check-out, and daily breakfast credit for 2.

THC generally comes with a little less: a property credit and possible upgrade, but it requires a 2 night minimum stay .

You can use Amex points to book these, but only at a 1 cent per point so I'd generally recommend these as a cash booking. If you're looking to see how to maximize the credit that the Amex Platinum gives you towards these hotels, I'd recommend looking at MaxFHR.com.

With all this said, I'm thinking about a trip to Greece I'm getting ready to plan and I have a hypothetical-ish question for you:

Assume I have 120k Amex and Citi points each, and I want to book an LHW hotel now while Citi has a transfer bonus and both transfer to LHW at a 4:1 ratio. The redemption would use all of the points.

P.S. If you were wondering, I never did follow up on those resort fees from my Edit redemption I mentioned last week.

You've got the points.
Here's the process for actually turning them into the flight you want.

• Chase Sapphire Lounge locations have exited Priority Pass and LoungeKey networks, now the Sapphire Reserve or Ritz Carlton cards are required to access.
• The new AAdvantage Executive card is live as well as the increased Admirals Lounge fee.
• It looks like CardPointers and similar tools can no longer add Amex offers to multiple cards at once. CardPointers, however, has added a new "Smart Add" feature that will automatically add the offer to the card with the highest multiplier.
• JetBlue opens a new BlueHouse lounge in Boston, terminal C.
• Reportedly, you can now use Google's AI mode to help you look for award flights and points hotels. But I've had limited success briefly trying it out.
• ​American Airlines AND United Airlines announced new routes to Europe and Japan.
• There appears to be a targeted offer to those with an Amex Platinum. You can earn Hilton Diamond status by staying 10 nights within 90 days, extending through March 31, 2028.
• You can now use $50 - $150 Bilt Cash towards Blacklane rides tiered by Bilt status, there's mixed data points about if it costs more than booking direct. Blacklane is a chauffeur-like service.
• If you're planning a destination wedding, Hyatt is offering a wedding promo giving 30k bonus points plus 2 elite nights per $5k spent through end of 2027 with code HMOON. Details.​

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 of 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.

​
American Airlines up to 40% bonus as low as 2.26 cents each, tiered
​Hilton Honors up to 100% bonus as low as 0.50 cents each, exp 9/25
​IHG One Rewards up to 100% bonus as low as 0.50 cents each, exp 9/1
​JetBlue up to 120% bonus as low as 1.47 cents each, exp 10/1
​Lufthansa up to 50% bonus as low as 1.39 cents each, exp unk.
​Marriott Bonvoy up to 50% bonus as low as 0.83 cents each, exp 9/9
​Virgin Atlantic up to 50% bonus as low as 1.67 cents each, exp unk.
​World of Hyatt up to 20% discount as low as 2.08 cents each, exp 10/5

SeatsAero has made some updates to its tool. In this video I cover what's changed and some tips to navigate these changes to make searching easier for you.

If you're interested in supporting NMT via affiliate links here's how:

​Sign up for Travel Freely with my affiliate link then apply to any card through their CardGenie feature while logged in.

I get a small commission at no cost to you, and it's actually how I'm able to cover Chase, Capital One, and Amex content more freely.

"***" = Different from last week
"**" = Apply through Travel Freely after signing up with my affiliate link.​

Flexible Points Cards: (Sign up through Travel Freely)
-**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 Ink Unlimited $0 - 100k points after $8,000 spent in 4 months
-**Chase Ink Cash $0 - 100k points after $8,000 spent in 4 months
- **Chase Ink Business Preferred $95 - 100k points after $8,000 spent in 3 months.

​
-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.
​
-Capital One Venture X $395 - 75k points after $4,000 in 3mo.
-Capital One Venture $95 - 75k after $4,000 in 3mo.
-Capital One Venture Business $95 - 100k after $10k in 3 months.
-Capital One Venture X Business $395 - 150k bonus, after $30,000 in 3 months.
-Capital One Spark Cash $95 - $1000 + $250 Travel Credit, or 100k if you have a Venture Miles earning card, you can transfer cash into miles. Ends 9/7​
-Capital One Spark Cash Plus $150 - $2000 + $500 Travel Credit, or 200k if you have a Venture Miles earning card. Ends 9/7​
-Capital One Savor $0 - $250 cash back (25k points) after $500 in 3 months
-Citi Strata Elite $595 - 75k points, $595 annual fee
-Citi Strata Premier $95 - 60k points, $95 annual fee

Hotel Cards​
​- ***Amex Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant $650 - 150k plus $250 statement credit after $6,000 spend in 6 months. Ends 9/30
​- ***Amex Marriott Bonvoy Bevy $250 - 125k plus $150 statement credit after $5,000 spend in 6 months. Ends 9/30
- Chase Marriott Boundless Card $95 - 4 Free Night Certificates (worth 50k points each) + $100 in Airline Credits* after $3,000 spent in 3 months. *Get $50 in statement credits semi-annually after spending $250 on eligible airline purchases.

Airline cards:​
- ***Bank of America Atmos Business (Alaska Airlines) $95 - 85k + $99 companion fare after $5,500 in first 90 days.
- 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.

Dallas (DFW) - Europe: Economy for 18.75k Miles
Houston (IAH) - Europe: Premium Economy for 30k Miles
Las Vegas (LAS) - Europe: Premium Economy for 30k Miles
New York (JFK) - Europe: Premium Economy for 30k Miles
Phoenix (PHX) - Europe: Economy for 18.75k Miles
San Diego (SAN) - Europe: Premium Economy for 30k Miles
San Francisco (SFO) - Europe: Premium Economy for 30k Miles
Seattle (SEA) - Europe: Economy for 18.75k Miles
Washington, D.C. (IAD) - Europe: Premium Economy for 30k Miles
​
**Los Angeles (LAX) - Europe: Economy for 18.75k Miles
**Miami (MIA) - Europe: Economy for 18.75k Miles
**Orlando (MCO) - 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 August for travel dates up to January 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.

Singapore Krisflyer Spontaneous Escapes

(Deals don't work with reversed routing, ex: JFK-FRA)​
​
Frankfurt (FRA) - New York (JFK)*
New York (JFK) - Frankfurt (FRA)
Economy - 19.25k* | Premium Economy - 39.9k

Los Angeles (LAX) - Singapore (SIN)
Singapore (SIN) - Los Angeles (LAX)*
San Francisco (SFO) - Singapore (SIN)
Singapore (SIN) - San Francisco (SFO)*
Seattle (SEA) - Singapore (SIN)
Singapore (SIN) - Seattle (SEA)
Economy - 30.8k | Premium Economy - 55.3k*

Los Angeles (LAX) - Tokyo-Narita (NRT)
Tokyo-Narita (NRT) - Los Angeles (LAX)
Premium Economy - 56.35k

Singapore (SIN) - New York (JFK)
New York (EWR) - Singapore (SIN)
Premium Economy - 59.15k​
​

​- Book by the end of August, for travel dates from September 1 to 30th, 2026. See details and blackout dates here.​
​
​Krisflyer Spontaneous Escapes are 30% off last-minute award tickets on Singapore Airlines on specific routes. Offers are typically released on the 15th of every month. Here's how to search on Singapore's website.

Cathay Pacific:
​From ANY bank 10% - Ends 8/28, registration required.​

American Express:
​Avios 30% - Ends 9/27​
​
Capital One:​
​Avianca 15% - Ends 8/31

Chase: ​
​IHG 70% - Ends 8/31
​Aeroplan 20% - Ends 9/30

Citi:​
Turkish Airlines 40% - Ends 8/31
​Leading Hotels of the World 25% - Ends 9/19

Rove:​
​None.

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

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