Michael's Miles Round-Up

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Happy Friday Reader!

Listen to this segment on: Spotify or Apple Podcasts

We’re entering the heart of Q4 (aka holiday season), and now is a great time to get a new credit card because there are some large sign-up bonuses out right now. Many cards have elevated offers all listed within the SUBs section:

• The IHG cards, (180k-200k)
• Hilton, (Bonus with a Free Night Certificate)
• Alaska (80-100k with companion certificates)
• The Hyatt personal card, (4 free night certificates)
• Southwest, has 80-90k bonuses. You’ll want to apply for the card by December 2 so the sign-up bonus counts toward the companion pass if you're interested in that.
• Bilt, has an impending change to its rewards system, so if you’ve been on the fence about a Bilt card, you might want to consider getting one before the end of the year.

Or you can get a premium card like the Citi Strata Elite or Amex Platinum and double the value from the credits you receive before you decide to cancel the card. Here's an example of this strategy with the Strata Elite.

I’m personally not going for any of those this year. I applied with my next trip in mind, which is how I ended up with a seemingly random card: the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey, which earns me 60,000 Wells Fargo points.

We’re planning on going to Banff National Park in Canada for our anniversary. I was looking at hotels I could book with points and found a Wyndham hotel in a sweet spot: 1) close enough to the park that I don’t mind the drive, 2) affordable, but not so cheap that it has bad reviews, and 3) not so luxurious that they charge for parking. Plus, they have free breakfast!

It costs 30,000 Wyndham points per night, and since Wells Fargo transfers to Wyndham at a 1:2 ratio, the 60,000 points become 120,000. That gives me four nights from one card with a low annual fee ($95)!

So if none of these elevated offers are speaking to you, I recommend applying for cards that will help you get to your next destination or your next big trip.

This of course requires you to know how to search for availability so you know what kind of points you need to get where you want to go. If you need help with that, I built this specifically for you.​

P.S. I'm working on a video and need some inspiration on an award itinerary to search for. Send me any award searches you've been meaning to do. If I select yours, I'll send you what I find.

With that said, I may not be able to respond to everyone, depending on the number of responses I get.

A Clear Way to Find the Best Award Tickets

“The Redemption System has given me an organized, clear and effective way to learn how to find the best award tickets.

I already know how to accumulate points, but Michael’s program gives me the tools to use my points as efficiently as possible for my family’s travel.

Even better is that I trust Michael. I don’t feel that he has an agenda or is a salesman.”

-Michelle, TRS student

Check out The Redemption System today.

• Savewise has its 30% Black Friday discount on its Pro subscriptions including its lifetime subscription. My affiliate link.
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• Awardtool has a 30% Black Friday discount on their pro subscription plans. Affiliate link.​
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• Seats.aero has a 20% Black Friday discount on their annual subscription (new users only) and giveaways for 250k Rove Points + Lifetime Pro subscriptions. Affiliate link for all three.
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• Alaska Airlines added GOL as a partner, and you can now book cash tickets on select Alaska and GOL flights on a single itinerary with bags interlined. Points redemptions on GOL flights to Brazil and beyond aren’t available yet and are coming in 2027.
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• You can now book STARLUX flights with Etihad Guest miles, but it costs 140k for business class flights and Etihad has the worst cancellation policy.
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• JetBlue increased checked baggage fees to $70 for first bag during peak travel (within 24 hours); credit cards still offer free checked bags. Details.​
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• Chase is adding 10,000+ vacation homes to The Edit starting 1/1/27, with $150 in-stay credits for stays of 4 nights or more.
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• Bilt partnered with Lowe’s: you earn 1x Bilt points at Lowe’s (in addition to whatever credit card points you earn), and you can now redeem $99 in Bilt Cash for a HomeCare+ subscription. ​
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• Amazon Prime replaced Grubhub+ with Uber Eats. You get $0 delivery on orders over $25, plus $20 off your first two orders through 11/18.

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 30% discount as low as 1.85 cents each, exp 11/18​
American Airlines up to 40% bonus as low as 2.26 cents each, tiered
​Choice Privileges up to 30% bonus as low as 0.80 cents each, exp 11/26
​Finnair Plus up to 50% discount as low as 1.09 cents each, exp 11/16
- Need at least 50 Avios in Finnair account
​Hilton Honors up to 120% bonus as low as 0.45 cents each, exp 11/21
​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 45% discount as low as 1.65 cents each, exp 11/17
​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 12/21
​Wyndham Hotels up to 100% bonus as low as 0.65 cents each, exp 12/31

Here are 4 more ways to book a free, or close to free, stopover with your points!

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.

​
-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
​-***Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless $95 - 200k after $3,000 in 3 months. Ends "soon". If my referral link above doesn't show it, check here.
-***Chase World of Hyatt Personal $95 - 4 Free Night Certificates (Category 1-4) after $5,000 spent in 3 months.
-***Chase World of Hyatt Business $199 - 70k points after $7,000 spent in 3 months.

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 Plus Personal Card -$99 80k miles after $1,000 spend in 3 months.
-Chase Southwest Premier Personal Card - $149 - 85k miles after $2,000 spend in 3 months.
-Chase Southwest Priority Personal Card $229 - 90k miles after $3,000 spend in 3 months.
-Chase Air Canada Aeroplan $195- up to 115k after $20,000 in 12 months (75k after $4,000)
- 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.
- Citi Business AAdvantage Mastercard $99 - 75k miles after $5,000 in 5 months.

Atlanta (ATL) - Europe: Economy for 18.75k Miles
Chicago (ORD) - Europe: Economy for 18.75k Miles
Chicago (ORD) - Shanghai: Premium Economy for 48.75k Miles
Dallas (DFW) - Europe: Economy for 18.75k Miles
Las Vegas (LAS) - Europe: Economy for 18.75k Miles
Los Angeles (LAX) - Europe: Economy for 18.75k Miles
Minneapolis (MSP) - Europe: Economy for 18.75k Miles
New York (JFK) - Europe: Economy for 18.75k Miles
New York (JFK) - Europe: Business for 45k Miles
New York (JFK) - Nairobi: Premium Economy for 48.75k Miles
Portland (PDX) - Europe: Economy for 18.75k Miles
San Diego (SAN) - Europe: Premium Economy for 30k Miles
Toronto (YYZ) - Europe: Economy for 18.75k Miles
Vancouver (YVR) - Europe: Economy for 18.75k Miles
Washington (IAD) - Europe: Economy for 18.75k Miles

**Miami (MIA) - Europe: Economy for 18.75k Miles
​**Montreal (YUL) - Europe: Premium Economy for 30k Miles ​
**Ottawa (YOW) - 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 November for travel dates up to April 30th, 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:​
​Marriott 35% - Ends 12/10​
​Virgin Atlantic 30% - Ends 11/30​
​
Capital One:​
Copa 30% - Ends 12/1
​Flying Blue 20% - Ends 11/30
Virgin Atlantic 30% - Ends 11/20

Chase: ​
​Avios 30% (British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus)- Ends 12/1
IHG 80% - Ends 12/3
Wyndham 30% - Ends 12/3

Citi:​
​Cathay Pacific 10% - Ends 11/14
​Turkish 40% - Ends 11/30 (Offered by Turkish, capped at 50,000 bonus miles. Bonus miles post after December 1.)

Rove:​
​JetBlue 20% - Ends 11/14

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