Michael's Miles Round-Up

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Happy Friday Reader!

Listen to this segment on: Spotify or Apple Podcasts

Rove launched something new this week that's really caught my attention.

To catch you up, if you haven't heard of Rove, it's a rewards program not attached to a credit card or bank. You earn Rove Miles by booking travel or making purchases through their website. Maybe you can think of it as a Rakuten that earns its own transferrable miles.

But up until now, I've kept Rove in my peripheral vision because I thought they were best for travelers who book hotels and flights with cash, since Rove offers huge piles of points when you book travel through them - hotels in particular offer like 30x points per dollar spent.

The problem was I try my best not to pay for hotels with cash, so I never had a compelling reason to earn Rove miles outside of a shopping portal purchase or two IF Rove was the highest paying platform.

However, Rove just announced a new update to their program. Here's what they advertise, and then I'll share what I'm excited about:

• A new app available on iOS and Android in beta​
• Rove Dining
• Gift Cards offering the ability to earn miles instantly
• In-store shopping offers
• Rebuilt hotel booking experience

My thoughts on all this:

App: I usually prefer desktop websites for most things points and miles, but I think the app is actually pretty useful for on-the-go usage, especially for some of the new features like...

Purchasing gift cards: this is what's sort of turning me into a "Rove guy." I earned an extra 500 (7x) miles on my wife's Nespresso order just by purchasing a gift card via their app first.

The gift card gets delivered via email instantly so you can use it right away. The Rove miles hit your account instantly too, and you're also earning the credit card multiplier. It seems many of the Rove gift cards are sold by Rove themselves so it'll be interesting to see how that codes and earns.

Rove Dining & In-Store Shopping Offers: I think these are fine and cool, Rove dining is limited to a handful of metropolitan cities so it may be of limited use to you right now depending on where you live, but they say they're planning to expand the program.

To take advantage of these you need to link a card, which may or may not unenroll you from other card-linked programs, like the Rewards Network dining platform that many other programs, like Rakuten, use. I need to reevaluate my points-earning strategy and if I really want to earn Rove points before making the switch there.

Rebuilt Hotel Experience: I honestly don't really remember what it looked like before, but it sounds like they've increased earning rates and added more hotels. I've seen earning rates as high as 30x now, which would be nice if, again, I regularly booked hotels with cash.

If you haven't joined Rove yet, I have a referral link that gives you 500 miles. But I have seen links that offer 1,500 points that exist, so no qualms if you decide to shop around!

What are your thoughts?

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

• Reminder: September 8th is the start of Flying Blue's devaluation of adding tiered fares. Book your promo award flights now!
• U.S. Bank adds Avianca to list of transfer partners.
• Frontier has changed its loyalty program decreasing requirements to reach status but harder to earn miles for non-cardholders.
• Rove added Copa ConnectMiles as transfer partner with 40% bonus (1.4:1 ratio) through September 30.
• Aeroplan offering 5X bonus points on eligible paid Air Canada flights worldwide. Bonus details.​
• Turkish Airlines is discounting economy award flights to Africa and Middle East by 30% discount bookable through 9/15 for travel through Dec 15th. Prices start at 14k one-way. Sale does not include U.S. - IST portion.
• IHG is offering a promo for stays in Asia. Stay for 3 nights, but pay for 2 - primarily in suites. Book by 9/30 for travel through June 30th, 2027.
• Southwest has added LOT Polish as an interline partner. You can book flights from LOT Polish's website for fares that include Southwest flights. There are no opportunities to earn or redeem Southwest points here.
• You can now redeem Qantas miles for Condor flights; Economy flights start at 34.7k from the East coast.
• Alaska Airlines added Jetstar as earn-only partner; no redemption opportunities as of now.
• There are reports that the Chase Sapphire Reserve will add $15 monthly DoorDash credit to restaurant orders starting October 1st. I haven't seen official communication from Chase.
• There's been updates to Lululemon's gift card purchase policy: Amex Platinum’s $75 Lululemon quarterly credit now requires $100 gift card purchases.
• Wyndham cardholders can now upgrade their older versions of the card online to the new card versions without calling Barclays or triggering new credit inquiries.
• Southwest formally announced they are launching 11 airport lounges in partnership with Chase . First one(s) expected to open by end of 2027. Also, there's reportedly a new premium credit card in the works for lounge access.
• I Prefer members can now earn 5,000 bonus points on eligible SIXT car rentals.

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
​Delta SkyMiles up to 50% bonus as low as 2.51 cents each, exp 10/31
​Flying Blue up to 80% bonus as low as 1.69 cents each, exp 9/16
​Hilton Honors up to 100% bonus as low as 0.50 cents each, exp 9/25
​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
​Southwest up to 50% discount as low as 1.50 cents each, exp 10/2
​Virgin Atlantic up to 70% bonus as low as 1.47 cents each, exp 10/4
​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.

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 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.
-***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

Boston (BOS) - Europe: Premium Economy for 30k Miles
Chicago (ORD) - Europe: Economy for 18.75k Miles
Detroit (DTW) - Europe: Economy for 18.75k Miles
Los Angeles (LAX) - Europe: Economy for 18.75k Miles
Minneapolis (MSP) - Europe: Economy for 18.75k Miles
Minneapolis (MSP) - Europe: Business for 45k Miles
Montreal (YUL) - Europe: Economy for 18.75k Miles
New York (JFK) - Europe: Economy for 18.75k Miles
New York (JFK) - Europe: Premium Economy for 30k Miles
San Diego (SAN) - Europe: Economy for 30k Miles
San Francisco (SFO) - Europe: Economy for 18.75k Miles
San Francisco (SFO) - Europe: Premium Economy for 30k Miles
Vancouver (YVR) - Europe: Premium Economy for 30k Miles
Washington (IAD) - Europe: Economy for 18.75k Miles

**Miami (MIA) - Europe: Economy for 18.75k Miles
​**San Jose (SJC) - Europe: Premium Economy for 37.5k Miles
​**Toronto (YYZ) - Europe: Premium Economy for 30k Miles

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

- Book by the end of September for travel dates up to February 28th, 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:
​Avios 30% - Ends 9/27
​Hilton 30% - Ends 10/14​
​
Capital One:​
​Japan Airlines 15% - Ends 9/30

Chase: ​
​Aeroplan 20% - Ends 9/30

Citi:​
​Leading Hotels of the World 25% - Ends 9/19

Rove:​
​Copa 40% - Ends 9/30

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