āļø In addition to Southwestās new boarding policy plans, they will also start operating redeye flights, something theyāve surprisingly never done before. Read more here.
Good morning from beautiful Yogyakarta, Indonesia! Iām enjoying a relaxing few days here in Central Java before jetting off on one of my craziest trips ever.
Speaking of thatā¦
- šš¼āāļø Mike on the Move
- š³ļø Bring a second sailor free on Virgin Voyages
- šĀ Reader Poll: Business or Economy?
šš¼āāļø Mike on the Move
Itās been a pretty slow year of travel for me so farā¦
Between speaking engagements in North America, surgery, and trying slow travel in Indonesia, I havenāt really done any crazy trips yet this year.
Until now.
Later this week, Iāll be jetting off on a trip that will take me to 19 countries in Central Asia and Europe.
As you can see from the trip map above, I will also be drawing a cute little heart shape in the sky to show my love for the magic of travel. ā¤ļø
As you might imagine, I'll be using some sweet points and miles tricks, starting with the flights.
As part of my Aeroplan elite status, I have had a āPriority Rewardā sitting in my account for almost a year now.
A Priority Reward is essentially a 50% discount on an award ticket booked with Aeroplan points.
I say āticketā instead of āflightā because, as you can imagine, there are ways to stretch this to the limit.
In my case, here is a map of the flights for my trip that are booked on this one Aeroplan ticket:
Normally, these combined flights would cost 112,000 Aeroplan points in economy.
With my Priority Reward, however, Iām just paying 56,000 points for all TEN of these flights, which is amazing.
In other words, more than half of the flights for the entire trip are on a single award ticket.
Since there is a 20% transfer bonus from UR Points to Aeroplan, I only had to shell out 47,000 points from this credit card.
Ten flights for 47k points is a deal Iāll take any day, and this is a good example of how chasing elite status can yield some super valuable benefits.
My first point of arrival will be the famous and well-known city of Dushanbe, Tajikistan.Ā š¹šÆ
Of course, Iām being sarcastic. I bet many of you have never even heard of Dushanbe before.
But Tajikistan, known for its green cities and stunning natural beauty, has been on my list for a while, so Iām excited to finally make the visitā¦
ā¦especially because I got a ridiculous hotel deal in the city. š
Iāll be staying at the Hyatt Regency Dushanbe, a Hyatt Category 1 hotel that costs as few as 3,500 points per night.
With a cash cost of close to $200, Iām getting a value ofā¦ wait for itā¦ 5.7 cents per pointā¦ š¤Æš¤Æš¤Æ
For just 20,500 points, I was able to book a 5-night stay with a price tag of over $1,000.
This is just another example of how lower-category Hyatt hotels are the best way to get outsize value for your points.
Even if a 3,500-point Category 1 property costs $70 per night (which few do), youāre already getting two cents per point in value.
In fact, Iām currently sitting in such a hotel right now as I write this. š
Donāt forget that there are currently credit card offers like this one for 120,000 points that can be transferred to Hyatt.
If you used all of those points for a hotel like the Hyatt in Dushanbe, youād get $7,000 in value from a card that costs less than $100.
So, go check that out now.
Anyway, from the comfort of the Hyatt Dushanbe, Iāll be able to get out and explore the city as well as some famous places in Tajikistan like Iskanderkul:
From Dushanbe, Iāll be heading over to Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.
And as you may have guessed, Iāve got some interesting travel tips for there as wellā¦ but youāll have to wait until next week. š
š³ļø Bring a second sailor free on Virgin Voyages
Bilt Rent Day is back, people. And this time, itās not a transfer bonusā¦ but itās something arguably way more valuable.
Between now and August 1st, you can book a Virgin Voyages cruise and bring a second passenger for free.
Here are the deets:
- You must use access key āVVBILTā when searching for cruises
- Only certain dates and routes are available (see the list on this page)
- You must book your cruise before midnight on August 1st
- After booking the cruise, go to the Bilt app to activate additional benefits
To clarify that last point, Bilt members will get the following benefits while on the cruise:
- $100 bar tab
- Unlimited premium Wi-Fi
- Two specialty coffees per day
- Priority boarding
- Complimentary laundry service
- Exclusive cocktail experience
- Dedicated Sailor Services support
Not too shabby for what is essentially a BOGO cruise deal.
Of course, Virgin Voyages are generally more premium cruises and come at a premium price.
Still, getting to bring an additional person for free is not a bad deal at all, given how nice these ships are and all of the benefits that are included.
And just to be clear about the booking window, you donāt need to wait until August 1st to book these cruises; you can go do it now.
There are some pretty nice-looking itineraries in the Caribbean and Mediterranean that will probably be appealing to many of you. š
But donāt forget that every so often, Virgin Voyages will allow you to book cruises with points for around 80k Virgin Red points for two people.
So, if you were already considering a luxury cruise, this is a great deal.
Otherwise, you can always wait until the next good points deal comes around to book.
š Reader Poll: Business or Economy?
This whole points and miles game can be exciting and unlock amazing opportunities.
But sometimes, I struggle to choose between booking a 19-country around-the-world ticket in economy or using the same number of miles for one 8-hour business-class flight to Europe (first-world problems, am I right?).
I think both are totally valid uses of points, but Iām curious to hear from you:
If you HAD to choose just one option, how would you prefer to use your points?
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Thatās all for today, folks! I hope your week gets off to a GREAT start, and I look forward to bringing you more travel content tomorrow.
Cheers,
Mike DodgeHead Writer, Daily Drop
