Lufthansa runs a monthly promotion called Miles & More Mileage Bargains. They offer discounted award rates on select routes in economy, premium economy, and business class. The promo is similar to Flying Blue's Promo Rewards.
These Miles & More Bargains can provide 50%+ off the award rate for a round-trip ticket, but you'll be on the hook for the carrier-imposed surcharges. Unfortunately, the surcharges on flights operated by Lufthansa group airlines such as Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa, Swiss, etc. are steep.
This means your total taxes/fees on an award ticket can exceed $1,900 for a round-trip ticket from the U.S.
Sure, 55,000 miles for a round-trip business class ticket to Europe is great, but you can find cash tickets in business class for less than what the taxes/fees on the award will cost!
You can get $60 back as a statement credit when you spend $300+ at National Car Rental.
Important details:
This appears to be a targeted offer.
Nice flag the Danny the Deal Guru
Disclosure: I am not a tax professional. Please speak to a tax professional for any questions about your taxes. I may earn a referral bonus if you use the links below. I serve as on an advisory board for Bilt.
Paying taxes has been an easy way to earn points for years and one credit card processor just lowered its fees.
While there's a small processing fee to pay with a credit cared, you'll often come out ahead with the points you earn. This is particularly true if you get a new card to earn a sign-up bonus. If you're not earning a sign-up bonus, just using a card that earns 2x could make it worth it.
The IRS works with three credit card processing companies: payUSAtax, Pay1040, and ACI Payment, Inc.
Currently, ACI charges the highest credit card processing fee of 1.98% followed by Pay 1040 at 1.87%. However, payUSAtax has dropped their fee over the last few years and is now the best option at 1.82%.
You can make two payments per processor each quarter for estimated taxes (1040-ES) as well as your previous year's taxes (1040).
Best Cards For Paying Taxes - Earn Points
In 2023, new Hilton Honors members could earn 4,500 Hilton points for signing up and hitting the qualifications. For 2024, that bonus has been reduced to 3,000 Hilton points. Still, if you or friends have upcoming Hilton stays, you might as well sign up and earn the bonus points.
To earn the 3,000 points, you need two paid stays at Hilton properties. After the first stay, you'll earn 1,000 points. You'll earn the remaining 2,000 points after your second stay. Just remember that you need to complete the stays within six months of joining Hilton Honors so it's important to time when you sing up based on upcoming stays.
World of Hyatt is revamping its Guest of Honor program and making some positive changes to Milestone Rewards.
Guest of Honor Changes
Globalist members will no longer be able to do an unlimited number of Guest of Honor bookings. Instead, Guest of Honor bookings will be earn as Milestone Rewards starting in 2024. Guest of Honor awards will be valid during the year in which you earn them plus an additional 14 months.
Current Globalists will receive 5 Guest of Honor awards in January that are valid through February 2025 to lessen the blow.
Now, for the positive changes.
You will be able to use a Guest of Honor booking on both award stays and cash stays. Until now, these bookings were only eligible on award stays.
Globalists will receive one elite night for each Guest of Honor stay they book.
The first Guest of Honor award is earned at 40 nights which means Explorists can earn one and use it for themselves to try out Globalist perks on a stay.
Guest of Honor stays will finally be bookable online.
Milestone Rewards Changes
You will be able to earn Milestone Rewards up to 150 elite nights per year instead of 100 elite nights. This won't impact many travelers, but it incentivizes continued loyalty from road warriors who live on the road. Beyond Guest of Honor awards, here are the new Milestone Reward options:
One Mile At A Time: "If you use Delta VIP Select on departure, you’ll be met by a Delta representative at the curb (and they’ll already have pre-printed bag tags, if you’re checking bags), you’ll be escorted through security, and then you’ll be escorted to the Sky Club, which you receive complimentary access to (if you don’t otherwise have access); you’ll usually have a reserved table there, and then you’ll be picked up at the Sky Club and brought to your gate when it’s time to depart."
"If you use Delta VIP Select during a connection, you’ll be met at your arriving flight, you’ll be brought to the Sky Club (where there should be a reserved table), and then you’ll be brought to your connecting flight."
"If you use Delta VIP Select on arrival, you’ll be met at your arriving flight, and you’ll then be transfered to a pick-up spot, which has been coordinated with the person or party who is picking you up."
Points Wire Note:
At $500 (plus $100 for up to three additional passengers), it's not going to be for everyone. However, I can see the value for a family of four or for people who are inexperienced and nervous travelers since Delta will have staff ready to take care of you throughout your journey.
If you've been considering a switch to T-Mobile, you may be able to earn 10,000 SkyMiles for making that switch. To be eligible, you need to have had a U.S. mobile plan for the previous 90 days. You'll receive the 10,000 SkyMiles after three months with your new T-Mobile plan.
Eligible T-Mobile Plans:
Points Wire Note:
Delta SkyMiles are among the least valuable miles in the world so I wouldn't change mobile plans just for the 10,000 miles. However, if you're planning to switch to T-Mobile anyway, you might as well pick up some extra miles!
Loyalty Lobby: "Qatar Airways has apparently prepared another Christmas present for some (not all) Privilege Club members, offering targeted elite members a three-month status extension through March 31, 2024."
"Qatar Airways Privilege Club ran the same campaign last year and ended up extending everyone’s status for the entire 2023 calendar year, though from the looks of it, this one appears to be more targeted."
Disclosure: I may earn a referral bonus if you use the links below.
In the last couple of years, inKind has become a fun dining program for points enthusiasts to use in cities across the U.S. - anything with a rewards program!
With the inKind app, you can dine at partner restaurants, pay via the app, and earn credit toward future meals. You just have to load your inKind account to get started.
We've seen Amex Offers that make it easy to earn additional credit and now there's an offer for 30% off $100 inKind e-gift cards at Costco.
You can find inKind partner restaurant locations here.
You can sign up for inKind and get $25 off a $50 bill (I get $25 too).
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles is running a 10% transfer bonus promo. Unlike many transfer bonuses, this is handled by the airline rather than the bank. This means you won't see an indication of the bonus when transferring points.
The benefit of this promo is that you can transfer Amex Membership Rewards or Citi ThankYou Points and get the 10% bonus. You must make your transfer by March 31, 2024.
Please keep in mind that the 10% bonus miles will post within 8-10 weeks. The bonus is not instant.
You must register for the promo before you transfer points.
Register Here (Promo Terms & Conditions)
See all current transfer bonus promos!
Points Wire Note:
Cathay recently devalued their award chart, but it's still one of the better oneworld programs for business and first class redemptions. While Alaska Airlines and American Airlines generally have better award rates, it's much easier to earn Asia Miles via transferable points programs.
Plus, you have access to additional first class and business class award space on Cathay Pacific. In fact, recently, Asia Miles has been the only way to book business or first class on Cathay.
Sign up for free flight alerts or upgrade to Straight To The Points Premium.
Premium members even get text alerts when there are great opportunities to book business and first class flights!
To make choosing your next card a bit easier, we've ranked the best credit card offers to help find the best bonuses.
Whether you need help figuring out the best ways to earn or redeem points and miles, I’ll work with you to create a personalized strategy that’s easy to follow.
In August 2018, I started the Straight To The Points flight alerts newsletter with the goal of making it easier to book business and first class flights with points & miles and fare deals.
I started Points Wire to make it easier for you to keep up with the news you need to know without all of the fluff.