Disclosure: I may earn a commission if you use the links below.
The Flying Blue status match promo has been extended to included members in the U.S. and Mexico. The cost of the match depends on the status level to which you match:
Canadians can match at the following price points. Note that Canadians can match to Platinum status.
If you're based in the UK, you can match to all three status levels:
Those living in *eligible European countries can match up to Platinum as well.
*Eligible European countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
Avianca LifeMiles is offering a 15% bonus if you transfer Amex Membership Rewards points by March 15, 2024. Please note that you won't see this offer on your Amex account has this is a transfer promo on the LifeMiles side. The 15% bonus miles can take up to 24 hours to post.
LifeMiles is already one of the best ways to book flights Star Alliance carriers so this bonus is just icing on the cake. For example, most routes between the US and Europe require 63,000 miles for a one-way business class award ticket. With this promo, you'd only need to transfer 55,000 Amex points to get the 63,000 LifeMiles.
In general, Amex welcome bonuses offered to new cardholders are often better than via affiliate or direct links. However, this time, we're talking about the referral bonus you'll receive if someone uses your referral link.
You'll still earn a set number of points, but Amex has added an extra part of the bonus to incentivize additional spend:
"Earn +10 Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide for 3 months, on up to $25,000. This is on top of what you already earn on your Card. This offer can only be redeemed once. Offer ends 05/22/2024. Terms apply."
If you refer someone from your Amex Gold or Business Gold, that would mean you could earn 14x Membership Rewards points at restaurants! You could potentially earn 250,000 points from this offer!
Want to earn some referral points? STTP Premium members can submit there referrals to several Amex cards. Please only submit if you have a link to the best offer. The point is to get applicants the best offer. You can log into your STTP account to submit your referral links.
Frequent Flyer Bonuses: "For the next two weeks ASMALLWORLD has a new special offer to earn 20% more Miles & More miles and receive a discount when you purchase a Prestige membership. ASMALLWORLD bills itself as a social network for travel that provides a bunch of perks and benefits when you join."
Benefits
The upside to Miles & More miles is that you can book Lufthansa first class up ~360 days from departure. This gives you a massive advantage over those booking with partner programs which only get access within ~14 days of departure (if not even close to departure). A one-way first class award ticket requires 91,000 Miles & More miles.
Of course, you'll be on the hook for surcharges which are steep from the US. However, the surcharges aren't as bad on one-way flights from Europe to the US so that's what I'd book. The flights from Europe are daytime flights, so you can actually be awake to enjoy the experience!
Cost
During this promo, the cost is steep at 4,950 EUR (~$5,355). A small silver lining is that the purchase codes as travel.
Costco is running a sale on $500 Southwest e-gift cards. You can buy a $500 gift card for $429.99. There's a limit of one transaction per member, but you can purchase up to five Southwest gift cards. The offer is valid through May 25, 2024.
Points Wire Note:
For those with the Southwest Companion Pass, this is a great way to get a discount on a Southwest ticket before you even factor in bringing your companion for just the cost of the taxes/fees.
Disclosure: I may earn a referral bonus if you use the links below.
It's back as of August 12, 2024!
Rakuten is offering 100% cash back at NordVPN. You can earn 100x Membership Rewards points if you link an eligible Amex card to Rakuten. This means you can earn Amex points for 1 cent per point.
Please note that you will only earn Amex points or cash back on your initial purchase so your best bet is to pay for a one or two year plan in full.
If you don't have a Rakuten account, you can sign up and earn a bonus 10% back (or 10x Amex points) on purchases made during your first seven days with Rakuten.
Exclusions: Cash Back is only available to new NordVPN customers. Cash Back can only be earned on the initial sign-up. Limited to one per member. Cash Back is not available on NordPass, NordLocker, Incogni and Dedicated IP subscriptions or refunded orders.
Posting Time: Cash Back will be automatically added to your Rakuten account within one week.
Direct link to Rakuten x NordVPN offer
Note: During previous promos, I heard reports that people were only seeing it track up to ~$81 in purchase price. Please keep that in mind. You might be able to email Rakuten a receipt if your purchase amount exceeds $81 and they don't give you the correct cash back or points initially.
For Valentine's Day, Rosewood Hotels is running a gift card promo. If you buy a $500+ Rosewood gift card (or e-gift card) by midnight PST on February 19, 2024, you can get a 10% bonus e-gift card on top of it. For example, if you buy a $1,000 gift card, you'll get a bonus gift card worth $100. This comes out to ~9% off.
It's not a massive discount, but it's rare for luxury hotel brands to offer promos like this so it's a fun way to save a little.
For stays abroad, Rosewood uses Oanda to calculate the currency exchange rate.
If you plan to book a Rosewood stay, make sure you book through a travel advisor with access to Rosewood Elite - I'm on of these advisors. Just by booking a Rosewood Elite rate, you can get extra perks such as a room upgrade, daily breakfast for 2, a $100 property credit, etc.
Rosewood Elite is actually one of my favorite preferred booking programs because individual properties can tailor the benefits they offer. For example, Rosewood Mayakoba offers a $125 property credit while other properties offer special welcome amenities.
If you'd like to book, fill out my Rosewood request form.
United has released a new round of Mile Play offers. Hopefully, you'll get a great offer that fits your travel needs. To earn the bonus, you must book and take your flight(s) by September 13, 2024. Please note that not all United MileagePlus members are targeted for this promo.
I received the following offer:
Book and take one trip and earn 3,000 bonus United miles. The fine print notes that the ticket must be at least $100 to qualify.
Points Wire Note:
It's rarely worth going out of your way to fly United for one of these promos. They're just nice bonuses if a United flight fits your needs.
Update: This transfer bonus is now live!
Citi is launching a transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. Between February 18 and March 16, 2024, you'll be able to transfers Citi ThankYou Points to Virgin and get a 30% bonus.
While award flights on Virgin Atlantic have steep carrier-imposed surcharges which leave you on the hook for sky high taxes/fees, you can get some great value out of Virgin points by booking award tickets on partner airlines.
Air France, KLM, and ITA Airways to Europe standout. Delta can be a great option to Europe as well, just not to/from the UK. All Nippon Airways (ANA) is always a fan favorite for those visiting Japan - though award space is tough. Air New Zealand is also a great option.
Hyatt's Bonus Journeys promo is now live!
More Points With A Hyatt Credit Card
If you have a World of Hyatt Business Credit Card or a World of Hyatt Credit Card, you earn an additional 1,000 bonus points per three nights you stay. If you were to max out this promo by staying 21 nights, could earn 28,000 bonus points as a cardholder.
According to a FlyerTalker, only Hyatt properties in the following countries will be eligible for the cardholder bonus:
Australia, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mainland China, Macau, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and Vietnam.
Stack With Etihad Guest Promo
If you have stays in March, you'll be able to earn bonus Hyatt points as well as Etihad Guest miles.
Details on Hyatt x Etihad promo
Points Wire Note:
Oddly enough, I have 12 nights coming up in an eligible country. I'll happily take 16,000 bonus points!
This could also pair nicely with a Hyatt Privé booking - extra perks on your stay + extra points.
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