How to earn airline miles from your Vrbo stays

Greetings from Hanoi, Vietnam! Sadly, I’m not entering Vietnam, but I’m just here on a layover.

I’ll always have a soft spot for it, as it was the first country I ever traveled to alone, back when I was just a little baby boy:

And the rest is history… But you know what’s not history? The travel hacks we have for you today. So let’s go:

• 🏡 Earn 2,000 (or more) United miles from booking a Vrbo

• 🛩️ Save some money on a bougie semi-private flight

• 🖼️ Meme

🏡 Earn 2,000 (or more) United miles from booking a Vrbo

I’m a hotel guy. You all know this by now.

But every once in a while, it actually makes way more sense to book a hostel or vacation rental rather than a hotel.

For example, right now, you can earn thousands of bonus United Airlines miles by booking a stay with Vrbo, a vacation rental platform.

Here’s the deal:

• United and Vrbo have a permanent partnership that earns you 3x United miles per dollar on all Vrbo stays.

• If you book a Vrbo stay by the end of the day today, you’ll receive an additional 2,000 United miles after you complete your stay.

This deal (both the evergreen 3x miles and the 2,000 bonus miles) is definitely worth paying attention to. I’m always a fan of earning extra miles from hotel bookings, and this is a great way to do so.

So, let’s run some numbers.

If you’re like me, you’re probably sick of this summer heat by now. So maybe you want to start planning a winter ski getaway to Whistler, British Columbia.

You could book this super cozy-looking home on Vrbo for just $73 per night or $274 for a 3-night stay (after all fees, etc).

In the end, you’d earn a total of 2,822 United miles from the booking. But don’t forget that you’ll also earn credit card points.

So if you use a card like this one, which earns 3x points on travel purchases, you’d earn an additional 822 points, which you could then transfer to United if you wanted to.

A return of 3,644 miles is not too shabby at all.

Alternatively, if you’re traveling elsewhere in the world like me, this could be an easy arbitrage opportunity to book a single cheap night somewhere to rake in the thousands of miles.

For example, I was just looking at places in Kuala Lumpur, where I’ll be next week, and found pretty nice-looking places for as little as $25 per night.

In this case, I could simply pay $25 for a single night and get those 2,000 United miles (plus another 150 miles/points from the 3x and credit card spend).

So here’s the bottom line:

Vrbo is a great tool for booking home rentals around the world anyway. Throw in the 3x United miles, and it’s pretty sweet. Throw in another 2,000 miles, and it’s definitely worth considering for any upcoming trips you might have.

🛩️ Save some money on a bougie semi-private flight

Heads up, this is a targeted offer, so you may or may not see this in your account! However, I’ve asked a few people who have also seen it pop up for them, so… the odds may be in your favor.

Alas, you want to fly semi-private, eh? Or maybe you didn’t until now…

We’ve talked about JSX a few times in past newsletters. But in case you don’t know, they’re a semi-private jet company who offers a handful of routes around the U.S. and to/from Cabo.

If you’re looking for a unique experience (like what Kara did!) that is definitely a step or three above flying commercial, but doesn’t come with the price tag of flying completely private… this is a great option.

And right now, those with this shiny metal card may find a special offer listed in their account 👇

Basically, you could earn a $100 statement credit when you spend $500 or more with JSX by October 27, 2023.

Additional terms to be aware of:

• You need to book directly through JSX

• Your flight must originate in the U.S.

• You must book by October 27, but travel can take place after this

Here’s how you could make the most of this offer. I actually received this in my account for both this card and this card.

However, if I were to redeem this, I would want to do it with this card because it earns me 5x points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with the airline.

So if I booked myself a semi-private flight and spent $500, I not only would rake in 2,500 additional points, but then I’d also get $100 back (in the form of a statement credit).

And that, my friends, is pretty sweet 😎

🌎 Sponsored by Babbel

As a worldwide traveler, I’ve got a pretty handy talent: I can read any language in the world.

…I just can’t understand 98% of them 🥴

Okay, so not that great of a talent, but fortunately, I’ve got a snazzy little app on my phone that will help me with this lackluster talent.

You’ve probably guessed it by now… it’s Babbel!

Here’s why we love Babbel 🧡

• Babbel teaches bite-sized, 10-minute, real-world-use lessons

• You can also learn with Babbel’s podcasts, games, videos, content articles, and live online classes

• Learners of all levels can use Babbel with its customized approach

• You’ll learn about a country’s culture and traditions in addition to its language (we really like this meaningful focus)

• Users report being able to start having basic conversations in their target language after just three weeks of daily practice with Babbel

RIGHT NOW, they’re running a special Labor Day sale that’ll get you 60% off your subscription!

But hurry! That 60% off won’t last forever. You don’t want to miss out on this awesome language-learning opportunity 👇

🖼️ Meme

This is how it’s felt lately when trying to find good award flights… Summer travel is a nightmare this year, eh?

One of my favorite ways to learn about new travel hacks is in our very own Daily Drop Lounge, an online community of DD fans and travel hackers.

And unlike your local airport lounge, you won’t have any trouble getting into the Daily Drop Lounge. 😉

Here’s a look at a post from this past week if you want a taste of what you’re missing:

That’s all for today, folks. Before I hop on my next flight to a super exciting destination, give me some info about you:

I hope you enjoy the rest of your Thursday, and I look forward to seeing you tomorrow to finish off the week.

Love you,

21.0278° N, 105.8342° E