Embark on the best loyalty program

Good morning, my lovely friends. I hope you enjoyed your week and are ready for a little weekend refresher on all things travel.

We’re starting with… 👇

✅ Don’t wait! The elevated welcome offer on this popular cash-back card is ending on May 1 at 9:00 AM EST.

✅ New Southwest members can earn 5k bonus points when completing one round-trip flight (or two one-way flights).

✅ Earn a whopping 20x Hyatt points per dollar on select stays between June 1 and September 7.

✅ Hilton all-inclusives or Hyatt all-inclusives? We explore this question in our latest YouTube video.

✅ Lock in last-minute award deals for May travel with Singapore Airlines’ Spontaneous Escapes.

🏆 Favorite pick: Is Alaska Airlines’ program the best in the U.S.?

Alaska Airlines launched a massive overhaul to its loyalty program at the start of the year, and we are here for it.

It’s rare for any updates or overhauls in the travel world to ultimately benefit the consumer, but Alaska actually delivered on this one. 🤗

Mike wrote an entire 1,400-word newsletter detailing some of the best aspects of Alaska’s program, which include:

• New Milestone Rewards — think lounge passes, upgrade certificates, bonus miles, and more

• Elite status perks — including Oneworld Emerald status for global perks like partner airline business-class lounge access and upgrades

• Best worldwide sweet spots — both domestically and internationally

• Free stopovers on award flights — book yourself a little mini vacay before your final destination

I’ve been flying Alaska for years, but mainly because I’m based in the Pacific Northwest, where Alaska also calls home.

However… I never really paid attention to its loyalty program until recently 👀

If you want to learn more about taking advantage of one of the best loyalty programs out there, check out this newsletter.

🏃🏻‍♀️ Runner-Ups

🥇Here’s why you shouldn’t wait to apply for this card

Not to sound urgent or anything, but… it’s already the end of April. And that means summer is less than two months away. 🫨

If you haven’t thought about your summer travel plans yet, this might prompt you to overreact a bit.

But fear not, our most popular card is STILL boasting that insanely elevated offer of 100,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 in the first three months.

If you’ve been perusing the selection of travel credit cards lately, spring is the perfect time to apply in order to earn a welcome offer with plenty of time to book summer travel.

And 100,000 UR points could go a long way for you, your travel companion, or your whole family.

Need some more convincing?

• This is a super rare deal — we haven’t seen the 100,000-point offer since 2021, and we don’t know if or when we’ll see it again 👀

• You’re gaining maximal flexibility for travel thanks to this bank’s coveted list of transfer partners (like Hyatt, Virgin Atlantic, and Air Canada, to name a few)

• Program devaluations are always a threat, so you’re better off earning and burning your points sooner rather than later

🥈 Lucrative status match for $40

Do the recent (and upcoming) Southwest changes have you feeling down? Why not pivot to another budget airline instead?

Frontier is offering a limited-time status match for Southwest Rapid Rewards members to get Frontier Gold Status until the end of 2025 — you just need to pay $40 and have had a Southwest account on or before April 16.

To clarify, you do not need to hold Southwest elite status to do this — any Southwest Rapid Rewards member is eligible.

Here are the benefits of having Frontier Gold Status:

• Free carry-on bag (immediately covers the $40 fee)

• Complimentary upgrades to upfront plus seating

• Free seat assignment at booking

• Priority boarding, priority customer care, and more

So, in my opinion, while the benefits aren’t insane, they certainly outweigh the $40 status-match fee, especially if you plan to fly Frontier more than once through the end of the year.

📣 Quick Callouts

• 🤓 Travel trivia: What’s the most expensive commercial flight ticket in the world?

• 💡 Don’t forget: Have Hilton credits to use? Here’s how to take advantage of them

• ⭐️ Good to know: Our favorite hotel and airline programs for milestone rewards

• 🇱🇾 Interesting: Learn about Mike’s recent experience traveling to Libya

• 🤔 Did you know: You can get compensated for trip hiccups on Turkish Airlines

That’ll do for another week of fun and helpful travel tips. I hope you enjoyed them!

Love you, bye 😘

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