How I'm using Delta SkyMiles this week

Good morning from beautiful Toronto, Ontario!

Thanks to those of you who came out to the Toronto Travel Summit this weekend. I had a lovely time meeting many of you, talking about travel, nerding out about planes, and learning with you.

I love the Daily Drop audience, and I can’t wait to keep connecting with more of you. ❤️

But this is a big week… so let’s get started:

• 🏃🏼‍♂️ Mike on the Move: I’m going nomadic

• 🍪 Tasty Travel Tidbits

• 🏨 Hyatt targeted promo (30,000 points)

🏃🏼‍♂️ Mike on the Move: I’m going nomadic

This is a crazy week for me… as you may have guessed from the headline, I’ve got some big changes happening this week.

Mainly, I’ve decided to give up my apartment and travel full-time… 😬

To kick things off, I’ve got an epic, multi-month series of trips planned out that look a little something like this:

And this map probably looks pretty crazy… because it is.

But also, this is spread out over the course of months, so I’ll actually be spending quite a bit of time in many of the countries and cities.

Last week, I told you about how I booked a safety flight and upgraded it at the last minute to enjoy a nice business-class flight to Tokyo.

The concept of booking a “safe” option and seeking last-minute business-class awards is one of the best tips in the biz.

But I’m only in Japan for a couple of days before making my way back to what has become my second home: Jakarta.

And the way I’m flying there might surprise you because I’m using… wait for it… Delta SkyMiles!

This might be shocking to hear, but SkyMiles was actually the highest-value way to get me from Tokyo to Jakarta.

You see, Delta often charges so many miles for their own flights that it’s hard to justify using SkyMiles (or “SkyPesos” as they’re affectionately called in the biz) at all.

But when you use SkyMiles for partner bookings, you can actually get some amazing value out of them.

For example, Garuda Indonesia (one of the best airlines in the world) is a member of the SkyTeam alliance and, therefore, bookable with Delta miles.

For example, this one-hour domestic flight from Jakarta to Surabaya costs 22,500 Delta SkyMiles.

Considering the flight only costs about $50, this is a pretty terrible use of SkyMiles.

But what’s interesting about this partnership is that most Garuda flights also price out at 22,500 miles, even this 8-hour flight from Tokyo Haneda to Jakarta.

In this case, I’m getting 2.2 cents per mile in value, which is pretty ridiculous for an economy flight booked with Delta miles…

For reference, this flight is LONGER than the example I showed you earlier but costs 77,500 fewer miles…

It’s just a good example of how Delta prices many partner awards the same whether they’re one hour or eight hours… If you can book flights on the longer end of that, it’s a GREAT value for your miles.

This past weekend at the Travel Summit in Toronto, I learned that 85% of all transfers from MR Points are to Delta SkyMiles, despite the amazing list of far more valuable partners…

So, I assume many of you currently have fat stacks of Delta miles or regularly use the program.

Since my job is to help you get the most out of your points…

Let me know - because I’d be happy to do a deep dive to help you stretch the value of your SkyMiles.

Anyway, stay tuned next week for a few more “off the beaten path” travel tips from my marathon journey around the world.

🍪 Tasty Travel Tidbits

• 😬 Southwest might start assigning seats…

• ✈️ Ethiopian stirs up some controversy in the Middle East

• 🏨 Hyatt proposes new tallest building in the U.S.

🏨 Hyatt targeted promo (30,000 points)

There are few things in life more exciting than getting an email from your favorite hotel program saying they want to give you free stuff.

That’s exactly what happened the other day when I received a targeted offer from Hyatt that will award me up to 30,000 Hyatt points. 😍

Although this is a targeted promotion, it looks like plenty of people are receiving it, so I’m hoping that is true for y’all.

But here is how it works:

• You must register for the promotion by June 6th

• You’ll get a 20% rebate for points you spend in the 90 days after registration

• Maximum of 30,000 points rebated

• Valid for award stays, cash + points stays, and other redemptions

As you can see, this is a SUPER generous promotion… The fact that this even works with points + cash redemptions is great, and 30,000 points is no joke.

Personally, I have plans to spend a couple of weeks at one of my favorite hotels in the world, the Alila Solo, which costs as few as 3,500 points per night. 👇

For a 2-week stay, I could spend as few as 49,000 points.

With this rebate, I’d get 9,800 points back for a total cost of just 39,200 points for a 14-night stay with free breakfast, free dinner, free spa access, etc.

This is a great example of how I’m leveraging miles and points for longer-term stays and stretching them to the limit on my new nomadic journey.

Make sure you check your Hyatt account to see if you’ve been targeted with the same promo, and enjoy those free points, baby.

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That’s all for today, folks…

I’ve got a busy couple of days planned, so I’ll be out of the office tomorrow and Wednesday… but don’t worry! You’ll be in great hands with Tiffany, and I’ll be back later in the week.

Take care and see you soon ❤️

52°22'35.4"N 52°15'17.4"W