Sweet Spot: Stopover Edition

Good morning from beautiful Dublin, Ireland!

I’m going to be enjoying the sights here for a few days before taking a very special flight back to the States this weekend.

Speaking of very special things, here’s a very special newsletter just for you:

• ✈️ Sweet spot highlight: 5k stopovers

• 🌎 Sponsored by Brad’s Deals

• 🏨 How to save money on Hilton

✈️ Sweet spot highlight: 5k stopovers

There’s one travel trip that I use ALL the time and never gets old. I’m talking about using Aeroplan points to book a stopover for just 5,000 points.

Now there are some pretty complex ways you can use this benefit… But I’m going to start with a simple example I used recently, then follow it up with a crazier example.

Last year, I flew from Abu Dhabi to Cairo. A few days later, I flew from Cairo to Madrid. Normally, these two flights would cost 37,500 Aeroplan points.

Instead, I booked a flight from Abu Dhabi to Madrid but added a stopover in Cairo for five days for a total flight price of just 30,000 points.

Let me explain…

A one-way flight from Abu Dhabi (AUH) to Madrid (MAD) is about 3,500 miles. According to Aeroplan’s award chart (below), this flight should cost 25,000 points one-way.

But because of the stopover program, we can add a city between those two cities for an extra 5,000 points, which is why the price comes out to 30,000 points instead of 37,500.

Obviously, the savings get more drastic if you use this feature on more flights that cover longer distances.

To make things even better, you can include up to three stopovers on a single itinerary, and each stopover can last up to 45 days.

So you could book this flight from Nashville (BNA) to Istanbul (IST) with a five-day stopover in Frankfurt, Germany (FRA) for just 45,000 Aeroplan points in economy or just 75,000 in business.

Then, you could use the same tactic and fly from Istanbul to Newark (EWR) but spend another five days in Cairo (CAI) in between.

That whole return itinerary will only cost you 60,000 Aeroplan points, thanks to the stopover rules:

In total, you’d spend just 105,000 Aeroplan points to fly from the U.S. to Germany, Turkey, and Egypt and spend up to 45 days in each spot.

Oh, and if you want to earn 105,000 Aeroplan points, it’s easy.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has a sweet offer: Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

After that $5,000 of spend, you’ll have at least 105,000 points total, which you can just transfer to Aeroplan instantly and book a one-in-a-lifetime trip around the world.

So here’s the bottom line:

Aeroplan’s stopover policy is one of the best sweet spots in the points and miles world.

Because Aeroplan has over 50 airline partners globally, you have no shortage of ways to use this perk to fly to just about any corner of the world.

🏨 How to save money on Hilton

Generally speaking, the best way to play the points and miles game is by racking up points from amazing welcome offers and earning them from your everyday spend.

That’s what makes it feel the most “free.”

But there are plenty of ways to skin this cat (sorry, Tiffany). In fact, one of the best ways to get solid value from points is by buying them and redeeming them for more than what you paid.

Right now, you can buy Hilton points with a 100% bonus, which allows you to do just that.

This deal is good until May 29th, and allows you to buy points for as little as half a cent each.

For the right hotel, this could mean saving a ton of money. For example, check out these hotels in Panama City, both of which cost 40,000 Hilton points per night:

The same hotels on the same night also cost well over $200. After taxes, the Waldorf Astoria actually costs a whopping $318 per night.

Instead of paying $318, you could just buy 40,000 Hilton points for a total of $200, saving yourself $118 per night.

If you do this for a multi-night stay, you can imagine how the savings start to add up…

But don’t forget that Hilton also offers every fifth night free when you use points… 👀

So, in the case of that same hotel, a five-night stay would cost $1,590. Instead, you could book the same five nights by buying 160,000 Hilton points, which only costs $800.

In this case, you’re saving $790 by simply being strategic about how you book your hotel stays.

Anyway, if you’re a Hilton loyalist or just have some upcoming trips, run the numbers as I did. If buying points can put you ahead, then go ahead and buy them!

That’s all for today, folks. There’s nothing better than saving some money on hotels AND flights, am I right?

But I want to know something…

Take care, and see you tomorrow to finish off the week. ❤️

53.3498° N, 6.2603° W