Why you should "earn and burn" your points

Good morning and welcome back to Daily Drop, the Cracker Jacks of newsletters - more delicious with every bite. And sometimes, there’s even an extra surprise involved 😉

Here’s what we’ve got for you today:

• 🔥Why you should “earn and burn” your points

• 🍪 Tasty Travel Tidbits

• 🌎 Where in the World Wednesday

🔥Why you should “earn and burn” your points

I have a problem.

Well, in reality, I have MANY problems. Like a crippling fear of loneliness, an affinity for fast food, and an unquenchable thirst to understand what the hell the universe is.

Since my therapist is paid handsomely to address those, let’s focus on a different issue: hoarding points and miles.

This is something that I’m personally guilty of at times, as indicated by my Marriott Bonvoy account… 😬

And while this problem would make for the most boring episode of Hoarders ever made, hoarding points and miles can be problematic, and I’ll tell you why.

As we’ve seen time after time, points almost never increase in value. Rather, they tend to devalue over time.

Even as recently as yesterday, I told you about Southwest devaluing their points in 2024.

A couple of weeks ago, Flying Blue increased the cost of their transatlantic economy award flights by 33%. 👇

And these are just a couple of examples of MANY…

The reality is that while you’re hoarding your points, they are becoming less valuable over time, and you’re leaving a lot of potential travel on the table as a result.

And I’m guilty of exactly this… I have this irrational fear in my mind that I’m going to run out of points one day, I’ll never travel again, and my life as I know it will be over.

Like I said - I got some issues, man.

So I work really hard to keep building up my points balances even though I am now earning them at faster rates than I can use them.

What I SHOULD be doing, however, is what we in the biz call “Earning and Burning” my points.

The concept is simple:

Earn enough points for your next flight/hotel/trip, then use your points to book said flight/hotel/trip.

Then, simply rinse and repeat.

This method accomplishes a few different things:

1. You lower the risk of your points decreasing in value. If a given points currency DOES devalue, you can simply choose to earn a different type of currency for your next trip rather than being stuck with less valuable points.

2. It eliminates a lot of decision fatigue and stress around booking travel. I know for me personally, I have a really hard time deciding how to use my points. Because I have these huge balances, there is ALWAYS another potentially better option. Sometimes, I am so tentative to pull the trigger because of this that I end up missing out on good deals.

3. It leads to booking more interesting and unique experiences. If my goal is to burn down the stash of points, I’m not focused on conserving points. So, instead of the dirt-cheap economy flights, I’ll be booking business-class flights and luxury hotels, which always end up being a ton of fun and making for memorable travel experiences.

Of course, there are benefits to having larger points balances, too.

If you’re someone who travels spontaneously and/or more frequently than the average person, you might NEED to have some points available to book travel on the fly.

Additionally, I’ve told you that I’m a proponent of speculative point transfers, too - especially when there’s a large bonus opportunity, like the one to Hilton that I told you about yesterday.

Of course, doing this inherently leaves you with a balance of points in a program that you might not be using immediately.

So here’s the bottom line:

We’re seeing tons of devaluations, and we will continue to see more and more of them.

“Earning and burning” your points is a great way to shield yourself from these devaluations to a degree.

Still, there are situations where the risk of a potential devaluation can be worth it, like in the case of a good transfer bonus.

🍪 Tasty Travel Tidbits

• ✈️ Emirates drops some info on their new premium seats

• 🤦‍♂️ Oh god… A famous gospel singer almost got kicked off of a Delta flight

• 🏨 Marriott *might* actually have a secret award chart

🌎 Where in the World Wednesday

If you fancy a travel splurge, FareDrop has you covered today because… we’re headed to Barcelona in business class! 🇪🇸

I know for a fact that I’ve (unfortunately) spent more than $1200 roundtrip to fly to Europe in economy before.

But to see a business class flight come down from over $3,000 to this price is pretty sweet 🤯

Plus, this deal is currently good out of San Francisco, LAX, JFK, and Miami… so you’ve got options.

But ah, yes, Barcelona…. A city like a sizzling paella of culture, architecture, and just cool vibes.

If the thought of a giant bowl of sangria hasn’t lured you in, consider also tapas upon tapas upon tapas… and churros dipped in chocolate 🤤

It’s definitely a “bring your stretchy pants” type of city.

But beyond the food, you’ve also got miles of sandy coastlines for all you beach bums.

And the architecture. Whoa.

Gaudi’s influence can be seen all over the city, but particularly with the famous Sagrada Familia (which still isn’t done), and the Park Güell.

To describe Gaudi’s work is like imagining you’re tripping on acid inside of Willy Wonka’s factory.

Instead of looking up and admiring ornately carved gargoyles hanging from the side of a cathedral… you see a massive strawberry perched on its pedestal.

Honestly, it’s very cool and expressive. But quite weird. That’s why we travel though, right?

If you do decide to jump on this killer FareDrop deal, also consider using Cherry to book a discounted accommodation!

I personally have the browser extension downloaded, so no matter where I search, it’s always running in the background to find me the best deals 🎉

So if you haven’t signed up yet to get flight deals sent straight to your inbox, what are you waiting for?! 👇

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That’s all for today, folks! I hope you enjoyed today’s newsletter as much as I enjoyed writing it for you all.

Have you ever been guilty of hoarding points? Have you ever been the victim of a program devaluation? Let me know by replying to this email or reaching out on social media.

Take care and have a lovely day ❤️

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