✈️ Free flight, you said?

Aaaaand, happy weekend to you. 😘

It is finally… and I mean FINALLY warming up here in New York.

The sunscreen has already been snatched from the top of the closet… and the vibes are very much:

In the spirit of preparing for hot girl summer, here are some hot travel happenings. 🌞 

🎯 See if you’re targeted to earn up to 25k AAdvantage miles on flights between the U.S. and Australia or New Zealand (and book by May 31!).

👀 See how Mike scored 225k points with Marriott’s recent promo. 

🤝 Transfer Capital One miles to Qantas with a 20% bonus through May 31.

📝 Walk through Mike’s flight-booking process from start to finish.

❓Even the pros make mistakes, and here’s what you can learn from them.

🏆 Our Favorite Pick: How a $100 deposit could turn into a free flight

Want to hear a fun fact? 

Throughout the year, I randomly leave $5 bills in places I know I’ll find later. 

And it’s… ✨ the best feeling ever. ✨

Imagine that feeling, but instead of finding cold hard cash, you find yourself in a (free) airplane seat. 

Enter: shopping portals.

AKA… one of the easiest ways to earn extra points with very little effort.

And today, the spotlight is on our good friends over at Rakuten.

If you open a new SoFi Active Investing account through Rakuten and fund it with at least $100, you can earn $100 cash back.

But how do I turn that into a flight?

If you’ve linked your MR points-earning card account to Rakuten,  you can choose to earn 10,000 MR points instead of cash back.

That’s enough for some pretty sweet redemptions.

For example, you could transfer those points to Qatar Airways Privilege Club and book an American Airlines domestic flight for as few as 9,500 Avios. 👇

In other words, a $100 deposit could turn into a flight that might otherwise cost a couple of hundred dollars.

Or, if you’d rather keep things simple, you could transfer those points to Air France-KLM Flying Blue, where I’ve regularly seen domestic Delta Air Lines flights priced under 10,000 miles.

Take this one, for example: Atlanta (ATL) to Miami (MIA) for just 7,500 miles… and this is right before the Fourth of July weekend. 🦅 

In other words, this one little portal offer could easily cover a holiday flight home, a weekend getaway, or a quick visit to family.

Not bad for about 10 minutes of effort. 🤷‍♀️

A few quick notes:

• You need to fund the account with at least $100 within 45 days.

• You can keep the investment if you want, or withdraw the money later.

• To earn MR points, you need to already have an eligible card and link it to Rakuten.

While we’re not here trying to play “financial advisor,” Mike and I both deposited $100 to earn a free flight because… YOLO (do people still say that?).

If you’ve been looking for one of the easiest ways to earn a solid stash of points, this is a good one, friendos.

✈️ Extra, extra: Should you ever buy airline miles?

Usually, no.

But if you have a specific redemption in mind, the math can sometimes work in your favor.

Right now, Lufthansa Miles & More is offering a record-high bonus on purchased mileage bundles through May 31.

And because some short flights within Europe cost as few as 435 miles, a small purchase could potentially save you hundreds. 👇

Our rule of thumb is simple: Never buy miles just because they’re on sale. Buy them only when you know exactly how you’ll use them. ❤️

And should you buy them right now? This little breakdown should help you decide.

🌍 Week in Review

• Monday: 💳 Three weird transfer bonuses

• Tuesday: ✈️ How to get a free, easy domestic flight

• Wednesday: 🤘 How I earned 225k points from one promo

• Thursday: 🤓 Some annoying (but useful) points math

• Friday: ✈️ My approach to booking flights

And with that, I bid you adieu. 😌

Have a very merry weekend, and I’ll see you next time!

Byeeeeee,

40°39'41.4"N 73°56'22.0"W

With contributions by Mike Dodge