✈️ Get elite status for $40

This site is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as Bankrate.com. This may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers.

Estimated read time: 5 minutes and 17 seconds

Good morning from Larnaca, Cyprus — a city known for… well… being near a big airport. 🤷🏼‍♂️

I’ve got another flight to catch, so let’s get on with it:

• ✈️ New U.S. status match

• 🏨 How to use your Hilton credits

• 🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday

✈️ New U.S. status match

Everyone and their uncle have been offering status matches recently, capitalizing on Southwest completely shitting the bed, so to speak, with all of their negative changes.

For Southwest fliers looking for a budget airline to get invested in, I’ve got good news — Frontier has joined in and is offering a new solid “status match” for salty Southwest flyers.

Here’s how it works:

If you are a Southwest Rapid Rewards member, you can pay a $40 fee and get Frontier Gold Status until the end of 2025.

To be clear, you do not need elite status with Southwest to take advantage of this, which is AWESOME.

Frontier Gold comes with some pretty tasty benefits:

Honestly, I’d recommend signing up for this even if you only have one flight planned on Frontier this year.

That $40 fee would pay for itself with one checked bag or an extra carry-on, let alone all the other benefits, especially on multiple flights over the next eight months.

For example, I picked a random cheap flight, and here are the prices for carry-on and checked bags:

On a flight like this, the $40 status match fee would already be covered if you needed one carry-on and one checked bag.

The one major caveat to this is that you can’t create a Southwest account now and then get this offer…

The terms state that you must have already had a Southwest Rapid Rewards account on or before April 16th.

Still, I think this is a great opportunity to get some outsize value and give Frontier a try.

🏨 How to use your Hilton credits

There’s one card that really punches above its weight for me in terms of value… and it might come as a surprise to some of you.

I’m talking about Hilton’s most premium co-branded card, the [[ hilton-honors-american-express-aspire-card.name ]] (which currently has an elevated welcome offer).

Here’s what I love about it:

It grants you Hilton Diamond status, which includes complimentary breakfast, late checkout, suite upgrades, bonus points, and additional benefits.

And while the [[ hilton-honors-american-express-aspire-card.name ]] has a fairly hefty annual fee, the credits it offers are both simple and easily offset that fee.

Here are the two main perks that I love:

• $200 of annual flight credits to use toward ANY airline ($50 quarterly)

• $400 of Hilton resort credits ($200 semi-annually)

Simple-ass, easy-to-use travel credits. We love it. 😍

While those resort credits might seem restrictive at first (you can only use them at resort properties), the list of what Hilton considers a “resort” is massive.

For example, two years ago, I used one of those credits at this hotel in Giza, Egypt:

It’s just minutes from the famous pyramids and is considered a resort. And it’s even got a gold course if you’re into that kind of thing.

At a little over $100 per night, I got two nights here and only spent about $50 out of pocket.

Later this year, I’ll be using one of those $200 resort credits at this property in Penang, Malaysia, which costs around $60 per night.

So again, I’m getting three free nights from this twice-annual credit.

Hilton also has dozens of resort properties in China where you could probably stretch it even further…

Now let’s talk about those flight credits.

Every quarter, the [[ hilton-honors-american-express-aspire-card.casual-card-name ]] gives you $50 to use toward flights with ANY AIRLINE IN THE WORLD.

As long as you are booking directly on the airline’s website, the credit will trigger. It’s awesome.

I use this all the time for booking really cheap flights, so that there’s no opportunity cost to using my Hilton card over a card that earns more points on travel.

In fact, I used this credit to shave $50 off the flight I’m about to take today:

Finally, the [[ hilton-honors-american-express-aspire-card.name ]] offers an annual Free Night Award (FNA).

And unlike most hotel cards, this free night will hit your account just a month or two after you apply for the card (or switch to it from a different Hilton card).

This alone could pay for that $550 annual fee if you use it right.

For example, I used my FNA last year to book this luxury villa in Qatar for an overnight layover, which normally costs $2,000 per night.

Honestly, I fly through Qatar so often that I’ll probably use this award for the exact same hotel this year…

Anyway, I think the [[ hilton-honors-american-express-aspire-card.name ]] is an underrated card.

Even if you travel only a few times a year and stay a handful of nights at hotels, this card is worth considering due to the significant value you can get from it.

🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday

And the correct answer is… Etihad’s The Residence from New York to Abu Dhabi for a teeny tiny $38,000!

Yep, this is the most expensive commercial flight you can book, and it's not even technically First Class. 

The Residence is a full-blown suite with a living room, private bathroom (with a freaking shower), and an actual bedroom with a queen-size bed. 🤯

Oh, and there’s a legit personal butler, because… why not?

This 12.5-hour flight will set you back over $38,000, but it includes a chauffeur to the airport, onboard fine dining, and more space than most New York apartments 🫠

You might remember when our two fave travel peeps flew this exact route and documented the whole thing!

That said, people have used points and miles to book this flight. 

It takes a massive stash and a bit of luck, but it’s not totally out of reach.

Curious what $38k in the sky looks like? Go watch that cabin tour. Just… don’t blame me if you start rethinking your next economy booking.

Have you dropped by the Daily Drop Lounge? It’s our exclusive Facebook community where you can ask questions, learn from others, and share your own travel wins…

Just like this one 👇

That’s all for today, folks! I hope you enjoyed this epic flight deal and some tips for getting value from one of my favorite hotel credit cards.

Take care, have a great day, and I’ll see you tomorrow.

Auf Wiedersehen,

34.9182° N, 33.6201° E

Opinions expressed here are author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within this post.