✈️ New business-class deals to Europe

Estimated read time: 5 minutes and 22 seconds

Good morning from Mudanjiang – a small city in one of the least-visited regions of China (and the world).

I’ve been off for the last four days, and a LOT has happened that I need to catch you up on:

• 🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday

• ✈️ Flying Blue Promo Rewards (July)

• 🏨 Insanely easy hotel status

• 🍋 Your new summer situationship

• 🌎 Travel Trivia Reveal

🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday

✈️ Flying Blue Promo Rewards (July)

Flying Blue is back with its latest round of Promo Rewards. And I gotta say, it’s the most exciting batch of deals we’ve seen in a VERY long time.

As a quick refresher, Flying Blue is the points program of KLM and Air France. Every month, they offer discounted flights between the U.S. and Europe.

This month, those awards include economy class, premium economy, and even business class.

The economy awards will cost you 18,750 Flying Blue miles, and are valid between Europe and the following U.S. cities:

• Denver (DEN)

• Raleigh/Durham (RDU)

• Portland (PDX)

• Miami (MIA)

That’s a shorter list than usual… but that’s because we also have the following routes available in premium economy for just 30,000 miles:

• Chicago (ORD)

• Los Angeles (LAX)

And finally… the ultimate deal is business class between New York City and Europe, which will cost just 45,000 miles – something we don’t see very often.

How to book these deals

To take advantage of the prices and routes I just mentioned, you’ll need to book your flights by the end of July, though travel can take place through the end of this year (December 31).

Flying Blue miles are actually the easiest miles to get for Americans, as you can transfer points from every major bank, and even some not-so-major programs.

That list includes:

• MR points

• UR points

• Capital One miles

• ThankYou points

• Bilt Rewards

• Wells Fargo Rewards

• Rove Miles

Is this a good deal?

The short answer? Yes.

There are definitely better deals to be found, but none that are as widely available as Flying Blue’s Promo Rewards.

If you have a trip where these awards would be useful, I think transferring points to Flying Blue and booking it is a great way to use them.

Just make sure you book by the end of the month!

🏨 Insanely easy hotel status

If you hold this premium credit card, there’s a new perk you’ll want to jump on: a free upgrade to Marriott Gold Elite status – no strings attached (for three months, at least).

This is a promotion we saw last year as a “one-time” situation… so I’m glad to see they’ve brought it back for a second year.

How it works

Register by September 30, and you’ll receive three months of complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status.

And if you stay three paid nights at Marriott hotels within that three-month window, your Gold status will be extended through February 2028.

That means you could technically wait until September to register, then knock out your three qualifying nights later this fall or even in December – and still lock in elite benefits like enhanced room upgrades, late checkout, and bonus points for over a year.

How to access it

Log in to your account for the card in question and select “card benefits.” You’ll see the Marriott deal on that page, which you’ll need to activate:

There are a few fine-print details to keep in mind:

• Nights must be paid to extend your status

• You must book directly through Marriott (third-party sites like Expedia, Hotels.com, or even some credit card portals won’t qualify)

• You can’t already have Gold or higher status

There are a number of co-branded cards that already offer this status, but it’s nice to have yet another awesome travel benefit packed into just one card.

Honestly, holding this card has been a rollercoaster for me…

For one, the annual fee is insanely high, which made me want to cancel.

But at the same time, the perks and benefits just make it impossible to part ways with, especially when it keeps getting little improvements like this Marriott status fast track.

The other benefits I really value are:

• The annual travel credit (for literally ANY travel)

• $500 of credits for The Edit (which I actually got good value from)

• Excellent trip insurance (which saved me over $1,000 last year)

• Generous UR points earnings on flights and hotels

Anyway, if you’re thinking of getting the card, it’s got a respectable welcome offer of 100,000 UR points after spending $6,000 in the first three months, which only sweetens the pot of benefits.

🌎 Travel Trivia Reveal

A few minutes ago, we asked you which U.S. airport ranked the highest…

If you guessed Portland Airport, you were spot on! ✈️

AirHelp ranks airlines and airports worldwide, looking at on-time performance, passenger experience, and facilities to tabulate a single, easy-to-understand score on a 10-point scale.

The Portland Airport (PDX) topped the list for best US airports in 2026 and ranked 18th overall internationally.

Widely loved by travelers, the airport was renovated in 2024 to bring the great outdoors indoors, giving passengers a taste of what Oregon has to offer.

Travelers are greeted by over 70 large trees, thousands of live plants, and a wooden slat ceiling, making one feel as if they’ve been transported straight into Mother Nature, which also helps organically reduce travel stress.

Any remaining pre-flight jitters and high stress are no match for the animal-assisted therapy program PDX offers, with therapy dogs, llamas, and alpacas.

PDX is serving up a taste of Oregon as well, with a bevy of coffee and local dining options — available before security — plus local taps and its not-so-secret cocktail lounge.

Though personally, I’d be staking out Tillamook Market for a scoop of their delicious ice cream pre-flight.🍦

Easily accessible by car, bike paths and a MAX light rail line, PDX is one of the best-connected airports in the US.

So if a West Coast adventure is on your radar, look for flights through PDX for a taste of all the local highlights this airport has to offer.

That’s all for this Tuesday, folks! I hope you enjoyed today’s deals and trivia.

Make sure you tune in tomorrow for even more points and miles news.

See ya,

44.6000° N, 129.5833° E

With contributions by Sam Anthony, Katie Begnoche, Alison Carrico, McKay Moffitt, and April Wilson.