🌎 New month, new travel deals

Gooood morning, weekend warriors.

Does anyone else ever think about the sheer lawlessness of airports?

People willingly sit down for a beer at 8:00 AM, grown adults sleep on the floor, and the worst sandwich you’ve ever had in your life was a cool $17.00 😮‍💨

Thankfully, you’ve got us here to deliver the best deals, tips, and news to make your travel experience as pleasant as it can be 👇

✅ Check if you received this merchant offer for $300 off on Qatar Airways.

✅ Hilton and Lyft team up for a joint promo to earn 1,500 Hilton points.

✅ Play with your points + cash bookings to get the best value… sometimes.

✅ Buy Avios with a 25% bonus (and how this could actually work in your favor).

✅ Catch up on our latest YouTube video about how Brendan earned over one million [[ american-express-gold-card.points-program-override.points-currency ]] points (and he shares how you can, too!).

✅ Bless your ears with this week’s podcast that features a deep dive into Capital One’s Venture Miles program.

🏆 Favorite pick of the week: August’s hot top card updates

The month of July saw a lot of movement when it came to credit card offers sliding up and down our Top Card’s page.

Notable mentions, of course, include the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card for these reasons:

• It’s currently offering 75,000 bonus miles (that’s a lot)

• It’s also offering a $250 travel credit

• It comes with a low annual fee

• You can transfer points OR offset any travel purchase

It’s been at the top of the list for a couple of weeks now, and it doesn’t appear to be going anywhere 😎

Another worthy mention is the [[ american-express-gold-card.name ]] that kind of got a major revamp last week.

The annual fee increased by $75 (ugh), BUT we got two new credits worth $184… so… overall, it’s still a net positive change.

Those new credits are both for Resy (a dining reservation service) and Dunkin’ Donuts.

A little weird? But still pretty useful in my book.

I’ve personally had the [[ american-express-gold-card.casual-card-name ]] for several years because of its 4x points per dollar earning rate on dining and supermarkets.

I rack up a TON of points this way, and despite the annual fee increase, I’ll happily be keeping it for many years to come.

If you want to read a more in-depth review of all the changes to this card (and why it’s still one of the best), I typed up a whole resource you can view here 🙂 

🏃🏻‍♀️ Runner-Ups

🥇Award Drop: Emirates first class from the U.S. for 60k points

Every now and then, we see amazing award availability for some of the best seats in the sky (including Emirates).

I have personally flown in the prestigious Emirates business class, but I’ve yet to fly in Emirates FIRST CLASS.

No doubt, it’ll cost you A LOT of points to do so, except… when it doesn’t 😏

If you want to enjoy this luxurious seat and experience it for fewer points, consider a shorter itinerary on one of Emirates’ fifth-freedom routes.

In this case, you could spend four hours flying from Miami to Bogota, Colombia, in first class for just 60,000 miles!

Plus, availability is WIDE open through June 2025 🤯

If this interests you at all (or you’ve actually been planning a trip to Colombia), check out our original newsletter that’ll walk you through more available dates, how to get a bunch of Emirates miles, and how to book this amazing seat!

🥈 Limited-time offer with the new, all-inclusive Marriott Cancun

Marriott has launched a new (and gorgeous) all-inclusive resort in Cancun, Mexico!

And I’m fully aware that all-inclusive resorts to this level are certainly not a budget traveler’s best friend; however…

Marriott is offering guests 20% off cash bookings plus a $50 spa credit as part of its grand opening!

Here’s how to score that discount:

• You must book your stay between now and August 30, 2024, for travel through January 11, 2025

• Use promo code S6058 to get 20% off cash bookings

It’s as easy as that!

If you’ve been craving a vacay to an all-inclusive resort, this feels like a great opportunity to save some cash (around $100 a night!) by taking advantage of Marriott Cancun’s grand opening offer.

📣 Quick Callouts

• ❌ Expired: Bring a second sailor for free on Virgin Voyages (Bilt Rent Day Promo)

• ❌ Expired: Earn an easy 25k Marriott points

• 🏃‍♂️ Mike on the move: Aeroplan Priority Reward and 6 cents per point at Hyatt

• 🤓 Travel trivia: Which hotel brand topped the luxury category in the latest North American Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index?

That’s all for this week! I hope you have a fabulous first weekend in AUGUST ☀️

See you next time,

52°22'35.4"N 52°15'17.4"W