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- š³ Points Whales: How to use a HUGE stash of miles
š³ Points Whales: How to use a HUGE stash of miles
Plus, there's and easy way to get two free nights after staying three nights with this "meh" hotel chain.
Estimated read time: 3 minutes and 56 seconds
š Uber has rolled out a new feature to earn Flying Blue miles on rides taken in France and the Netherlands, with the possiblity of expanding the partnership in the future. Check out the deets here.
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Gooood morning and welcome back to Daily Drop. Weāre that crush your friend keeps telling you about.
Donāt be afraid to get to know us. I'll start:
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š³ Points Whales: How to use 350,000 JetBlue points
Okay, this should be a fun oneā¦
I got a message the other day from someone who is sitting on a whopping 350,000 JetBlue points.
In the biz, we call this a āpoints whale.ā Or at least thatās what Iāve decided to call such a creature.
Today, Iām going to break down the best ways to use JetBlue points for someone who is sitting on a huge balance.
![A whale graphic with gold coins above its spout](https://media.beehiiv.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80/uploads/asset/file/c12530cb-9276-4b38-b171-4a521f839b8f/points-whales-how-to-use-a-huge-stash-of-miles.jpg?t=1721328262)
JetBlue TrueBlue points, while not the most valuable or flexible, have two amazing uses:
JetBlue Mint business class
Qatar Qsuites
So, naturally, those are going to be the best ways to use them.
Most people would struggle to rack up enough JetBlue points for these types of flights, but not a points whale. š³
For example, you can book Qatar Qsuites from the U.S. to the Middle East for 79,000 JetBlue points.
While this isnāt as good as the 70,000-point price of using American Airlines or Avios to book, there is one huge benefit:
JetBlue generally has more award availability than other Qatar partners.
While youāll pay a few extra points, youāll have a MUCH easier time finding seats.
Plus, with 350,000 points, you could book a few round-trips in the best business-class seat in the world, which is freaking awesome.
![Qatar Qsuites photo](https://media.beehiiv.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80/uploads/asset/file/e2eecfd6-1710-48bb-96e1-a1e01a76c9fc/6620f64bc26b45c1144505dd_65f8182873e82501de9443a9_IMG_1423.jpeg?t=1721269218)
But if you donāt want to travel that far, JetBlue itself ALSO has one of the best business-class seats in the sky, which they call āMint.ā
Mint seats are very private lie-flat beds, all of which have direct aisle access.
Unfortunately, JetBlue charges an arm and a leg to fly this seat with their own points (while you can use Qatar Avios to fly it for much less).
However, on some of their shorter flights that have Mint seats, you can try it out for far fewer points.
For example, you can fly from Boston to Aruba in JetBlue Mint for 91,000 TrueBlue points.
Thatās a huge chunk of your stash, but if youāre sitting on 350k points, maybe treat yourself a little. š¤·š¼āāļø
And that brings me to the last excellent way to use these points:
Flying economyā¦ a LOT.
While JetBlue charges well over 100,000 points to fly in business class to Europe, you can fly economy from Boston to Dublin for a super reasonable 26,000 points.
Alternatively, you can fly economy around the U.S. for as few as 6,000 points one-way.
If JetBlue is offering a sale (which they do fairly often), that number can be even lower.
So hereās the bottom line:
JetBlue points arenāt the best currency to have a huge stash ofā¦
Still, there are a couple of solid uses, including flying in the worldās best business-class seat.
Considering their reasonable rates for economy flights on JetBlue itself, you shouldnāt have a problem stretching your stash pretty far.
Before we go, I want to ask a question:
Do you have a big stash of points in ONE single currency?If so, tell me which currency and how many points! |
Iāll pick some of your answers to the above poll to use in a future newsletter!
And if others want to get in on the JetBlue fun, donāt forget that you can transfer points to JetBlue from the following programs:
See you all in the next episode of Points Whales. š
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šØ A great deal fromā¦ Best Western
Best Western is the black sheep of the hotel loyalty world in the sense thatā¦ to be frankā¦ we just donāt really like them very much.
But once in a while, they offer some sweet deals that allow us to spend less money, maximize our earnings, and book even more free nights.
Thatās exactly whatās happening right now with their current promotion to earn 20,000 bonus points.
Here are the deets:
For every three nights you book with Best Western, youāll get 10,000 bonus points.
Aaaaaaaaaand the fine print:
This only applies to hotels in the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean
You must register for the offer
Valid for paid stays through September 2nd, 2024
Maximum of 20,000 bonus points (six nights stayed)
Overall, this is a great deal, and Iāll tell you why.
Best Western consists mostly of budget properties. So booking paid stays is a great way to save money.
The fact that youāll get a solid chunk of points in exchange for spending less money is a no-brainer.
For example, this Best Western in Anaheim, California, only costs $67 per night.
Not bad for a hotel anywhere in the greater L.A. area, to be honestā¦ š
But also, just three nights will earn you the following points:
2,010 points for being a BW member (10x per dollar)
10,000 bonus points
Those 12,000 points can get you further than you might think, too.
For example, Iāve been eyeing a trip to Myanmar, where, surprisingly, Best Western is the only major hotel program that has properties.
Better yet, thereās one that only costs 5,000 points per night. š
That means my three cheap paid nights in the U.S. get me another two free nights elsewhere in the world.
Not bad, am I right?
So hereās the bottom line:
Best Western isnāt the sexiest hotel program out thereā¦ but when they offer ways to save money on cheap stays and earn a ton of extra points in the process, it can be well worth considering.
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Current Transfer Bonuses
15% bonus from ThankYou Points to Cathay Pacific (ends July 20th)
20% bonus from [[ ink-business-preferred-credit-card.points-program-override.points-currency ]] to Aeroplan (ends July 31st)
80% bonus from [[ ink-business-preferred-credit-card.points-program-override.points-currency ]] to IHG One Rewards (ends July 31st)
PLUS, there are 13 cards with elevated offers right now!
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Have you stopped by to check out the Daily Drop Lounge yet? Itās our online community space where you can ask any and all travel questions or share your own travel wins! š
How cool is that!? Itās trueā¦ it never hurts to ask š
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Thatās all for this week, folks!
Please fill out the poll in the first section of the newsletter so I can give you some tips for stretching the value of your stashes of points.
But for now, have a great weekend, and Iāll see you soon.
Love you ā¤ļø