👋 Say hello to the Kiwis with this deal

Gooood morning, weekend warriors. I dunno about you, but this is how I’m feeling…

Yes, yes. We all made it… once again. Phew.

But let’s take a look at all the happenings in the travel world from this week 👇

✅ Score 20% off Marriott hotel stays (book by Sunday!!).

✅ Take advantage of Hyatt’s double elite nights promo.

✅ Take a peek inside Brendan’s wallet (not literally, but from this week’s YouTube video 😉) to see which credit cards he uses on the regular.

✅ Bless your ears with this week’s podcast that discusses the juicy travel mistakes we’ve made along the way.

✅ Take a peek at these seven cards that currently have elevated welcome offers!

🏆 Favorite pick of the week: New Zealand Award Drop

Who doesn’t love the idea of going to New Zealand?

1. There’s plenty of sheep.

2. It’s home to the “mythical” world of Middle-earth.

3. It’s also home to the longest place name in the world—an 85-letter town. Ahem… Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu

But seriously, New Zealand is gorgeous, and we’ve got an Award Drop to get you there!

Right now, there are a handful of nonstop seats available between the U.S. and New Zealand using Aeroplan points.

And did I mention we’ve also spotted some business class deals too? 👀

There are economy seats available for 50,000 Aeroplan points and business class seats available for just 75,000 Aeroplan points!

It should be known that the majority of this availability is for April and May, so if you’re itching to get down to the southern hemisphere soon, this is a great opportunity.

If you’d like to see more examples and get additional details about this Award Drop, check out our original newsletter section.

🏃🏻‍♀️ Runner-Ups

🥇Is this the most flexible welcome offer ever?

Listen, y’all. There is a no-annual-fee card that we’re pumped up about 💪

That is, the [[ ink-business-cash-credit-card.name ]].

And it’s got a unique, super flexible welcome offer (which usually isn’t the case for most cards).

Welcome offers are typically an “all or nothing” deal. So if, for example, you aren’t able to reach the minimum spend of $4,000, $6,000, or whatever amount it is at a given time… you just lose out on all those bonus points 😭

And that is a very, very sad day.

But with the [[ ink-business-cash-credit-card.casual-card-name ]], you’ve got the option to earn a chunk of Ultimate Rewards bonus points (or cash-back) in a two-part offer.

It’s actually a really cool structure for a welcome bonus, and if you’d like to learn more about this card and why it could be a great option for you, I wrote an entire (branded!!) newsletter section that will give you all the details ❤️

🥈 United’s new seat alert feature

There are people who could care less where they sit on a plane… and then there are Type A people who will pay $100+ to pick their seat eight months ahead of time.

I very much lean towards the Type A side, and I very much enjoy a little seat-picking action.

Why?

I’m not sure. The need for control? To avoid a middle seat at all costs?

But sometimes that doesn’t work out 😩

Luckily, with United’s new “seat alert” feature, you might still get access to your desired seats… even if they’re occupied.

How this works is when booking your flights (or selecting your seats afterwards), United’s app will give you the option to choose your preferred seat—whether it’s taken or not.

If it becomes available, you’ll be notified via the app, and you’ll automatically get moved to that seat 🎉

This isn’t an uncommon occurrence given how many times people cancel, change, or upgrade on a particular route.

However, you need to know this one thing: This feature is only available to some members and I’m not sure why…?

So you’ll need to check your account to confirm whether you have these privileges or not.

Overall, this is a pretty rad new feature. I’m hoping they’ll open up this option to everyone at some point. Maybe they’re just testing the waters for now…

Either way, happy seat picking to those of you who partake 😄

📣 Quick Callouts

❌ Expired: Earn a Southwest Companion Pass from ONE FLIGHT

🥹 Feel-good: United launches new inclusivity feature for wheelchair users

😁 Interesting: Get paid to binge-watch travel movies

🏃🏼 Mike on the Move: More adventures with Hyatt

🤗 Helpful: United’s new Mileage Pooling feature

😍 Inspiring: Where in the World Wednesday: Palm Springs

🤓Trivia: Which country has the world’s smallest capital city by population?

That’s all for now, friends! I’m about to go enjoy a (surprisingly) warm and sunny spring weekend here in the PNW!

Have a lovely rest of your day, and see you next week ❤️

52°22'35.4"N 52°15'17.4"W