Goooood moooorning, Weekend Round-Up Warriors!

And to anyone who doesn’t read the Weekend Round-Up… well, their morning can’t possibly be as good, then can it?

Admittedly, caffeine is probably doing a lot of the heavy lifting on my end. 😬

But also, starting your day off with points and miles highlights from the week has GOT to put a spring in your step.

Unless you’re me and very sad about a points-and-miles strikeout I had this week, in that case… don’t be me. 😔

But more on that below. 👇

First, though, the highlights and a new flight deal widget for some weekend travel inspo! ✨

✈️ Your favorite points and miles game: United Mile Play is back, baby!

🏨 Free night? This Hyatt promo rewards 3-night stays in Latin America or the Caribbean.

💙 Paging Delta lovers, this loophole —while tedious — could help buy you elite status.

✈️ Ooh boy, a 40% transfer bonus to Turkish Airlines just dropped.

📊 Survey says… y’all don’t care for credit card lounge access either.

🎥 Watch the Points Pursuit contestants reunite to rehash the competition and discuss BTS.

🏆 Our Favorite Pick: A hard learned lesson

I’m big time sad, y’all.

Wanna know why? I hope so, because I’m going to tell you anyways.

But before I get to why I’m sad, I have to tell you about some things that happened this week.

Thing #1: There's a 30% transfer bonus to Avios

If you’ve got a stash of MR points you’ve been sitting on, the time is here to put those little gems to good use.

Avios is the shared currency of British Airways, Qatar Airways, Finnair, Aer Lingus, Iberia and couple other smaller loyalty programs.

That means that even though this bonus is technically just from MR points to British Airways, Iberia, and Aer Lingus, once you transfer your points to one of those programs, you can move them freely between ALL the Avios loyalty programs.

So your MR points can become Qatar Airways Avios or Finnair Avios and thus the transfer bonus can help you save on award flights on those airlines too.

That’s Avios magic. 🪄

You can use Avios to book Qsuites, one of the best business class products in the world.

Mike is a big time Avios fan and uses them frequently in his own travel. Just last week, he shared an Avios sweet spot for getting to Hawaii.

In short, they’re really useful and it definitely pays to have some.

Thing #2: There’s a Daily Drop Pro biz class deal I really want to use

I got a Daily Drop Pro email alert earlier this week for a business class flight from Dallas, Texas to Madrid, Spain for 51,000 Avios.

First of all, I’ve been trying to get back to Spain since I ate my last bite of patatas bravas.

Secondly, the deal had availability for next summer, for when I’m planning a big trip.

Third, it was lie-flat business class from TEXAS... meaning I wasn’t going to have to re-position to the East Coast. 🎉

Annnnd, with the aforementioned 30% transfer bonus that 51,000 Avios price tag, becomes just ~39,231 Avios (you’d have to round up to 40,000 as you can only transfer in increments of 1,000). For business class. From the Central Time zone.

Y'all! The stars have aligned, this is the deal I have been WAITING for. 👏

So why the long face?

The reason I’m sad: I don’t have enough MR points

I’m tapped. I don’t have enough MR points to hire a rowboat to get me to Spain, let alone book a business class flight. 😭

I’ve been focused on accumulating UR points, chugging away earning those little guys —cause I’m a Hyatt girlie – that I forgot a key part of using points and miles.

Flexibility.

We talk about flexibility when it comes to shifting your travel dates and being willing to reposition to better airports.

But the biggest way you can be flexible? By differentiating the points balances you have access to.

By holding cards with different currencies (UR points, MR points, Bilt Points, Capital One Miles, etc.) you aren’t left out in the cold when transfer bonuses like this come along.

I’m learning that lesson the hard way this time and that is why I’m sad. 😔

So, it’s time to dust off my card that earns MR points, treat myself to a little chocolate snacky to cheer myself up, and get back in the saddle.

Cause I’ve got points to earn. 🫡

👀 This Week’s Must-Reads

🌍 Week in Review

• Monday: 😌 The easiest United miles I’ve ever earned

• Tuesday: ✈️ 12 hours in business class for 46k points

• Wednesday: ✈️ Yay! My favorite transfer bonus is back

• Thursday: ✈️ How to buy Delta elite status

• Friday: ✈️ Fly to Japan for 27k points

I hope some of y’all can put that Avios transfer bonus to good use!

As for the rest of us… well we’ll just pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and wait for the next one to come our way.

Cause there’s always another one. 😉

Til next weekend!

29.7499° N , 95.3584° W

With contributions by Mike Dodge and Sam Anthony.