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🤙🏿 Welcome back to the Better Than Points Newsletter - the premier place for all things Credit Card Points News and Travel

My name’s Luis and I’m the one writing this (hit me up here!)

I woke up this morning to a crazy statistic: Delta has canceled over 5,400 flights since last week! 🤯 That's more than the combined total for 2018 and 2019. Yikes! If you're flying Delta later this weekend, don't worry – we've got your back with some tips to navigate the chaos. Now Let's dive in!

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Here are 3 headlines, 2 hacks, and 1 question answered this week…

3 Headlines

One.

Avianca Lifemiles on sale for up to 160% Bonus (LINK)

While I'd rather earn miles than buy them, LifeMiles is having a promotion on purchasing miles, and it's a great option if you have a trip planned but don't have the miles to take it. The best bonus of 160% starts after you buy at least 41,000 miles in one transaction. I can sense your hesitation, so watch this and see how paying $1,600 can help you get a $3,300 flight. I suggest having a flight in mind and finding availability on Avianca's website before going out and purchasing the miles.

Two.

Air France/KLM Flying Blue August Promo (LINK)

Every month, Flying Blue releases promo reward fares at a discounted rate at the beginning of the month. Some interesting fares include Houston, Boston, and Detroit to Europe for 15,000 miles one-way. A special one to note is Atlanta to Nairobi starting at 26,250 miles, something that might be a first given that neither destination is in Europe. Check out more info here since you can book out to January 2025.

Three. 

New Month New Transfer Bonuses

Some eye-catching transfer bonuses dropped today, like the Citi 25% Flying Blue bonus and the Amex 30% British Airways Bonus. This is a good reminder that although the bonus might look good – talking about the Chase 70% Marriott Bonus – you have to run the numbers and see if it actually is. Like this. Also, don't transfer points speculatively because you will get burned.

Current Point Transfer Bonuses

2 Hacks

One.

Now circling back to the Delta debacle. If your Delta flight is canceled or significantly delayed (3+ hours), you can get a cash refund, not just a credit or voucher. It's important to save your receipts and send them to Delta. Delta is required to cover extra hotel, food, and rental car costs, so save those receipts and submit everything. We're not quite sure how long this will last, so if you need to be somewhere this week, look at other airlines.

Two.

Hilton usually runs promotions (one just ended on July 23rd but should come back soon) or targeted offers for a 100% bonus on point purchases. Meaning that if you buy the max of 240,000 points with the bonus, you'll get a total of 480,000 points for paying $2,400. While this might sound like a lot, it could be enough for five nights given Hilton's pay for four reward nights and get the fifth free. Using those points at a place like the Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos, where a paid night stay can go from $1,500 to $4,000 per night, paying $2,400 for 5 nights doesn't seem so bad. See here to learn more.

1 Question From You

Every week I answer one question from the community. Reply to this email with yours because you’re probably not the only one that has it.

Question

Alex asked that with all the resent flights being cancelled do I ever consider getting travel insurance.

I will say that while travel insurance has its time and place, I've never purchased it. I've always made sure to book my flights with my Chase Sapphire Reserve given that it has trip cancellation and lost baggage coverage. For the most part, I buy my tickets with points, but for those fees, I still use the Chase Sapphire Reserve given that trip delay and cancellation protection kick in when I pay for any part of the ticket fare with the card, giving me peace of mind that if my trip gets canceled, I'm covered for $10,000 per person and $20,000 per trip on non-refundable travel expenses.