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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!)

Boy, do I have some fun stuff to share with you today.

I got my hands dirty this week, digging up some of the best travel tricks including one that I think you’re really going to like.

If the idea of a month long vacation in a faraway destination sounds too good to be true, you might want to sit down for this one.

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A Message from Me

I wasted hours and overpaid in points, but the right help would've changed that ✈️

I still remember the first time I tried booking a flight with points. I thought I was getting a deal, but between confusing award charts, hidden fees, and bad redemption rates, I spent way too many hours (and way too many points) just to book a single ticket.

Looking back, I could’ve booked it in half the time and saved thousands of points if someone had just shown me how.

That’s where I come in.

Here’s how I can help:

✅ Tell me where you want to go, and I’ll make it happen in style (business & first class).
✅ Leverage my 10+ years of experience to save time and maximize your miles.
✅ Skip the frustration of award searches and hidden fees I’ll find the best deals for you.
✅ Fly better, for less experience business and first class without paying out of pocket.
✅ Get your trips booked for the year rates start at $1k for up to two people roundtrip, and the experiences are priceless.

👉 Book an intro call today and start planning your dream trips!

Travel News

Southwest cuts points earned on flights (LINK)

I’ll admit I don’t fly Southwest very often, but it’s never a good sign when reward earnings are slashed by 67%.

With Southwest under huge pressure to make money, it looks like they’re lowering the points earned on cheaper fares to push people toward more expensive tickets.

The worst part? 

They did it without any announcement, which destroys whatever trust consumers had in the brand.

Here’s what’s changed

Wanna Get Away fares → Now earn 2 Rapid Rewards points per dollar (down from 6)

Wanna Get Away Plus fares → Now earn 6 points per dollar (down from 8)

Anytime fares → Unchanged at 10 points per dollar

Business Select fares → Now earn 14 points per dollar (up from 12)

This on top of them laying off 15% of their workforce for the first time in 53 years.

I have a feeling this won’t be the last shake up we see from Southwest.

Hopefully, the Companion Pass benefits remain untouched, but based on their recent moves... I’m not so sure.

March Flying Blue Promo (LINK)

Every month, Flying Blue drops new Promo Rewards, offering discounted award flights to destinations around the world.

Surprisingly, this month includes several U.S. cities.

To take advantage of the deal, you need to book by March 31, 2025, and travel by August 31, 2025 which could be perfect for a summer trip to Europe.

You can book economy awards starting at 18,750 miles one way from select U.S. cities, including:

Detroit
Seattle
Washington, D.C.
Boston
Austin

While these prices won’t be available every day, if you have some flexibility, you could lock in a roundtrip to Europe for just 37,500 miles.

Even though Flying Blue raised award rates recently, these promo redemptions are still one of the best ways to get to Europe using miles.

Alaska 3 Day Sale (LINK)

It feels like every week there’s another sale, but hey make hay while the sun shines, right?

Here’s what you need to know about this one:
Book by: March 6, 2025 (Ends tonight 11:59 pm PT)
Travel between: April 22 – May 22, 2025

I spotted some solid deals, including:

Hawaii for as low as 7,500 miles
San Diego to Loc Cabos for 10,000 miles
San Diego to Las Vegas for just 4,000 miles

Definitely worth checking out if you have Alaska miles or Amex points.

And remember you can still convert Hawaiian miles to Alaska miles, if you have Amex points, just transfer them to Hawaiian miles through the Amex portal, then move them over to Alaska.

🤓 Hacks

• If you’re looking to stay at a vacation home but still want to use your points, Vacasa is a solid option. Thanks to their partnership with Wyndham Rewards, you can book Vacasa properties using Wyndham points but the number of points you’ll need depends on the price per bedroom, after taxes and fees.

  Here’s how it breaks down

  
  Up to $250 per bedroom per night → 15,000 points per bedroom per night
  $250.01 to $500 per bedroom per night → 30,000 points per bedroom per night
  Over $500 per bedroom per night → Not bookable with Wyndham points

  To get the best value, your Wyndham points will go the furthest when the cost per bedroom is just under $250 or just under $500 per night.

• If you’re looking to fly Singapore Airlines Business Class, availability often shows up on partner booking platform Aeroplan at the very end of their calendar for 87,500 points.

  Here’s a trick to unlock extra dates:

  1. Go to the Air Canada calendar and select the last available date.

  2. Once you reach the flight selection page, a weekly calendar will appear at the top.

  3. Click on dates beyond what’s shown on the main page, this can unlock flights that may seem unbookable at first.

🛋️ Luis’ Lounge

Each week, I’ll share something cool I’ve discovered or tackle a question from the community. It’s my little corner to explore ideas, offer fresh perspectives, and hopefully spark your own curiosity.

So, I went down the vacation rental rabbit hole and found a few hidden gems.

At first glance, Paniolo Hale S3 in Maunaloa, HI might not look all that special, but let me break down why it’s a steal.

For starters, it’s available for 30 days this summer.

And second, it’s priced below the $250 per night average, meaning it qualifies for just 15,000 Wyndham points per night.

So, if you had 450K Wyndham points or a combination of Capital One and Citi points (both transfer to Wyndham) you could live in Hawaii for a month.

Work remotely? This could be your office.

While I found a few solid options in Hawaii, this one stood out because:

✅ Two showers (a rare find in these deals)
✅ Sleeps at least four people (Two queen beds)
✅ Actually has availability this summer

Using Wyndham points for vacation rentals always sounded cool, but does it seem even cooler now that you could book a month-long stay in Hawaii?

I also found a bunch of award availability to Hawaii during summer for only 10K miles that I added to the flight of the week section

This could also work at this house in Costa Rica, or even this condo in Puerto Vallarta in Mexico. Or may this one in Lahaina or right in Honolulu

All below $250 a night, so 15,000 Wyndham points a night.

A few things to note:

📞 Here’s the direct phone number to call if you want to use Wyndham points to book Vacasa home rentals. 1-800-441-1034

🚨 Bookings are non-refundable if canceled within 30 days of check-in, so set a reminder at least 31 days out in case you need to cancel.

Here are a couple extra examples

Check out these crazy award deals!

🔬 Secret Travel Research

This section includes some of the best award flights of the week bookable with points and miles.

• A good amount of availability at the beginning of summer with 10k economy prices.

• Remember you can take your Amex points, convert them over to Hawaiian, and then change them over to Alaskan still.

👀 My Favorite Finds

This section includes some of the best links, videos and articles of the week around the points and travel community

• Award Availability to Taipei has shown up (LINK)

• These newsletters are changing the game (LINK)

• Shake Shack burgers available on more Delta flights (LINK)

• Why an economic downturn could be good for award travel (LINK)

• If you have the Amex Plat then you have access to 24/7 online pet visits (LINK)