🏝️ Never Overpay Again With New Google Flights Feature, Easy Admirals Club Access, and More!

👋 Welcome Back!

If you’re new to Points Paradise, welcome to the community! Otherwise: welcome back to your go-to source for points updates. Our community is up to 6,900 subscribers now!

Big announcement next week that I’ve been working on for you all, so I’m keeping this one brief!

⛱️ Like most of you, I love Labor Day Weekend. But traveling during it can be brutal!

Before I got into the points game, during college I remember trips during the holiday weekend being rough.

Now: I use airport lounges through my Amex Platinum, faster security times through Clear, and priority boarding through my Citi Advantage.

If you’re traveling this weekend, remember to use the perks tied to your personal cards!

It’ll make your weekend much more enjoyable.

👉By the way, I have an awesome giveaway next week. So make sure to tune in for the giveaway and a big announcement!

🗞️ News From This Week

Never Overpay For Flights Again: Google Flights Now Tells You When To Book

As a massive fan of Google Flights, I was super excited to see this feature roll out!

Google Flights is the easiest way of booking flights by far. And now: they just released an update that tells you when the cheapest flights for your itinerary will be.

Say you want to travel to Tokyo next year. Before booking, check your flight pattern in Google Flights and it’ll tell you when to book for the lowest cost.

“Average prices tend to be lowest 71 days before departure – a big change from our 2022 insights, which found that average prices were lowest just 22 days before departure” - Google Comms Spokesperson

👉 Pro Tip: Some flights will have a price guarantee badge where Google's confident that the fare won't drop before departure; if it does, you'll get a refund via Google Pay!

👉 Pro Tip: If you order Starbucks and DON’T have your Delta account linked to Starbucks, you should!

Here’s why:

1. You’ll receive 1 Skymile per dollar spent on eligible purchases at Starbucks. Not bad for getting rewards on coffee you already drink!

2. In the future, you’ll be eligible for bonuses like this one. Rewards programs frequently send bonus offers to people already enrolled, to give new members incentives to join.

3. It’s free and takes less than a minute.

This page lets you link your accounts together.

Get $300 Back On British Airways Flights WIth Your Amex Card

Amex just launched a fantastic offer for booking flights with British Airways.

Earn a $300 statement credit on a $2,000+ spend with British Airways through a targeted Amex Offers deal, valid until November 11, 2023.

Explore your Amex Offers here and make sure you enroll, else they won’t give you the credit! .

Note: flights must originate in the USA and be charged in $ to qualify.

👉 Pro Tip: British Airways has some fantastic routes from the US → Europe. If you' already have a flight in mind, this is a great deal for you.

Last Call: How To Get 100k American Airlines Miles From Citi Card

The American Airlines CIti Executive Card 100k bonus is ending soon, on September 6th.

It currently has a 100k miles for $10k in spend offer (about $1500 in travel value at 1.5c per mile worth).

This card is pricy with a $595 annual fee, putting it beside the CSR and Amex Platinum in cost.

However, on top of the 100k miles signup bonus you get other travel perks including: free Admirals Club lounge access, free checked bags, priority boarding, and bonuses for spend on travel.

👉 The Points Pro Take: This is a great card if you’re an American Airlines fan, can use their Admiral Clubs frequently, and also hit the 100k bonus requirement. If those don’t fit you: the CSR or Amex Platinum are better choices!

🏖️ Resource Roundup

A quick roundup of the top offers, deals, and more that you should know:

• Chase Sapphire Reserve Spend $250 & Get $150 Back: Earn a $150 back on inKind dining when spending $250 or more by 9/27/2023.

• AmEx offer $100 cashback on JSX Flights: Get a $100 statement credit by spending $500+ with JSX through Amex Offers by October 27, 2023 (targeted).

• Scandinavian Airlines Basic Economy Sale to Oslo from $433: $503 fare includes one checked bag each way, $433 for Basic Economy with restrictions.

• Avelo 50% Discount on Base Fares: Get 50% off base fares for one-way or round-trip flights when using promo code SEP50, book by 8/28/23.

• Capital One Spark $750 Welcome Offer: Earn $750 cash back after spending $6,000 in the first 3 months, no annual fee.

• Delta Flash Sale starting from 40K miles: Fly to London from various U.S. airports for just 40,000 miles, including major hubs and smaller regional airports.

• Chase new 30% transfer bonus to Avios: Chase Ultimate Rewards offers a 30% transfer bonus to Aer Lingus Avios, British Airways Avios, and Iberia Avios until Sep. 22, 2023.

• Earn miles at Airbnb and VRBO stays: Earn 3 BA Avios or 1 Delta SkyMile per dollar spent, and with VRBO, earn 2 United MileagePlus miles per dollar spent.

• Apple Card Earn 5% Back on Travel and Dining: Apple Card holders can now enjoy 5% Daily Cash back on eligible travel and dining expenses through a targeted offer.

• Alaska Airlines 4X Miles: earn 4X miles or [200 miles max] on Hertz rentals through Dec. 31, 2023.

• Chase consolidates all Referral Links on 1 page: Chase has streamlined referral links onto one page for easy access to all your card referral links.

🗺️ Pro Tip of the Week

Travel In Style Through Maxing Your Points With “Double Dipping”

Ever hear of the points strategy of “Double Dipping"?

Last week: I posted an example. Delta launched a promotion where you earn Delta Skymiles just by ordering Starbucks as you normally would.

This is one of my favorite tactics since it allows you to earn two types of rewards on a single transaction by using multiple rewards programs.

 So, how can you best capitalize on this? These programs are some of the favorites I’ve used to build up points in the last year:

🚕 How To Get More Travel Points Through Lyft And Uber

If you’re a big user of ride-sharing apps like me, you’re in luck!

You can earn some awesome rewards just by linking your cards.

• Chase Rewards: Chase Sapphire Reserve or Preferred, to earn up to 10 points/dollar spent on Lyft. Sapphire Reserve users also get free Lyft Pink All Access for two years.

• Bilt Rewards: Get 2 points/dollar on Lyft, plus an extra 3 points/dollar when using Bilt Mastercard.

• Delta SkyMiles: 1 mile/dollar on U.S. Lyft rides; 2 miles/dollar on U.S. airport rides.

• Hilton Honors: 3 points/dollar on premium Lyft rides; 2 points/dollar on shared rides.

• Alaska Mileage Plan: 1 mile/dollar on Lyft rides in the U.S. and Canada.

• Bonvoy Points: Earn 3 points/dollar on premium Uber rides like UberXL, Uber Comfort, SUV, and Black.

Other Programs To Double Dip Through

There are a ton of other opportunities for earning points through double dipping.

Online Shopping Portals, Gift Card Purchases, Dining Rewards Programs, Special Credit Card Offers are all easy ways.

Bottom Line: Keep your eyes open, and you’ll be maxing out points in no time!

✈️ Reward Reminder of the Week

Unlock Premium Rewards Cards With A Better Credit Score - Here’s How:

A couple years ago, my sister fell behind on some payments.

Her credit score dropped a good amount. And when I told her about getting a Chase Sapphire Reserve for earning more points, she applied but was denied.

Frustrated, she gave up on getting a better card and stuck with her Discover It Cashback.

But I wanted to help, so I started researching ways she could improve her score fast and get a brand new CSR approved.

After about half a year of doing the new strategies, she applied again and was accepted!

Here’s some of the steps she took that seemed to work the best:

• Fixing Credit Utilization: Credit card utilization refers to the ratio of your current credit card balance to your credit limit, and maintaining a low utilization rate—ideally below 30%—is crucial for a healthy credit score because it signals to lenders that you're not overly reliant on credit.

  • To improve this aspect of your score, try to pay off balances before the statement cycle ends or request a credit limit increase. 

• Become An Authorized User: Being an authorized user on someone else's credit card account can positively impact your credit score by adding their account's payment history to your credit report.

  • It's essential to ensure that the primary cardholder has a good credit history and maintains low balances, as their actions will directly affect your credit score too.

• No Late Payments: Paying your bills on time is crucial for maintaining a high credit score, as payment history accounts for a significant portion of your score

  • Setting up automatic payments or reminders can help ensure you never miss a due date.

Bottom Line: If you get rejected from a higher tier card, don’t give up! There’s many ways to improve your credit score over time and get top-tier rewards.

🌎 Community Corner

My Answer:

Congrats on the card! Amex Platinum is one of my favorites (along with the CSR).

My favorite perk of the Amex Platinum is Centurion Lounges. They’re much nicer, less crowded, and much cleaner than Priority Pass lounges.

But: the perk I think is most useful for traveling is their security pass credits through Clear and either TSA Precheck or Global Entry.

If you’re like me: going through norma airport security is the WORST part of flying.

With Clear, you breeze through security and can go right to your favorite lounge.

Normal security takes me at least 20 minutes at popular airports like ORD, ATL, and DFW.

When going on international flights, Global Entry lets you speed through when you return from abroad.

Bottom Line: If you have an Amex, make sure you leverage their security perk credits! It’ll save you time and headaches at the airport

🐶 Meet Points Pup

💳 Community Codes

Looking for a new credit card and want to help out a Points Paradise community member? The links below contain referral codes from the community.

Chase Sapphire Reserve (60k Signup Bonus Currently): Best all around rewards card (Code 2)

Chase Marriot Bonvoy Cards: Best for Marriot rewards

Visa United Explorer Miles Plus: Best for United Flyers

Chase Sapphire Preferred: Flexible Rewards + Lower Annual Fee (Code 2)

Amex Platinum: Best Luxury Travel Rewards Card (Code 2)

American Express Gold: Best for Dining at Restaurants (Code 2, Code 3)

American Express Hilton Honors Aspire: Best Overall Hotels Card

Southwest Rapid Rewards: Best Southwest Rewards

Chase Freedom Unlimited: Great overall bonuses on categories (Code 2)

Capital One Quicksilver: Best flexible Capital One Card

Chase Business Ink Preferred: Best Business Card

Capital One Venture X: Best Capital One Luxury Card

Discover It Cash back: Best Cash back Card

American Express Delta Skymiles: Best Delta Card

👋 How I Can Help

Here’s 3 ways I help subscribers with their points plans:

🤝 Add Your Referral Link To The Community Codes Section

🤔 Ask Me Anything About Points

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