PointsAndMilesDeals

8d ago

4 comments

Turned 2.38 million points into a $90k honeymoon trip

Spent about five years collecting and planning points to build an over the top honeymoon itinerary almost entirely with rewards. In total around 2.38 million points were redeemed, covering roughly $90,000 worth of travel, with about $10k paid out of pocket. The trip included...

5

25d ago

0 comments

Does Points and Cash make cancellations less likely?

I have seen posts where people say award stays booked fully with points sometimes get canceled by the hotel. This time I used Points and Cash instead. The cash part was authorized right away and actually charged the next day. Now I am wondering if that makes the booking safer....

1

26d ago

0 comments

Using a Free Night Award but still seeing points deducted?

Quick question for the Bonvoy folks. I applied a Free Night Award to a stay, and in the summary it shows the certificate covering the night. But I’m also seeing points being taken for about half the required amount. Is there some kind of co-pay or top-up when using a free night?...

1

28d ago

0 comments

Stay disappeared from app and points went to someone else… what a mess

That whole sequence would’ve made me suspicious too. Stay vanishes overnight. Wrong email on file. Honors number changed. No folio at checkout. That’s a lot of red flags all at once. Even if it ended up being incompetence instead of fraud, I’d be annoyed. Glad you called back...

1

talktravel-Z6DMQ

1month ago

2 comments

Hotels available in Kathmandu

1

1month ago

0 comments

12 hours at DFW waiting for a crew that never showed up

12 hours at DFW waiting for a crew that never showed up

1

2month ago

0 comments

Trying to plan a Turkey trip using points, need some strategy help

Heading to Turkey in May 2026 and want to fly business or first without spending too much cash. I’ve got about 90k Amex Platinum points, 30k United miles, and 35k Chase Sapphire Preferred points. What’s the smartest way to combine or transfer these? Any sweet spots or airline...

1

2month ago

0 comments

Royal Air Maroc miles expiring, anyone used cash and miles or transferred out?

I’ve got about 51,400 Royal Air Maroc miles expiring soon. It’s enough for a round trip JFK to Casablanca, but I’ve already been and was hoping to go somewhere else. I’m trying to use the cash and miles option, but the RAM website is basically unusable. Keeps throwing errors no...

4

2month ago

0 comments

Trying to snag a 3rd Etihad Apartment seat is stressful

This is a tough spot but also an amazing problem to have. Two saver First seats already upgraded to the Residence is huge. AUH to SIN is one of those routes where Etihad sometimes releases a third saver, but it is very unpredictable. I would not count on it opening, especially...

4

2month ago

0 comments

$100 Chase Travel offer vanished after I booked

Had a $100 back on $600 Chase Travel offer on my Sapphire card, expiring Dec 31. I booked through Chase Travel on Dec 20, and right after that the offer just disappeared. No pending credit, nothing. Called customer service and got nowhere. Honestly surprised how rude they were...

0

3month ago

0 comments

This almost feels like cheating

I don’t get how this is real. Rakuten just casually throwing out 40k points for basically doing nothing. There’s no way airlines and banks don’t eventually nuke points if stuff like this keeps existing. What’s the catch here? They get my shopping data and I get business class...

0

3month ago

0 comments

IHG “free weekend night”… not really feeling free

Trying to use the IHG free weekend night and it never actually feels free. The first night always jumps to like 1.5x the normal rate, so on a 300–400 dollar hotel I’m only saving maybe 110–130 bucks. Kinda defeats the whole point. Anyone else notice this?

5

3month ago

0 comments

Burned 2.3 million miles in 2025 and honestly kind of proud of it

Wrapped up the year and ended up burning about 2.33 million miles across a bunch of programs for roughly 69k in value. Mostly a handful of big Europe trips plus some domestic stuff, and sent my parents to Asia before meeting up for Oktoberfest. Avios, United, Delta, Hilton,...

6

3month ago

0 comments

What to Know Before Getting a Southwest Card nerdwallet.com

If you’re thinking about getting a Southwest credit card, NerdWallet highlights a few things you should know before applying. The article explains how the welcome bonuses work, how points are earned, and when the card’s benefits—like travel credits and anniversary...

1

3month ago

0 comments

Transfer 480k UR to Marriott for JW Masai Mara?

Eyeing a 5-night stay at the JW Masai Mara that clocks in at 944k Bonvoy points. Cash rate is around 12.7k for my dates. I’ve got 132k Marriott already, so with the 70 percent Chase→Bonvoy bonus I’d need to dump about 478k UR to make it work. Comes out to roughly 2.3 cpp on the...

12

3month ago

0 comments

Why is booking BKK in business with points so impossible lately?

I’m usually pretty good at finding J redemptions Europe, India, Africa, all easier than this. But Bangkok has been a wall for me. Been looking for 6+ months and the lowest I ever see is 110k+ one-way on meh carriers. I’m IAD-based and would prefer an Asian airline, but SQ space...

1

3month ago

0 comments

Best way to use Amex points for Hawaii flights around New Year?

First year with the Platinum and we’re sitting on about 325k MR plus another ~225k from the CSR. We need to get to Hawaii for a family wedding Dec 29–Jan 4, so pretty peak and I know I need to book ASAP. I’d also like to use up some hotel credits while we’re there. I’m pretty...

7

4month ago

0 comments

Trying to piece together JAL miles for NYC–Tokyo… am I overthinking this?

Been trying to lock in business class to Tokyo for late May/early June, and ANA/JAL space is basically a ghost town unless you book last minute, which I can’t do. I did find JAL seats for 105k one way, so 420k round trip for two of us. The problem is actually getting 420k JAL...

0

4month ago

0 comments

Do purchased IHG points count toward elite status?

Trying to jump from Platinum to the next tier before year-end but I won’t hit it on stays alone. Looked at buying points around $135 for 10k + 10k bonus. Big question: do purchased points actually count toward elite qualification? Can’t seem to get a straight answer anywhere.

0

4month ago

0 comments

Heads-up: Lyft & United Airlines partnering thepointsguy.com

United MileagePlus members can now earn miles on Lyft rides

4

4month ago

0 comments

AITA for getting mad at my wife for wasting my points?

So my wife used 17k of my miles for a last-minute flight to see her hospitalized dad. At a horrifying 1.69cpp. I mean… why, when we could’ve flown Kansas–Kazakhstan in J for 20cpp?! My friends say I overreacted, but I just care about maximizing my sky bitcoin. Thinking of...

0

4month ago

0 comments

Best IHG hotels to splurge on with points?

I’ve got over a million IHG points saved up (Diamond Elite, US-based) and want to finally use them for a big international trip. Any favorite resorts or high-end properties worth the splurge? Also open to any tips or tricks for booking with points, I’ve got the IHG credit card...

0

4month ago

0 comments

Frontier selling miles for 1¢ each, anyone jumping on it?

Frontier’s running a promo selling miles at 1 cent per mile. Since their elite miles usually value around 1.3–2¢, it’s not a bad deal. Thinking about topping up for status anyone else grabbing some?

0

5month ago

0 comments

How many rooms can actually earn IHG points per stay?

Booking about 9 rooms under my name for a family wedding next year, all slightly different check-in and check-out dates. I know IHG says you can earn points on up to 9 rooms if you’re present and paying, but does that still count if the stays overlap or dates differ a bit?...

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