✈️ You Paid How Much? -- Aug. 4 ✈️

Australia for 80k miles, Europe recap + when to book fall travel for paid members 👀

Happy Thursday, kinfolk. 👋🏾 I’m back from a fantastic European trip paid primarily using points and miles. Read below to learn more!

#YouPaidHowMuch?

Travel’s still *not great* but some data suggests things will get better soon! 👀

If you’re a paid member, read below the paywall to find out when you should start booking travel to some of the most popular destinations!

But without further adieu, let’s get into these deals!

Deal of the Day: Atlanta/Los Angeles/New York/Washington to Sydney for 80,000 Delta SkyMiles round-trip for Fall/Winter 2022 dates (CHEAP):

• Australia flights are notoriously expensive, with cash flights costing as much as $1,400 from JFK or ATL, so this is an excellent deal that you should book ASAP.

• The best award availability is in October, but there are some dates in November and December that work.

Delta miles are super easy to earn, from sign-up bonuses from credit cards to flying, to transferring miles from American Express!

• The cheapest flights are in economy.

• You can use Delta miles you’ve earned from flying, credit card sign-up bonuses, or by transferring American Express points to SkyMiles. Read about how to transfer Amex points to Delta here.

• Book directly through Delta’s website. Sample dates:

  • ATL: Nov. 29-Dec. 7

  • NYC: Oct. 27-Nov. 4

  • LAX: Nov. 6-Nov. 14 (NONSTOP)

  • DC: Nov. 24-Dec. 2

Boston to Berlin for $362 round-trip on Play Airlines for November 2022 dates:

• Both flights include a layover in Reykjavik.

• Play is a low-cost airline, so you’ll pay extra for carry-on and checked bags.

• The long-haul flights (BOS-KEF, KEF-BOS) have 34 inches of legroom, which is more than you get on some long-haul domestic flights.

• Book here

New York to Dubrovnik, Croatia, for $453 round-trip on Norse Atlantic and EasyJet for October 2022 dates (CHEAP):

• This deal is on 2 separate airlines, Norse Atlantic for the long-hauls and EasyJet for the intra-Europe flights.

• Both are low-cost airlines, so you’ll have to pay extra for carry-on or check bags!

• Book here

Washington to Santorini for $529 round-trip on Lufthansa and Swiss for March 2023 dates:

• The return flight includes a 14-hour layover in Munich.

• The flights include 1 free carry-on, but you’ll have to pay if you want to check more than 1 bag.

• Book here

Charlotte to Doha for $998 round-trip on Air Canada for November 2022 dates:

• This is the cheapest ticket for this route, so you’ll pay extra to pick your seat.

• You can bring 1 carry-on and 2 free checked bags.

• Both legs includes a long layover in Toronto.

• Book here

Travel With Vikkie

I’ll be doing an in-depth recap of how I booked and where I stayed (including SINGAPORE SUITES), but I’ll break it down briefly below if you want to book this quick 5-day trip for yourself:

Singapore Suites first class for just 143,500 miles!

London & Frankfurt trip

• July 23: Newark to London one-way in United Polaris business class for 48,000 Aeroplan miles + $235 in taxes and fees. (I transferred Capital One miles to Aeroplan to book this flight)

  • Total cost if paying cash: $3,200

• July 24-27: I stayed 3 nights at the Andaz London Liverpool Street, paying 40,000 points for 2 nights and ~$375 for the last night. I got upgraded twice due to my Hyatt Globalist, so I went from a standard room to an Andaz Suite.

  • Total cost if paying cash: $1,500

• July 27: I flew from London-City Airport to Frankfurt to position for my Singapore Airlines first class flight, paying $270. I wiped the charge from this purchase using my $300 yearly credit on my Capital One Venture X card, so this flight was, effectively, free.

• July 27: I stayed at the Hyatt Place Frankfurt Airport and used 5,000 Hyatt points.

  • Total cost if paying cash: $120

• July 28: Finally, I flew Singapore Airlines’ A380 Suites from Frankfurt to New York. (I transferred 143,500 miles from Capital One and American Express to Singapore KrisFlyer, and paid $120 in taxes fees)

  • Total cost if paying cash: $6,000 (!)

Total cost in points: 236,500 points from Capital One, Hyatt, and American Express + ~$730
Total cost had I paid entirely in cash: Nearly $11,000

Enough said. 🤷🏾‍♀️

As always, if you see any deals send them my way — I’ll be sure to hat-tip you! And if you like this newsletter format, send me a message if you want to see more deals like these!