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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!)

Welcome Back!

Hope everyone survived this crazy weather.

Other than some ice, airport delay, and for a couple of cold days in Austin, we lucked out.

But enough about the cold.

Let’s get into it.

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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 two people roundtrip, and the experiences are priceless.

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

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.

When it comes to points and miles, there are a lot of ways to find award space and get where you want to go.

There’s so much info out there that it can turn into analysis paralysis.

I want to give you something tactical you can actually use.

When I do 1 on 1 consult calls, one of my go to strategies is starting with Seats.aero.

Their free tier is great for those who are just starting.

From there, focus on programs that your transferable points can already move to.

Air Canada Aeroplan.
Flying Blue.
Virgin Atlantic.

Most major cards transfer to all three, and each has a solid partner network.

Then keep your search broad.

If you want US to Europe, use the Seats.aero short codes.

USA short code for US large airports and EUR for “Europe large airports.”

Leave exact cities out at first.

Run the search.

See which dates and routes light up.

Then narrow to the specific airports that work for you.

That flow keeps it simple, surfaces real availability fast, and lets you work backward from what’s actually bookable with the points you already have.

Last year I mentioned Southwest was moving to assigned seating.

If you don’t fly them much (same), their current setup is kind of the Wild West.

You board by groups, then sprint to whatever seat you can grab.

It works for some, like those booking last minute, or families wanting to sit together, but it stresses me out.

Well this week those changes started rolling out and causing some delays as crews and passengers adjust.

It’s also creating ripple effects with bin space.

Since Southwest ditched free checked bags, more people are bringing bigger carry ons to avoid fees.

Now Southwest has to retrofit planes with larger overhead bins to handle the extra volume.

Something they didn’t need as much when bags were included.

Hyatt is entering a joint venture with Grupo Piñero to bring 22 Bahia Principe all inclusive resorts into World of Hyatt.

I’m still unsure on Hyatt’s all inclusive play, but I’m happy they’re beefing up the footprint.

These 22 properties are in the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Mexico, and Spain.

They’re set to join by March 24, 2026.

I’m going to keep an eye on these as they come online.

Some will likely launch as Category A (the lowest tier).

Historically, new additions often debut “too low,” then move up as demand hits.

So early bookings during the first year their online can be a steal before categories climb.

I’ll be scanning the list to see which ones look promising out of the gate.

Especially the Caribbean and Spain add a nice boost to the Hyatt map outside the U.S.

Amex sent a “points in review” email and it honestly hurt my heart.

It also made something super clear.

A ton of people are using points wrong.

They shared the top three ways members redeem Amex points.

Notice what’s missing?

Transferring to airline and hotel partners.

On the low end, transfers can net you around 1.5 to 1.7 cents per point.

Gift cards and checkout redemptions are usually 0.6 to 0.7 cents per point.

So you’re getting roughly half the value when you go the easy route.

It’s a reminder that most people don’t want to learn the game.

They just want the quick redemption, even if it means leaving value on the table.

If you’re reading this, you’re probably not most people.

You’re squeezing real value out of your points.

And honestly, that’s why I don’t think points are going anywhere.

As long as the majority of people are redeeming at 0.6 to 0.7, banks are happy to keep the gravy train running.

So, thank you to everyone subsidizing our business class flights with their gift cards.

Check out these crazy award deals!

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

Chat with TravelBot - my AI clone. It’s trained on every newsletter I’ve published along with my 10+ years of points and credit card knowledge 🧠.

It’s also trained on my voice, so you can call it and have a full blown conversations. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

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