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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!)

I've had a crazy couple of weeks, from getting involved in a hit and run, my car being totaled and starting to market my book, life is happening.

Surprisingly, none of it included me flying anywhere, but luckily, we're all good.

We're chugging along, and the travel space is as crazy as ever, so let's get into it.

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💳 Card of the Week: Up to 80,000 Miles with the United℠ Explorer Card

This email contains affiliate links! See footer for full advertiser disclosure.

United completely refreshed their loyalty program and card lineup (United Club℠ Card, United Explorer℠ Card, and United℠ Quest Card). If you fly out of a United hub or have United status, you’re probably going to want to get a United Card like this one, especially since the card has a $0 intro annual fee for the first year (then $150).

Why this card right now?

✈️ Earn up to 80,000 United MileagePlus® bonus miles after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months (70K + 10K more miles after you add an authorized user to your account in the first 3 months your account is open)
🆓 $0 annual fee for the first year → low risk way to test if it’s a keeper
💺 (NEW) 10–15% off award flights + access to better award pricing (those “cardmember-only” redemptions)
💳 $100 United Travel Credit
🏨 Up to $100 statement credit on United Hotels purchases
🎟️ Two United Club one-time passes
🧳 First checked bag fee waived (and other travel perks sprinkled in)

Pro Tip:

This is one of those cards that can make a massive difference if you fly United often. Sometimes a flight might show as something wild like 300,000 miles, but having the card can unlock exclusive cardmember award pricing the kind of pricing that can drop that same itinerary dramatically when saver/partner space is available, I’m talking like 80,000 miles.

Bottom Line:

II don’t normally promote airline cards, but the United℠ Explorer Card is one of the better “try it for a year” plays, especially with the first-year annual fee waived (then $150/year) Test drive the perks (especially the award discounts + credits), then reevaluate next year whether it earned a permanent spot in your wallet.

👉 Learn More about the United℠ Explorer Card (Up to 80,000 Miles)

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.

As someone who knows a thing or two about credit cards, I got asked by a blog to share my thoughts on using points for emergency travel.

Not sure when that post is coming out, but I wanted to share the highlights here in case it helps someone.

The premise was “is using points for emergency travel a good use of points.”

Let me break it down.

When you need a flight last minute, cash prices usually double or triple.

Points pricing often doesn’t.

Some programs are still distance based or region based, so the points cost doesn’t change much at all.

Even programs like United that do fluctuate tend to be way more reasonable in points than the cash price when things get close in.

Another thing people forget is that last minute award space can actually get better.

Airlines will open up availability closer in, and sometimes you’ll find more seats inside that 30 day window than you would have a few months out.

Fun fact, this is how my wife and I booked nonstop Dallas to Auckland.

We booked it three days out.

Yes, I had to figure out visas and timing for New Zealand, but that’s beside the point.

Points can also act like insurance.

A lot of award programs let you cancel close to departure and get your miles back.

I’ve even had situations where I missed a flight and still got my points returned.

You just have to know the rules and make sure what you’re booking is refundable.

Some programs make you cancel a couple hours before departure, which is more common with international programs than U.S. airlines.

And don’t forget taxes and fees.

Most U.S. programs will refund them if you cancel.

Delta is a weird one since you can book basic economy with points, and basic economy rules are always more restrictive.

The last big takeaway is that having transferable points across different ecosystems is a good thing in an emergency.

People think having points spread out is messy, but it gives you options.

More airlines, more routes, more backup plans.

And honestly, with all the turmoil, cancellations, and rebookings going on right now, this matters even more.

Last tip: don’t be afraid to book a backup flight (or even a backup backup) with points if you have to.

If your original plan works, you can cancel the extras and get your points back.

Early this afternoon, someone on FlyerTalk found a mistake fare from Canada to Europe.

Not just one city either.
There were routes to Istanbul and all over Europe.

It was a crazy good deal.

The post dropped around 1 p.m. today.
By about 5 p.m., it looks like the deal was dead.

This was for a one-way.

I tried to get an email out before it ended, but once the bigger blogs started covering it, it was only a matter of time.

Turkish Airlines saw the flood of bookings and fixed it fast.

It honestly looked like they forgot to add a zero.

You probably won’t be able to take advantage of this one, but I wanted to share it to show what these “book now, ask questions later” deals look like.

Because when a mistake fare pops up, the window is usually hours, not days.

The other wild part is that even if you book it, you still have to hope the airline honors it.

No one knows yet if Turkish will honor these tickets, even though people were getting ticketed.

The comments were fun to read though.

Some people even booked through portals to stack points.

And then there were the absolute tanks booking 12+ tickets, which is crazy.

Much like a canary in the coal mine, here we go.

Oil prices are creeping up, and airlines are already starting to raise taxes, fees, and fuel surcharges on award tickets.

Flying Blue is the first one to blink.

They’re increasing business class fees by about $100 each way, which adds up fast.

JetBlue is also joining in on the fun, bumping bag fees ranging from $4 to $10.

And let’s be real, this won’t be the only airline.

Once one program does it, others start following.

And they’ve got the perfect “excuse” to charge more.

The annoying part is even if oil comes back down, these fees usually don’t.

They just become the new normal.

So if you’re looking to book anything, cash or awards, book sooner rather than later.

Because taxes, fees, and surcharges are only going one direction right now.

I’m not sure if it’s oil related, but Cathay Pacific is also increasing award pricing in May 2026.

I wanted to shine some light on this because at first glance it might look like the TSA mess is over.

Taking a closer look, it’s not.

From what’s being reported, TSA agents were paid out of a discretionary DHS fund.

But a lot of agents are saying most people only received two retroactive paychecks, and even then, some are claiming it still wasn’t the full amount they were owed.

In some cases it sounds like people only got partial pay.

And even if back pay hit, that doesn’t fix the bigger problem.

They got paid for what already happened.

They’re still working without pay going forward.

The damage is already done.

A lot of agents quit and are looking for other jobs, and rebuilding staffing back to normal is going to take time.

Meanwhile, they’re still expected to show up while the people in power take a two week holiday, which is a rough look.

So yeah, they got paid, but it’s still unclear how long this drags on, whether it gets resolved before the next paycheck, and whether travel actually gets better any time soon.

I’m tired of talking about this.

TSA agents are probably beyond tired of living it.

But this is where we’re at.

If you have to travel soon, still get there early and be prepared.

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