A European festival you’ve never heard of

Gooooood morning from under 40 centimeters of snow here in Toronto, Canada. 🇨🇦

While I watch the Maple Leafs get crushed by Colorado, here is some warmer travel inspiration to get you excited for spring:

• 🏨 Earn double hotel elite nights

• 🦒 How to book a safari with points and miles

• 🇪🇸 A Spanish festival you’ve probably never heard of (but should)

🏨 Earn double hotel elite nights

IHG is freaking awesome… I already told you that IHG was the single most rewarding program for me last year, thanks to all of their excellent promos.

They’re already off to a strong start this year with a brand new targeted promo to earn double elite nights.

As I said, this is targeted – so not everyone will be eligible. Having said that, I didn’t see this offer on my account and was still able to register using this link.

Now, I see the offer loaded onto the offers page of my account (yay!).

Here is how this works:

• Earn double elite night credits before March 31, 2026

• Maximum of 10 bonus elite nights

• Only paid stays count

• You need to register for the offer

• Only stays booked after registration will qualify

Even with the restrictions, this is still exciting – especially if you’re chasing elite status or milestone rewards.

For example, staying just 10 nights will result in 20 elite night credits, already unlocking the first milestone reward:

Depending on where you’re traveling, this could be a pretty cheap way to rack up some elite nights early in the year.

For example, if you come visit me in my home city of Bandung, Indonesia, you can stay in this shiny new Voco Hotel for around $60 per night, including all fees.

Of course, I’ll be deeply offended if you choose that instead of crashing on my couch, but you get the point.

Europe is also full of reasonably priced hotels, such as this Garner Hotel in Berlin, Germany, for just $65 per night.

This promo also stacks with IHG’s other global offer to earn double points, which I wrote about in this newsletter.

Anyway, here’s the bottom line:

IHG is already making it hard to look toward other hotel programs, thanks to affordable hotels with extra points and a boost toward elite status.

Thanks, IHG. You rock. 😘

🦒 How to book a safari with points and miles

Have you ever watched one of those wildlife documentaries on National Geographic and thought, “Damn… I wish I could go to Africa and see all these crazy animals.”?

Well, I’m here to tell you that you can. In fact, you can even use points and miles to make it much, much more affordable.

McKay wrote up a fantastic article outlining which hotel and airline programs can help get you on your first African safari.

So check out the article, and stay tuned for some more safari content in the near future:

🇪🇸 A Spanish festival you’ve probably never heard of

If you’re looking for a spring trip that feels special without being chaotically touristy, let me put something on your radar: Feria del Caballo in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain.

What is it?

Every May, this Andalusian city throws a week-long celebration that’s centered around horses – but in a way that feels more elegant and cultural than the name suggests.

Think beautifully dressed riders, traditional outfits, decorated fairgrounds, live music, and caseta tents that stay lively well into the night.

Oh… and sherry. Lots of sherry. 🍷

Similar fairs in big cities like Seville get more of the attention (and crowds), but Jerez’s version is more relaxed and easier to enjoy.

If that didn’t already sound good enough, May in Southern Spain is… well… freaking amazing. Warm days, breezy nights, long sunsets – you get the idea.

This year’s festival runs from May 9-16, which means now is the perfect time to start planning.

How to get there?

There are TONS of ways to get to the town of Jerez from the U.S.

While Jerez itself does have an airport (XRY), you can also fly direct on United Airlines from Newark to Malaga (AGP), which is a short train ride away from Jerez.

If you have Ultimate Rewards points, you can transfer them to United and book this flight in early May for just 40,000 miles:

If you have other transferable points, you can transfer to Aeroplan and book the same United flight for the same price, though with higher taxes and fees:

If you don’t live near New York City, then Iberia (the Spanish Airline) is another solid option.

You can connect with just one stop in Madrid from U.S. cities like Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, Orlando, and Washington, D.C.

While you can transfer points to Iberia directly, it’s actually cheaper to transfer them to British Airways, which charges the same taxes and fees but fewer points than Iberia. 👇

This flight from Washington, D.C. to Madrid and onward straight to Jerez is just 19,500 Avios – not bad to get you exactly where you need to go, especially if you can lock in a transfer bonus to Avios (which occur frequently).

And once you get there, you’ll need a place to stay.

Where to stay

In terms of chain hotels, it’s slim pickings… The most accessible option is an Ibis hotel (part of Accor Live Limitless) right in the heart of Jerez.

During peak season (a.k.a. this festival), it costs about €130 per night, which is not bad.

You might be surprised to hear that there are multiple ways to transfer points to Accor and book this for almost free.

Since Accor points can be redeemed for a flat two Euro cents each, this hotel will cost 6,000 points per night (and a few bucks out of pocket).

Bilt Rewards and Rove Miles transfer at a 3:2 ratio, making this hotel bookable for just 9,000 points per night with either program.

You can also transfer Capital One miles at a 2:1 ratio and shell out 12,000 Capital One miles for the same night – still not bad for Western Europe during a festival.

Another appealing option is to stay in the city of Seville and take a couple of day trips to Jerez for the festival.

Seville is huge (and has a lot more to see and do), and has plenty of chain hotels.

This Marriott property in Seville is just 39,000 points per night, for example. 👇

With a cash rate of over $300, this is a great use of Marriott points (or free night certificates earned from Marriott’s co-branded credit cards).

Bottom line

I think many festivals in Europe get overhyped and over-traveled, resulting in high prices, huge crowds, and a chaotic experience.

Small festivals like Feria del Caballo are great alternatives to have a more authentic-feeling experience while saving some points and bucks.

That’s all for today, my friends. I hope you feel inspired to book your next trip and/or rack up some extra rewards with IHG.

Stay safe out there and see you tomorrow ❤️

43.6548° N, 79.3884° W

With contributions by birthday girl McKay Moffitt