Beginner-friendly business class win

Good morning, friends.

Today, we are punching doubt in the face. Hard. 👊

“I really didn’t think I had enough points, “ … is a story as old as time.

One of your fellow Daily Drop readers wanted to go to Rome with her husband, but business class seats felt a bit out of reach. And instead of writing it off, she asked for help!

And that’s where things got gooooood.

🇮🇹 Business-class seats to Rome (for two)

This is exactly why we love sharing these stories.

Because most of the time, the problem isn’t your points balance.

It’s not knowing how to use it.

To be fair, her points balance didn’t scream “two lie-flat seats to Italy,” (at first).

And if she tried to book one magical round-trip award with one airline, she probably would’ve hit a wall.

But by breaking this trip up into a few pieces, she was able to find some workarounds. And, our amaaaazing community manager, Megan, was able to walk her through some ideas to get things started:

Step One: Cross the Atlantic (comfortably)

She focused on the hardest, and most expensive, part of the trip first… the long-haul flight to Europe.

She booked business class from Tampa to London using Capital One miles.

And thanks to a transfer bonus at the time, her points were worth even more. Once that flight was locked in, everything else got a little easier.

Step Two: Take a small hop

London to Rome is a very short hop, which means it’s cheap and flexible.

And listen, I know RyanAir gets a lot of crap. But it’s cheap. Me personally? I’ll pay for cheap crap. Cheap is cheap. Even if it’s crap.

Did we hit a record of “cheap” and “crap” used in one sentence yet? No?

Crap. 😎

Anywaaaays, those flights are easy to cover with cash or a small number of points without burning super premium points where they don’t really matter.

Step Three: Pick a different sweet spot home

For the return, she switched gears again.

She booked Swiss business class via Aeroplan for the flight home to Boston… tapping into yet another strong program with solid pricing for transatlantic business class.

Here are some excellent examples of what 70k Aeroplan points could get you from Europe back to the U.S. (in business class).

If you timed this with a transfer bonus, like a 20% bonus, for example, this flight would cost you all of 59,000 Capital One miles. If you opened the Venture X, by the time you made the minimum spend and earned the welcome offer, you’d be sitting on 120,000 miles.

For those of you who loved algebra because it scratched a very specific itch… how we doin’ right now?

So yeah… Same trip. Same people. Different tools for different legs.

What can we learn from this reader?

Instead of forcing one airline or one program to do everything, she:

• Broke the trip into one-way segments

• Used transfer bonuses when they were available

• Let each leg of the trip dictate which program made sense

• Asked for help!

Business class isn’t just for “points pros,” but it can feel intimidating.

Remember… you don’t need one airline to do the whole trip, one-way awards open way more doors, and the right transfer bonus really can change the ballgame.

That’s all for today, y’all. ❤️

Another reader win and another reminder that business class doesn’t require a million and one points… just a little strategy and patience.

On that note, we’ll see ya bright and early tomorrow.

Byeeeeeee,

52.3676° N, 4.9041° E