Cool ways I'm using points this week

Good morning from Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire! 🇨🇮

I hope you Americans are all enjoying a slow and lazy Presidents Day today. And if you’re not, I have some good stuff to distract you:

• 🏃🏼‍♂️ Mike on the Move: Adventures in West Africa

• 🤝 JetBlue and United beef up their partnership

• ✈️ The government is partially shut down… again

• 🛍️ How to maximize this shopping portal

🏃🏼‍♂️ Mike on the Move: Adventures in West Africa

As I mentioned in the intro, I’m currently writing this from Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire – the second stop on my weird West Africa loop.

And yes… I booked the entire thing with points and miles.

Not just the obvious stuff. I’m talking niche airline partners, portal redemptions that saved the day, transferring to obscure hotel programs, and navigating five different visa processes without losing my mind (mostly).

Instead of cramming all of that into this newsletter and turning it into a 12-minute read, I wrote up the full breakdown in a separate article.

You’ll probably enjoy it if you:

• Are curious about traveling off the beaten path

• Love a good under-the-radar redemption

• Secretly enjoy visa logistics content (I see you)

• Or just want proof that “complicated” destinations are actually doable

If that sounds like your vibe, check it out:

Oh, and a lot of you asked about what it’s like in Senegal specifically.

So, on Wednesday, expect a fun section on how to get there, where to stay, what to do, and other key tips.

Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming.👇

🤝 JetBlue and United beef up their partnership

The next phase of the JetBlue/United merger (ahem… I mean… partnership) has officially launched.

Last year, we saw the two lovebirds introduce reciprocal mileage earning.

Now, you can book cash flights for either airline on both websites. For example, if you search for a flight on United and JetBlue operates the route, you can book it with cash.

As of now, it’s not possible to book a mixed itinerary (one flight on United and another on JetBlue) on the same ticket… but that should be rolling out soon, too.

I think the moment we’re all waiting for is reciprocal elite benefits. For anyone who has JetBlue Mosaic or United Premier status, this will be pretty exciting.

For now, it’s nice to see this partnership moving along… albeit slowly.

✈️ The government is partially shut down… again

Quick heads up: The government is (partially) shut down… again. As a traveler, you can expect things to be mostly business as usual.

However, with TSA agents working without pay, you can also expect security lines to be a bit longer than usual.

Thankfully, Air Traffic Control is still fully funded, and there’s no reason to expect massive flight delays or cancellations.

In summary: Stay up to date in case things get worse. But for now? Just give yourself a little extra buffer at the airport. 👍

Oh… and say thank you to TSA agents for keeping the skies safe even when they’re put in a tough position like this.

🛍️ How to maximize this shopping portal

One of the best ways to earn points is from shopping portals like Rakuten. On the surface, it’s just another cash back portal…

But it’s worth noting that instead of cash back, you can also choose to earn MR points (if you have a card that earns them) or even Bilt Rewards (no Bilt credit card required).

Personally, I choose Bilt points. In fact, just a few days ago, I got my payout of 5,089 points.

It doesn’t sound like much, but I can transfer those points to World of Hyatt and book a free night at tons of hotels around the world.

Anyway, Rakuten is still offering two tasty deals that you should know about:

1. $50 signup bonus

If you use a referral link to sign up for Rakuten as a new member, you can get $50 back when you spend $50…

Thanks to the magic of arithmetic, that’s $50 of free stuff.

But instead of cash, you could choose to earn 5,000 Bilt points or MR points, both of which are worth more than $50 when you transfer them to airlines or hotels.

2. Rakuten’s Presidents Day bonus is still live

To celebrate this holiday, Rakuten is offering triple cash back (or points) at dozens of retailers for the rest of today.

Sadly, there aren’t really any popular travel retailers (though there are a few) with elevated cash back.

Still, even if you buy some stuff at random stores, you can turn that into big travel rewards.

For example, if you’re in the process of moving and want to deck out your home with IKEA furniture (which you obviously do), you can earn 6% cash back (or 6x points), which is an excellent return on large purchases like that.

Anyway, take a look to see if any store you already plan to shop at is offering elevated cash back.

And at the very least, make sure you sign up while the $50 referral offer is live. You have 90 days to make a purchase and get the bonus.

That’s all for today, my friends. Today was short and sweet, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless.

Safe travels this week, and I’ll see you tomorrow.

Au revoir,

5.3252° N, 4.0196° W

With contributions by McKay Moffitt