Fly to Japan for 20,000 points

Good morning from Cotonou, Benin! 🇧🇯

Believe it or not, I’m currently in one of the nicest hotels I’ve ever stayed at in my life… Needless to say, I was surprised to find it here, of all places.

Anyway, today is full of exciting stuff:

• 🌎 Global award sale to Europe and Japan

• 🏨 IHG flash sale for the U.S. and other Americas

• 💳 My newest credit card

🌎 Global award sale to Europe and Japan

Alaska’s back with another Global Getaways sale – and this time the theme is “Spring into adventure.” Get it? Because it’s almost spring?

Translation? You can shake off the winter blues with some springtime destinations for way fewer Atmos points than usual – and there’s zero catch.

This batch of destinations is underwhelming compared to previous versions of this sale.

Don’t get me wrong, I love ALL of the destinations, but they’re mainly in Europe… and we already have so many ways to fly to Europe for fewer points than this.

The one exception to this is Hokkaido, Japan… 🇯🇵

Hokkaido is one of my favorite places in Japan, and right now you can fly there from anywhere in the U.S. for just 20,000 Atmos Rewards points.

For example, you could fly from Seattle to Sapporo via Taipei on Starlux Airlines for just 20,000 Atmos points and $35 in taxes and fees.

This brings me to an important point:

This sale is for any and all Atmos partner airlines, NOT just Alaska Airlines itself.

That means you could fly Alaska, Starlux, Japan Airlines, American Airlines, and other oneworld partners to the destinations on the list and still get this pricing.

I know I said there was no catch, but there are actually two small ones:

1. You must book by February 27

2. Travel can take place between February 27 and May 12

Thankfully, Atmos has a very generous cancellation policy.

So you could lock in some good deals now – and if you need to cancel, you’ll be refunded all points and taxes except for the $12.50 partner booking fee, which isn’t bad at all.

Anyway, Global Getaways sales are always some of my favorites. So if you’re excited about spring, make sure you hop on these deals sooner rather than later.

🏨 IHG flash sale for the U.S. and other Americas

IHG One Rewards is out with a new flash sale for anyone looking for a good hotel deal in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

From now through February 26, you can get up to a 25% discount on cash stays.

Here is the deal:

• You must book by February 26, 2026

• You must book at least 3 days in advance of your intended stay dates

• Cancellation is free within 7 days of your stay

• Sale prices should automatically show up in search results

• Read the full terms on this dedicated sale page

This is great and stacks with other IHG promotions (double points, bonus elite nights, etc.).

For example, I’ve been binge-watching The Bear recently (it’s so freaking good) and dreaming about Chicago…

You could book this Crowne Plaza hotel for just $149 per night during this flash sale, which isn’t bad for downtown Chi-town in the spring.

Plus, you can earn double points with the current global promotion. So even if you don’t have an IHG co-branded card or elite status, you’ll earn 3,000 points per night here.

Of course, if you DO have a card (like this one), you’ll earn another 2,400 points per night thanks to the earning multiplier and platinum elite status (which comes with the card).

So, the bottom line is this:

IHG is the most rewarding program out there right now. They have a solid flash sale, multiple promos, and a credit card with excellent earnings.

Put that all together, and you’re getting cheap stays with a huge return on your spend.

Enjoy!

💳 My newest credit card

I recently signed up for a new credit card. And as always, I want to explain why I chose it so you can learn how to approach new cards.

After my Marriott Bonvoy card bonanza last year, I decided to mix things up and go for this business card as the latest addition to my wallet.

I applied online and was approved instantly (yay!).

So why this card in particular?

1. The welcome offer is excellent

The card is currently offering 100,000 UR points for signing up, which is no joke… And honestly, my strategy is simple:

I want to transfer them all to Hyatt… not all at once, but eventually.

I spend over 100 nights a year at Hyatt, so these points will unlock thousands of dollars of hotel stays for me.

For example, last year I spent a few nights at this lovely Hyatt House in Kanazawa, Japan.

It costs just 6,500 points per night, which is a great deal. I’ll let you do the math on how many nights I can stay in Japan with a welcome offer of 100,000 UR points.

But there’s another reason I wanted this card…

2. The earning rates

Last year, this premium card axed its 3x earning rate on all travel, and replaced it with 4x on flights and hotels.

I’m not mad about that, but I kinda miss earning 3x UR points on rideshare apps, travel agency bookings, ferries, trains, and other random travel stuff.

Well, the card I just signed up for DOES still earn 3x on all of that travel (up to a limit of $150,000 per year, which is… way more than enough…).

Long story short:

• The card has a fantastic welcome offer

• A reasonable annual fee

• And fills a gap in my points strategy

That’s all for today, folks. By the time you read this, I’ll be exploring the Temple of Pythons in rural Benin. Google it if you’re curious. 😉

Have a lovely day and see you tomorrow,

6.3562° N, 2.4278° E

With contributions by McKay Moffitt