Get bonus points in Vegas

☀️ Good morning from chilly Tasmania!

While I chug my fifth coffee of the day (gotta beat the jet lag somehow), I’ve got some big travel tips to keep you awake on this Monday morning:

• 🏨 Save $500 a year on hotels with this tip

• 🎲 Hyatt relaunches a fun promo

• 😟 Your personal data exposure is putting your family at risk

• 🚗 How to use Uber like a pro

🏨 Save $500 a year on hotels with this tip

I don’t know about y’all, but I just love when banks give us free stuff to help offset those heavy annual fees.

As a holder of the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (which recently underwent a big makeover), I’m particularly excited about one new credit — because it’s going to give me a whopping $500 a year on hotel stays.

How it works

Every six months, holders of the Sapphire Reserve will get up to a $250 credit to use at The Edit, Chase portal’s collection of over 1,000 luxury hotels.

If you held the Sapphire Reserve prior to the relaunch last month (like me), you’ll have to wait until October 26, 2025, to get the first credit. All others have it available immediately.

How valuable is this credit?

It’s a little complicated to value this credit, due to some terms and conditions:

• You must book a stay of at least two nights to get the credit

• Only certain premium hotels are part of The Edit

While the hotel options for using the credit are limited, you do get some pretty incredible perks when booking through The Edit:

• $100 property credit per stay

• Free breakfast for two

• Late checkout and room upgrades (when available)

• Bookings are eligible for loyalty program rewards and earn elite nights

For example, the Andaz Condesa in Mexico City (a Hyatt property) is part of The Edit, and can cost even less than booking directly through Hyatt:

A two-night stay here would cost $220 after applying the credit, which is a great deal considering the complimentary breakfast, an additional $100 to spend on property, and the Hyatt points you’ll earn.

If you’re looking to get maximum value from this credit, you can book some cheaper stays like this hotel in Dubai, where your $250 credit would cover two full nights:

Stack with existing rewards

And the icing on the cake? You’ll even earn 8x Ultimate Rewards points per dollar on stays booked through the portal (though the portion covered by the card’s hotel credit will not earn points).

So, whether you value this credit at $500 or half that, it’s an easy way to cash in on some luxurious hotel stays while offsetting Sapphire Reserve’s new higher annual fee.

🎲 Hyatt relaunches a fun promo

I woke up today to see that our friends over at Hyatt have just brought back a fun promo that they first launched earlier this year — and you casino lovers are going to enjoy this one…

For the next couple of months, you can get 777 lucky bonus Hyatt points per night at a handful of Hyatt casino properties around the world.

Here is the fine print:

• You need to register for this offer by September 30

• You’ll earn 777 bonus points per night

• Maximum of 10 nights (or 7,770 bonus points)

• Stays between July 14 (today) and September 30 are eligible

• Both cash and points stays are eligible (yay)

• Only available at 21 properties (see the full list here)

So yeah — this is fun. 777 points might not sound like a lot, but it’s actually a nice bonus, considering how valuable Hyatt points are.

And not all of these properties are crazy luxurious and expensive, either. For example, the Rio in Las Vegas only costs $125 on most weeknights:

Plus, if you have Hyatt Globalist status, resort fees are waived.

And since the Rio charges a $50 resort fee (plus tax), the actual cost per night is only about $75 for top-tier elites.

Oh, and don’t forget to use a card like the Sapphire Reserve, which will earn you an additional 4x Ultimate Rewards points on hotel stays booked directly.

So if you like to hit the roulette wheel, this is a great way to get some extra guaranteed winnings from Hyatt. 😉

🚗 How to use Uber like a pro

Uber is one of the best travel apps out there. When I’m in the states, hardly a day goes by without either an Uber ride or an Uber Eats order…

However, Uber is also packed with features, some of which you may not be aware of.

And thanks to a slew of premium credit cards with Uber-specific perks (like the American Express® Gold Card), there are also ways to save on rides and food orders.

So in this week’s YouTube video, we’ve got the ultimate guide to all things Uber. 👇

That’s all for today, my friends! I hope you enjoyed these hotel and rideshare tips!

On the topic of hotels, I’m curious to know… If you HAD to pick one, which is your favorite hotel program?

See you bright and early tomorrow,

42.8826° S, 147.3257° E

With contributions by Tiffany Eastham, McKay Moffitt, and Benji Stawski