How to earn points on free stays

Good morning from what feels like the edge of the world, Sayram Lake.

While I wander by the edge of this desolate lake and think about my feelings, here are some fun travel tips for normal people:

• 🆓 Earn 15,000 bonus points from free stays

• 🏨 20% transfer bonus to Hilton Honors

• ✈️ This bank just added one of the best airline programs

🆓 Earn 15,000 bonus points from free stays

If you’re like me, you may have woken up this morning to find a tasty new targeted offer from Hilton to earn 15,000 bonus points.

As I said, it’s targeted – but I know a number of people who also received it. You can click this link to see if you’re eligible.

Here’s the deal:

On your next five stays, you can earn up to 15,000 bonus points, broken down as follows:

• First stay = 1,000 points

• Second stay = 2,000 points

• Third stay = 3,000 points

• Fourth stay = 4,000 points

• Fifth stay = 5,000 points

You need to register for the offer before December 31st and complete all five stays within six months of registering (though you could complete fewer than five stays and get fewer bonus points, too).

Anyway, what do you think?? Is it worthwhile?

I’ll tell you what I think…

There are a handful of hotels around the world (especially in Asia) where 15,000 points will get you a free night.

But generally, that’s worth about $75… So it’s nothing to write home about.

But…

If you’re booking one-night stays, it could be a nice return on your spend. Even better, you can combine this promo with credits from the various Hilton credit cards.

For example, tomorrow, I’m staying at this Hilton hotel in Urumqi, China. 👇

Since I’m using this card to pay for my stay, it’ll actually cost me $0 (since the card offers $60 in quarterly Hilton credits).

In this case, I’m still earning credit card points, elite member bonuses, and these promotional points, but spending zero dollars.

And since I have six months to complete my stays, I could do something similar next quarter with the same card when the credit refreshes to unlock another free stay.

I also hold this premium Hilton card, which offers $400 in annual Hilton resort credits. I will probably burn my credit at a resort like this one in Bali:

Now I’m getting another free stay, earning all of my points, and racking up some extra promotions.

And since this credit refreshes in July, I can do the same thing again.

At that point, I will have completed four Hilton stays, spent $0, and only need one more stay to maximize the promo.

In other words, there are ways to make this promo feel more exciting than it is on the surface.

I love Hilton’s co-branded credit card portfolio, so I highly recommend you check them out.

But if you’d rather stick to transferable points, this next section should be exciting for you:

🏨 20% transfer bonus to Hilton Honors

Until the end of May, you can get a 20% transfer bonus from MR points to Hilton Honors.

And I know – it sounds underwhelming… but hear me out.

The normal transfer ratio from MR points to Hilton is 1:2, meaning you’re always doubling your points.

With this bonus, transferring 1,000 MR points will yield 2,400 Hilton points, which suddenly feels pretty darn good.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not always a slam dunk. But for the right redemption, it could be a great way to use your points.

Take these hotels in Cologne, Germany, where I just stayed last year for Christmas.

Both of them cost 70,000 Hilton points, which feels like a lot… but with a bonus like this, that comes to less than 30,000 MR points per night.

That means a single welcome offer like the one on this card could unlock multiple free nights in European cities that are otherwise very expensive.

This transfer bonus could also be a good solution for super-expensive aspirational stays.

For example, these two hotels in the Maldives cost 85,000 points and 140,000 points per night later this year:

Normally, it’d be hard to rack up a lot of points to book a multi-night stay.

But with this transfer bonus, you could book a 5-night stay at the SAii Lagoon for just 142,000 MR points. That’s because, if you have Hilton Honors Silver status, you can get every 5th night free when using Hilton points. (And Silver status is complimentary if you hold this no-annual fee Hilton card. 👀)

That’s pretty insane for a luxurious 5-night private island getaway in the freaking Maldives, am I right?

Anyway, here’s the bottom line:

This isn’t the most valuable transfer bonus. But if it unlocks a stay you want or need, definitely don’t hesitate to pull the trigger. 🔫 

✈️ This bank just added a great airline partner

We don’t talk about Wells Fargo very often, and that’s usually because there’s nothing to really talk about.

They’ve got a handful of pretty solid cards with decent earning rates, but their transfer partners have been a little… ummm… lacking.

That is, until fairly recently.

A couple of weeks ago, I told you about how they added Wyndham as a partner at a 1:2 ratio, which was great news.

And to make things even better, they just added Cathay Pacific to the lineup.

If you’re not familiar with Cathay, it’s a Hong Kong-based airline, and one of the best in the world.

I fly with them all the time and have rarely had a bad experience.

The best part about Cathay is their dank award chart that allows you to fly between the U.S. and Asia for as few as 27,000 miles in economy – an extremely competitive rate.

Having another way to get points into Cathay Pacific is fantastic news, especially since points transfer at a 1:1 ratio from Wells Fargo.

Don’t forget that MR points recently devalued their transfer ratio to Cathay Pacific to 5:4, which is pretty crappy value.

Oh, and if you think that this is irrelevant to you because you don’t travel to Asia, think again… 😏

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles is also one of the best ways to book first and business-class flights with other airlines.

For example, if you want to fly British Airways first or business class, Cathay Pacific often charges fewer miles AND fewer fees than British Airways itself.

This business-class flight from Washington, D.C. to London costs 63,000 Cathay miles and $235, for example:

British Airways, on the other hand, charges 99,000 Avios and over $400 in taxes for the same flight on the same exact day. 👇

So here’s the bottom line:

Wells Fargo is becoming harder and harder to ignore. If you’re interested in exploring their program and card lineup, check out our guide to Wells Fargo Rewards.

That’s all for today, my friends. Take care and have a good one.

Ciao,

44°35′53″N, 81°09′53″E

With contributions by Sam Anthony.