Good morning from up in the sky in Delta first class! 🥂

If there are any typos today, it’s because I’m on my third coffee trying to type while being thrown around in turbulence.

You know, just another day in the office.

Here’s what we’ve got today:

• 🌎 Flying Blue Promo Rewards (September)

• 🏈 Delta + football = free SkyMiles

• 🏨 30% transfer bonus to Hilton

• 💧 Take a walk on the salty side

🌎 Flying Blue Promo Rewards (September)

Every month, Flying Blue releases a batch of Promo Rewards, which are discounted award flights between the U.S. and Europe (and beyond).

The latest batch just dropped, and it's valid for bookings through the end of the month for travel through next February.

This time around, we’ve got economy, premium economy, and even business class on the menu.

Economy flights will run 18,750 miles and cover these U.S. cities:

• Washington, D.C. (IAD)

• Chicago (ORD)

• New York (JFK)

• Detroit (DTW)

• Los Angeles (LAX)

• Montreal (YUL)

• Miami (MIA)

Premium economy is a small step up at just 30,000 miles each way, and applies to the following cities:

• New York (JFK)

• Boston (BOS)

• San Francisco (SFO)

• Vancouver (YVR)

• San Diego (SAN)

Finally, business class will cost 45,000 miles each way, but only applies to flights between Minneapolis (MSP) and Europe.

It’s a great deal, but I couldn’t find a single flight that actually costs that price between now and when the travel window ends in February… so yeah. Kind of annoying.

Personally, I’d eye those premium economy deals.

Paying an extra 11,000 miles to go from economy to premium could make a huge difference in the overall experience of traveling to Europe.

If you live in the Pacific Northwest, that Vancouver route likely has more availability than the U.S. routes, too.

As a reminder, Flying Blue miles are extremely easy to get because you can transfer to them from basically every U.S. credit card that earns transferable points.

🏈 Delta + football = free SkyMiles

If you live in Washington state, Delta just turned every Seahawks game into a mileage-earning opportunity.

The airline is teaming up with the Seattle Seahawks to give residents one Delta SkyMile for every passing yard the team throws this season (both home and away), regular and postseason.

To put that in perspective: last season, the Seahawks racked up over 4,000 passing yards. If they hit a similar number this year, you’d be looking at 4,000 free Delta SkyMiles for doing literally nothing.

Here’s how it works:

You need to be a Washington state resident, be at least 18, and have a Delta account address that reflects that.

You’ll also have to register at 12status.com (though the site might only load if you’re physically in Washington – though I was able to access it with a VPN 👀).

Once you’re in, you’ll also get Group 5 boarding on all Delta flights departing from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) during the Seahawks season.

Bottom line: It’s a bummer this is limited to Washington residents, but it’s still a sweet promo and nice win for West Coasters.

Fingers crossed Delta decides to roll out similar partnerships in other hub cities – because who wouldn’t want free miles just for watching (or not watching) football? 🤷‍♀️

🏨 30% transfer bonus to Hilton

Hotel transfer bonuses are generally not as valuable as airline ones; there’s no denying it.

Usually, that’s because transfer ratios are almost always 1:1, and hotel points are worth way less than airline miles.

But this one is different…

Until October 14, you can transfer MR points to Hilton with a 30% bonus.

The reason this is different from normal transfer partners, however, is that MR Points typically transfer to Hilton at a 1:2 ratio.

With this bonus, transferring 1,000 MR Points will result in a whopping 2,600 Hilton points, which is not shabby at all… depending on the redemption.

For example, I have a Hilton stay coming up in Toronto at this property, which costs 70,000 points per night:

At a cash rate of $481 USD per night all in, it’s pretty solid value.

But I booked a 5-night stay, and thanks to my Hilton co-branded card, I get the fifth night free — a perk available to Hilton Silver members and above when booking reward nights. (All Hilton co-branded cards come with at least that level of status.)

Before the transfer bonus, this stay would’ve cost me 280,000 Hilton points. 🫨

With the transfer bonus in question, I only needed to transfer 108,000 MR points.

Yes, that’s a lot… but since the stay would otherwise cost over $2,400, I’m getting more than 2 cents per point in value from my MR points, which is great.

The value of Hilton points varies WIDELY from hotel to hotel, so make sure you crunch the numbers as I did before transferring any points.

If you’re traveling to Asia, your Hilton points (and MR points) can go even further. For example, this Conrad resort in Bali costs just 50,000 Hilton points per night.

A 5-night stay here (with Hilton’s 5th night free perk) would cost you just 77,000 MR points with the transfer bonus.

Anyway, if you want to rack up some MR points, here are some options:

• This card is perfect for dining, groceries, and travel. It has a middle-ground annual fee but lots of credits to offset it.

• This premium card comes with Hilton status (which unlocks that 5th night free perk) along with lounge access and thousands of dollars of credits and perks.

Anyway, this transfer bonus won’t be for everyone. But don’t write it off entirely before doing the math. 🤓

That’s it for today, amigos. See you next time ✌️

44°28'33" N, 73°12'43" W

With contributions by Sam Anthony and Katie Begnoche.