When should you buy points?

Goooooooood morning from spicy Sichuan Province, China. 🌶️

I’m embracing the local panda culture by being extremely lazy. I basically just had a luxury spa weekend here.

And now that I’m fully recharged, let’s talk about the latest and greatest travel deals:

• 🏨 Buy Marriott points with a 40% bonus

• ✈️ Earn an easy 10,000 bonus miles to Europe

• 🔁 Live: Transfer Partners 101 Masterclass

🏨 Buy Marriott points with a 40% bonus

Buying points is one of the most controversial topics in the points-and-miles world…

Some people swear by it, others hate it.

Personally? I’m always down to do it when the value I get exceeds the cost. Simple as that.

Right now, Marriott is selling points with up to a 40% bonus. 

And today, I’ll give you two examples of when you should and should not buy points – along with some tips for which card to use to get the most bang for your buck.

The deal

Marriott has targeted users with different bonus amounts between now and June 23, 2026.

Personally, my offer is for a 35% bonus, but it seems the highest is 40%.

So, should you jump on it?

When it makes sense to buy points

Let’s say you want to book a 5-night stay at this brand-new Protea Hotel in Luanda, Angola.

As you can see, the hotel costs 48,000 points for a 5-night stay or $169 per night.

First of all, congrats – you’ve decided to go somewhere really cool.

Second of all, you could save a LOT of money by choosing to buy points instead of paying cash.

Paying cash means you’ll need to shell out $845 for all five nights… which is pretty hefty.

Instead, you could buy 48,000 Marriott points for just $450, then book the exact same five nights.

In this case, buying points strategically just saved you almost $400.

And while there are plenty of properties around the world where that will be true, it’s not always the case.

When not to buy points

Let’s take another example, this time at this fancy-ass Design Hotel in Mexico City.

It costs $225 per night, or 151,000 points for a 5-night stay.

In this case, a 5-night stay would run you $1,125 if you just pay cash. Plus, you’ll earn Marriott points from being a member, along with any elite bonuses and points from the card you put it on.

Buying points in this case would cost you $1,438 – meaning you’re overpaying by hundreds of dollars AND missing out on the points you’d earn from paying cash.

Another benefit of buying points is that you’ll earn credit card points while making the purchase.

But you need to be careful here…

Which card to use when buying points

One of the most important things to remember when buying points is that, most of the time, it doesn’t code as a travel, airline, or hotel purchase.

This means you need to strategize about which card you use. Specifically, you’ll want to use a card that earns strong rewards on uncategorized spend.

Right now, my go-to card in this category is this Hilton business card, since it earns 5 Hilton points per dollar on all purchases (up to $100,000 per year).

For most people, however, you’ll want to use the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, which earns 2x Capital One miles on all purchases.

The reason this is a good option is that Capital One miles can be transferred to over a dozen different airline and hotel programs, making them hella valuable and flexible.

If you're a Hyatt, Alaska, or Emirates fan, the Bilt Palladium Card might be a good option, since it also earns 2x on all purchases and has some more valuable transfer options than Capital One.

You can even buy points through a portal

Another thing most people overlook when buying points is the ability to earn portal rewards.

For example, Rakuten lets you earn 1.25% back (or 1.25x points) when buying Marriott points.

It’s not a huge multiplier, but why not get some free cash or points back?

The bottom line

I know I buried the lede a little here with the new bonus on purchasing Marriott points…

But hopefully this gives you an idea of whether or not this deal is for you – along with some insight into future points deals when they pop up.

✈️ Earn an easy 10,000 bonus miles to Europe

Flights to Europe are pretty cheap these days, whether you’re using points or shelling out bucks.

That’s obviously great, but you don’t really earn tons of points from cheap flights…

…except right now, because KLM and Air France are offering 10,000 bonus miles on economy flights between the U.S. and Europe.

Here’s the deal:

If you book a cash flight between the U.S. and Europe, you’ll earn 10,000 bonus miles on top of the normal miles you’d earn from the flight.

You just need to book your flights by May 3 and travel before September 30.

Also, this only applies to flights on KLM or Air France (not partners like Delta), and the flights must pass through one of their hubs in Paris (CDG) or Amsterdam (AMS).

Considering some of the good deals out there, this could be a great way to get a nice return on your spend.

For example, this flight from Austin to Glasgow (via Amsterdam) costs $342 one way.

If you use a card like this one to pay for your flight, you’ll earn 1,710 points just from the purchase alone, along with:

• Flying Blue miles from the flight

• 10,000 bonus miles from this promotion

That’s already more than half of the points you need to book a flight back home afterward, since Flying Blue often sells award flights for just 18,750 miles each between Europe and the U.S.

The bottom line

This is a great deal, and a perfect way to book relatively affordable flights to Europe and get a ton of bonus miles in return.

Keep in mind that while travel can take place through September, you do need to book by May 3 – so mark your calendars.

🔁 Live: Transfer Partners 101 Masterclass

As we talked about earlier, airline miles can be super valuable.

And despite some great deals like the aforementioned one, the single best way to get airline miles is by transferring them from your credit card.

But with different transfer ratios, alliances, partners, and more, it can be a lot…. like... a lot a lot.

So this week, we’re hosting a live masterclass all about transfer partners.

It’ll take place on Wednesday at 3:00 PM Eastern. If you want to learn the ins and outs of transfer partners (or you just need a little refresher), join us on Wednesday. 👇

That’s all for today, amigos. I hope you enjoyed this kick-ass Monday edition of Daily Drop, and I’ll see you tomorrow.

Cheers,

30.5723° N, 104.0665° E

With contributions by Sam Anthony.