Happy Monday, Extra Mile readers! Today, we break down what Gunnar thinks is the current best deal in award travel. Also today: five new podcast episodes covering everything from finding cheap flights to transferring points, and the truth about whether opening new credit cards actually hurts your score.
🎙️ Your Shortcut to Master Points & Miles: Our Starter Kit Series!
Struggling to make sense of this wild, constantly changing, hopelessly complex world of cheap flights and points and miles? Already a points and miles “sicko” but need a refresher?
We got you.
With summer winding down (sob) and kiddos heading back to school, Gunnar & I locked ourselves in the podcast studio and recorded five special bonus episodes of the podcast to help put you all on the path of being a points and miles pro. From the basics of finding cheap flights to earning and redeeming points to the tools we use to get ahead, it’s all here.
So without further ado…
🔑 Vol. 1: The Keys to Find the Cheapest Flights
This is it. The ultimate foundation.
Finding cheap(er) airfare is the bedrock of all things travel. This episode covers the tips, tricks, tools, and (most importantly) the mindset you need to find cheap flights and start traveling more for less.
Tune in on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!
💳 Vol. 2: Mastering Credit Cards & Piling Up Points
To redeem points and miles, you need to earn points and miles first. So we break down everything you need to know to earn tons of points – through credit cards as well as other avenues – to fuel your travel dreams.
Check it out on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!
🔀 Vol. 3: How To Transfer & Redeem Your Hard-Earned Miles
If you’ve ever been scared at the prospect of sending 50,000 points from your bank to an airline, this one’s for you. We go through everything you need to know to make sure you’re getting maximum value from your points when it comes time to book those flights!
Tune in now on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!
🛠️ Vol. 4: The Tools We Use to Get Ahead
Opening credit cards, earning, and spending points requires a lot of organization. This episode outlines all of the best tools we use to take our travels to the next level.
Listen now on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!
💸 Vol. 5: Tips to Travel Better & Cheaper
You earned the miles and booked the flight, so now it’s the fun part: Actually traveling. We dole out tons of tips to stretch your dollar even further and have a smooth travel day.
Tune in now on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!
I know I speak for Gunnar (but maybe not our editors Sylvia and Kyle, who edited 10 podcasts in the last month) when I say this was a ton of fun. More importantly, we’re really proud to have created the ultimate resource for diving into this daunting world of award travel.
See you out there, travelers!
– Kyle Potter, executive editor
🤝 Deal of the Day: Hong Kong from 29K SkyMiles Roundtrip
Heat scale (out of 3): 🔥🔥
Why we love it: Book some of the lowest Delta SkyMiles fares to Asia we’ve ever seen!
Fly Delta to Hong Kong (HKG) under 44,000 SkyMiles roundtrip from nearly 100 U.S. airports! Best availability this fall and winter – including over Thanksgiving from many cities, too!
Sign up now to get all the details on this deal & don’t miss the next flight deal alert.
Already a member? Log in to see all your deals.
– Gunnar Olson, Thrifty Traveler Premium deal analyst
🔥 I Think This is the Best Deal in Award Travel Right Now …
I’m obsessed with a flight deal right now that I can’t believe exists. Here’s the gist:
You can fly Air France Business Class (in their nicest A350 suites) nonstop from ☀️ Los Angeles (LAX) to 🏖️ Tahiti (PPT) for 85,000 miles roundtrip and just $67 in taxes and fees …
The previous best deal we found flying business class to French Polynesia was for 83,000 miles … each way! This one is almost exactly half that, and for fewer taxes and fees.
That, my friends, is the final booking page for 🇯🇵 Japan Airlines Mileage Bank, the quirky but undeniably awesome loyalty program that’s new on the scene for U.S. credit card transfer partners. You can now transfer Bilt, Citi, and Rove points to JAL on a 1:1 basis – plus, Capital One on a near-1:1 ratio through the end of the month, thanks to a transfer bonus.
It’s opened up the program to millions of Americans with points and miles, including us! And while we were digging around the program to find the best deals, we found this Tahiti option on the unique Fifth Freedom route. (Air France can’t fly all the way to PPT from Paris (CDG), so it has to stop in L.A.)
“So, Gunnar, what’s the catch here, pal? This seems too good to be true.”
If your spidey senses were tingling on this one, you’re right. There are two oddities about Japan Airlines and this booking in particular, you should be aware of:
📲 You have to call Japan Airlines to book it: You can’t book these flights online, so you have to get a representative on the phone to make it yours.
🗓️ You have to have your JAL account open for 7 days before booking: It’s a funky anti-fraud measure from Mileage Bank that unfortunately must be heeded.
Other than that, so long as you call with all passport information for all travelers and call during business hours (7 a.m. to 6 p.m. central time), you can book this availability when it arises. I hope you do!
Check out my full deal breakdown on our website.
– Gunnar Olson, travel reporter & host of the Thrifty Traveler Podcast
📈 How Your Credit Score Really Works
Understanding your credit score can be a confusing and often misunderstood topic. Compounding this confusion is the fact that you don’t have just one credit score, you actually have a few – and they probably differ by a couple of points at any given time.
The FICO Score is the one that matters most here – it’s what the vast majority of banks pull when you apply for a new card. VantageScore, by contrast, is mostly what you’ll see on your Credit Karma or bank app dashboard. It’s great for monitoring your credit day-to-day, but it typically doesn’t factor into new account decisions.
Here’s how FICO breaks it down:
- Payment History (35%): The single biggest factor. Pay on time, every time.
- Credit Utilization (30%): The ratio of what you owe to your total available credit. Lower is better – aim to stay under 30%, and ideally much lower.
- Length of Credit History (15%): How long your accounts have been open, on average. This is why closing your oldest card can quietly hurt you.
- Credit Mix (10%): A blend of credit types (credit cards, auto loans, mortgages) helps, but it’s a minor factor.
- New Credit (10%): How many accounts you’ve recently opened.
That last one brings me to the thing that stops a lot of travelers before they even start …
“But won’t opening new cards tank my credit?” This is the No. 1 question we get from people just getting into points and miles – and it’s mostly overblown.
Yes, applying for a new card causes a small, temporary credit score dip. But it bounces back within a few months, especially if you’re paying on time. And here’s the part that often gets lost on people: That “New Credit” category is only 10% of your score.
Meanwhile, credit utilization (30% of your score) usually moves in your favor when you open a new card, since you’re adding available credit to the mix. A new $10,000 limit sitting mostly unused can actually help your utilization ratio more than the new-account ding hurts you.
Bottom line? The factor travelers worry about most is the one that matters least. Payment history and utilization do the heavy lifting – get those right, and a new card or two won’t derail your credit. Far from it …
This is the Cliff Notes version – check out our full breakdown here!
– Jackson Newman, senior editor
✈️ Other Travel Tidbits
- 💼 The Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards business card is offering 85K bonus miles plus a companion fare after spending $5,000 in 90 days, up from the usual 75K-mile bonus. (Doctor of Credit)
- 💎 Hilton may be adding yet another elite status tier, with “Black Diamond” surfacing in internal materials above both The Honors Society and the new Diamond Reserve tier. (LoyaltyLobby)
- ✈️ A new targeted Amex Offer knocks $50 off when you spend $200 or more directly with Frontier Airlines, and it covers bag fees and seat assignments as well as fares, through Dec. 31. (Upgraded Points)
- 🇯🇵 Capital One’s 30% transfer bonus to Japan Airlines Mileage Bank ends Wednesday, turning every 1,000 Capital One miles into 975 JAL miles instead of the usual 750.
