The Extra Mile, Sept. 15: Qatar Just Backed Off Its Worst Booking Rule, $300 of ‘Free’ Travel & More

🥳 Qatar Backs Off on (Most) Painful Booking Restrictions

If you want to fly Qatar Qsuites – and trust me, you do … you may just not know it yet – using Qatar’s own Avios miles is more or less essential.

The airline hasn’t allowed basically anyone to book these prized suites using miles from American AAdvantage, Alaska Atmos, or virtually any other Oneworld airline for years now. And the ability to book flights almost exactly a full year in advance gave Qatar Avios an edge over others that only had an 11-month booking window.

But then Qatar dropped the hammer this summer with some brutal new restrictions that made it all but impossible to book for more than one person. We shed a few tears here at TT HQ.

But the crying spell is over. Qatar Airways has backed off – mostly, anyway.

Let’s back up.

The root of the problem was a series of new restrictions for booking for more than one passenger. To book any Qatar award for a spouse, travel companion, or family member, you’d need to:

1. Add that person to either a new “My List” or “Family & Friends” pool
2. … and that person must have their own Qatar Airways account that’s at least 30 days old
3. … and have earned Qatar Avios by flying Qatar, a partner airline, or by swiping one of its co-branded credit cards.

That last one was the killer. The list of people who want to redeem Qatar Avios is long. The list of flyers who have earned those miles by flying the airline or opening a credit card? Not so much.

Putting guardrails on booking for other passengers has become more and more common over the last few years – it’s a way to combat fraud, which is a shockingly massive problem in the world of points and miles. But this particular restriction was unheard of and, in our minds, a bridge too far.

Fortunately for us all, Qatar Airways has seen the light: Restriction #3 is officially gone. Hallelujah!

But that means you and your go-to travel companion(s) will still need a month-old Qatar Airways account in order to book tickets for two or more. So if you don’t already have a (super-special-sounding but also free) Privilege Club account, set one up now – and tell your travel pals to do the same!

– Kyle Potter, executive editor

🎙️ Starter Kit, Vol. 4: The Best Tools to Get Ahead in Travel

🧰 Starter Kit Vol. 4, The Best Tools to Get Ahead in Travel

🗂️ Award travel can feel overwhelming and complicated … but not with the right tools and organization. This week, Kyle and Gunnar walk through all the websites, apps, and tools they use to organize their credit cards, points, miles, and travels.

Watch it now on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. And stay tuned for the next installment next week!

🤝 Deal of the Day: Fly to Italy, Under $599 Roundtrip

Heat scale (out of 3): 🔥🔥

Why we love it: Airfare to Milan (MXP) just dropped below $599 roundtrip from many U.S. cities this fall and winter.

You can fly American, Delta, United, and their partners this November through February – including peak ski season in the Dolomites! 🎿

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. (Not seeing it? Remove your airport filters to see every deal.)

– Gunnar Olson, Thrifty Traveler Premium deal analyst

💰 How to Get $300 of Free Travel

If you’ve got a Capital One Venture card in your wallet – or you’re thinking about applying – you’re sitting on $300 in free travel.

With the *venture x* (and the Venture X Business) you get a $300 travel credit each year for anything booked through Capital One Travel, easily offsetting a big chunk of the card’s $395 annual fee.

Cardholders get a fresh $300 credit every account year, and it’s good for pretty much anything booked through Capital One Travel – flights, hotels, vacation rentals, rental cars, and even activities.

Meanwhile, the *capital one venture card* comes with a $300 credit of its own … but it works a bit differently. With the card’s current limited-time offer, you can earn 75,000 miles after spending $4,000 in three months – plus get a one-time $300 credit for hotels and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Travel. And unlike the mileage bonus, that credit lands in your account with no spending required.

The catch? It’s only good for hotels and vacation rentals – no flights, rental cars, or experiences. It also expires one year after you open the account, though you can book a stay for well after that date.

With this added credit, you can easily score a couple of free nights in most places … or get a nice discount on fancier stays.

Using either credit works the same way: Simply log into your Capital One account and search for the type of travel you want to book. The credit applies automatically at checkout, and you can use it across multiple bookings or blow it all in one shot. One quick word of warning: Be sure to do a quick price check first – Capital One Travel isn’t always the cheapest option compared to booking direct.

Either way, you’re looking at real savings: The Venture X credit renews every year and works on anything, while the Venture Card’s one-time credit – stacked on top of that 75,000-mile bonus – makes right now a great time to grab the card if you’ve got a hotel or vacation rental to book in the next year.

Get the full scoop on these credits and some of our favorite ways to use them!

– Jackson Newman, senior editor

🥂 The Best Way to Book Emirates First Class

Emirates slammed the door on booking first class with miles last year. Unless you’ve got elite status, redeeming for a first class award ticket outright is simply off the table. But there’s a workaround the airline hasn’t touched – and we’ve used it successfully many times.

Here’s how it’s done: book a business class award ticket, then upgrade to first class using miles once you’re at the airport. Emirates lets you bump up one cabin with miles regardless of whether you paid cash or points for that business class seat, and it’s one of the few upgrade options like this left in the points & miles world.

Yes, you’ll pay more miles this way than booking a first class award outright. But first class award space is brutally hard to find in the first place, and now that you need elite status just to book it, it’s largely not an option. Between the two, upgrading is by far the more realistic path to the front of the plane.

Pricing depends on the route and fare type. A one-way Business Saver fare from New York (JFK) to Dubai (DXB) runs 100,000 miles to upgrade to first, while a Flex Plus fare drops that to 81,000 miles.

Shorter hops are far cheaper – upgrading on the Miami (MIA) to Bogotá (BOG) route costs as little as 17,500 miles.

Skip Emirates’ online auto-upgrade tool, though. We tried it repeatedly and struck out every time, even with open first class seats staring back at us. The real trick is showing up in person: transfer your points from Amex, Capital One, Citi, or Bilt the moment an agent confirms space, and the ticket can be issued in minutes.

We’ve pulled this off from Dubai to Frankfurt, from D.C. to Dubai, and everywhere in between.

Read our full story on how to upgrade to Emirates first class here.

– Nick Serati, Thrifty Traveler co-founder

🧳 Come Work With Us: We’re Hiring a Hotel Expert!

Are you a diehard traveler and bona fide “sicko” (that’s a term of endearment around here) when it comes to hotels and award travel?

Do you love nothing more than scouring for the next great hotel redemption? Want to help others do the same? Loathe the prospect of another devaluation but relish the thought of breaking that news?

We don’t just want you. We need you.

Here at TT HQ, we’re hiring again – this time for a dedicated hotel deal analyst & reporter. It’s a hybrid role, split between the two worlds of what we do here at Thrifty Traveler:

• You’ll spearhead and even expand the hotel deal alerts that make our Thrifty Traveler Premium+ service so special, and
• Help us cover the news and must-knows of all things hotels on our site, social media, and in this very newsletter!

Not the right fit, but know someone who could be? Send them our way – if we hire them, we’ll give you a $500 airline gift card to an airline of your choice!

There are tons of additional details, responsibilities, qualifications, and basics about the job on our site, but here’s a big one: We’re specifically looking for someone who can join us in our Minneapolis office.

Fit the bill? Be sure to apply by the Sept. 27 deadline!

… and see you soon in the office?

– Kyle Potter, executive editor

✈️ Other Travel Tidbits

• 🇶🇦 Qatar Airways just teased its next-generation Qsuites business class in a new video, showcasing 4K OLED entertainment screens and roomier private spaces. (Qatar Airways, via X)
• 🏨 Wyndham Rewards’ new four-tier award chart takes effect today, topping out at 45,000 points per night – up 50% from the old max. The cheapest awards dropped from 7,500 to 5,000 points. (Wyndham Rewards)
• 🍷 Delta is returning to Monterey, California, for the first time in 19 years, launching service in December with flights from LAX and Salt Lake City. (The Points Guy)
• 🍽️ American is opening its Flagship Dining rooms at DFW and Miami to Flagship Business passengers, effective today. Previously reserved largely for Flagship First flyers, access now extends to eligible long-haul, transcontinental, and Hawaii routes. (American Airlines)