The Extra Mile, Aug. 4: Trip Planning Isn’t Always Perfect, Delta’s 5K-Mile Starter Pack & More

😫 Trip Planning Isn’t Always Perfect

I write about travel for a living, and I still almost gave up on a family trip to Europe this summer.

Earlier this spring, I received a Thrifty Traveler Premium alert in my inbox for KLM flights from Minneapolis (MSP) to Barcelona (BCN) – with a quick stop in Amsterdam (AMS) – for 25,000 points per person, plus modest taxes and fees. Not bad for peak summer travel to Europe!

I had some stranded Virgin Points (a KLM partner airline) sitting around from a canceled trip, and since my daughter still qualifies as a lap infant – Virgin only charges 10% of the adult award for a lap infant – the deal looked even better for our family of four.

I booked it one-way and figured I’d sort out the return later. That turned out to be my first mistake.

By the time my wife moved mountains to get time off work, our return options had mostly evaporated. We eventually cobbled together an Air France flight home from Dubrovnik (DBV) through Paris (CDG) for another 25,000 points … and north of $200 in taxes and fees, per person. Adding our daughter as a lap infant on that Flying Blue award ticket cost another $180.

Suddenly, that first “free” flight was starting to feel a lot more expensive.

Then came booking hotels. Barcelona was relatively easy – I used one of the semi-annual $300 hotel credits on my *amex platinum* and $150 out of pocket to book two nights at The Hoxton, Poblenou.

Croatia was another story. I first locked in two nights at the Hilton Imperial Dubrovnik (worth every point – I wrote about my stay last week), but once I went to book flights to Croatia, prices spiked enough that I (once again) debated scrapping the whole itinerary.

Instead, we shifted our travel day earlier, which solved the flight problem, but award availability at the Hilton Imperial had dried up. Cue hotel number three: a small, unaffiliated property between the airport and city, paid for with part of the $300 travel credit on my *venture x*. Adding an extra, one-night hotel stay wasn’t ideal for a family with two young kids and a pile of luggage, but it kept the trip alive.

For the actual flights into Dubrovnik, I used a little-known partnership to book Vueling through Iberia using Avios & Money. While the base cash fare wasn’t completely insane, booking through Iberia allowed us to check bags and pick seats – something Vueling would’ve charged extra for.

That all might not sound too bad from the outside looking in, but trust me when I say it felt like a real slog, and I spent countless hours trying to put all the puzzle pieces together. There were more than a few moments where I was ready to scrap the whole trip.

So, besides giving me a chance to vent, what’s the lesson here?

The travel, the experiences, the memories with family – that’s the whole reason we chase points and miles in the first place. If I’d given up when things got hard, we never would have made it to Croatia, never would have seen the Sagrada Familia or Park Güell, never would have made memories our family wouldn’t trade for anything.

Instead, thanks to a stack of travel rewards cards and the points, miles, and credits that come with them, I pulled off a trip that would’ve been otherwise unthinkable.

Now, if only Air France would return two of our bags that didn’t make it to the carousel at MSP … but that’s a story for a different day.

– Jackson Newman, senior editor

🤝 Deal of the Day: Southwest Companion Pass Promo Returns

Heat scale (out of 3): 🔥🔥

Why we love it: We love the Southwest Companion Pass promo that gives you two months of buy one, get one flights next winter if you book a roundtrip flight by Thursday night!

But this year, it’s better than ever. That’s because Rapid Rewards bookings and Basic fares are eligible for the promo, making it cheaper than ever to get the Companion Pass!

Check out our full breakdown of the promo and make sure to register and book by Thursday night to qualify!

– Gunnar Olson, Thrifty Traveler Premium deal analyst

🎁 Delta Wants to Give New Members a 5,000-Mile Head Start

New to Delta SkyMiles? The airline has a new promotion to help kickstart your mileage balance.

Delta’s new SkyMiles Starter Pack lets brand-new members rack up 5,000 bonus miles for doing … basically nothing you weren’t already going to do.

Complete these three tasks within three months of enrolling:

• 100 SkyMiles for opting into Delta’s marketing emails (yes, more inbox clutter, but free miles are free miles)
• 1,400 SkyMiles for joining SkyMiles Dining (it’s free) and spending $30 at a participating restaurant within 30 days
• 1,500 SkyMiles for booking and flying a Delta flight through the Fly Delta mobile app

Do all three, and Delta tosses in a 2,000-mile bonus on top. That’s 5,000 miles for opting into some emails, eating dinner, and taking a flight. Not a bad deal.

The fine print: You’ve got to enroll within 45 days of joining SkyMiles – miss that window and the offer’s gone. And no matter when you join, the whole promotion disappears on Dec. 31, 2026, so don’t wait too long to jump in.

– Nick Serati, Thrifty Traveler co-founder

✋ The 5 Best Cards for College Students

Back-to-school season means one thing for a lot of new college students: figuring out money on their own for the first time. And for many, that includes the question of whether to get a credit card.

Let’s be clear up front – credit cards are serious business, especially for anyone just starting out. Missed payments and late fees can follow you for years. But if you’re disciplined enough to only charge what you’d already pay in cash and pay your statement in full every month, a student-friendly card can help you build credit and earn real rewards at the same time.

A few of our favorites:

• *freedom unlimited*: No annual fee, unlimited 1.5% cash back on everything, plus 3% at restaurants and drugstores and 5% on travel through Chase Travel℠. A great entry point into Chase Ultimate Rewards.
• *SavorOne Student*: 3% back on dining, entertainment, streaming, and groceries (excluding superstores), 1% on everything else. Built specifically for students with thin credit files.
• Bilt Blue Card (for full disclosure, this is not an affiliate link): The only card that lets you earn points on rent with no processing fee. A $100 Bilt Cash welcome offer covers points on $3,333 of housing payments right away, though it now takes real non-housing spend – at 1x per dollar – to unlock ongoing points on rent. (for full disclosure, this is not an affiliate link)
• Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card (for full disclosure, this is not an affiliate link): Unlimited 2% cash back, and up to $600 in cell phone protection when you pay your bill with the card. (for full disclosure, this is not an affiliate link)
• Citi Double Cash® Card (for full disclosure, this is not an affiliate link): 2% back on everything (1% when you buy, 1% when you pay it off). (for full disclosure, this is not an affiliate link)

If you’re applying, use a permanent home address (like your parents’ house) rather than your campus address, and don’t undersell your income – money from parents, stipends, scholarships, and grants all count, and lenders want your gross figure, not take-home pay.

But it bears repeating: None of this is worth going into debt over. When handled right, a first credit card is one of the easier ways to start building credit before you’ve even graduated – and pick up some cash back (or points) along the way.

Check out the full story for more details and best practices!

– Jackson Newman, senior editor

🎙️ On the Pod: The State of Award Availability

✈️ We dig into where things are at and what’s ahead in points and miles, including the state of award availability and the best uses of your points and miles as we enter the second half of 2026.

Tune in now on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!

🐺 Great Wolf Lodge Is Selling Rooms for as Low as $76 Today Only

Great Wolf Lodge is running a flash sale today, Aug. 4, with rooms starting at $84 per night for stays through Dec. 17.

But when I ran the numbers myself, many Monday-through-Friday nights were priced at just $76 per night for double occupancy, while weekend nights were priced higher. If your schedule has any flexibility, a weeknight stay is where this deal really shines.

The rate is based on double occupancy, with a $20-per-person fee for a third or fourth guest, and it gets you unlimited access to the resort’s indoor water park (kept at a very specific 84 degrees, hence the promo code 84DEGREES).

Something to note: I’ve stayed at a Great Wolf Lodge, and that price is just the opening bid. You will get upsold from the second you walk in the door until the second you leave. MagiQuest wands, arcade cards, character breakfasts, cabana rentals, stuffed animals – it’s constant, and it adds up fast if you’re not ready for it.

That’s not a reason to skip it. It’s a reason to walk in with a plan: decide what you’re actually paying for before you get there, and treat everything else as optional. Do that, and $76 a night for a hotel room and a water park is one of the better family deals you’ll find this fall.

Book today at participating U.S. locations with code 84DEGREES.

– Nick Serati, Thrifty Traveler co-founder

✈️ Other Travel Tidbits

• 🏈 Qantas is giving away 5 trips to Melbourne for the first-ever NFL game in Australia. Grand prize winners get roundtrip flights on Qantas, 2 tickets to the Rams vs. 49ers on Sept. 11, and 5 nights at voco Melbourne Central. Enter before 11:59 p.m. PDT on Aug. 9. (Qantas)
• 🍽️ The Resy app and website now display a badge to let cardmembers know which restaurants are eligible for dining credits. (Upgraded Points)
• 🏝️ The Park Hyatt Phu Quoc in Vietnam is finally bookable, with stays starting March 1, 2027. (One Mile at a Time)
• 💳 American Airlines is ramping up in-flight credit card pitches from its flight attendants, according to aviation journalist JonNYC. Flight attendants are reportedly being told how lucrative successful pitches can be, with the airline emphasizing that great service is the best way to boost sign-ups. (JonNYC, via X)