Global Getaways Are Back
It was a packed week in the points world! I am most excited about Alaska’s outstanding sale on international award tickets, but we also have tons of new card offers, a big loyalty program tie-up, sneaky airline pricing, a big cut to Venture X lounge access, and more. Read on for (succinct-ish, I promise) details.
Story of the week: Alaska’s Global Getaways
My favorite regular airline points discount is back, and the deals are delicious (literally):
Alaska Airlines is going for a food theme with this month’s flights, and the options look delicious. I have had pasteis de nata in Lisbon and highly recommend it, while my experience with Adjaruli Khachapuri at a local restaurant makes me think a trip to Tbilisi might be worthwhile. Round trips to Europe are bookable from 40-50k Alaska points (transferrable from Bilt and—for now—Amex!), or 20k to Mexico and 60k to Thailand. These are all great-to-outstanding values.
Alaska award tickets are highly flexible and can be cancelled for a refund of miles and any taxes and fees. Not only are those points refundable, but Alaska’s stable award chart makes it easy to get good everyday value for your points, so you don’t have to worry about stranding them.
Flights must be booked by June 30—but they may sell out sooner. Travel must be from Aug 1 through Nov 15, 2025. If I didn’t already have travel plans for November, I would book one of these deals in a heartbeat.
Sign-up bonus of the week 🎯
I think the IHG Premier is one of the best cards on the market thanks to its perks, high earning rates, and flexibility. It currently offering what might be its best-ever welcome bonus: five free nights, each worth up to 60,000 points. That’s potentially 300,000 points in value—around $1,500, depending on how you redeem.
That said, I’d personally still hold out for points—at least 165k. Why? Points can stretch much further—possibly weeks of free stays in the right places. These five nights have to be fancy to get full value, but once they’re gone, then what? You’ll be paying out of pocket for the rest of the trip.
Still, if you’ve got your eye on an upscale IHG stay, this could be the perfect time to jump.
Honorable mention 1: The equivalent Marriott card, the Boundless, is also offering five free nights (up to 50k points in value). This is the best nights offer on the card, while the best points offer is 125k. The analysis is pretty similar to the IHG Premier; again, I’d take the points. Marriott points are slightly more valuable than IHG points, so the offers are comparable. But the IHG Premier is a better card—it’s the best option to pay for IHG stays has loads of uses even when not staying in hotels. The Boundless only has middling value at Marriott properties (other cards convey higher status and more points) and doesn’t have any real use case outside of Marriott stays.
Honorable mention 2: The Citi AA Executive card is once again offering 100k miles on its $595-fee, lounge-access granting card. This is an expensive card to keep long term, with only $360 in credits (on Lyft, Grubhub, and Avis/Budget purchases) to offset that big fee, and one of the toughest bonuses to earn, requiring a massive $10,000 in spending in just 3 months. But if you want to spring for this card, now is probably the time to do it if you can hit that spending requirement.
Other great current bonuses
50k points on the Mesa Homeowner’s Card
80-100k on Delta cards
Quick Points of the Week ⚡
Major News 🚨
JetBlue and United join forces. It’s called “Blue Sky,” offering reciprocal mileage earning, sales, and elite perks. This seems like great news for users of both programs. Unfortunately, neither offers easy elite status. JetBlue offers the easier path, you’ll “just” need to spend $5,000 on flights, $50,000 on a JetBlue credit card, or some combination of the two.
Price discrimination shenanigans? American, Delta, and United were caught charging solo travelers more for the same flight than travelers flying with a companion, though Delta and United quickly abandoned that scheme. ThriftyTraveler has more.
Special Offers ✨
Half off ThriftyTraveler Premium. Speaking of TT, no sooner do I publish my updated review of their flight-alert service, they launch a 10th-anniversary sale for 50% off the first year with discount code “BDAY.” If you’re interested, that beats our usual $20 referral-code discount.
Get an Uber voucher with Delta Gift Cards. Spend $300+ on Delta gift cards, get a $25 Uber voucher. I recommend booking flights with credit cards for the added protection, but if you’re looking for a gift card this is a nice bonus.
Devaluations 📉
Venture X losing guest access, free lounge access for authorized users. This is huge loss for the Venture X, but not enough to shake it from the top spot on my best cards list. We’ll cover this in more detail soon, but TPG has some quick analysis.
Iberia kills a business class sweet spot. The closest thing I’ve seen to a business-class redemption I would consider a “good deal” for a typical traveler has been Iberia’s 34k-Avios flight from the east coast to Europe. Costing over $1,000 in combined cash and points round-trip, I’d prefer two trips or a trip for two, but this was an attainable way to try out lay-flat seats. It’s slightly less attainable now, with Iberia jacking up the cost to 40,500 Avios.
The end of free bags on Southwest. Alas, LUV, we hardly knew ye. View From the Wing discusses Southwest’s new bag fees.
Enjoy the weekend! 🦥
—LazyPoints