JetBlue purges 37 routes (RIP) ☠️

August 24, 2022

Estimated read time: 3 minutes and 46 seconds

Good morning everyone! I'm writing today from my second home (Toronto Pearson Airport). It's not as cozy as my apartment, but hey, there's free food here 🤷🏼‍♂️

• 🏨 Earn 4x IHG points (only 1 week left)
• ✈️ Earn 20% more miles to travel around the world
• 🪦 JetBlue cancels dozens of routes

🏨 Earn 4x IHG points (only 1 week left)

I know, I know. I've been talking a lot about hotels lately. But it's not my fault, there are just too many great deals to pass up, and I feel morally obligated to make sure you get the best travel hacking advice.

This amazing promo from IHG one is really simple. After registering for the offer:

• Earn 2x points on nights 2-5
• Earn 3x points on nights 6-14
• Earn 4x points on nights 15+

Unfortunately, this promo ends on August 31st… I would've told you sooner, but this lovely newsletter didn’t exist yet.

But you still have time to earn a bunch of points if you have hotel stays coming up this next week.

Is this deal worth pursuing?

I think so, yes. In fact, I've booked an IHG property this week for my stay in Germany so I could take advantage of this exact offer.

IHG Rewards has a unique set of brands ranging from budget hotels to expensive luxury ones. My strategy is to earn points on cheap Holiday Inn stays and redeem them on luxurious Intercontinental stays (both of which are owned by IHG).

IHG just revamped their entire loyalty program a few months ago, and I have really been enjoying it. They have elevated rewards, TONS more perks, and have been offering nonstop promos. I want to cover IHG's program in greater detail in future newsletters, but for now, I'll leave it there.

Make sure you register for the offer, especially if you have (or plan to have) an IHG stay booked this week.

✈️ Earn 20% more miles to travel around the world

Speaking of awesome deals that expire on August 31st…

You can transfer Capital One miles to British Airways Avios with a 20% bonus until the end of the month. And before you go thinking that this offer only applies to people looking to eat fish and chips or search for the Loch Ness monster, let me learn ya' something.

Although Avios are the points currency of British Airways, you can actually link your British Airways account with a number of other airlines and use your Avios to book flights with them. In fact, I would recommend using Avios on any airline BUT British Airways... 😬

Sorry, no offense to you British travelers out there... It's because British Airways charges absolutely insane taxes, fees, and fuel surcharges. So even when you book a flight on points, you might still have to pay $500 in fees, which I think is ridiculous.

You could book an entire round trip to Europe for the cost of these taxes and fees

So where should you use your Avios?

I would recommend using your Avios to book flights on Qatar Airways. Yes, you can use British Airways points to book flights to anywhere in the world on one of the world's best and most luxurious airlines.

Here are just a few examples of where you could travel with various amounts of Capital One miles using this transfer bonus.

• New York to New Delhi for 40,000 Avios (33,000 Capital One miles)
• Boston to Doha (round trip) for 60,000 Avios (50,000 Capital One miles)
• Los Angeles to Bangkok for 47,500 Avios (40,000 Capital One miles)

You can even add a free stopover in Qatar on your way to your destination. That is exactly what I'm doing in a couple of months on my trip from Warsaw to New Delhi on Qatar Airways. I transferred some American Express points to British Airways for this exact purpose and will now get to spend a couple of days exploring Qatar's capital city of Doha.

This transfer bonus only lasts for another week, so if you think you might use some Avios for a trip down the road, it might be worth transferring them now and holding on to them. 

🪦 JetBlue cancels dozens of routes

In other depressing news, JetBlue has cut 37 routes spanning across the country, Central America, and the Caribbean.

This comes after what has been a tough Summer for pretty much every airline out there. You can see a full list of which routes have been canceled here, but the hardest-hit cities are definitely New York and Fort Lauderdale.

This is likely an effort to give the airline a little more wiggle room with staff and planes when it comes to its other routes being delayed, canceled, etc.

Still, it's pretty crazy to see an airline cut so many routes all at once…

I don't want to end this newsletter on such a negative note, so here's a photo of a kitten and dog snuggling together:

There. Now you can't be sad. 😊

Thanks for tuning in today. You've probably noticed the format of the newsletter changing a bit from day to day... We've been playing around and trying things out, so I appreciate your patience.

Have you flown Qatar Airways before? What is one specific topic you'd like me to cover in this newsletter? Let me know by replying to this email or reaching out on social media.

Cheers,

Mike Dodge
Head Writer, The Daily Drop
43.6777° N, 79.6248° W

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