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May 22, 2026 | View Online
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I’m an awfully proud big brother today. My sister, who lives in Qatar, messaged me asking, “Is 36,000 Avios plus £100 a good deal for a Doha to Mykonos round trip?”
Considering the cheapest cash rate was almost £900, you’re damn right it’s a good deal.
So she’s off on Saturday, saving £800 in cash, and grabbing over 2 pence per Avios in value.
Job done.
Let’s get to the points:
Cheers,
Steven
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| CARD OF THE WEEK
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Hilton’s Elevated Bonus Lineup
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Hilton Honors has been my favorite hotel loyalty program for over a decade now. It’s by no means the best value for redemptions, but my Diamond status has been a joy for the entirety of the time I’ve had it.
I’m also a big believer in having at least one hotel card in your wallet. I don’t think you should be spending much on it after the initial bonus period, but having the perks can be a proper game-changer. And if you’re in the market for one, Hilton is now running an elevated introductory bonus on its line of co-branded cards.
As usual, I can’t name them, but you’ll find all of them on this handy guide.
Why should you go for it?
First and foremost, the bonuses are solid. They look like this, starting from the cheapest, and ending with the business card:
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Cheapest: $100 statement + 100,000 Bonus Points after spending $2,000 within six months of opening the card
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Mid-range: $0 intro annual fee ($150 thereafter)+ 130,000 Bonus Points after spending $3,000 within six months of opening the card
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Premium: 175,000 Bonus Points after spending $6,000 within six months of opening the card
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Business: $0 Intro annual fee ($195 thereafter) + 130,000 Bonus Points after spending $8,000 within six months of opening the card
My pick of the bunch for the average person is the mid-range option. Its bonus is great, the perks punch well above its cost, and even casual Hilton customers can make use of it. I own the premium card, and it’s my favorite card for the sheer volume of perks the thing offers. I really do love it, but it’s not for everyone.
All of the bonuses end on 7/29/26, so you have a little bit of time.
But don’t wait too long.
Check ‘em all out here.
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| TECH NEWS
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A Home Delivered to You. Unpacked in One Hour.
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Imagine a future where we could mass produce homes like cars — one every minute. That’s the
vision of BOXABL Inc. (“BOXABL”), a company with the goal of leading a homebuilding revolution with high quality, cost effective, factory-made, foldable houses that ship anywhere
and unpack in one hour.
BOXABL announced plans for a potential SPAC merger with FG Merger II Corp. (“FGMC”)
(NASDAQ: FGMC). After crowdfunding $230M from over 60,000 investors since 2020.
Currently trading on Nasdaq, $FGMC will be the surviving entity following the proposed
merger's closing. The combined company will then be renamed BOXABL Inc., with the
anticipated ticker $BXBL.
BOXABL expects Nasdaq trading on or about June 12th. Investors holding $FGMC shares will
automatically convert to $BXBL upon closing.
Click here to find important information related to the proposed merger.*
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| STEVEN'S TIPS
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First Impressions Of Hyatt’s New Rates
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World of Hyatt has officially switched to its new system. I won’t go back into the full details of it (you can read all about it here or check Tuesday’s email), but I’ve been scouring the search button to see how things are looking.
So far...it’s…okay.
Look, it’s still the best hotel program, but it’s definitely lost a bit of value. Here are my rough takeaways, helped by some far more in-depth research from some of our pals at other outlets (because they had the foresight to screenshot the old rates).
What’s the verdict?
Obviously, it depends on the specific hotel, but let’s take a look at a random Category 5 in New York, the Hyatt Place Times Square.
In the past, a standard stay here cost 20,000 points, an off-peak stay was 17,000 points, and a peak date was 23,000 points. The new chart uses five categories, and the big worry was how they would define dates. While the “lowest” dates are often cheaper than the old off-peak ones, Hyatt might be frugal with when they use it.
In this case, there are tons of “moderate” dates between now and the end of the year, which cost 25,000 points. Assuming those dates would have been “standard” in the past, that’s a 25% increase on your average day. The good news is that if you go far enough ahead, you’ll find loads of “lowest” dates, which are only 15,000 points, 2000 points cheaper than they were before. Interestingly, I couldn’t see any higher costing dates for that hotel, even around the World Cup Final, which is odd. Other hotels, like the Hyatt Centric (cat 6), seem to have even more lowest dates.
I’m uncertain if Hyatt is easing us in to make it seem a little better before hitting us with a barrage of higher rates, but for now, it seems like they’re being conservative.
Other outlets have been far more thorough in their research and predict that Hyatt’s verbiage about “growing into the chart” is annoying corporate speak for “slowly move everything up to the higher bands”, at which point there will be a new chart. We shall see, though.
At least it’s still an award chart, and it’s still better value than most other programs.
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The Ultimate Credit Score Guide
Credit scores are bloody annoying. We have them in the rest of the world, but they just don’t have the same impact as they do in the US. Where else can you be phenomenal with your money, avoid debt, pay your bills on time, and still be told you’re not trustworthy yet? It’s a complex topic, but we’ve done our best to build you the ultimate credit score guide to help you work out where you are and how to get where you need to be.
Check the guide out here.
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| TRAVEL HACKING NEWS
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Travel News
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Qatar Avios Adds Philippine Airlines Redemptions
Qatar Airways just made Avios a whole lot more useful in Asia. You can now redeem Qatar Privilege Club Avios for flights on Philippine Airlines, including some tricky-to-book long-haul routes between Manila and the U.S. The pricing isn’t unbelievable, but considering how easy Avios are to earn these days, it opens up another genuinely useful option for getting to Southeast Asia without paying absurd cash fares. With the cost of fuel going up, it’s worth having an extra outlet to use your points.
Bilt Adds Flying Blue Rent Earning
Bilt Rewards and Flying Blue have teamed up to let eligible cardholders earn up to 3x Flying Blue miles on rent payments. The catch is the usual 3% payment fee, so it’s not a magical free-points loophole, but for people chasing Flying Blue redemptions or trying to top up for a business-class booking, it could actually make sense. In reality, you’re getting around 1.5 points per dollar, if you take the fee into account, so make sure you’re spending in the right place for your own strategy.
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