Sunny Places to Retire

While Mexico is the most popular retiree destination for Americans and Canadians by a huge margin, it’s #5 on the annual Global Retirement Index that International Living produces. The top spot usually goes to Panama, thanks to its generous perks and terrific medical care, but this year it got edged out by Greece, which offers a residency permit to those spending at least 250,000 euros on real estate. Unlike Panama and number two Costa Rica, Greece offers plenty of variety in climate, altitude, and places to get away from the crowds. Other countries in the top-10 are Portugal, Italy, France, Spain, Thailand, and Malaysia.

Welcoming Countries for Nomads

If you’re not ready to put down roots but want to spend quality time where you land, only some of the countries that are great for retirees are also great for digital nomads. Thailand, Costa Rica, and Mexico are three of the exceptions in terms of countries where you can spend six months or more at a time without getting formal, long-term residency. Plenty of countries offer some kind of digital nomad visa, but a lot of those come with onerous requirements and tax obligations on foreign income. See my rundown here of the most welcoming countries for nomads and remote workers.

Airline Loyalty Doesn’t Pay Off for Most Travelers

American Airlines says that passengers buying their “basic economy” tickets (their match to Spirit or Ryanair service) will no longer earn loyalty points on their flights. Sadly, other legacy airlines will probably follow suit. This proves once again that high-spending frequent business travelers with elite status are now the only ones who earn significant frequent flier points from actually flying. (One example of how bad the payoff is: a business class flight from Mexico City to Tampa on Delta will earn me a whopping 1,000 SkyPesos.) Forget loyalty: if you want to earn free flights, you’ll get there far faster by just maximizing your credit card spending instead, preferably with a card that allows multi-airline transfers, like Sapphire Preferred.

Another Points Currency with Rove

Apart from the Chase points mentioned above and others available via Amex and Capital One, here’s a lesser-known option that could pay off even faster, especially if you like to stay in independent boutique hotels instead of chains. If you book through Rove Miles instead of, say, Expedia, you can earn 5 to 25 points per dollar that you can then cash in or transfer out. Flight bookings earn the lowest, but you often see 10 to 25 points per dollar spent on hotel bookings, on top of whatever your credit card is giving you. Plus they have a shopping portal. Then if you want to transfer points out, they connect to airlines in all three airline alliances: Star Alliance, One World, and SkyTeam.

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A weekly newsletter with four quick bites, edited by Tim Leffel, author of A Better Life for Half the Price and The World’s Cheapest Destinations. See past editions here, where your like-minded friends can subscribe and join you.

01/1/26