Delta Miles for Bag Delays/Move to Wellington/Less Expensive Bhutan
Nomadico issue #69
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.
Delayed Bag Compensation on Delta
This wouldn’t have helped me when I waited 45 minutes in Mexico recently, but if your checked bag on Delta takes more than 20 minutes to arrive when on a domestic USA flight, you get an easy 2,500 SkyMiles as compensation. Just complete this form no later than three days after your flight’s arrival.
Your Free Nights at Hilton Brand Hotels
I stayed at Hilton hotels in Sofia and Munich this summer and barely put a dent in my loyalty points balance. That’s because earlier this year I got the Hilton Surpass Amex card, which currently puts 130,000 points in your account after you get approved and meet the $2K spend within 3 months. It carries a $99 annual fee, but that’s nothing considering the perks: Gold status (we got upgraded both times) and 10 Priority Pass airport lounge visits. It also showers you with 6X points for dining, groceries, and gas, which I haven’t seen with any other card.
Wellington Wants You
We’ve reported before about countries, cities, and rural regions trying to lure foreigners with money or skill with incentives. Wellington, New Zealand is trying to do it by just rolling out the welcome mat and making it easier to live there. They’ve launched an “Escape to Wellington” campaign with a flashy website in an attempt to lure skilled tech and medical workers especially—some roles can go straight to residency on a fast pass just based on the type of job.
Bhutan Gets More Reasonable to Visit
When Bhutan opened back up to visitors after the pandemic, they raised the minimum daily fee to $200 per person. There weren’t many wealthy takers, apparently, because the government has now cut it down to $100 per day to bring in needed tourism dollars. A tourism spokesperson said that more than 56,000 tourists had visited Bhutan since January but about 42,000 were Indian nationals, who only have to pay a fee of 1,200 Indian rupees ($14.50) a day. In 2019, the country had more than 315,000 visitors.
09/14/23
