Welcome to the Inside the Upgrade newsletter, where I share specific strategies for booking luxury flights and hotels for a discount, exclusive newsletter travel tips I wish I knew sooner, and the latest destination guides so you can make the most of every trip.

I keep my email cadence light, I only ever send content I would personally want to receive ✈️🥂

Hey Reader,
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I'm not sure about you, but I order from Amazon way too much. I also love to stop by my local bodega, but same-day delivery in New York is pretty hard to resist.

While I'd love to support Daddy Bezos less, I'm also happy to earn 5x points on all my Amazon purchases this quarter (up to $1500) from a totally free card and use those points to fly to London. I'll dive into that below with a video tutorial 📽️ (newsletter exclusive!).

This week's travel guide is all about Costa Rica, specifically the Arenal Volcano area. I went for just under a month last year and more and more of my friends are visiting Costa Rica for a reason. I literally saw (or heard) monkeys every single day of our trip and I stayed in both budget and luxury hotels that were amazing. It's hard to go wrong in CR:

I'm also seeing some great business-class flights to Paris in May on Air Tahiti which I flew a couple years ago and loved as well as business-class flights to Ireland from the east coast.

Finally, there's a limited-time card offer until April 13th that will basically pay you $155 to earn 75k points (which you can use to book the aforementioned business class flights!). Very excited to share this one.

If you have ANY feedback on what you want to see in this newsletter, I want to make this valuable for you so please feel free to just hit reply!

Cheers,
Deryn

👉 Save 15% or more on hotel deals here​

How to Earn 5x Points On All Amazon Purchases

👉You can learn more about this totally free card here.

Prefer a written tutorial? Just reply "guide" to this email and I'll send you one!

La Fortuna, Costa Rica is Amazing I spent 3 weeks in Costa Rica in 2025 and La Fortuna was a real highlight. We stayed in 2 gorgeous hotels, did a safari float, and took a teeny-tine plane that scared the crap out of me but was actually totally fine. Costa Rica should definitely be on your travel bucket list. Check it Out

I pretty much exclusively fly business class thanks to points, so here are the latest deals I've found for you! I find all these deals on Roame and you can get 10% off with the code ITU here. Or I can search for you here. My focus this time was Europe in May/June, obviously in business class 🥂

Should we all go to Paris in May? 🤔🇫🇷

There is some great availability on Air Tahiti Nui direct from the west coast to Paris in May. I flew this airline a couple years ago and loved it (though there are some nuances):

Or if you fancy a pint in Dublin, there's a lot of availability from the east coast. Though my rule of thumb is 10k points per hour in the air, so I wouldn't pay 90k for this, personally, but I would snag the 45k deal:

The ability to transfer to Atmos (Alaska/Hawaiian) is one of my favorite Bilt card perks.

[LAST CHANCE] You can make $155 on this card + earn 75k miles The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is only $95 and they're offering a $250 Capital One Travel credit until April 13th. I've used my travel credits for hotels, flights, and cars (most recently for New Year's Eve in Denver!), so it's really easy to spend. Plus you can earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening - that’s equal to at least $1,000 in travel, or more if you book the business-class flights I shared above! Learn More About The Bonus Here ⚠️ Note: You cannot earn this bonus if you've already earned a Venture bonus (like from the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card) in the last 4 years. I'm sadly not eligible, so I hope one of you can benefit! Not sure which card is right for you? I offer free consultations based on your goals.

I hope that helps and please let me know if you have any feedback!

Cheers to your next adventure ✈️🥂,

Deryn from Inside the Upgrade

​www.InsideTheUpgrade.com​