đ¤ I Flew to Tahiti For Free
Breaking Down the Cost of the Trip
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In this Email:
How I used credit card points to pay for my trip to Tahiti
Going over the business headlines of the week
Sup. Zaid here.Â
If you read my newsletter from last week (or follow me on IG) youâll know that I was in Tahiti celebrating my 7 year anniversary.
The trip was fun. Except for the fact I got the worst sunburn of my life. Also, my wife fell of a jet ski while I was drivingâŚbut thankfully nobody got hurt (except for maybe my ego).Â
Overall, it was a fun trip. We stayed in those overwater bungalows that were all over Instagram back in 2017.
The best part, I used credit card points to save a ton of money. Here is a breakdown of how much the trip cost.Â
Flight: Free (using 140,000 credit card points)
The roundtrip flight from Houston to Tahiti was 70k points per person (140k total for wife and I).Â
I already had about 60k United airline points because I signed up for the United Explorer Credit Card a couple years ago
I transferred 90k points of my Chase Points (that I accrued over 4 years using my Chase Sapphire Preferred Card) to United
Hotel: $1,500 for 4 nightsÂ
Food / Entertainment: $500
Total: $2,000 for 4 nights
This trip was special for me. My wife wanted to go to Tahiti (and stay in an overwater bungalow) for our honeymoon 7 years ago. But back then, I couldn't afford it. I told her weâd go once we had the money. Fast forward to today, we were able to go and save money on flights.Â
Plus, if crypto keeps pumping like this, we might be able to go back next year đ
Market Vibe Check
Stocks: Good times don't last forever. The S&P500 and Dow Jones had their first down week of 2023, likely due to the debt ceiling drama and mixed earnings reports. Nasdaq is still partying on, finishing in the green.Â
Crypto: It's amazing how quickly the crypto market can turn around! One minute we're in a bear market, the next everyone's predicting Bitcoin will hit $30k. Talk about a vibe shift! Iâm still not convinced itâs sustainable though.
Business News You Should Know
> Microsoft, Google and Amazon announce layoffs: 10k at Microsoft. 12k at Google. 18k at Amazon Layoffs sucks. I hate that people are losing their jobs. But tech companies hired too many people during the pandemic. Even after these layoffs, Microsoft, Google and Amazon all have more employees today than they did before the pandemic. I wouldnât be surprised if we see even more layoffs from these companies later this year.
(Read More: See Big Tech Headcount over the last 2 years)
> US Hit Debt Ceiling $31.4 Trillion: *sigh* I feel like the debt ceiling is in the news every 2 years. Itâs more politics than economics at this point. As of right now, the US canât borrow any more money, until the debt ceiling is raised. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says the government has enough money to pay all the bills until June. Weâre probably going to be talking about this for months.Â
(Read More: How the U.S. Debt Ceiling Works and Why It Matters)
> Netflix added 7.66 million subs in Q4: Netflix had a HUGE Q4. Adding 7.66 million subs (vs 4.57 million expected). Iâm still not bullish on Netflix long term, or the streaming business in general. But Netflix might have gotten their mojo back. Netflixâs Founder Reed Hasting is stepping down after 25 years.
(Read More: CNBC)
> Tim Cook Taking a Pay Cut: Tim Cook will ONLY take home $49 million in 2023. Thatâs down from the $99 million he made in 2022 (50% pay cut). Tim Cook requested this pay cut himself. Smart PR move by Timmy? Note, Apple is the only big tech company that hasn't announced layoffsâŚyet.
> Appleâs M2 MacBook Pros and Mac Mini: Appleâs had a lowkey product announcement. New Macbook Pros and Mac Mini with M2 chips coming very soon. But unless youâre editing 4k videos, (or are rich af) you probably donât need one. The M2 Mac Mini is pretty enticing though. Itâs only $599. Iâll likely be buying one. Stay tuned for a review.Â
Throwback Headline
JANUARY 16, 2007: Netflix Launches Streaming
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diamond hands ETH to the moon... hopefully
Good stuff!