Credit Card Strategy and Upgrades

In this March 2026 Rove Report, Justin Vacula is joined by Carissa Rawson from Rove to talk about ways to earn and use points for travel. They discuss Rove’s growing list of transfer partners, as well as two major recent developments: the new SAS Scandinavian Airlines partnership and the launch of Japan Airlines. They explain the 20% SAS transfer bonus through April 8, 2026, including sweet spots such as 60,000 points for transatlantic business class. They also cover the Japan Airlines launch and a 50% transfer bonus through the end of March, along with examples of how to get outsized value from JAL’s award chart. Other topics include stacking with GiftCards.com, upcoming Rove features like elite status, card-linked offers, app beta access, better flight search, and merchant reliability scores, plus what to do when miles do not post correctly. The episode also includes travel stories, points strategy talk, meetups, and what is next for Rove. If you enjoy points and miles news, transfer bonus analysis, loyalty program updates, and practical travel rewards strategy, subscribe to Hurdy Gurdy Travel for more. Timestamps/Chapters 00:00 Show intro and March update 01:24 SAS partnership and transfer bonus 01:50 What is Rove Miles? 02:54 SAS sweet spots explained 03:29 Japan Airlines launch bonus 04:55 GiftCards.com stacking strategy 06:31 JAL bonus redemption example 07:17 Rove roadmap and Q2 features 09:17 Portal denials and card-linked fixes 12:06 Social links, meetups, and sponsors 16:18 Using Rove Miles 16:57 Rove Miles airport stays 17:37 Bora Bora points devaluation 18:38 Calala Island story 20:18 Calala tips and sunscreen 20:51 Credit card talk 21:33 New York move and online gambling 22:35 Maximizing monthly credits 24:55 Cruise deals and status 25:45 Rove updates and April plans 27:00 Where to find Rove 28:52 Final thanks and outro — 🎙️ 📢 Listen to the Hurdy Gurdy Travel Podcast: 👉 SoundCloud → https://soundcloud.com/hurdygurdytravelpodcast 👉 Apple Podcasts / iTunes → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hurdy-gurdy-travel-podcast/id1489093490 👉 Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/0PRUx83Z4XKHengsgOoLWg 👉 TuneIn → https://tunein.com/podcasts/Podcasts/Hurdy-Gurdy-Travel-Podcast-p1275539/ 👉 iHeartRadio → https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-hurdy-gurdy-travel-podcast-51807405/ 👉 …and many other podcast platforms worldwide! 🌍🎧 📡 Prefer using your favorite app? Simply copy & paste my podcast RSS feed: http://feeds.soundcloud.com/users/soundcloud:users:706382626/sounds.rss — 💜 Support My Work & Unlock Special Perks: 👉 Support me through helpful referral links on my site: https://hurdygurdytravel.com/donate-referral-links/ 👉 Use my CardPointers affiliate link to save on annual and lifetime memberships → https://www.cardpointers.com/hurdygurdytravel CardPointers helps you activate card-linked offers and take advantage of other powerful credit card features. 👉 Use my Savewise affiliate link to activate grocery coupons, maximize shopping portals, and more: https://getsavewise.com/pro?ref=hurdygurdy 👉 Become a Frequent Traveler University member and sign up for events. https://ftuniversity.com/?aff=24 👉 Earn 500 miles when signing up for Rove Miles using my referral link: www.rovemiles.com/?signup&referralCode=8AS1JSG9 — 👉 Visit the Support Tab on my website to contribute via SubscribeStar → https://www.subscribestar.com/hurdygurdytravel 🎁 Subscriber & Supporter Perks Include: ✨ One-on-one calls with me ✨ Advance notice of upcoming podcast guests (submit your questions!) ✨ A custom podcast episode recorded just for you 🎙️💬 ✨ Bonus content 🎁 — 🌐 Stay Connected With Me: 🔔 Subscribe on YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@HurdyGurdyTravelPodcast 👍 Like on Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/HurdyGurdyTravelPodcast 🐦 Follow on Twitter / X → https://x.com/HurdyGurdyTravl 📸 Follow on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/justinvacula/