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I will spend over 200 nights this year in Airbnb apartments–here’s where I am sleeping in 2015–so three pieces of news about Airbnb caught my eye today.

  1. Most (all?) AMEX cards are offering $50 off a $100 Airbnb purchase made by 12/31/15.
  2. You can use AMEX Membership Rewards to pay for Airbnb stays.
  3. You can earn Virgin America Elevate points for Airbnb stays.

Right now, if you sign up for Airbnb through my referral link, you’ll get $25 off your first stay, and I’ll get $25 off my next stay. Feel free to leave your referral link in the comments.

Get $50 Off Your Next $100+ Airbnb Stay

Sign into your American Express account and look for “Amex Offers & Benefits” below your recent charges.

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My very last offer was $50 back on a $100+ Airbnb purchase made by December 31, 2015.

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Book a stay or buy a gift card this year on your enrolled American Express this year and get $50 back. This is $50 free for me that I will use for a stay this year or next.Screen Shot 2015-11-03 at 6.03.07 PM

(Don’t) Use Membership Rewards to Book an Airbnb Stay

You can now use American Express Membership Rewards to pay for an Airbnb stay. You will get 0.7 cents of value per point, which is atrocious, though, so don’t do it. I value Membership Rewards at about 2 cents each.

Get Virgin America Elevate Points for Airbnb Bookings

Start your Airbnb bookings on this page, and you will earn 1 Virgin America point per dollar of the booking. If you sign up to host and complete a stay, you get 20,000 Virgin America points.

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Virgin America points are worth about 2.3 cents each, so that’s a 2.3% rebate on stays and a $460 host sign up bonus.

I did not complete a booking, but from going through most of the steps, I can say that the $25 coupons earned from referral links can be applied to stays that earn Virgin America points. I do not know whether you would earn 1 point per dollar on the subtotal or only on what you pay after the coupon.

I have no way to test, but I assume the $50 American Express credit (above) could be stacked with the Virgin America points offer as long as you spend $100+ on the stay.

Bottom Line

I spend more than half my time in Airbnb apartments, which are better, bigger, and cheaper than hotel rooms. Here’s how Airbnb works.

Right now, if you sign up for Airbnb through my referral link, you’ll get $25 off your first stay, and I’ll get $25 off my next stay. Feel free to leave your referral link in the comments.

Today’s Airbnb news:

  1. Most (all?) AMEX cards are offering $50 off a $100 Airbnb purchase made by 12/31/15.
  2. You can use AMEX Membership Rewards to pay for Airbnb stays.
  3. You can earn Virgin America Elevate points for Airbnb stays.
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