Happy what feels like Monday, but is actually Tuesday! Hope you had a nice holiday weekend and got up to something fun.

Over the past few years, I would’ve gone skiing this weekend.

But with limited snow out west and a one-year-old daughter who isn’t quite ready to hit the slopes, we decided to postpone skiing until later in the season — and do something much closer to home instead.

We ventured down to the nation’s capital and ended up having a great weekend. Catch the highlights and my D.C. recommendations below. (You definitely need to add two of the restaurants we visited to your bucket list.)

Despite it being just a four-day work week, there’s a ton happening.

I’ve got some more strategies to beat Delta’s basic fares, an update on Bilt, and much more.

Plus, there’s an exciting new limited-time sign-up bonus on a super popular credit card. I’ve got all the details below.

Disclosure: From the Tray Table is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as thepointsguy.com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear. Not all financial companies or all available offers are included. The opinions expressed are mine alone. Content is not reviewed or endorsed by an entity.

One of the best (and simplest) travel credit cards just got a sweet limited-time offer.

The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is now offering a $250 travel credit and up to 75,000 bonus miles. Here’s how it breaks down:

Capital One miles can be redeemed directly via the issuer’s travel portal or transferred to 15+ partners. (I send most of my Cap One miles to Air Canada and regularly redeem them for at least 2 cents/mile.)

The Venture card earns 2x miles per dollar on all purchases and 5x miles on select Capital One Travel bookings.

If you don’t want to splurge for the pricier Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card with a $395 annual fee, I’d say the regular Venture card (with its modest $95 annual fee) is a great place to start — especially with this limited-time offer.

Questions? Reply and let me know. (Using these card links helps support my work — thank you!)

Last week, I highlighted Delta’s controversial move to likely bring basic fares to first and business class. Nothing is official yet, but executives have been teasing it for months.

While I’ll personally never book a basic ticket, I wouldn’t necessarily fault you for chasing the lowest fare.

If you are considering booking basic, here are some strategies to help you beat the onerous restrictions.

Wait for schedule changes or delays

If you’re planning to cancel a basic ticket, be patient. Wait until just before departure (I generally recommend 90 minutes) to see if your flight gets delayed and you qualify for free changes or cancellations. (Same is true for significant schedule changes.)

Always book one-way

If you end up needing to cancel a basic ticket, you typically need to cancel the whole itinerary, even if you’re still taking one leg. Save yourself the hassle by booking one-way tickets.

Buy + upgrade

If you want to sit in a premium seat, it’s sometimes cheaper to buy a regular economy ticket and then purchase an upgrade than to buy the cheapest, restrictive basic fare from the outset.

Search from a nearby airport

Delta (and its competitors) don’t sell basic fares in every market. It varies by airport, so if you have any flexibility, search for tickets to and from nearby airports.

Carry the right credit card

Cobranded credit cards offer great travel perks. Carry the right one to beat many of the restrictions associated with basic fares.

You’ll read more about our visit to D.C. below, but I figured it’s worth recapping some of the most helpful items we packed.

I always find lots to do on visits to D.C. This time, I did something I’ve never done before: drive there (from NYC).

We thought it’d be the easiest way to travel with our daughter. The train announcements would’ve woken her up from her naps, and flying would’ve been too much stop-and-start, not to mention under an hour in the air for her to properly nap.

So driving it was.

I let Apple Maps do the navigation this time, and boy, was I impressed. I loved the map visualizations at major intersections and found the interface to be massively improved from what I remember from years ago.

Once in D.C., we posted up at the Park Hyatt. While this is technically a property within Hyatt’s most luxurious chain, the hotel needs a little TLC. The pool area felt sterile, and the gym was well-equipped, but cramped.

(The room rates reflect this reality, though. We paid just $313++ a night, and used the $300 hotel credit with the Amex Platinum card to significantly discount the stay.)

We were upgraded to a junior suite (on account of my Hyatt Globalist status) and enjoyed a hefty complimentary breakfast at the hotel’s popular Blue Duck Tavern restaurant.

I posted more about the stay on Instagram, but our other can’t-miss highlights include:

If your social media algorithm features points hacks or credit cards, odds are you’re already well-versed in the Bilt 2.0 updates. If you’re not, start with my full guide (or video explainer) to the changes.

Perhaps the biggest update is how confusing the new system is.

Yes, you can earn points on rent and mortgages, but figuring out how many you’ll earn requires a PhD in Excel (and some significant everyday spending on your credit card).

To that end, Bilt is already introducing a simpler way to earn points on rent and mortgage payments.

You’ll need to pick which points-earning option works best for you. (Based on my Excel analysis, high spenders will do better with option 1, and casual spenders will do better with the previously announced option 2.)

I appreciate Bilt quickly addressing feedback, but adding another option to an already confusing program could unnecessarily complicate things even further.

What do you think?

The folks sitting on the second floor of Skyview 8 in Fort Worth (aka American Airlines’ media relations team) will like today’s “news you can use” section, since it’s entirely dedicated to their recent updates.