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Shay Mitchell’s Travel Tips for Millennials

The globetrotting actress wants you to take advantage of Amex’s Instagram-friendly rewards

You could swipe through life-hacks until your fingers dissolve into a pile of activated charcoal dust, but without IRL application, your own lifestyle will stay decidedly un-aspirational. And while the gulf between the Instagram haves and have-nots may seem vast, actress and professional “have” Shay Mitchell is helping her followers approach influencer status.

Earlier this month, Mitchell, who recently finished up seven years on the pulpy YA series Pretty Little Liars, partnered with American Express to launch the Blue Delta SkyMiles program, which rewards holders with two miles for every dollar spent at a U.S. restaurant. “You’re basically dining your way to your next getaway,” says Mitchell succinctly.

Shay Mitchell DJs at the Blue Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from American Express launch (Photo: Anna Webber/Getty Images)

Besides the Instagrammable photo-ops the card encourages, it is more millennial-friendly than most in the existing fleet Delta American Express cards, thanks to its no-fee membership. “We purposefully built this card with the new or casual traveler in mind,” says Delta Vice President of Customer Engagement and Loyalty Sandeep Dube in a press release. “More than a third of these consumers [say] dining is their top choice for spending.”

While most of the card’s target demographic may be green travel-wise, Mitchell herself is not your average 18-to-34-year-old. In addition to having a starring role television role under her belt, she’s also banked big-time mileage as the host of her hit YouTube series, Shaycation, which follows her throughout global adventures like skydiving in Dubai and argan oil hunting in Morocco. “I’m always planning my next vacation,” she says. “I just came back from eight days in Mykonos, which we shot for YouTube.”

But, she says, you don’t have to be a high roller to get first-class treatment through the Blue Delta card. “[Amex has] a concierge, and that’s how I book my trips,” she says. While her YouTube channel may make world travel look effortless, Mitchell says the concierge service has helped her out of a pinch. “When I wanted to extend my trip, they helped out with my hotel, the car service, everything,” she recalls. “So I got to extend my trip without any difficulty, which was amazing.”

Shay Mitchell in the photo booth at the Blue Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from American Express launch (Photo: Anna Webber/Getty Images)

Still, Mitchell insists that there are options for young travelers with or without a credit card. “I’m a big fan of road trips. They’re a lot cheaper, and you can still see a lot of places,” she says. “I’m sure there are a lot of places in your local area you haven’t been to yet. So when people say they don’t have enough money to travel just yet, I say, ‘do your research.’ There’s not a place I don’t research before visiting.”

So until you start racking up your own miles, just stay tuned to Mitchell’s YouTube channel: she’s already planned visits to India, Istanbul, and the Amalfi coast by the end of this year.

Main image: Shay Mitchell hold the newly launched Blue Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from American Express (Photo: Anna Webber/Getty Images) 

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