Ayoooo, welcome to the weekend!

In case you missed it, Bruno Mars AND Harry Styles dropped new albums… which means we all have some very important listening to do.

So pretty please give me just five quick minutes to recap the week…

… and then we can all go have a (virtual) listening party, deal? 🕺

Ok, here’s what you might’ve missed.

💸 Here’s exactly how to get compensated when your travel plans get derailed.

🏨 Don’t miss out on the easiest way to earn Hilton Free Night Awards right now.

🇪🇺 This month’s Flying Blue Promo Rewards are actually… really good.

👀 You can credit flights to other airlines (and here’s why you should). 

🎥 Find out how World of Hyatt works, how to maximize your points, and what changes are coming in this week’s Daily Drop YouTube video.

🏆 Our Favorite Pick: Let’s talk about transfer bonuses

This week felt like a mini festival in the world of transfer partners.

If you’re newer here, transfer partners are airline and hotel programs you can move flexible credit card points into (like UR points, Capital One miles, MR points, and so on).

This is going to unlock some of the best redemptions, and when there’s a transfer bonus… hallelujah!

Here are three worth knowing about from this week:

✈️ A new JAL transfer partner (with a 50% bonus!)

One of the biggest surprises this week was Rove Miles announcing Japan Airlines Mileage Bank as a new 1:1 transfer partner.

And to get the party started, they’re offering a 50% transfer bonus through March 31.

JAL’s award chart has some pretty awesome sweet spots, especially for long-haul premium cabins.

For example, Emirates business class to Europe prices at 60,000 JAL miles, which drops to 40,000 Rove Miles with the bonus.

JAL’s own long-haul business class to Asia starts around 55,000 miles one-way, which converts to roughly 37,000 Rove Miles with the bonus.

Y’all. Not bad for some of the best business-class products in the sky.

If you’re not familiar with Rove Miles, it’s a newer program on the up-and-up because it's so easy to earn miles.

You can earn them through travel bookings and partner offers, and the platform often offers very high earning rates compared to traditional loyalty programs.

Between the strong transfer partners and promos like this, it’s quickly becoming one of those programs that’s harder and harder to ignore.

✈️ 20% transfer bonus from UR points to Avios

Another nice opportunity this week: a 20% transfer bonus from UR points to Avios.

This applies to the entire Avios gang:

• British Airways

• Iberia

• Aer Lingus

And since Avios can be freely moved between programs (including Qatar Airways), a bonus to one is effectively a bonus to all.

Avios are one of the most flexible airline currencies out there.

You can use them for short domestic flights on American Airlines, flights to Europe, or long-haul premium cabins on partners like Qatar Airways.

With this 20% bonus, those redemptions become even cheaper.

🏨 30% transfer bonus to Preferred Hotels

There was also a 30% transfer bonus this week from Capital One miles to Preferred Hotels’ I Prefer program.

Normally, the transfer ratio is 1:2, but with the bonus, it jumps to 1:2.6.

That means transferring 1,000 Capital One miles yields 2,600 I Prefer points, which can help you find some surprisingly good boutique hotel stays.

For example, the Bahia Hotel & Beach House in Cabo San Lucas (oooh, aaah) can price around 50,000 I Prefer points per night, which works out to fewer than 20,000 Capital One miles with the bonus.

Just note that Citi ThankYou points transfer at a 1:4 ratio (all the time), which can sometimes be an even better option.

The moral of the story is… flexible points + transfer bonuses = very good things.

🌟 Come Join Our Team 🌟 

Want to help us build Daily Drop from the inside?

We’re hiring two new roles that sit at the center of how we grow. If either sounds like you (or someone you know), check them out:

• Partnerships Manager to help scale our sponsorship engine and turn signed deals into repeatable revenue

• Product Manager to own our roadmap and turn strategy into shipped features that drive subscription growth

🌍 Week in Review

• Monday: 🏨 Book ultra-premium hotels for $0... and 0 points

• Tuesday: ✈️ A new transfer partner (and transfer bonus)

• Wednesday: 🍝 How I booked a last-minute trip in Italy

• Thursday: 💸 Get compensated when travel goes wrong

• Friday: ✈️ How (and why) to credit flights to other airlines

That’s all for this week, friends! 😌

Now go enjoy your weekend, and we’ll chat real soon!

See yaaaaaaaa,

With contributions by Mike Dodge

Ayoooo, welcome to the weekend!

In case you missed it, Bruno Mars AND Harry Styles dropped new albums… which means we all have some very important listening to do.

So pretty please give me just five quick minutes to recap the week…

… and then we can all go have a (virtual) listening party, deal? 🕺

Ok, here’s what you might’ve missed.

💸 Here’s exactly how to get compensated when your travel plans get derailed.

🏨 Don’t miss out on the easiest way to earn Hilton Free Night Awards right now.

🇪🇺 This month’s Flying Blue Promo Rewards are actually… really good.

👀 You can credit flights to other airlines (and here’s why you should). 

🎥 Find out how World of Hyatt works, how to maximize your points, and what changes are coming in this week’s Daily Drop YouTube video.

🏆 Our Favorite Pick: Let’s talk about transfer bonuses

This week felt like a mini festival in the world of transfer partners.

If you’re newer here, transfer partners are airline and hotel programs you can move flexible credit card points into (like UR points, Capital One miles, MR points, and so on).

This is going to unlock some of the best redemptions, and when there’s a transfer bonus… hallelujah!

Here are three worth knowing about from this week:

✈️ A new JAL transfer partner (with a 50% bonus!)

One of the biggest surprises this week was Rove Miles announcing Japan Airlines Mileage Bank as a new 1:1 transfer partner.

And to get the party started, they’re offering a 50% transfer bonus through March 31.

JAL’s award chart has some pretty awesome sweet spots, especially for long-haul premium cabins.

For example, Emirates business class to Europe prices at 60,000 JAL miles, which drops to 40,000 Rove Miles with the bonus.

JAL’s own long-haul business class to Asia starts around 55,000 miles one-way, which converts to roughly 37,000 Rove Miles with the bonus.

Y’all. Not bad for some of the best business-class products in the sky.

If you’re not familiar with Rove Miles, it’s a newer program on the up-and-up because it's so easy to earn miles.

You can earn them through travel bookings and partner offers, and the platform often offers very high earning rates compared to traditional loyalty programs.

Between the strong transfer partners and promos like this, it’s quickly becoming one of those programs that’s harder and harder to ignore.

✈️ 20% transfer bonus from UR points to Avios

Another nice opportunity this week: a 20% transfer bonus from UR points to Avios.

This applies to the entire Avios gang:

• British Airways

• Iberia

• Aer Lingus

And since Avios can be freely moved between programs (including Qatar Airways), a bonus to one is effectively a bonus to all.

Avios are one of the most flexible airline currencies out there.

You can use them for short domestic flights on American Airlines, flights to Europe, or long-haul premium cabins on partners like Qatar Airways.

With this 20% bonus, those redemptions become even cheaper.

🏨 30% transfer bonus to Preferred Hotels

There was also a 30% transfer bonus this week from Capital One miles to Preferred Hotels’ I Prefer program.

Normally, the transfer ratio is 1:2, but with the bonus, it jumps to 1:2.6.

That means transferring 1,000 Capital One miles yields 2,600 I Prefer points, which can help you find some surprisingly good boutique hotel stays.

For example, the Bahia Hotel & Beach House in Cabo San Lucas (oooh, aaah) can price around 50,000 I Prefer points per night, which works out to fewer than 20,000 Capital One miles with the bonus.

Just note that Citi ThankYou points transfer at a 1:4 ratio (all the time), which can sometimes be an even better option.

The moral of the story is… flexible points + transfer bonuses = very good things.

🌟 Come Join Our Team 🌟 

Want to help us build Daily Drop from the inside?

We’re hiring two new roles that sit at the center of how we grow. If either sounds like you (or someone you know), check them out:

• Partnerships Manager to help scale our sponsorship engine and turn signed deals into repeatable revenue

• Product Manager to own our roadmap and turn strategy into shipped features that drive subscription growth

🌍 Week in Review

• Monday: 🏨 Book ultra-premium hotels for $0... and 0 points

• Tuesday: ✈️ A new transfer partner (and transfer bonus)

• Wednesday: 🍝 How I booked a last-minute trip in Italy

• Thursday: 💸 Get compensated when travel goes wrong

• Friday: ✈️ How (and why) to credit flights to other airlines

That’s all for this week, friends! 😌

Now go enjoy your weekend, and we’ll chat real soon!

See yaaaaaaaa,

With contributions by Mike Dodge

Estimated read time: 5 minutes and 41 seconds

Good morning from Cairo Airport, where I’m anxiously hoping Egypt isn’t the next country to close its airspace before I make it to Europe later today. 🤞

Today’s newsletter will be a bit longer than usual, but that’s because we’re covering a topic that a LOT of you have asked for clarification on:

• ✈️ How (and why) to credit flights to other airlines

• 💳 Cool new $350 card perk

• 🔄 Current Transfer Bonuses

✈️ How (and why) to credit flights to other airlines

Here’s a little trick that can seriously level up your points game.

When you book a flight with cash, the airline you’re flying doesn’t have to be the airline you earn miles with.

For example, let’s say you book a United flight. Most people would automatically add their United frequent flyer number to the reservation and earn United miles.

But you don’t have to.

If you add your Aeroplan number instead, that same flight will earn Aeroplan points – even though you’re flying on a United plane.

This works because airlines partner with each other through alliances. United and Air Canada are both part of Star Alliance, which means their loyalty programs recognize each other’s flights.

And that opens the door to a bunch of useful strategies.

Why you might credit flights to a different airline

There are generally three reasons you’d do this: the points, the perks, or both.

Sometimes it’s about earning better points.

Different programs calculate earnings differently. United, for example, awards miles based on how much money you spend. Aeroplan, on the other hand, often awards points based on distance flown.

So if you book a cheap but long flight, crediting it to Aeroplan could earn you significantly more points than crediting it to United. But if the ticket is expensive, United’s revenue-based earnings might actually come out ahead.

For example, if you book this round trip on United from Los Angeles to Bangkok, it’ll cost $662 in basic economy. 👇

Because of United’s upcoming program changes, this flight would earn you exactly 0 United miles unless you have elite status or a co-branded credit card.

If you credit to Aeroplan, however, you’ll still earn 25% of the distance flown as Aeroplan points – even in basic economy.

So instead of 0 United miles, you can earn 4,155 Aeroplan points for the same booking.

Other times, this is all about elite perks.

I have Platinum Elite status with Garuda Indonesia, a SkyTeam airline.

That means if I book an economy flight with other SkyTeam airlines (like Delta, KLM, Korean Air, or Aeromexico), I can add my Garuda loyalty number to the reservation.

I’ll earn Garuda miles (which, frankly, I don’t care much about), but the real benefit is the elite perks: things like lounge access, free checked bags, priority boarding, and better seat selection… all while flying economy.

And occasionally, you get the best of both worlds.

Take Atmos Rewards as an example. My Atmos Titanium status comes with oneworld Emerald, which unlocks some seriously nice perks when flying American Airlines, British Airways, Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific, and more – including access to first-class lounges in places like Hong Kong.

But Atmos also has a points currency I actually value, and elite members get higher earning rates on flights. I earn 150% bonus points on ALL oneworld and partner flights, for example.

So when I credit those oneworld flights to Atmos, I’m getting the perks and racking up a pile of points at the same time.

How do you actually do this?

Generally, you can add a frequent flyer number during the booking process.

For example, if you are booking a United flight, you’ll see a page like this where you input your personal information – including your preferred loyalty program and frequent flyer number. 👇

Example of United’s checkout page

But if you book a flight and accidentally use the wrong program, don’t stress. You can usually change it online through the airline’s “manage booking” page.

Worst-case scenario — you can always call the airline and ask them to update the number. And in the VERY worst case, you can just change it during the check-in process (either online or at the airport).

A couple of important things to know

First, you can only earn miles with one program per flight – no double-dipping here, you naughty travelers.

Second, this generally only applies to cash tickets. If you booked an award flight using miles, you typically won’t earn additional miles – though adding a loyalty number can still matter if you’re trying to receive elite perks.

And if you’re chasing elite status with a specific airline, you’ll usually want to credit flights to that airline’s program. Crediting a United flight to Aeroplan, for example, won’t help you earn status with United.

A quick reality check

Now, before the points nerds in the back start warming up their keyboards: this is intentionally a very basic introduction to the concept.

There are plenty of smaller nuances we simply can’t cover in one newsletter section, including things like:

• Certain fare classes earn fewer miles with partner programs

• Some ultra-cheap tickets earn nothing at all

• Elite perks vary by alliance tier

• Flat-rate mileage earnings for certain programs

The goal here isn’t to memorize every edge case.

It’s just to understand the core idea: the airline you fly and the airline you earn points with don’t have to be the same.

And once you start thinking about your flights that way, you unlock a whole new layer of strategy for earning better points and enjoying better perks along the way.

💳 Cool new $350 card perk

Holding premium credit cards with sky-high annual fees can be stressful. But every once in a while, we get cool opportunities to make some of that annual fee back in the form of credits.

And for a limited time, this premium card just dropped a new offer: You can now get $359 back when you spend $359 on a WHOOP membership.

This basically means you’ve got a brand-new, dead-simple way to knock $359 off your annual fee with a purchase that might interest many of you.

So… what the heck is WHOOP?

WHOOP is a fitness/wellness band and membership system that focuses on recovery, sleep, strain, and overall body performance.

It’s super popular with runners, weightlifters, and people who love obsessing over their health data.

But regular humans like it too because it basically tells you, “Hey, here’s why you feel like garbage today.”

Why this card perk matters

WHOOP’s most premium annual membership – the one that includes the band, strap, charger, and full analytics – costs exactly $359 per year.

The only thing not included with this initial purchase is taxes. But depending on where you live, that might be $0.

Plus, shipping is free and takes just 3-5 days.

Since I have a New Hampshire billing address, my grand total for the band, membership, taxes, and shipping came out to exactly $359.

If you do sign up for a new membership, make sure to turn off recurring payments or set a reminder for yourself in just under a year in case you decide not to continue paying for it.

This credit is not annual; it's a one-time deal through May of this year.

Also, you need to activate this offer in your card account before making the purchase on WHOOP’s website – and make sure to read the terms in detail.

The bottom line

If you’ve had your eye on WHOOP or you’ve just been looking for painless ways to claw back the cost of your premium card’s annual fee, this is easily one of the best-value wellness perks out there right now.

It’s clean, it’s simple, and it’s essentially free as long as you activate the offer, spend at least $359, and check out normally.

Okay, friends. By the time you get this, I should be walking around the Vatican before getting on a bus to San Marino. 🇸🇲

If you hear from me on Monday and I’m still in Egypt, someone please just come put me out of my misery.

Have a great weekend. ❤️

With contributions by McKay Moffitt, April Wilson, and Alison Carrico

Estimated read time: 5 minutes and 2 seconds

Good morning from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where I’m attempting to sleep on some bug-infested chairs during my 9-hour layover. 🪳

Now that I’ve made you feel a little better about your own current setting, let’s talk travel:

• 💸 How to get compensated when travel goes wrong

• 🏨 30% transfer bonus to a unique program

• 🙌 My international travel essential

💸 How to get compensated when travel goes wrong

Travel is magical, life-changing, soul-expanding… and occasionally an absolute dumpster fire.

And here’s the thing you should understand:

It is completely normal (and completely okay) to ask for compensation when the experience doesn’t match what you paid for.

And if you’re flying reputable airlines or staying in big hotel chains, compensation usually comes in the form of points — because that’s the system they already use for service recovery.

I’ve had a few examples of this recently, so let me tell you how I’ve navigated it:

1. Cathay Pacific business class

Last year, I flew Cathay Pacific business class from Hong Kong to Jakarta – a flight I booked for 32,000 Asia Miles.

I picked my usual window seat, because I’m a simple man with simple cabin-side personalities.

Cathay, however, said “what if… aisle?” and reassigned me at the gate.

Was it the end of the world? No.
Was it the seat I booked and paid miles for? Also no.

So I filed a short note through their online customer relations form. Nothing dramatic. Just the facts.

To my complete shock, Cathay credited 18,000 Asia Miles for the inconvenience – more than half the cost of the entire flight.

The point isn’t the number…. Though that is a very good number.

The point is: Airlines fully expect to give compensation when something isn’t right, especially in premium cabins.

You just have to tell them. 😌

2. Four Points by Sheraton: A comedy of errors

Cut to a very different vibe: the Four Points by Sheraton in Kigali, where I just spent three nights last week.

Everything – and I mean everything – was chaotic:

• They somehow thought I booked five rooms (I booked one)

• The electricity in my room kept dying (not the hotel, just my room)

• The hot water didn’t work

• They canceled my booking mid-stay and checked me out accidentally

• Staff repeatedly apologized throughout my stay

But here’s the interesting part:

They proactively offered me 15,000 Marriott points at checkout. I didn’t even ask… but if I had left without resolution, I would have absolutely asked.

Loyalty programs embed compensation guidelines into their playbook – and staff are trained to use points as a goodwill fix when things go wrong.

3. Sofitel Cotonou: A perfect stay… almost

Now for one that wasn’t funny at all.

At the Sofitel Cotonou in Benin – an otherwise phenomenal luxury hotel – one failure overshadowed everything:

They didn’t arrange the pre-booked cross-border transportation I’d confirmed with them twice, weeks in advance.

So I ended up traveling alone on one of the most dangerous roads in West Africa – corrupt police checkpoints, legitimate kidnapping risk, armed bandits, the whole ensemble – because the hotel didn’t deliver a very basic, safety-critical service.

I wasn’t looking for compensation. I genuinely just needed them to understand how serious it was.

The guest relations manager was mortified and took it incredibly seriously.

And a couple of days later, she texted me on WhatsApp, asking how she could make it right.

My reply? “Points.”

Next thing I knew, she promised me 30,000 Accor points in compensation.

Accor points have a flat fixed value of €0.02 each… so this compensation is worth a flat $700 USD, which is no joke – and commensurate with how they let me down.

The compensation playbook

Here is a quick guide for what to do and how to approach these situations to ensure you’re fairly compensated when things don’t go according to plan.

1. Always document everything

This means photos, receipts, screenshots, names of staff you spoke with, confirmation emails — everything.

2. Always be respectful

Most frontline staff aren’t the ones who caused your issue.

A calm, factual message gets you compensation infinitely faster than screaming at someone in a polyester vest.

3. Use official customer relations channels

In almost every case, a website form or a corporate email works better than trying to get something from the front desk.

Here’s why:

• They have discretion

• They can issue compensation directly

• You can get a case number to follow up on

So here’s the bottom line: You don’t need to accept bad travel experiences.

You can advocate for yourself (respectfully) and come out with something genuinely valuable.

And honestly? Sometimes the points almost soften the blow.

(Almost.)

🏨 30% transfer bonus to a unique program

One program we often forget about is Preferred Hotels and its I Prefer loyalty program.

It flies under the radar (for good reason), but actually has some fantastic use cases….

… especially when there’s a 30% transfer bonus, like the current one from Capital One miles.

The normal transfer ratio to Preferred Hotels is 1:2, which is already pretty cool. With this bonus, you’re looking at 1:2.6.

That means transferring 1,000 Capital One miles will yield 2,600 I Prefer points.

So what does this mean in practice?

Let’s look at the Oceans Edge Resort & Marina in Key West, which goes for 50,000 I Prefer points per night – that’s less than 20,000 Capital One miles for a beachfront stay.

If you want to get saucy with it, here’s another fun example:

Last year, I was in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. I remember driving by the Blue Sky Hotel and locals telling me it was the best hotel in the country.

Turns out, it's a Preferred Hotels property – and you can book it for just 11,500 Capital One miles per night with this transfer bonus.

Pretty cool, huh?

Now here’s the big caveat… ThankYou points also transfer to Preferred Hotels… but at a 1:4 ratio.

So if you have both Capital One miles AND ThankYou points, you’ll definitely want to use the latter for Preferred Hotels.

If you recently signed up for the big welcome offer on the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, this could also be a good way to get some nice hotel stays on the cheap.

SPONSORED BY SURFSHARK

🙌 My international travel essential

Hey friends, Alison here. 👋

I’m leaving for China very soon, and instead of obsessing over packing cubes, I’ve been thinking about something else:

How can I safely access my usual apps when I get there? (I’m coming to terms with a heavy social media addiction at the moment.)

But beyond social media, how can I continue to message friends? Check Gmail? Access Google Docs? Log in to my bank? Even book last-minute travel changes when something ultimately goes awry?

That’s why I’ve already made sure Surfshark VPN is set up on all my devices.

Image by Surfshark

When I travel internationally… especially somewhere with network restrictions, Surfshark lets me securely connect and access the sites and apps I rely on every day.

It encrypts my connection (huge for airport and hotel Wi-Fi), and I can switch my virtual location if something is blocked where I am.

Plus, it works on unlimited devices, blocks ads and sketchy trackers, and comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

If you have international travel coming up, this is my main “download it before I go” essential.

👉 Go to surfshark.com/dailydrop or use code DAILYDROP at checkout to get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN.

That’s it for today, my friends. I hope my own bad travel experiences have given you some confidence to advocate for yourself.

As always, have a wonderful day, and I’ll see you tomorrow. 🫡

With contributions by McKay Moffitt, April Wilson, and Alison Carrico

Estimated read time: 4 minutes and 10 seconds

Goooooood morning and welcome back to Daily Drop, the best cure for wanderlust. ✨

Let’s talk about how to get you on some trips:

• ✈️ 20% transfer bonus to multiple airlines

• 🍝 How I booked a last-minute trip in Italy

• 🫵 Stop wasting your Hyatt points (please)

✈️ 20% transfer bonus to multiple airlines

Remember, like two days ago, when I mentioned you could book Qantas flights to Australia using Avios? And how it could be a great deal when there’s a transfer bonus?

Well…

There is officially a tasty new 20% transfer bonus from UR points to the Avios family (British Airways, Iberia, and Aer Lingus).

The bonus is valid until March 31, so you’ve got a good long time to mull it over.

I am very pleased about this. I use Avios ALL the time. I’ve spent over 200,000 of them this month alone for various trips.

For example, I flew Rwandair’s lie-flat business class from Lagos, Nigeria, to Kigali last week for just 22,000 Avios. 👇

I also booked my flight home to Indonesia in Qatar Airways business class for 75,000 Avios (though that has now been cancelled). The same flight would cost just 63,000 UR points.

The best part about Avios is that you can transfer them freely between airlines.

For example, if you want to book a flight using Qatar Avios, you can transfer them from UR points to British Airways, then from BA to Qatar using the online Avios tool.

This means that a transfer bonus to one is effectively a transfer bonus to all.

You can even use Avios to book domestic U.S. flights on American Airlines, sometimes for less than AA charges.

Throw in the 20% bonus, and this could make sense for just about any travel style.

Domestic flight on AA using Qatar Avios

Opportunities like this are why I always like to have plenty of UR points on hand. I recently signed up for this card to get more than 100,000 UR points.

I know many readers prefer this card, which is great for beginners and also has a really good welcome offer.

So here’s the bottom line:

Avios are extremely flexible and valuable. Whether you want to travel to Europe, Australia, Africa, or just domestically in the U.S., having 20% more of them is always a good opportunity.

🍝 How I booked a last-minute trip in Italy

So, as I’ve alluded to a couple of times, I am currently stuck in Tanzania… My flight to Asia was cancelled, and all other options that don’t go through the Middle East are booked.

So I decided to head to Europe for a couple of weeks while I wait for things to calm down and more flight options to open up.

Tonight, I’ll fly to Rome (with overnight layovers in Addis Ababa and Cairo 🙃) – and from there, I found myself planning a last-minute microstate tour around Europe.

Today, I want to tell you how I used my Capital One miles (earned with the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card) to book some of the less obvious parts of the trip.

For starters, I needed to get from Rome to the tiny country of San Marino. 🇸🇲

There’s no convenient airport in the area, so I booked a train from Rome to Rimini, the closest Italian city to San Marino.

It cost $75, which isn’t bad… but the best part is that because I used my Venture card, I can offset that purchase using 7,500 miles.

Then, from Rimini, I need to book a shuttle to San Marino… it costs $8 each way:

Instead? I can just use 800 Capital One miles. No extra taxes, no fancy booking tricks, just saving money on buses so I have more to spend on cappuccinos. ☕️

Heck, even IN San Marino, I was able to use this same tactic to book hotels.

Since there are no chain hotels, I was able to find a super cheap property on Expedia for around $44 per night, then offset that with 4,400 Capital One miles.

Am I getting extreme outsized value for my points? No. Am I booking hotels in Western Europe for 4,400 points per night? Yessir.

And that’s a win.

Next week, I need to fly from Nice, France, to Belgrade, Serbia. There are two airlines flying this route nonstop: Wizz Air and Air Serbia.

I could book the Air Serbia flight using Aeroplan points. Aeroplan points are easy to earn, as you can transfer them from most banks, including Capital One.

This flight would cost 7,500 Aeroplan points and around $83 USD in taxes and fees.

Instead, I could book the Wizz Air flight for $66 with my Venture Card, then offset it with 6,600 miles and NO taxes or fees.

This is an example of why it’s always good to have Capital One miles on hand.

Sometimes you don’t need outsized value and transfer partners. Sometimes you just want to book the cheaper option and still use your miles.

Right now, the Venture card still has an insane welcome offer of a $250 credit to use in the Capital One Travel portal AND 75,000 Capital One miles after you spend $4,000 in the first three months.

Considering the annual fee is less than $100, this is an insane opportunity to unlock any number of hotels, trains, buses, ferries, flights, and more.👇

🫵 Stop wasting your Hyatt points (please)

As you know from last week, Hyatt is now dead.

But it’s not too late to use your points for good value before the new changes kick in.

In this week’s Daily Drop YouTube video, we break down how the World of Hyatt program works, how to maximize your points, and refresh your memory on the coming changes.

Check it out:

That’s all for today, friends! Sometime soon, I’ll tell you about even more points-and-miles tricks I used to book my last-minute trip around Europe.

Have a great day, and I’ll see you first thing tomorrow.

Cheers,

With contributions by McKay Moffitt, April Wilson, and Alison Carrico

Estimated read time: 5 minutes and 12 seconds

Good morning and welcome back to Daily Drop, the newsletter equivalent of that one perfectly crisp $5 bill you get from the ATM.

We won’t change your life, but we will make today feel slightly better.

This is an exciting one:

• 🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday

• 🇪🇺 Discounted summer flights to Europe (in all classes)

• ✈️ A new transfer partner (and transfer bonus)

• 🌎 Travel Trivia Reveal

🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday

The answer is plating up a little farther down… 🍽️

🇪🇺 Discounted summer flights to Europe (in all classes)

Flying Blue just dropped another round of monthly Promo Rewards, and this one is basically a “choose your own Europe adventure” menu for U.S. travelers.

For anyone new to these:

Flying Blue (the loyalty program for KLM and Air France) offers discounts on specific routes each month, usually between the U.S. and Europe.

This month? It’s one of the most generous lists we’ve seen in a while.

Economy deals for 18,750 miles

Flights between Europe and these U.S. cities are all 25% off in economy:

• Seattle

• Detroit

• Chicago

• San Francisco

• Portland

• San Diego

• Orlando

All of these cities price at 18,750 miles (plus taxes) one-way, which is far from the best deal in economy these days…

But here’s why it’s still exciting:

With the summer travel season coming up, these deals give us WAY more options for getting to/from Europe. Plus, the deals apply to a wide variety of cities – not just the big hubs.

Premium economy deals for 30,000 miles

Now it gets spicy. These cities have Premium Economy discounted to just 30,000 miles one-way:

• Miami

• Las Vegas

• Washington, D.C.

• Houston

Premium economy at 30k across the Atlantic is a solid deal, and this is the first time we’ve seen this many cities at that price.

Houston to Zurich for 30,000 miles in premium economy

Business-class deals for 45,000 miles

Flying Blue also sprinkled in two very fun long-haul business-class promos, specifically to/from Ottawa, which cost just 45,000 miles.

U.S. travelers can just book a cheap flight to Canada, then score a full lie-flat seat to Europe for a fraction of what big U.S. gateways normally cost.

A cheap positioning flight from Florida to Ottawa

Honestly, this might be the most underrated gem on the entire list.

Non-U.S. deals if you want to get weird

There are also discounted flights between Europe and places in sub-Saharan Africa, South and Central America, and East Asia.

These could be great for anyone planning a multi-continent run or a “let’s see how many countries I can touch before July” type of trip (I see you 👀).

Earning Flying Blue miles is easy

As always, Flying Blue is one of the most flexible mileage programs in the U.S.
You can transfer points instantly from all of these at a 1:1 ratio:

• UR points

• MR points

• Capital One miles

• ThankYou points

• Bilt Rewards

• Wells Fargo Rewards

• Rove Miles

If you’ve got any general bank points lying around, you basically already have Flying Blue miles.

This also means you can combine miles from multiple points programs into a single account to book flights for the whole family.

The minimal fine print

You need to book these deals by March 31, and travel is valid through August 31, 2026 – meaning these promos cover the entire summer travel season (yay!).

✈️ A new transfer partner (and transfer bonus)

Okay… strap in, folks. This one is a ride.

Rove Miles just announced a brand-new 1:1 transfer partner: Japan Airlines (JAL).

And to celebrate, they decided to launch with a 50% transfer bonus through March 31 (almost a full month).

Why this matters

JAL Mileage Bank has some of the juiciest sweet spots in the game, especially for long-haul premium cabins.

For example, JAL lets you book Emirates business class to Europe for 60,000 JAL miles.

With the Rove bonus, that drops to 40,000 Rove Miles.

I don’t know what universe we’re living in where Emirates business class to Europe is 40k of anything… but here we are.

Or take JAL’s own long-haul business class to Asia. One-way flights can cost as few as 55,000 JAL miles, which becomes roughly 37,000 Rove Miles with the bonus.

If you’ve ever flown JAL, you know exactly how ridiculous that is.

If you haven’t, imagine food so good it makes you question your life, plus a seat that lets you sleep like you’ve been tranquilized by God herself.

Okay… but how the hell do you earn Rove Miles?

You earn Rove Miles by… doing things you already do.

For starters, you get 1,000 miles just for signing up for the program, no purchase required. So that’s step one.

But the real power comes from how Rove rewards travel bookings. Hotels frequently earn 40x, 50x, even 60x Rove Miles per dollar.

The numbers are so high that you can almost think of it as a way to buy transferable points for cheap.

Example: Tokyo for cherry blossoms

Imagine you’re going to Tokyo next month.

You find a hotel on Rove for around $830 total for five nights. Yes, it’s expensive, but it’s also… Tokyo… during cherry blossom season.

But here’s the catch: that one booking earns you 41,000 Rove Miles. 👇

Keep in mind, you’ll also earn credit card points when paying, as well. For example, I just opened this credit card, which earns 3x UR points on all travel.

In this case, I’d earn an additional 2,400+ points on top of the Rove Miles.

Now combine all of that with the JAL transfer bonus, which would yield over 60,000 JAL miles.

That is more than enough to book either of the flights I mentioned earlier.

In other words, you can spend $800 and get five nights in Tokyo AND Emirates lie-flat business class to Europe… It’s actually insane.

Bonus tip: Loyalty-eligible bookings

This is unrelated to the JAL situation, but it’s worth highlighting.

I just used Rove Miles literally today to book a Marriott hotel in Bologna for next week (oh yeah, I’m flying to Italy tomorrow).

The booking cost 9,000 Rove Miles, which is already great (compared to the 22,000 points Marriott itself was charging).

But because it’s fully loyalty-eligible, I also earn:

• 2,500 Marriott points

• An elite night credit

• A second elite night and 2,500 bonus points from Marriott’s current global promo

So I spent 9,000 Rove Miles and walked away with 5,000 points + two elite nights.

So keep that in mind as you consider getting into the Rove game. 😉

The big picture

There’s something really refreshing about a program that doesn’t require a fancy credit card, a $700 annual fee, or sacrificing your firstborn to the points gods.

Add in the valuable transfer partners, and Rove Miles is becoming a program that’s harder and harder to ignore.

🌎 Travel Trivia Reveal

Earlier, we asked you which destination made Condé Nast Traveler’s Best Places to Eat in 2026 list…

Photo courtesy of Condé Nast Traveler

If you chose Medellín, Colombia, congratulations!

The editors spotlight Medellín as one of the top food destinations for 2026, pointing to a city that’s balancing iconic comfort dishes like bandeja paisa, sancocho, and arepas with a bold new culinary wave.

The article also highlights the city’s buzzing cocktail scene, from rooftop bars to vinyl-soundtracked lounges, proving that in Medellín, dinner doesn’t end when the plates clear.

And it’s not alone. The full list includes destinations like Boston, United States; Crete, Greece; Fès, Morocco; Hong Kong; Minas Gerais, Brazil; Parramatta, Australia; Patan, Nepal; Prince Edward County, Canada; and Seville, Spain.

So if you’re planning 2026 around what’s on your plate (honestly, same), Medellín might deserve a serious look.

👉 You can check out the full Condé Nast Traveler list to see all ten food destinations.

I’ve taken enough of your time today, my friends… I hope you enjoyed these exciting deals, and I’ll be back in your inbox again first thing tomorrow with even more tips.

Asubuhi njema,

With contributions by McKay Moffitt, April Wilson, and Alison Carrico

Estimated read time: 4 minutes and 47 seconds

Good morning from… well, the ground — because I’m currently stranded in Tanzania.

My flight home through Qatar was cancelled overnight as the conflict in the Middle East escalated. No refund, no rebooking options, no phone support, no website access. Just silence.

So now I’m sitting here thousands of miles from home, watching the world burn on my screen while every escape route out of this small East African airport is booked solid for a week.

I know many of you have family or friends in the region, or you may be traveling yourselves. If you’re feeling anxious today, please know I’m right there with you.

It feels strange to sit down and write a travel newsletter when everything feels this unsteady… but let’s give it a shot:

• 💸 Buy Spirit Airlines status

• 🏨 The easiest way to earn Hilton Free Night Awards

• 💡 My low-effort March reset

• ✈️ A new nonstop flight to Australia

💸 Buy Spirit Airlines status

Alright. Let’s talk about something lighter than geopolitics: Spirit Airlines monetizing your dignity.

Spirit just launched a new offer where you can literally buy elite status.

No status match, no challenge – just swipe your card and boom: you’re suddenly a somebody (at least according to Spirit).

Here’s how it works:

Anyone (even people with zero existing status) can pick up Spirit Silver status for $79, and it’s good through the end of 2026.

If you ever fly Spirit, this might actually make sense. Here’s why:

Silver Status comes with a bunch of perks Spirit normally charges for: shortcut security, priority boarding, same-day standby, waived redemption fees, overweight bag wiggle room, and most importantly… free seat selection, including exit rows.

If you’re the kind of person who always ends up paying for a seat anyway, that alone can pay for the $79 over a couple of trips.

You can also buy Gold Status, but only if you’re already Silver Elite – so it’s not super accessible for most people (and the fee for Gold is much higher).

This isn’t anything crazy or aspirational.

But if you’re stuck flying Spirit a few times a year, $79 for almost a year of lighter fees and better treatment is pretty decent.

🏨 The easiest way to earn Hilton Free Night Awards

Okay. I know today’s been chaos, but this is pretty exciting news:

Hilton’s co-branded cards currently have some CRAZY offers that include both a stack of points and, more importantly, Free Night Awards. 😎

Most exciting is the no-annual-fee card, which includes tens of thousands of points AND a free night award after meeting the minimum spending requirements.

If you’re newer to Hilton, their Free Night Awards aren’t capped. If there’s a standard room available, you can use the FNA – even at ultra-premium properties that routinely go for absurd numbers of points or cash.

For example, on my birthday last year, I used a Hilton Free Night Award to book a hotel in New Zealand priced at 170,000 points per night, or over $1,800 cash.

Now imagine getting that kind of stay from a no-fee card, plus tens of thousands of points on top of it, just for hitting a very normal minimum spend.

You’re getting a stay worth potentially thousands of dollars, all for $0 out of pocket (even from the card’s annual fee) and 0 points. Let that sink in for a sec.

The mid-tier card and the premium card also have enhanced offers going, and depending on your travel style, those may be worth a look too – especially if you can leverage the credits and perks of the cards (which are pretty compelling).

Anyway, I think these offers are worth considering for just about anyone who wants to get extremely outsized value with pretty minimal effort.

PRESENTED BY LMNT

💡 My low-effort March reset

We’re officially in that in-between season… one day it’s sunny, and you’re convinced winter is over, and the next day you’re back in a hoodie, wondering why you ever believed in warmer weather.

Personally, I’m trying to use this time as a little reset. Nothing dramatic. Just small upgrades — walking more, getting outside when I can, and (trying to) not run purely on caffeine.

One thing that’s made that easier lately? Actually staying hydrated, and that’s where LMNT has been quietly pulling its weight.

Photo by Tiffany Eastham

Their electrolyte packets are easy to keep in my bag or at my desk, have no added sugar, and give you a solid balance of sodium, potassium, and magnesium — which helps whether you’re working out, traveling, or just juggling a busy week.

I mostly notice it with energy and focus. And fewer of those “where did this headache come from?” afternoons.

And because LMNT takes care of Daily Drop readers, you get a little extra perk:

Get a FREE sample pack (all eight flavors!) with any purchase at DrinkLMNT.com/DAILYDROP

Here’s to March feeling like a fresh start… even if we’re still wearing a jacket half the time.

✨ Get your LMNT today ✨

✈️ A new nonstop flight to Australia

Qantas just launched a brand-new nonstop flight between Las Vegas and Sydney, opening a new way to cross the Pacific.

Vegas locals obviously win here, but for everyone else: positioning to Las Vegas is usually cheap, and this gives you another long-haul option that doesn’t touch major coastal cities or hubs.

The flight runs from December 2026 through March 2027, which (crucially) is the Australian summer. ☀️

If you’re the type who plans trips way in advance (or the type who refuses to deal with another U.S. winter), this is one to keep on your radar.

Here’s how to book it with points:

Option 1: Qantas itself

If you go through Qantas, the flight prices out at 48,200 Qantas miles plus about $109.

You might be surprised to learn you can transfer points to Qantas directly from MR points, Capital One miles, and even ThankYou points, and you can even get occasional transfer bonuses.

But you don’t have to book with Qantas… and honestly, the alternatives are better.

Option 2: British Airways Avios

The same exact flight prices at 57,000 British Airways Avios with lower taxes of just $76.👇

That’s obviously higher than Qantas, but Avios routinely gets 30% transfer bonuses from multiple bank programs. With a bonus like that, you’d only need to shell out 43,000 points.

Option 3: American Airlines

And then there’s American Airlines, which has the best deal of all: 40,000 AA miles and about $35 in taxes for the same exact flight as the other two programs.

If you’ve got AA miles handy, this is a great way to use them. Alternatively, you could transfer ThankYou points at a 1:1 ratio, which is also a solid option.

Currently, Qantas hasn’t released any business-class award space yet, but that’s also something to keep an eye on.

So yeah. A new nonstop to such a distant destination is always a good thing – especially when there are so many ways to book it with points.

That’s all for today, folks. I hope you have a great day and safe travels ahead.

Ciao,

With contributions by McKay Moffitt

Heyoooo — welcome to the weekend!

You did it, friend. 💛

Take a deep breath. Pat yourself on the back. Throw a quick smile on your face.

Whether this week felt crazy long or crazy short, let’s enjoy these next few moments together and catch up on a week FULL of travel happenings.

✈️ United just changed everything about how you earn miles (some of it’s good… some of it's bad).

🌟 There’s still time to lock in BOGO flights with these Southwest offers.

🪦 Hyatt completely changed its award chart (yikes!), and here’s everything you need to know.

🏨 Wyndham has become a new transfer partner with this popular bank.

🎥 Fiji Airways business class is better than you think… and Brendan shows how to book it (even without points) in this week’s Daily Drop YouTube video.

🏆 Our Favorite Pick: From groceries to Michelin Stars (oh… and 28k business class)

This week, the “pick” isn’t a single deal, but a strategy. 👀

Because two very different stories (a Michelin-starred dinner in Benin and sub-28k business class to Japan) are powered by the exact same thing: flexible points you’re earning from everyday spending.

Step 1: Understand how hotel dining on points works

We’ve talked about Accor here and there, but they’re steadily on the up and up, as far as hotel programs go.

At Accor, points aren’t just for free nights. You can apply points at checkout toward any room charges: restaurants, bars, spa treatments, laundry, yada yada.

You simply tell the front desk how many points to use, they send a one-time code, and poof, charges disappear into the abyss.

Accor points are effectively fixed-value credits (2,000 points = €40 off your bill), which makes them insanely useful for dining splurges... like a Michelin Star dinner.

Not to mention, you can transfer points over from Capital One, Citi ThankYou, Bilt, and Rove to Accor.

Many hotel restaurants allow you to charge meals to your room… and in some cases, you can even earn or redeem without actually staying overnight.

Step 2: Earn where you already spend

Ok, now onto the non-hotel dining scenarios. If you live in the U.S., food is probably one of your biggest monthly expenses.

If you saw my personal dining-out bill from the past few months… no, you didn’t. ❤️

There’s one specific card that deserves a dining “shrine,” if you will…

… and it’s this one.

It earns LOTS of MR points at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets. Like lots.

If you redeem those points around 2 cents each (very realistic with airline transfers), that’s roughly an 8% return on your grocery bill. For example:

• Spend $1,300/month on dining and groceries

• Earn 5,200 MR points

• And you’re looking at more than 60,000 points per year (from money you were already spending)

That could easily mean round-trip business class to Europe via Flying Blue during a Promo Reward, one-way Delta One to Europe on a flash deal, or a serious dent in a luxury hotel stay.

And this is where timing turns your earnings into even better value.

Step 3: Stack transfer bonuses

On March 1 (only!), Bilt is offering up to a 100% transfer bonus to Japan Airlines Mileage Bank.

JAL charges 55,000 miles for U.S. to Japan in business class, and 60,000 miles for Emirates’ fifth freedom routes (U.S. to Europe).

With a 100% bonus? That 55k business-class seat drops to under 28k Bilt points, which is pretty absurd.

If you’re earning multiple types of flexible points from your everyday spending (MR points, Capital One miles, Bilt points), you can strategically move whichever currency has the best transfer bonus at the time.

Capital One’s JAL bonus ends Feb. 28. Bilt’s runs March 1.

Phew ok… let’s sum everything up here before my head explodes.

1. Earn flexible points where you already spend.

2. Redeem them creatively (hotels don’t just mean free nights).

3. And jump on transfer bonuses when they’re available.

That’s how a grocery bill turns into Michelin-star dining. And that’s how a normal month of spending turns into lie-flat seats to Tokyo.

👀 This Week’s Must-Reads

How to Pay for Anything with Points If you want a guaranteed, easy, and reliable way to use points (or should I say miles) for literally any travel expense, Capital One is your go-to. Read More

Bonus Video: How to Book Award Flights on Japan Airlines Mike recorded a video walkthrough on how to book partner awards on JAL's website. Check it out for a full tutorial. Read More

How to Book Qsuites With Points Qatar Qsuites are often considered the best business-class seats in the sky. Here’s how to book them with Avios, AAdvantage miles, and transferable points. Read More

🌍 Week in Review

• Monday: 🧑‍🧑‍🧒‍🧒 The best travel tip for families

• Tuesday: 💳 Buy transferable points for cheap

• Wednesday: ✈️ So... domestic flights are 30% off right now

• Thursday: 🤯 Business class to Japan for 28k points

• Friday: 🪦 Hyatt is dead

Well, friendos. That’s all I’ve got for you today! 💛

I hope you enjoyed reading about how your everyday spending can fund your trips!

Now go buy a weekend slice and consider it an investment in future flights.

xoxo,

With contributions by Mike Dodge

Heyoooo — welcome to the weekend!

You did it, friend. 💛

Take a deep breath. Pat yourself on the back. Throw a quick smile on your face.

Whether this week felt crazy long or crazy short, let’s enjoy these next few moments together and catch up on a week FULL of travel happenings.

✈️ United just changed everything about how you earn miles (some of it’s good… some of it's bad).

🌟 There’s still time to lock in BOGO flights with these Southwest offers.

🪦 Hyatt completely changed its award chart (yikes!), and here’s everything you need to know.

🏨 Wyndham has become a new transfer partner with this popular bank.

🎥 Fiji Airways business class is better than you think… and Brendan shows how to book it (even without points) in this week’s Daily Drop YouTube video.

🏆 Our Favorite Pick: From groceries to Michelin Stars (oh… and 28k business class)

This week, the “pick” isn’t a single deal, but a strategy. 👀

Because two very different stories (a Michelin-starred dinner in Benin and sub-28k business class to Japan) are powered by the exact same thing: flexible points you’re earning from everyday spending.

Step 1: Understand how hotel dining on points works

We’ve talked about Accor here and there, but they’re steadily on the up and up, as far as hotel programs go.

At Accor, points aren’t just for free nights. You can apply points at checkout toward any room charges: restaurants, bars, spa treatments, laundry, yada yada.

You simply tell the front desk how many points to use, they send a one-time code, and poof, charges disappear into the abyss.

Accor points are effectively fixed-value credits (2,000 points = €40 off your bill), which makes them insanely useful for dining splurges... like a Michelin Star dinner.

Not to mention, you can transfer points over from Capital One, Citi ThankYou, Bilt, and Rove to Accor.

Many hotel restaurants allow you to charge meals to your room… and in some cases, you can even earn or redeem without actually staying overnight.

Step 2: Earn where you already spend

Ok, now onto the non-hotel dining scenarios. If you live in the U.S., food is probably one of your biggest monthly expenses.

If you saw my personal dining-out bill from the past few months… no, you didn’t. ❤️

There’s one specific card that deserves a dining “shrine,” if you will…

… and it’s this one.

It earns LOTS of MR points at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets. Like lots.

If you redeem those points around 2 cents each (very realistic with airline transfers), that’s roughly an 8% return on your grocery bill. For example:

• Spend $1,300/month on dining and groceries

• Earn 5,200 MR points

• And you’re looking at more than 60,000 points per year (from money you were already spending)

That could easily mean round-trip business class to Europe via Flying Blue during a Promo Reward, one-way Delta One to Europe on a flash deal, or a serious dent in a luxury hotel stay.

And this is where timing turns your earnings into even better value.

Step 3: Stack transfer bonuses

On March 1 (only!), Bilt is offering up to a 100% transfer bonus to Japan Airlines Mileage Bank.

JAL charges 55,000 miles for U.S. to Japan in business class, and 60,000 miles for Emirates’ fifth freedom routes (U.S. to Europe).

With a 100% bonus? That 55k business-class seat drops to under 28k Bilt points, which is pretty absurd.

If you’re earning multiple types of flexible points from your everyday spending (MR points, Capital One miles, Bilt points), you can strategically move whichever currency has the best transfer bonus at the time.

Capital One’s JAL bonus ends Feb. 28. Bilt’s runs March 1.

Phew ok… let’s sum everything up here before my head explodes.

1. Earn flexible points where you already spend.

2. Redeem them creatively (hotels don’t just mean free nights).

3. And jump on transfer bonuses when they’re available.

That’s how a grocery bill turns into Michelin-star dining. And that’s how a normal month of spending turns into lie-flat seats to Tokyo.

👀 This Week’s Must-Reads

How to Pay for Anything with Points If you want a guaranteed, easy, and reliable way to use points (or should I say miles) for literally any travel expense, Capital One is your go-to. Read More

Bonus Video: How to Book Award Flights on Japan Airlines Mike recorded a video walkthrough on how to book partner awards on JAL's website. Check it out for a full tutorial. Read More

How to Book Qsuites With Points Qatar Qsuites are often considered the best business-class seats in the sky. Here’s how to book them with Avios, AAdvantage miles, and transferable points. Read More

🌍 Week in Review

• Monday: 🧑‍🧑‍🧒‍🧒 The best travel tip for families

• Tuesday: 💳 Buy transferable points for cheap

• Wednesday: ✈️ So... domestic flights are 30% off right now

• Thursday: 🤯 Business class to Japan for 28k points

• Friday: 🪦 Hyatt is dead

Well, friendos. That’s all I’ve got for you today! 💛

I hope you enjoyed reading about how your everyday spending can fund your trips!

Now go buy a weekend slice and consider it an investment in future flights.

xoxo,

With contributions by Mike Dodge

Estimated read time: 4 minutes and 48 seconds

Good morning… or, should I say… very bad morning. We’ve got some tragic points-and-miles news today – and it’s seriously going to affect my strategy.

Without further ado:

• 🪦 Hyatt completely nukes its award chart

• 🏨 Wyndham becomes a new transfer partner

• 💳 Current Transfer Bonuses

🪦 Hyatt completely nukes its award chart

So… Hyatt finally did it.

They took their award chart, threw it in a blender, and hit purée. And the result? A brand-new set of prices that makes me want to go lie down in traffic.

Let’s break this down – because it’s worse than it looks. And it already looks bad.

The new award chart is a massive devaluation

Hyatt is replacing the nice, simple 3-tier system (off-peak, standard, peak) with five different pricing bands for EVERY hotel category:

Lowest, Low, Moderate, Upper, and Top.

Hyatt’s new award chart

A few highlights from this fever dream:

• A Category 1 (the sweet, innocent baby of the Hyatt universe) can now cost up to 9,000 points per night.

• “Moderate” (the new middle band) is basically the new Standard, and it’s 20–37% higher than today’s prices.

• “Top” pricing is… insane. A Category 8 “Top” room is now 75,000 points per night, a 67% increase over today’s peak rates.

Good luck seeing the cheaper price bands

Sure, technically, Hyatt now has prices like 3,000 or 4,500 points per night.

But here’s the kicker…

There are now more pricing bands, and therefore, more room for hotels to live in the expensive half of the range.

Popular destinations (Hawaii, the Maldives, big cities) will almost certainly be priced at Upper/Top year-round.

So yes, Category 1 could be 3,000 points. But in practice? Don’t hold your breath.

This doesn’t even include the category changes coming in April

Oh yeah… did I mention that in April, a huge number of hotels are changing category?

Here’s what this means:

• All prices just went up

• Many hotels will also move to higher categories

• We just got slapped in the face twice

More bad news for all-Inclusive & Miraval fans

If you redeem at Hyatt’s all-inclusive brands or Miraval, it’s especially bad news, since pricing just went up significantly.

Standard rooms at all-inclusives will now cost up to 85,000 points per night:

If you have a family and need to redeem for multiple rooms or suites, it is going to be just as brutal as redeeming points in any other program.

Thankfully, there are a few things that have survived the purge:

1. Free Night Certificates still work

Your Category 1–4 and 1–7 certs now work all the way up to the new “Top” pricing.

• Cat 1–4 cert can now replace up to 25k points

• Cat 1–7 cert can now replace up to 55k points

But this means literally nothing, because they already worked on pricing for all those categories.

Just because the categories are now unreasonably priced doesn’t really change their value, in my humble opinion.

2. Upgrade awards still work at the new “top” rates

If a standard suite is available, your suite upgrades work – no matter how insane the price band is that night.

This will make Hyatt’s Milestone Rewards much more enticing for anyone who values more space from suites and premium rooms.

3. There are some new things in the works…

Hyatt is trying to soften the blow by launching some new features.

Sometime this year, we will be able to transfer points between Hyatt accounts online.

And that’s good – because with these new award rates, you’ll need to.

What you should do right now

Here’s my advice:

If you have Hyatt points or UR points/Bilt points that you want to transfer to Hyatt…

USE. THEM. NOW.

Until May, you can still lock in the current award rates, even for stays after May.

Booking travel now could save you tens or hundreds of thousands of points.

My personal take: this really hurts

I’m a Hyatt Globalist and basically live half of my life in Hyatt hotels.

I built my travel strategy around their award chart because it was fair, predictable, and high value.

Will there still be good deals with Hyatt? Yeah, of course. But the gap between Hyatt and Marriott/Hilton/IHG just shrank dramatically.

🏨 Wyndham becomes a new transfer partner

In other weird news, Wyndham Rewards is now a transfer partner of UR points.

And listen… I know what the points purists are already screaming:

But here’s the reality:

Wyndham isn’t a “sexy” program… but it is a useful one

For starters, award nights start at just 7,500 points, and Wyndham’s footprint is massive.

But also… some of the hotels are actually… fine. Or even... nice??

For example, I was in Krakow back in October and kept walking past this stunning-looking Wyndham hotel right in the middle of the Old City.

And if you’re going somewhere like rural Iowa, Route 66 land, soccer-tournament-suburbs, national park edges… guess who’s THERE?

Yeah, it’s Wyndham.

Meanwhile, with Hyatt’s new Category 1 pricing going up to 9,000 points, Wyndham’s 7,500-point budget properties look a little better.

I get it – Wyndham isn’t the first choice for most travelers.

But if you’re going somewhere with cheap Wyndham properties and you don’t care about marble bathtubs or Dyson hair dryers, then transferring UR points to Wyndham isn't a crime against humanity.

It’s literally fine. Do whatever you want with your points.

The caveat

In general, UR points can be worth more with programs like Hyatt (well… maybe not), Aeroplan, Virgin, etc.

Wyndham properties tend to be cheaper hotels, so the points-per-night math is usually lower.

But using points in this way is only “bad” if it doesn’t serve your travel plans.

Oh, there’s also a transfer bonus to Wyndham

This news coincides with a new 25% transfer bonus to Wyndham, but from ThankYou points.

Now, those 7,500-point nights I mentioned earlier can be booked by transferring just 6,000 ThankYou points, which isn’t bad.

But don’t forget that you can also transfer ThankYou points to Choice Hotels at a 1:2 ratio – even without a transfer bonus.

Anyway, Wyndham is on the map right now, so make sure you consider it for any upcoming trips.

That’s all for this week, folks. Sorry to end things on such a sour note with that Hyatt news.

But if recent trends have shown us anything, Hyatt could walk all of this back next week… so yeah. We’ll see. 🤷🏼‍♂️

Ciao,

With contributions by McKay Moffitt

Estimated read time: 4 minutes and 13 seconds

Good morning from crisp, cool northern Tanzania!

We don’t have any time to waste… there’s a bunch of important stuff to tell you about, so let’s dive in:

• 🤯 Business class to Japan for 28k points

• ✈️ Save 20% on Delta award flights (today)

• 🌮 The best card for dining and groceries

🤯 Business class to Japan for 28k points

Alrighty, folks… this one is crazy.

On March 1st only, Bilt Rewards is offering up to a 100% transfer bonus to Japan Airlines (JAL) for their Rent Day promotion.

As with all Bilt Rent Day promos, the exact transfer bonus will be based on your Bilt elite status level:

As you can see, even with NO Bilt status, you still get a generous 25% bonus.

This is one of the first months, however, in which you can upgrade your Bilt status with $135 of Bilt Cash.

So even if you don’t currently have any status, you could upgrade yourself to Silver status for a day and unlock a 50% bonus.

So why is this so good?

For starters, JAL has some of the best award rates on airlines like Emirates, Air France, and of course… JAL.

The headline here is that you can fly from the U.S. to Japan in business class for as few as 55,000 JAL miles.

With the top-tier 100% bonus, that’s less than 28,000 miles to fly business class across the Pacific.

But JAL miles are good for a lot more than just that. For example, a few months ago, I told you that JAL charges fewer miles than Emirates does for Emirates business class.

This fifth freedom flight between the U.S. and Europe on Emirates costs just 60,000 JAL miles, or as few as 30,000 with this bonus.

Oh, and if all of that wasn’t enough, there’s one more thing to keep in mind.

Capital One also currently has a transfer bonus to JAL, allowing you to transfer miles at a 1:1 (ish) ratio.

The Capital One bonus ends on February 28, and the Bilt bonus starts (and ends) on March 1.

If you recently signed up for the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card and unlocked that insane welcome offer, you could transfer some miles to JAL before Feb. 28, then transfer some Bilt points on March 1.

In other words, you can combine your points at much better ratios to unlock some of the crazy flights I told you about earlier.

This is an extremely limited-time opportunity, so you’ll want to act fast. Ugh… I guess I need to get a Bilt card, huh?

✈️ Save 20% on Delta award flights (today)

Speaking of extremely limited-time offers…

Delta is out with another flash sale on award flights to the Caribbean and Central America. And, as you might expect, it’s only valid today.

Most of the good deals are from Delta’s East Coast hubs like New York and Atlanta… and cities like Minneapolis and others are pretty meh.

If you go to the sale page, you can enter your city of origin and see what’s offered.

I saw some pretty solid deals from New York to destinations like the Bahamas, Grand Cayman, and Aruba for as few as 14,000 Delta SkyMiles round-trip.

The sale is only valid for travel in March and April, so it’s quite limited. But if you’re looking for a quick long weekend on the beach, these deals are fantastic.

I feel like we’ve been seeing more and more award sales like this from Delta. It’s just another reason to consider picking up a Delta co-branded card, as I did.

There’s never been a better time to have a stash of SkyMiles handy for times like this. 😉

🌮 The best card for dining and groceries

People often ask me the following question:

It’s a good question, and the answer is easy. It’s this card. And I think it often goes overlooked. So let’s talk about it.

The best card for dining and groceries

The main reason I think U.S.-based people should have this card is that it earns 4x MR points on dining and groceries.

If you redeem those points for around 2 cents each (which is reasonable to expect), that’s like getting an 8% return.

Given how much money most people spend on those categories, this alone can justify holding the card.

Dank credits

The card also comes with some handy credits. As you might expect, the heavy-hitting credits are related to dining (Resy, Dunkin, and others).

But the card also gives you monthly Uber cash, which you can use on rides or Uber Eats.

In the end, if you use all of the credits, the value you get can easily outweigh the annual fee.

The welcome offer

So now we’ve covered the basics:

• You’ll earn a lot of points

• The annual fee is easily justifiable with the credits

That makes the card worth holding year after year.

But don’t forget that when you sign up, you can also earn a massive welcome offer of points after meeting the minimum spending requirement.

You can then transfer those points to valuable partners like Delta, Hilton, Flying Blue, Avios, and more.

The bottom line

I don’t currently have this card. Since the credits and perks are only available in the U.S., it just doesn’t make sense for me.

But if you live in the U.S., eat food, and like to travel, I think this card makes sense for just about anyone to hold.

That’s it, friendos. What a jam-packed newsletter, eh?

I hope many of you can hop on at least one of the awesome deals we talked about today.

See you tomorrow,

With contributions by McKay Moffitt

Estimated read time: 4 minutes and 3 seconds

Howdy friends, and welcome back to Daily Drop, the newsletter equivalent of a Costco free sample:

You didn’t ask for it, but now you suddenly need twelve more.

Here’s what we’ve got for you today:

• ✈️ Southwest 30% flash sale (hurry)

• 🔧 My favorite new seat map tool

• 👕 The only shirt you’ll need to pack

• 🎥 Review: Fiji Airways business class

✈️ Southwest 30% flash sale (hurry)

Southwest just dropped one of its classic flash sales, and this one is actually worth paying attention to: up to 30% off base fares when you use the code ONBOARD.

The sale is live right now and ends tomorrow, so you truly have to act fast.

Here are the simple deal deets:

• Book by tomorrow (Feb 26)

• Travel April 7 through May 20 (continental U.S.)

• Travel April 14 through May 20 (inter-island Hawaii)

• Valid only on Basic and Choice fares

• Discount applies before taxes

• Seats are limited, blah blah – you get it

And to show you what this actually looks like, here’s an example from Baltimore to Los Angeles, one of Southwest’s chonkier nonstop routes:

That’s a full 30% cut to the base fare, and honestly? For a 6-hour transcontinental nonstop, $151 is pretty solid.

If you do buy one of these seats, you’ll want to use a Southwest co-branded card to pay for it… for two reasons:

1. You’ll earn more Southwest points

2. You can book basic fares and still get benefits like checked bags

And if you don’t have a Southwest card yet, you’ll want to get one soon. That’s because they currently have welcome offers that let you earn both points AND a year of Companion Pass.

So while signing up now won’t help you out in this one-day sale, it’ll come in handy for future sales.

🔧 My favorite new seat map tool

Today’s public service announcement:

If you care even a little about picking the right airplane seat, you need to know about AeroLOPA.

It’s basically SeatGuru if SeatGuru didn’t die tragically. (a.k.a. go out of business 🪦).

I used it a few days ago before flying RwandAir business class.

On Rwandair’s website, their entire business cabin looks like 20 identical seats. But once you open the seat map on AeroLOPA, everything becomes clear:

As you can see, the seats are not created equal.

For starters, some seats have less privacy than others. Also, AeroLOPA shows you where the windows are in relation to the seats.

That’s why I ended up picking 4H: a window seat with more privacy and two full windows instead of the dreaded “half a window” or “no window at all” situation.

And yes, some airlines keep things simple.

It’s one of the things I love about flying Qatar Airways, for example – they have an amazing business class where every seat is identical.

But then you have airlines like Lufthansa with their new Allegris cabin, which looks like a freaking jigsaw puzzle.

There are multiple different business-class seats scattered throughout the same cabin, and your experience will vary greatly from seat to seat.

This kind of cabin is where AeroLOPA becomes clutch… because the last thing you want is to save up points, shell out a crap ton of miles, and end up in a disappointing seat.

We have no relationship with AeroLOPA, by the way… It’s just a new tool I use and enjoy. 🤷🏼‍♂️

PRESENTED BY UNBOUND MERINO

👕 The only shirt you’ll need to pack

If you’ve been hanging with us for a while, you know we have a borderline obsessive relationship with Merino wool. It’s basically the "cheat code" of travel fabrics.

And if there’s one piece that has officially earned permanent residence in my carry-on, it’s a long-sleeve layer I can wear on repeat without looking (or smelling) like I just spent 14 hours in Terminal B.

Enter: Unbound Merino’s Long Sleeve Shirts. Think of these as the "Swiss Army Knife" of your wardrobe.

Photo by Unbound Merino

They’re designed for the chaos of real-world travel… from those 4 a.m. airport runs where the AC is blasting, to chilly city walks where you want to look "effortlessly chic" rather than "I’m wearing everything I own to avoid a checked bag fee."

Here’s why they’re the real cold-weather MVP:

• Temperature regulating (warm when it’s cold, breathable indoors)

• Odor-resistant (wear it multiple days without washing)

• Lightweight and packable

• Soft, never scratchy

• Elevated enough to dress up or down

And because Merino naturally resists odors and wrinkles, you can pack fewer tops and still feel fresh the entire trip.

If you’re trying to build a smarter travel wardrobe (or just survive the rest of winter without looking like a marshmallow), this is the heavy lifter you need.

And right now, Unbound Merino is offering Daily Drop readers 15% off for new customers (yay!). 🙌

Use code DAILYDROP at checkout.

🎥 Review: Fiji Airways business class

Fiji Airways is an interesting airline. They have a couple of nonstop routes to the U.S. and are a great option for connecting to Oceania, or even going to… well… Fiji.

Anyway, I used Atmos Rewards points to fly Fiji business class last year, which was an amazing value.

But in this week’s Daily Drop YouTube video, Brendan will give you a video review of Fiji Airways business class…

…. and tell you how to book it with no points required. 👀

And with that, amigos, I bid you adieu. Have a lovely rest of your Wednesday and see you tomorrow.

Peace,

With contributions by McKay Moffitt

Estimated read time: 5 minutes and 7 seconds

Good morning from Kigali, Rwanda – the cleanest and most chill city in Africa.

Today is going to be fun. I want to cover some awesome ways to earn and redeem points that you might not normally think about.

Strap in, folks:

• 🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday

• 💳 Buy transferable points for cheap

• 🍔 How I bought a Michelin-starred dinner with points

• 🌎 Travel Trivia Reveal

🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday

The answer is waiting a little farther down… keep scrolling 👇

💳 Buy transferable points for cheap

Okay, this is a fun one…

As I have talked about many times, Rakuten is a great way to earn cash back on everyday purchases.

But what’s more exciting is the ability to earn MR points or Bilt Rewards instead of cash back.

In other words, earning 1% results in earning one point back instead. So when there’s a deal with INSANE cash back rates, you can effectively buy points for cheap.

Right now, there’s a deal to get 97% back at NordVPN, for example.

Let’s do some math 🤓

An annual plan at NordVPN costs $83 (in this case, the terms state that you’ll only earn cash back on a Basic plan, so that’s the most you can spend).

Getting 97% cash back means you can choose to get $81…. OR…. You can get 8,100 MR points or Bilt points.

So which should you choose?

Well, let’s look at an example…

You could choose to earn Bilt points and then transfer those points to World of Hyatt, which is enough to book as many as two free hotel nights at certain hotels:

So, would you pay $81 for two nights at Hyatt (and still have points left over)?

For most people, it’s probably a hard yes.

I personally just did this, and the cash back showed as pending on my account within about an hour. 👇

But wait, there’s more!

Rakuten also currently has a referral offer. When you use a link (you can use Daily Drop’s link if you want to make me happy), you’ll get $50 of cash back when you spend $50.

So now let’s run the math on the NordVPN offer.

You’ll spend $83, which will trigger both the 97% cash back AND the $50 referral offer, for a total of $131 back, or 13,100 points.

Heck, even if you don’t care about points (totally fair), you could just treat this as a way to spend $83 and get $131 back. It’s literally free money.

All of this isn’t even taking into account the value of having 2+ years of a VPN, which you should have anyway.

The fine print

Okay, a few small things…

You can earn Bilt points at a rate of 1 point per 1% cash back, but this offer is valid only until mid-May. Then, the rate goes down.

Also, read the terms of every offer carefully. For example, the $50 signup offer from Rakuten requires you to be a new customer, and NordVPN’s offer requires the same.

So just be careful, and enjoy your cheap points or free money.

🍔 How I bought a Michelin-starred dinner with points

Last week, I stayed at the Sofitel in Cotonou, Benin. This might surprise you, but it was one of the nicest and most expensive hotels I’ve ever stayed at.

One of the highlights of the hotel was dining at L’ami, a fantastic restaurant by Michelin-starred chef Georgiana Viou.

It was one of the best meals I’ve had in Africa, and was definitely a splurge – coming out to over $100… which is insane for a country like Benin.

It was sooooooo freaking tasty

Anyway, I didn’t spend a cent on it.

In fact, I racked up a $988 bill for my two-night stay at this hotel. But out of pocket, I paid just $49.

That’s because Accor Live Limitless allows you to use points to pay for any expenses you charge to your hotel room upon checkout.

How it works

You can apply points to a stay when booking a hotel through the app. But when you check out, you can also tell the staff you want to apply points to your remaining room charges.

They’ll ask how many points you want to apply, then send a one-time password to your email, which arrives instantly.

Then, voila – room charges erased.

Here’s what my bill looked like for my Sofitel stay in the end:

As you can see, the only charge on my actual card was $49. Everything else – laundry, drinks, multiple meals – all covered with points.

This is why Accor is freaking awesome. We have multiple programs that allow us to transfer points to Accor:

• Capital One miles

• ThankYou points

• Bilt Rewards

• Rove Miles

In other words, it’s a very accessible and VERY flexible currency.

This is also a good reminder of how you can use points and benefits at hotels even when you aren’t staying there.

Some of the best restaurants and spas in the world are associated with chain hotels. And in many cases, you can leverage your points and benefits even if you don't stay.

In the case of Accor, you could dine at a nice restaurant like I did (if it’s part of an Accor hotel), and use your points to pay – even when you aren’t a guest.

Other cool perks

Last year, my Daily Drop colleagues and I went to Lijiang, China.

We asked around for the best Peking Duck in the city. And by pure chance, it happened to be at the local Hyatt hotel.

We weren’t staying there, but we decided to dine there. And even without being guests, I was able to earn Hyatt points on the meal – including my 30% bonus for Globalist status.

Here’s another fun one:

In my home city of Bandung, there’s a Moxy hotel (a Marriott brand) with the best rooftop bar and restaurant in the city.

Sometimes, I like to go there to grab a drink or some food. And when I do, I get a 25% discount because of my Marriott Titanium status – again, even though I’m not a guest.

Then, I use my Marriott co-branded card to pay and earn even more bonus points.

Okay, okay, this has been a little ramble, but here’s the point:

Points, miles, hotel loyalty, and elite status can come in handy for far, far more than just booking a room.

🌎 Travel Trivia Reveal

A few minutes ago, we asked which airline was the most punctual in 2025…

Photo courtesy of Selective Focus Photography

And if you chose Delta Air Lines, congrats — you nailed it. 🙌

According to Cirium’s 2025 On-Time Performance Review, Delta finished the year as the most on-time airline in North America, continuing its streak as one of the world’s most operationally reliable carriers.

Cirium’s rankings look at factors like:

• On-time departures and arrivals

• Schedule reliability

• Consistency across the full year

And Delta came out on top when it came to actually getting people where they needed to go… on schedule.

Globally, airlines in the Middle East and Asia also dominated the rankings, with carriers like Qatar Airways once again earning top marks for punctuality and overall operational performance.

So yeah — if you’ve ever felt oddly confident booking a tight connection on Delta, the data says that instinct wasn’t wrong.

👉 You can read the full punctuality rankings and methodology here.

That’s it, my friends. Take care and see you tomorrow,

With contributions by McKay Moffitt

Estimated read time: 4 minutes and 44 seconds

☀️ Good morning from 30,000 feet over Cameroon, where I’ve found the holy grail of travel: a regional African airline with lie-flat seats AND Wi-Fi. 🏆

I’ll tell you more about Rwandair (and how to book it with points) another time.

For now, let’s talk about the stuff you’ll care way more about:

• ✈️ United just changed everything about how you earn miles

• 🧑‍🧑‍🧒‍🧒 The best travel tip for families

• 🎿 Colorado in Winter Isn’t Just Skiing

✈️ United just changed everything about how you earn miles

Airlines are always trying to figure out how to “enhance” their programs. And United woke up last week with a new, BRILLIANT idea:

Here’s the short version: If you don’t hold a United credit card, you’re about to earn way fewer United miles on flights. Like… noticeably fewer.

And if you book Basic Economy without a card? You earn zero miles. Zilch. Nada.

But if you do have a United card?

They’re basically rolling out a red carpet, a foot massage, and a bowl of warm nuts for you (figuratively).

Co-branded cardholders will earn more miles than before, plus get cheaper award tickets thanks to the new cardholder-only award discounts of 10-15%.

Here is the comparison of specific earning rate changes:

Keep in mind that the above rates don’t include the miles you earn from spending on the card… so the pot is definitely sweet for cardholders.

And the system goes live for tickets booked on or after April 2, 2026 – so at least we have a little heads-up about this (unlike what we get from some airlines 😅).

So… what’s actually changing?

Here’s the quick version:

• Mileage earning rates drop for everyone unless you hold a United co-branded card.

• Basic Economy earns 0 miles without a card.

• Cardholders earn more miles than before (especially if you buy the ticket with the card).

• Award tickets are cheaper for cardholders, and even cheaper if you have elite status and a card.

• These changes apply to all members, from general flyers to elites.

United’s logic here is obvious:

Airlines make billions from loyalty programs and credit cards… not from you actually flying on the plane.

So United is nudging people toward getting a card now… and once enough people bite, we all know what comes next:

Annual fees go up, benefits shrink, points get devalued. It’s the circle of airline life. 🦁

But the question is… is this really that bad overall? Is it even maybe… good?

What I personally do (and why I don’t mind these changes much)

I don’t credit my United flights to United (a.k.a. I don’t earn United miles when flying United). 🤷🏼‍♂️

Instead, I credit them to Air Canada’s Aeroplan program – and honestly, it’s great.

Here’s why:

1. Aeroplan earns based on distance flown

United now earns miles based on revenue, which is cute, except most of us aren’t shelling out $5,000 for long-haul business-class fares.

If you’re flying long routes for normal-human prices, Aeroplan’s distance-based earning just treats you better.

2. Aeroplan points are super useful

Aeroplan uses a hybrid, distance-based award chart with caps for certain partners (including United), making it easy to get amazing redemptions.

You can redeem for United if you want… OR you can redeem for some of the world’s best partner airlines and sweet spots.

So here’s my advice, based on who you are:

If you don’t want a United credit card

Try to book your 2026 flights before April 2, 2026, to lock in the current (better) earning rates.

And seriously – consider crediting your United flights to Aeroplan.

If you do want/have a United card

Signing up for a co-branded credit card isn’t the craziest hurdle to get past – especially because earning rates will be even better than they are now if you get such a card.

You might actually want to wait to book some trips until after April 2, 2026, so you can scoop up the extra miles and discounted award pricing.

If you want to read more about these changes, check out United’s press release.

🧑‍🧑‍🧒‍🧒 The best travel tip for families

Speaking of co-branded airline credit cards… 👀

If that last section put a bad taste in your mouth about United, you can always jump ship and start flying a different airline… like Southwest.

And now might be a good time to do it, especially if you travel as a family.

Here’s why:

Southwest is currently offering a full year of Companion Pass AND a batch of bonus points when you sign up for one of their co-branded cards.

As a reminder, the Southwest Companion Pass lets you book a flight with points or cash and bring another guest for free (well, you have to pay the taxes, which are $5.60 on domestic flights).

But here’s how you can take this to the next level…

If you sign up for one of those cards, you could refer your spouse, partner, or another family member to the same card.

By referring them, you’ll get referral points… AND they’ll get the welcome offer.

That means you’ll earn TWO Companion Passes and THREE batches of points (two from each welcome offer + referral points).

Once you both meet the spending requirements for the welcome offers, you’ll each be able to bring a free companion on any and all Southwest flights.

In other words, a family of four can travel for the price of two. ✌️

That sounds pretty darn good to me.

PRESENTED BY THE COLORADO TOURISM BOARD

🎿 Colorado in Winter Isn’t Just Skiing (Though the Skiing is Great)

Colorado gets a reputation as a skier’s paradise — which, sure, fair.

But winter there is way more than that, and honestly, that’s what makes it such a fun place to plan a trip.

You can absolutely go the classic route: ski Breckenridge or Winter Park, grab a good meal in town, and call it a day.

But you can also spend an afternoon soaking in hot springs, ride a historic train through a snowy canyon, wander a small downtown with a coffee in hand, or do literally none of that and just enjoy mountain views from a quiet lodge.

Photo by Colorado Tourism Board

The best part is that you can mix and match without doing too much driving or planning.

And if you’re using points, it gets even easier — think Hyatt redemptions in the mountains, Capital One miles to cover independent hotels, or various bonus categories on ski passes and gear.

If you want a few plug-and-play trip ideas (ski and springs weekend, hot springs loop, city-and-mountains combo), we laid them all out — plus the best ways to keep costs down during peak season.

That’s it for today, folks! Before I let you go, I’m curious about your opinion of the two airlines we covered today.

See you tomorrow ❤️

With contributions by McKay Moffitt

Haaaaaappy weekend. 🤸‍♀️

One more week of February, friends!

This month is flying faster than saver award space. 

Like… didn’t we just survive Dry January?

Before March sneaks up on us, here’s your weekly recap on all things travel. 

🤝 JetBlue and United’s partnership means you can now book cash flights for either airline on both websites (yay!). 

🌎 Don’t miss this month’s Singapore Airlines Spontaneous Escapes (book by Feb. 28!).

‼️ Use this trick to double your points literally anytime.

🎥 Ready or not… Bilt 2.0 is here, and this week’s Daily Drop YouTube video dives into all the details.

🏆 Our Favorite Pick: Spring travel just got way cheaper

If you’ve been constantly daydreaming about spring travel (same), this week basically handed you two very real and very easy ways to make it happen.

We’ve got:

• A Global Getaways sale discounting Alaska Atmos awards to Europe and Japan

• And a rare 40% transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic from UR points

So if you play your cards right, you could be locking something in by the time we’re done with this ‘lil round-up.

Alaska’s Global Getaways Sale

Alaska’s back with another Global Getaways sale, and this one is themed “Spring into Adventure.”

Very fun, very cutesy.

Most of the discounted destinations are in Europe, which, if we’re being honest, isn’t earth-shattering because we already have plenty of solid ways to get there cheaply with points.

BUT then there’s Hokkaido, Japan.

Right now, you can fly from anywhere in the U.S. to Sapporo for just 20,000 Atmos Rewards points. That includes partners like Starlux, Japan Airlines, American Airlines, and other oneworld carriers (not just actual Alaska).

For example, you could fly from Seattle to Taipei to Sapporo on Starlux for 20,000 Atmos points (and about $35 in taxes).

That’s wild.

There are two small catches:

• You must book by February 27

• Travel must take place between February 27 and May 12

The good news? Atmos has a super generous cancellation policy. If plans change, you’ll get your points and taxes back (minus a $12.50 partner booking fee).

So yeah… massive Daily Drop group trip to Japan? Please? 🥲

The 40% Virgin Atlantic Transfer Bonus

Now let’s talk about the other half of this week’s fun… this bank is offering a 40% transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic, which is not something we see often.

Virgin already has some of the best economy award rates to Europe, like U.S. to London for 6,000 Virgin miles.

With the bonus? About 4,300 UR points. 😎

You can also book Air France and KLM flights through Virgin, often for fewer miles than booking directly with those airlines.

Even Delta One is possible; For example, you could fly from Boston to Lisbon for 47,500 Virgin miles (about 34,000 UR points with the bonus).

However (and this is important), premium cabin awards through Virgin can come with high taxes and fuel surcharges, sometimes over $1,000. So economy and select partner routes could be the move.

The transfer bonus ends February 28, so don’t procrastinate, procrastinators.❤️

👀 This Week’s Must-Reads

An Unconventional Points Trip Through West Africa A detailed breakdown of how I used airline miles, hotel points, portals, and a few under-the-radar programs to book a multi-country trip through West Africa. Read More

How to Book QSuites With Points Qatar Qsuites are often considered the best business-class seats in the sky. Here’s how to book them with Avios, AAdvantage miles, and transferable points. Read More

Winter Shines Brighter in Colorado: How to Plan Your Dream Trip Experience the magic of Colorado in winter, from world-class skiing and steamy hot springs to charming mountain towns. Plus, find smart ways to stretch your points and miles. Read More

🌍 Week in Review

• Monday: ✈️ Cool ways I'm using points this week

• Tuesday: ✈️ The best transfer bonus of 2026 (so far)

• Wednesday: 🌎 The best “starter country” in Africa

• Thursday: 🇯🇵 Fly to Japan for 20,000 points

• Friday: ✌️ How to double your points, anytime

Okie dokie, mis amigos!

That’s all I’ve got for you today.

Go enjoy the rest of your weekend shenanigans, and we’ll chat soon!

Byeeeeeee,

With contributions by Mike Dodge

Haaaaaappy weekend. 🤸‍♀️

One more week of February, friends!

This month is flying faster than saver award space. 

Like… didn’t we just survive Dry January?

Before March sneaks up on us, here’s your weekly recap on all things travel. 

🤝 JetBlue and United’s partnership means you can now book cash flights for either airline on both websites (yay!). 

🌎 Don’t miss this month’s Singapore Airlines Spontaneous Escapes (book by Feb. 28!).

‼️ Use this trick to double your points literally anytime.

🎥 Ready or not… Bilt 2.0 is here, and this week’s Daily Drop YouTube video dives into all the details.

🏆 Our Favorite Pick: Spring travel just got way cheaper

If you’ve been constantly daydreaming about spring travel (same), this week basically handed you two very real and very easy ways to make it happen.

We’ve got:

• A Global Getaways sale discounting Alaska Atmos awards to Europe and Japan

• And a rare 40% transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic from UR points

So if you play your cards right, you could be locking something in by the time we’re done with this ‘lil round-up.

Alaska’s Global Getaways Sale

Alaska’s back with another Global Getaways sale, and this one is themed “Spring into Adventure.”

Very fun, very cutesy.

Most of the discounted destinations are in Europe, which, if we’re being honest, isn’t earth-shattering because we already have plenty of solid ways to get there cheaply with points.

BUT then there’s Hokkaido, Japan.

Right now, you can fly from anywhere in the U.S. to Sapporo for just 20,000 Atmos Rewards points. That includes partners like Starlux, Japan Airlines, American Airlines, and other oneworld carriers (not just actual Alaska).

For example, you could fly from Seattle to Taipei to Sapporo on Starlux for 20,000 Atmos points (and about $35 in taxes).

That’s wild.

There are two small catches:

• You must book by February 27

• Travel must take place between February 27 and May 12

The good news? Atmos has a super generous cancellation policy. If plans change, you’ll get your points and taxes back (minus a $12.50 partner booking fee).

So yeah… massive Daily Drop group trip to Japan? Please? 🥲

The 40% Virgin Atlantic Transfer Bonus

Now let’s talk about the other half of this week’s fun… this bank is offering a 40% transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic, which is not something we see often.

Virgin already has some of the best economy award rates to Europe, like U.S. to London for 6,000 Virgin miles.

With the bonus? About 4,300 UR points. 😎

You can also book Air France and KLM flights through Virgin, often for fewer miles than booking directly with those airlines.

Even Delta One is possible; For example, you could fly from Boston to Lisbon for 47,500 Virgin miles (about 34,000 UR points with the bonus).

However (and this is important), premium cabin awards through Virgin can come with high taxes and fuel surcharges, sometimes over $1,000. So economy and select partner routes could be the move.

The transfer bonus ends February 28, so don’t procrastinate, procrastinators.❤️

👀 This Week’s Must-Reads

An Unconventional Points Trip Through West Africa A detailed breakdown of how I used airline miles, hotel points, portals, and a few under-the-radar programs to book a multi-country trip through West Africa. Read More

How to Book QSuites With Points Qatar Qsuites are often considered the best business-class seats in the sky. Here’s how to book them with Avios, AAdvantage miles, and transferable points. Read More

Winter Shines Brighter in Colorado: How to Plan Your Dream Trip Experience the magic of Colorado in winter, from world-class skiing and steamy hot springs to charming mountain towns. Plus, find smart ways to stretch your points and miles. Read More

🌍 Week in Review

• Monday: ✈️ Cool ways I'm using points this week

• Tuesday: ✈️ The best transfer bonus of 2026 (so far)

• Wednesday: 🌎 The best “starter country” in Africa

• Thursday: 🇯🇵 Fly to Japan for 20,000 points

• Friday: ✌️ How to double your points, anytime

Okie dokie, mis amigos!

That’s all I’ve got for you today.

Go enjoy the rest of your weekend shenanigans, and we’ll chat soon!

Byeeeeeee,

With contributions by Mike Dodge

Estimated read time: 4 minutes and 7 seconds

Good morning from Benin, one of the coolest countries I’ve been to in a long, long time.

While I consult a voodoo witch doctor to see if I’m going to die soon, here are some hotel deals to read about:

• 🏨 Why I’m buying Hilton points

• 🍬 Sweet spot: Double your points, anytime

• 💸 Buy Choice points with a 30% discount

• 💳 Current Transfer Bonuses

🏨 Why I’m buying Hilton points

This is going to be controversial on two very different levels, so brace yourselves.

• Controversial point 1: I am buying a bunch of Hilton points.

• Controversial point 2: The points are for a stay in Belarus. 😬

If you feel triggered by either of those statements, skip to the next section.

I won’t talk about why I’m going to Belarus (yet), but I will tell you why I need to buy Hilton points.

Current 100% bonus promotion

Right now, Hilton is offering a fantastic deal to buy points with a 100% bonus, which puts them at a clean $0.005 each (half a cent).

Hilton just opened a brand-spanking-new Waldorf Astoria hotel in Minsk, which looks incredible.

It costs almost $500 per night, or a much more reasonable 60,000 Hilton Honors points.

I want to book a 3-night stay there for 180,000 points… but right now, I only have 84,000 points in my account.

I checked the price to see what it would be if I used all my points and paid the rest in cash, which came to $760 extra.

Instead, I can BUY the remaining 96,000 points I need for just $480 thanks to this nice sale.

That means by buying points, I’m saving almost $300 for basically no extra work…

These are the times when buying points can really come in handy. With Hilton, it’s pretty hit or miss.

But in my case, it’s a slam dunk deal.

So if you have a Hilton stay coming up soon, crunch the numbers to see if this points sale could make sense for you, too. 🫵

🍬 Sweet spot: Double your points, anytime

Normally, when we talk about “sweet spots,” it’s about solid ways to use airline miles for outsize value.

And when we talk about hotels, we talk about the heavy hitters like Hyatt, Marriott, IHG, and Hilton.

But today, I’m going to tell you about a hotel sweet spot that doesn’t involve any of the above…

So, without further ado, let’s talk about Choice Privileges.

Choice is one of those programs that doesn’t have many of the sexy perks that the other programs offer…

But there’s one thing they DO have – the ability to double your points by transferring ThankYou Points at a 1:2 ratio.

And while Hilton has a similar arrangement with Membership Rewards Points, Choice is better 👀

That’s because they have a fairly strict redemption range of 8,000 points to 35,000 points (except for some partner brands, like Preferred Hotels).

Transferring 4,000 points to Choice (thus giving you 8,000 points) and booking a hotel like this is one of the best hotel sweet spots there is.

But even the higher-end hotels (of which Choice has many) are a really solid sweet spot.

If any other program allowed us to book their highest-tier hotels for just 15,000 points per night, we’d be drooling. 🤤

But that is exactly the case with Choice, since 15,000 points turn into 30,000 when transferring from ThankYou Points.

So here’s the bottom line:

We don’t often talk about cards like this one, which earns ThankYou Points.

But racking up a lot of ThankYou Points can REALLY come in handy when you find the perfect Choice Hotel for your travels.

If you don’t have ThankYou points or want to leverage Choice hotels more urgently, there’s another deal that can help.👇

💸 Buy Choice points with a 30% discount

To bookend this newsletter, let’s talk about another sale to buy points… this time with Choice Privileges.

I don’t think I’ve ever suggested buying Choice points before, but right now could be a good chance to do so, since they’re offering up to a 30% discount.

As I literally just told you, Choice has fixed pricing for all of its hotels, which cost as few as 8,000 points per night.

With a 30% discount, the price per point comes out to roughly 0.7 cents.

That means a hotel that costs 8,000 points would effectively cost you around $56 per night if you simply buy points.

In other words, as long as the cash rate for the hotel you’re booking is more than the price of buying points, this is a good deal.

Whenever you buy points, you’ll want to use a card that earns 2x on uncategorized spend, like the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card or its big brother.

That’s all for today, friends. I know this one was a little hotel-heavy, but I think these are all great deals worth considering.

Have a wonderful weekend, and I’ll see you Monday.

Yours truly,

With contributions by McKay Moffitt

Estimated read time: 3 minutes and 56 seconds

Good morning from Cotonou, Benin! 🇧🇯

Believe it or not, I’m currently in one of the nicest hotels I’ve ever stayed at in my life… Needless to say, I was surprised to find it here, of all places.

Anyway, today is full of exciting stuff:

• 🌎 Global award sale to Europe and Japan

• 🏨 IHG flash sale for the U.S. and other Americas

• 💳 My newest credit card

🌎 Global award sale to Europe and Japan

Alaska’s back with another Global Getaways sale – and this time the theme is “Spring into adventure.” Get it? Because it’s almost spring?

Translation? You can shake off the winter blues with some springtime destinations for way fewer Atmos points than usual – and there’s zero catch.

This batch of destinations is underwhelming compared to previous versions of this sale.

Don’t get me wrong, I love ALL of the destinations, but they’re mainly in Europe… and we already have so many ways to fly to Europe for fewer points than this.

The one exception to this is Hokkaido, Japan… 🇯🇵

Hokkaido is one of my favorite places in Japan, and right now you can fly there from anywhere in the U.S. for just 20,000 Atmos Rewards points.

For example, you could fly from Seattle to Sapporo via Taipei on Starlux Airlines for just 20,000 Atmos points and $35 in taxes and fees.

This brings me to an important point:

This sale is for any and all Atmos partner airlines, NOT just Alaska Airlines itself.

That means you could fly Alaska, Starlux, Japan Airlines, American Airlines, and other oneworld partners to the destinations on the list and still get this pricing.

I know I said there was no catch, but there are actually two small ones:

1. You must book by February 27

2. Travel can take place between February 27 and May 12

Thankfully, Atmos has a very generous cancellation policy.

So you could lock in some good deals now – and if you need to cancel, you’ll be refunded all points and taxes except for the $12.50 partner booking fee, which isn’t bad at all.

Anyway, Global Getaways sales are always some of my favorites. So if you’re excited about spring, make sure you hop on these deals sooner rather than later.

🏨 IHG flash sale for the U.S. and other Americas

IHG One Rewards is out with a new flash sale for anyone looking for a good hotel deal in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

From now through February 26, you can get up to a 25% discount on cash stays.

Here is the deal:

• You must book by February 26, 2026

• You must book at least 3 days in advance of your intended stay dates

• Cancellation is free within 7 days of your stay

• Sale prices should automatically show up in search results

• Read the full terms on this dedicated sale page

This is great and stacks with other IHG promotions (double points, bonus elite nights, etc.).

For example, I’ve been binge-watching The Bear recently (it’s so freaking good) and dreaming about Chicago…

You could book this Crowne Plaza hotel for just $149 per night during this flash sale, which isn’t bad for downtown Chi-town in the spring.

Plus, you can earn double points with the current global promotion. So even if you don’t have an IHG co-branded card or elite status, you’ll earn 3,000 points per night here.

Of course, if you DO have a card (like this one), you’ll earn another 2,400 points per night thanks to the earning multiplier and platinum elite status (which comes with the card).

So, the bottom line is this:

IHG is the most rewarding program out there right now. They have a solid flash sale, multiple promos, and a credit card with excellent earnings.

Put that all together, and you’re getting cheap stays with a huge return on your spend.

Enjoy!

💳 My newest credit card

I recently signed up for a new credit card. And as always, I want to explain why I chose it so you can learn how to approach new cards.

After my Marriott Bonvoy card bonanza last year, I decided to mix things up and go for the {{ ink-business-preferred-credit-card.name | [[ ink-business-preferred-credit-card.name ]] }} as the latest addition to my wallet.

I applied online and was approved instantly (yay!).

So why this card in particular?

1. The welcome offer is excellent

The {{ ink-business-preferred-credit-card.casual-card-name | [[ ink-business-preferred-credit-card.casual-card-name ]] }} is currently offering 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points for signing up, which is no joke… And honestly, my strategy is simple:

I want to transfer them all to Hyatt… not all at once, but eventually.

I spend over 100 nights a year at Hyatt, so these points will unlock thousands of dollars of hotel stays for me.

For example, last year I spent a few nights at this lovely Hyatt House in Kanazawa, Japan.

It costs just 6,500 points per night, which is a great deal. I’ll let you do the math on how many nights I can stay in Japan with a welcome offer of 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points.

But there’s another reason I wanted this card…

2. The earning rates

Last year, the {{ chase-sapphire-reserve.name | [[ chase-sapphire-reserve.name ]] }} axed its 3x earning rate on all travel, and replaced it with 4x on flights and hotels.

I’m not mad about that, but I kinda miss earning 3x Ultimate Rewards points on rideshare apps, travel agency bookings, ferries, trains, and other random travel stuff.

Well, the {{ ink-business-preferred-credit-card.casual-card-name | [[ ink-business-preferred-credit-card.casual-card-name ]] }} DOES still earn 3x on all of that travel (up to a limit of $150,000 per year, which is… way more than enough…).

Long story short:

• The card has a fantastic welcome offer

• A reasonable annual fee

• And fills a gap in my points strategy

That’s all for today, folks. By the time you read this, I’ll be exploring the Temple of Pythons in rural Benin. Google it if you’re curious. 😉

Have a lovely day and see you tomorrow,

With contributions by McKay Moffitt

Estimated read time: 6 minutes and 4 seconds (but it’s worth it)

Good morning and welcome back to Daily Drop, the most well-traveled newsletter on the planet.

While I was sick in bed for the last 24 hours, I decided to actually count how many countries Daily Drop has been written from. It’s 98.

And tomorrow, it will be 99. Pretty cool, eh?

Anyway, let’s talk travel:

• 🎥 We Finally Got Our Hands on Bilt 2.0

• 🌎 Spontaneous Escapes are back, baby

• 🇸🇳 Where in the World Wednesday: Dakar

• ✈️ A Spring trip to Europe (even if you don’t have a week)

🎥 We Finally Got Our Hands on Bilt 2.0

So… Bilt 2.0 is officially out in the wild.

There’s a new card design, some changes under the hood, and — let’s be honest — a rollout that’s been a little messy.

In this week’s Daily Drop YouTube video, we unbox the new card and talk through what’s actually changed (and what hasn’t).

If you’ve been confused by the emails, Reddit threads, and mixed messaging… same.

Check it out:

🌎 Spontaneous Escapes are back, baby

Singapore Airlines has released its latest batch of Spontaneous Escapes awards. 

If you’re not familiar, this promo runs monthly and offers discounted KrisFlyer pricing when you book this month for travel next month.

This month’s highlights are particularly strong for U.S. travelers:

Fifth-freedom flights to Europe

Singapore Airlines operates a fifth-freedom route between New York (JFK) and Frankfurt, and both economy and premium economy are discounted.

Economy is pricing at 19,250 miles one-way, and premium economy is 39,900 miles one-way.

The economy pricing is especially interesting when compared to Flying Blue Promo Rewards.

Flying Blue’s most discounted awards cost 18,750 miles, but will run you as much as $200 in taxes and fees.

With Singapore, you’re paying roughly 500 extra miles compared to that, but you’ll save $150 in cash on the same general route.

The tradeoff is that Singapore’s fifth-freedom options are limited to specific flights, so you don’t get the broad route network that Flying Blue offers.

Still, if your dates line up, this is a solid alternative.

Premium economy to Singapore

If you’re looking at longer-haul redemptions, there are even stronger opportunities on flights between the U.S. and Singapore.

Premium economy from cities like Seattle, San Francisco, and Newark is pricing at under 60,000 miles one-way during this promo.

That’s for flights that run 16 to 18 hours. Premium economy isn’t business class, but on routes this long, the extra space and upgraded service can make a real difference.

Earning Singapore miles is easy

One reason these deals are accessible is that KrisFlyer is a transfer partner of nearly every major U.S. bank loyalty program.

You can transfer points to Singapore’s program from:

• Capital One miles

• Ultimate Rewards points

• Membership Rewards points

• ThankYou points

That makes this one of the easier international programs to leverage when sales like this pop up.

What to know before you book

• You must book during the current promo window (by February 28)

• Travel is valid next month only

• Each route has specific blackout dates

• Only designated flight numbers qualify

Check out the dedicated promo page for all the dirty details.

Also, these awards are generally not flexible once ticketed, so make sure your travel plans are firm before transferring points.

If the dates align and you’ve been eyeing Europe or even Singapore itself, this month’s Spontaneous Escapes list is worth a serious look.

🇸🇳 Where in the World Wednesday: Dakar

If you’ve ever thought, “I want to visit Africa… but I have no idea where to start,” I have a very strong opinion on that.

Start with Dakar.

Here’s why:

• Americans don’t need a visa (a rarity in West Africa)

• Senegal is one of only two countries in all of Africa that the U.S. State Department currently classifies as Level 1 (meaning they think it’s totally safe).

• Dakar is the westernmost point of mainland Africa, which means it’s actually the closest part of Africa to the United States. My nonstop flight from New York was about 6.5 hours.

On that last point, that’s shorter than plenty of flights to Europe. In fact, Dakar is geographically closer to the U.S. than cities like Frankfurt.

Finally, Senegal has solid tourism infrastructure, a visible expat presence, good hotels, a strong restaurant culture, and is a city that’s accustomed to visitors.

In other words, you get something rare: a place that feels culturally rich and distinctly African without feeling overwhelming.

What’s it like?

Senegal is about 95% Muslim, so you’ll hear the call to prayer echoing across the city.

French is the official language, so you’ll walk into bakeries that look straight out of Paris. And then you’ll sit down and eat grilled fish covered in spicy onion sauce with rice and plantains (very much West African).

There’s a blend of West and North Africa, along with French colonial influence, that makes it feel unique.

Plateau (the central neighborhood) is organized and walkable. It’s full of government buildings, embassies, ocean views, markets, colonial architecture, and rooftop restaurants, all packed onto one little peninsula.

You’ll see NGO workers, diplomats, expats, and locals all sharing the same cafés.

Then you head north toward Yoff Beach, and the vibe shifts completely.

Fishermen haul nets from the Atlantic. Kids play soccer in the sand. You sit in a plastic chair with a cold (or not-so-cold) beer and watch the sun drop into the ocean.

Speaking of places you’ll want to see in Dakar…

Gorée Island

About 30 minutes by boat from Dakar, Gorée Island played a role in the Atlantic slave trade and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The House of Slaves is heavy. Walking through it forces you to confront a painful piece of history that shaped the modern world.

But the island itself has this strange duality – pastel buildings, flower-covered alleyways, and seafood restaurants overlooking the water. It’s kind of a weird juxtaposition, honestly.

African Renaissance Monument

This is the tallest statue in Africa, and it is… a lot.

The government spent tens of millions of dollars building this massive bronze monument overlooking the city. It was constructed by a North Korean firm (yup) that specializes in monumental statues worldwide.

It’s controversial, and many locals feel the money could have been better spent. Others see it as a symbol of post-colonial pride and African resurgence.

It’s weird… in the best way.

Other recommendations

• Taïyo – Shockingly good Japanese food with a great atmosphere.

• Kraken Pub – Big expat crowd, craft beer options, live music, and arguably the best sunset view in the city.

• Kotao Coffee – My daily workstation in Plateau. Strong coffee, good pastries, and it opens early.

• La Fourchette – Classic French fine dining and probably the best restaurant in town.

How to get there (with points)

Delta is the only U.S. airline flying nonstop to Senegal, with service from New York.

That’s actually great news because it means you can get to Dakar with just one stop from basically anywhere in the U.S., connecting through JFK.

I booked business class using Flying Blue miles (Air France/KLM’s program), which was dramatically cheaper than booking the same seat through Delta’s own SkyMiles program.

You can also connect through Paris or Lisbon on European carriers (using Aeroplan points or Flying Blue miles), or route via Morocco on Royal Air Maroc using Atmos points.

Dakar is surprisingly connected, so you’ll have no shortage of flight options.

Where to stay

I stayed at the Pullman in Plateau and used Accor points to pay for my entire stay (food, drinks, and spa included – one of my favorite perks of using Accor points).

But honestly? It was a bit underwhelming.

Clogged drains, chipped furniture, and some egregious corruption with the staff (I won’t get into that now).

Next time, I’d probably stay at the Novotel or Ibis in Plateau. They’re cheaper, still bookable with Accor points, and in the same ideal neighborhood.

There are also two Marriott properties near the football stadium and airport, which can cost anywhere from 15,000-20,500 Marriott points per night.

They’re about an hour from downtown, but there’s a shiny new train connecting that area to central Dakar, which makes it more manageable than it sounds.

If you arrive late at night or depart early in the morning, those airport-adjacent hotels are actually a smart move, which is what I did on my last night.

Getting around

Download an app called Yango.

It’s the main rideshare app used in Dakar (and other West African cities). It’s still cash-based, but it’s cheap and reliable. I used it constantly without issues.

You can even use it to order food if you’re feeling lazy (no judgment). 😉

Bottom line

If you’ve been curious about visiting Africa but didn’t know where to begin, this is your starting line. Dakar feels like Africa on “easy mode.”

And once you see how doable it is, you might just realize the rest of the continent isn’t as intimidating as you thought. 🤷🏼‍♂️

✈️ A Spring Trip to Europe (Even If You Don’t Have a Week)

If Europe feels like a “someday when I have more time” trip… this might change your mind.

This spring, Windstar Cruises is rolling out a lineup of Quick Getaway Voyages in Europe — 3–5 night sailings that still feel like a full escape.

Windstar’s small, yacht-style ships for less than 350 guests can access ports big ships can’t, which means charming towns, overnight stays, and routes that actually work if you’re short on time. You can fly overnight, wake up in Europe, and sail the same day.

Photo courtesy of Windstar

Some standout options this spring:

• Seaside Charms & Dutch Waterways — sail under London’s Tower Bridge en route to medieval Bruges and the small-ship port of Harlingen

• Belgium: A Sweet Getaway — canal-lined cities with easy access to Bruges and Brussels

And if you do have a full week, Windstar’s Tulip Season in Holland & Belgium voyage hits during peak bloom, with rare overnight stays in Amsterdam and Antwerp and easy access to nearby gems like Ghent.

Bottom line: These sailings pack a surprising amount of Europe into just a few days — without feeling rushed or touristy.

👉 Cruise beyond with Windstar's Spring Europe voyages

Wow, that was a long one… (that’s what she said).

But I hope you enjoyed learning about some points deals, Bilt’s new cards, and a highly underrated travel destination.

See you next time ✌️

With contributions by McKay Moffitt

Estimated read time: 4 minutes and 12 seconds

Good morning from Côte d’Ivoire – the Ryan Gosling of countries:
It’s just… uncomfortably hot.

Now that I’ve got you thinking about all the wrong things, let’s get into the newsletter:

• 🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday

• ✈️ 40% transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic

• 😅 Mid-February energy check

• 🌎 Travel Trivia Reveal

🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday

Scroll to the end of the newsletter to see if you nailed it… or if you didn’t. 😉

✈️ The best transfer bonus this year (so far)

For the next couple of weeks, you can get a 40% bonus when transferring Ultimate Rewards points to Virgin Atlantic, which we don't see very often.

Virgin Atlantic has some incredible award rates to Europe, including economy flights from the U.S. to London for just 6,000 miles in economy. 👇

With this bonus, that’s 4,300 Ultimate Rewards points… to fly to Europe… so… yeah. It’s awesome.

If you travel with a family or a partner, this is a great way to stretch your points for multiple people.

But Virgin has other sweet spots, too. For example, if you don’t want to go to London, you can fly from the U.S. to Europe on Air France or KLM using Virgin miles – often for cheaper than what those airlines charge for their own flights.

New York to Vienna on Air France for 12,000 Virgin miles

Take 40% off of that, and it’s a pretty solid deal.

And I know many of you have been curious about using Virgin Miles to book Delta One awards. And I have good news and bad news.

The good news is that yes, you can totally book Delta One awards with Virgin miles.

For example, I just found this nonstop from Boston to Lisbon on Delta One for just 47,500 Virgin miles.

With this 40% transfer bonus, that’s just 34,000 Ultimate Rewards points to fly across the pond in Delta One.

Now the bad news…

When you book premium cabins (like Delta One) through Virgin, you have to pay extreme taxes and fuel surcharges. In the previous example, that’s over $1,000 of cash fees.

For reference, Delta itself is charging 495,000 SkyMiles and $6 for the same flight on the same day.

So yes, you’re saving more than 450,000 points, but that means nothing if you aren’t willing to shell out the cash.

So here’s the bottom line:

This is an awesome deal. There’s no doubt about it. There are tons of great ways to use Virgin miles.

Make sure you hop on this before it ends on February 28. And if you need to rack up more Ultimate Rewards points, we’ve got you covered.

😅 Mid-February energy check

How’s the “Tuesday” of the year treating you? Because for me, this is the part of the year where motivation is… questionable.

The holidays are long gone, we’re past the False Spring and back to dreary days, and I’m somewhere between “I’ve got this” and “maybe I just need a nap.”

One small thing that’s helped me feel more human lately? Actually staying hydrated. Not in an intense, carry-a-gallon-jug-with-me-everywhere way, just enough that I’m not wondering why I feel sluggish, foggy, or weirdly cranky by 3 pm.

That’s where LMNT has been clutch in my daily routine.

Photo by LMNT

LMNT’s electrolyte packets are easy to toss in a bag or keep at my desk, have no added sugar, and give me a solid balance of sodium, potassium, and magnesium… which is especially crucial if I’m working out, traveling, or just surviving busy days.

I notice it most with energy and focus. I’ve got fewer of those “something feels off, but I can’t explain why” moments.

And because LMNT is always generous with Daily Drop readers, here’s how you can get the same benefits for yourself:

Get a FREE sample pack (that’s eight flavors!) with any purchase at DrinkLMNT.com/DAILYDROP.

Cheers to getting through February, one good habit at a time… and remembering that doing a little is still doing something. 🫶

✨Get your LMNT today ✨

🌎 Travel Trivia Reveal

Earlier, I asked you a trivia question about the world’s largest church.

Ready for this one?

According to Guinness World Records, the largest church in the world (by total area) is the Basilique Notre-Dame de la Paix, located in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire! 🇨🇮

It doesn’t look like much… but it’s freaking huge.

The only reason I know this is because… I’m in Côte d’Ivoire literally right now.

But here’s where it gets interesting: This massive church was inspired by St. Peter’s Basilica (if you couldn’t tell from the photos).

But… it actually:

• Has a larger footprint

• Has more total interior square footage

• Is slightly taller (its dome reaches about 158 meters, edging out St. Peter’s)

So on paper? It wins.

But…

Despite being physically larger, it actually seats fewer people than St. Peter’s.

St. Peter’s can accommodate around 20,000+ worshippers, while the basilica in Yamoussoukro seats roughly 7,000 inside (with space for more standing).

Most people assume the largest church must be in Vatican City.

So, here’s your lesson for the day: the “biggest” things in the world aren’t always where we expect them to be. Sometimes they’re in places most people never even think to look.

Isn’t travel fun? 😉

That’s it for today, folks. I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather here in Africa, so I’m going to take a nap…

But fear not – I’ll be back tomorrow with more points-and-miles tips.

Ciao,

With contributions by McKay Moffitt