⭐️ 5 easy ways to earn more Chase points

Estimated read time: 4 minutes and 52 seconds

🌅 Good morning from chilly Tallinn, Estonia — where I’ve been trying to leave for three days but keep finding new reasons to stay. It’s becoming less of a trip and more of a long-term relationship.

Anyway, while I figure out my life, here’s what’s on deck today 👇

• ⭐️ 5 of my favorite ways to earn UR points

• ✈️ Southwest is flying to Alaska (with a catch)

• 😎 Fuel well, feel well

• 🎥 Stop wasting your Marriott Free Night Awards

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⭐️ 5 of my favorite ways to earn UR points

Joining the Chase ecosystem is an exciting move because you’ll unlock access to Chase Ultimate Rewards®, one of my favorite rewards currencies. You can use these points for flights, hotels, or transfers to some of the best airline and hotel partners out there.

Whether you’ve got the ever-popular [[ chase-sapphire-preferred-card.name ]], reached for the more premium [[ chase-sapphire-reserve.name ]], or ventured into the business realm with the [[ ink-business-unlimited-credit-card.name ]], you’ve already got the foundation. Now it’s about stacking up points faster.

Here’s how I like to do it:

The welcome offer

No surprise here. One of the biggest incentives to apply for a card is to earn your welcome offer after meeting the spending requirement.

For instance, the [[ chase-sapphire-preferred-card.casual-card-name ]]’s current offer allows you to earn 75,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 in the first three months from account opening.

Everyday purchases

Another given — you’ll rack up additional points every time you swipe your card. 😎

A few of my favorite categories include:

• 4x Chase points on flights and hotels booked directly with the [[ chase-sapphire-reserve.casual-card-name ]]

• 3x Chase points on dining, select streaming services, and online groceries (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs) and 2x points on travel with the [[ chase-sapphire-preferred-card.casual-card-name ]]

• 1.5% cash-back (or 1.5x Chase points) on all purchases with the [[ ink-business-unlimited-credit-card.casual-card-name ]]

Refer-a-friend bonuses

Got friends who want in? Referring them to open their own Chase card can net you a nice little bonus if they’re approved and meet their offer requirements.

The bonuses vary by card, and there’s typically an annual limit on how many points you can earn this way, but it’s a great way to keep your balance growing.

Plus, you should probably tell them to subscribe to Daily Drop while you’re at it. 😉

Shop through the Chase Ultimate Rewards shopping portal

Chase’s shopping portal is an excellent way to earn additional points for items you would order online through a given retailer anyway.

You could earn an additional 2x, 4x, or more by making your purchase through the portal.

Add an authorized user

You’ll sometimes receive a bonus for adding an authorized user to your account, but you’ll always earn additional Chase points from the purchases your authorized user makes.

This is an easy way to accelerate the points you earn, but you’re also on the hook for paying off any charges from your authorized user — so pick wisely. 🙃

Bottom line

There are many ways to earn Chase points beyond the initial welcome offer. Between everyday categories, referrals, the shopping portal, and even adding an authorized user, these points add up quicker than you’d think.

✨ Check out our favorite Chase cards ✨

✈️ Southwest is flying to Alaska (with a catch)

Southwest Airlines is officially expanding north of north with new nonstop routes to Anchorage (ANC) from Denver (DEN) and Las Vegas (LAS) for the summer 2026 season.

It’s a big move for Southwest — the airline’s first time serving Alaska — and on paper, the idea of an easy, nonstop summer escape to Anchorage sounds amazing.

The problem? Prices that make you wonder if they accidentally priced in dog sled rentals. 😬

From Denver, one-way fares are starting at over $500, which is… bold.

Especially when Alaska Airlines offers its own nonstop on the same route for about half that price. Even if you’re paying in points, it’s not much better — you’re still looking at a brutal 50,000+ Rapid Rewards points one-way (at least at the current moment).

The Las Vegas route is a little more reasonable, starting around $350, but still costs roughly 30,000 points — and that’s for Basic Economy, which is very restricted.

Meanwhile, Alaska Airlines’ connecting option on the same route goes for just 12,500 Alaska Atmos points. Sure, you’ll have to make a stop, but that’s a pretty small trade-off for saving nearly 20,000 points.

Here’s why this feels so painful…

Sure, Southwest beats Alaska Airlines in terms of transferable points (you can transfer Ultimate Rewards points to Southwest, where only Bilt Rewards transfers to Atmos Rewards).

But for roughly 21,000 Ultimate Rewards points, you could fly round-trip to Europe in Premium Economy on Virgin Atlantic — yes, round-trip (albeit with higher taxes).

So yeah… these Anchorage fares are giving less “Summer in Alaska” and more “Please don’t tell the points gods I did this.” 😉

But if Alaska is on your bucket list and you’ve got Southwest points to spare, this is still an exciting expansion.

🎥 Stop wasting your Marriott Free Night Awards

If you’ve ever let a Marriott Bonvoy Free Night Award expire (or used one on a $120 Fairfield Inn because you “didn’t have time to look”), this one’s for you.

In this week’s Daily Drop YouTube video, we break down everything you need to know about these certificates — how to earn them, how they actually work, and how to use them for serious outsize value.

That’s gonna finish off this Monday edition of Daily Drop! I hope you learned a thing or two today, and I look forward to raiding your email inbox again tomorrow.

Cheers,

59.4370° N, 24.7536° E

With contributions by Alison Carrico, Tiffany Eastham, McKay Moffitt, and Benji Stawski