🚢 A new cruise status match

Estimated read time: 4 minutes and 56 seconds

👋🏼 Good morning and welcome back to Daily Drop — the newsletter that thinks travel credit cards are just adult Pokémon cards.

We’ve got a lot of stuff to cover today, my friends:

• 🚢 Cruise news: Bilt elites now get Virgin Voyages status

• ✈️ New 30% transfer bonus to Virgin

• 💳 Earn 165k bonus points for your next hotel stay

• 🏨 Earn double Hyatt points in these 3 regions

• 🔄 Current Transfer Bonuses

🚢 Cruise news: Bilt elites now get Virgin Voyages status

Bilt Rewards just finished up an epic Rent Day on September 1, offering up to a 100% transfer bonus to Virgin.

What you might not know is that they also quietly rolled out a new evergreen status match with Virgin Voyages, giving Bilt elites an automatic boost when they hit the high seas.

Here’s what it looks like:

• Bilt Silver & Gold → match to Virgin Voyages Blue Extras

• Bilt Platinum → match to Virgin Voyages Deep Blue Extras

Every time you book a Virgin Voyages cruise, you’ll automatically get those perks stacked on top.

Depending on the tier, that can mean things like free specialty coffee, expedited boarding, cocktail hours, laundry, or even bar tab credits (see Virgin’s full benefits grid here).

Why does this matter?

Because Virgin Voyages is already one of the hottest cruise lines out there, and this partnership gives Bilt Rewards members an extra way to squeeze value out of their status.

Pair that with Bilt’s:

• No annual fee card (still wild),

• Strong earning rates (including on rent, without a transaction fee, and up to 100k points per year),

• Solid transfer partners (Atmos Rewards, World of Hyatt, and plenty more),

• Regular Rent Day transfer bonuses

…and you’ve got another reason to take Bilt seriously as a top-tier program.

Even if you’re not a hardcore cruiser, this kind of evergreen status match adds a ton of flexibility — and for cruise lovers, it’s basically free perks every time you set sail. 🤷🏼‍♂️

✈️ New 30% transfer bonus to Virgin

Capital One just dropped a fresh 30% transfer bonus to Virgin Red — the umbrella program for all things Virgin.

But let’s be real… the real magic here is with Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, which you can link to Virgin Red and freely shuffle points back and forth.

We’ve talked plenty about Virgin’s U.S. sweet spots (like flights from the U.S. to Europe for as few as 6,000 miles each way in economy 😳).

Those are amazing, but don’t sleep on Virgin’s other gems.

For example, if you’re doing a Eurotrip, you can hop between cities on Air France or KLM for as few as 4,000 Virgin miles each way in economy — thanks to their SkyTeam partnership.

With the bonus, that’s just over 3,000 Capital One miles — a steal for saving after you’ve booked your transatlantic flights.

Virgin miles also come in clutch if you want to tack on a little adventure beyond Europe.

Last year, I booked an economy flight from Bergen, Norway (BGO) to Kigali, Rwanda (KGL) for just 12,000 Virgin miles on KLM, a deal you can still book to this day. 👇

With this bonus? That’s only 9,200 Capital One miles for a long-haul, super-niche journey on a solid SkyTeam airline.

And since Capital One miles are some of the easiest points to rack up, this bonus is extra tasty because right now:

• [[ capital-one-venture-rewards-credit-card.name ]] has a 75,000-mile welcome offer after spending $4,000 in the first three months (and with a low annual fee).

• [[ capital-one-venture-x-rewards-credit-card.name ]] comes with the same bonus, plus premium perks – though it does carry a higher annual fee.

This transfer bonus runs until October 1, so you’ve got time to scheme — but not too much time.

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PRESENTED BY CHASE

💳 Earn 165k bonus points for your next hotel stay

As someone who has opened many credit cards in my day, it takes a lot for any given card to remain in my top five year after year…

But every now and then, I come across a unicorn. Enter: the [[ ihg-rewards-premier-credit-card.points-program-override.name ]] — a card with rich benefits that’ll take your travels further.

For starters, it’s currently boasting a limited-time welcome offer of 165,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 in the first three months from account opening.

In addition to the bonus points, it’s also packed with other perks:

• 🙌 Earn a whopping 26x points per dollar at IHG properties

• 👑 Complimentary IHG One Rewards Platinum Elite status (includes early check-in, late check-out, complimentary room upgrades if available, a welcome amenity, and more)

• 🛏️ An Anniversary Free Night (worth up to 40,000 points with the ability to top it off with additional points for fancier stays)

• 🛃 Up to $120 credit, every four years, for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck®, or NEXUS application

• ✈️ Up to $50 United Airlines TravelBank Cash each year, with registration

• 👀 Fourth-night free perk on award stays of four consecutive nights or more (book four nights, and only use points for three of those nights!)

That is insane value for a card with a low $99 annual fee!

Bottom line: The [[ ihg-rewards-premier-credit-card.points-program-override.name ]] is packed with value, and if you love travel, this is a must-have in your wallet.

✨ Learn More ✨

🏨 Earn double Hyatt points in these 3 regions

Hyatt just launched a promo that’s actually worth paying attention to: double World of Hyatt points on stays in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa this fall.

And since Hyatt points are so valuable, this is something you’ll want to take advantage of.

Here’s the scoop:

• You need to register for the offer before November 1 (and before you complete your first stay)

• The deal applies to stays completed September 15 through December 1

• It covers Hyatt hotels and Mr & Mrs Smith properties

• Once you’re registered, every eligible stay earns you double points (10 per dollar instead of 5), up to 20,000 bonus points total.

That means if you’ve got fall or holiday travel lined up in London, Paris, Dubai, Cape Town (or anywhere else in these regions), this is basically free points for stays you were already going to book.

Plus, Europe is full of budget-friendly Hyatt hotels, even in popular cities like Frankfurt:

I’ve also been eyeing the brand new Hyatt Place in Tallinn, Estonia (a great city with limited chain hotel presence).

These are both perfect ways to save money while maximizing rewards.

If you do book cash stays with Hyatt, you’ll want to maximize your credit card rewards as well.

I recommend the [[ chase-sapphire-reserve.name ]], which earns 4x Ultimate Rewards points on hotel stays booked direct (you could also earn points with the [[ world-of-hyatt-credit-card.name ]], but the points aren’t as flexible).

So make sure you register for the offer and consider shuffling around some hotel plans if this appeals to you.

That’s it for this week, amigos. I hope you enjoyed this week’s content, and I look forward to another epic week of travel tips starting on Monday.

Stay happy and healthy and enjoy your weekend,

6.9175° S, 107.6191° E

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