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š³ Act now to protect your points
Credit card rewards programs are coming under fire, but you can act now to help protect your points.
Tiffany Eastham
May 14, 2024
Estimated read time: 3 minutes and 58 seconds
š³ļø Attention cruisers! Starting October 2025, Princess Cruises will return to San Juan, Puerto Rico, after more than a decade to offer week-long voyages aboard the Grand Princess with two alternating itineraries, sailing through March 2026, and stopping at various Caribbean destinations. Read more about it here.
Hello friends and welcome back to another beautiful day here at Daily Drop. The birds are chirping. The breeze is breezing. And the travel deals are absolutely dealing.
Here's what weāre working with:
āļø Delta launches another way to earn elite status
If youāre a Delta loyalist that just canātā¦ letā¦ goā¦ and are still trying to pursue status with the airline, this oneās for you.
Right now, [[ delta-skymiles-reserve-american-express-card.points-program-override.name ]] is offering one Medallion Qualifying Dollar (MQD) for every dollar spent on booking a hotel or rental car through Deltaās Travel Extras site.
In addition to racking up some MQDs, youāll also earn two [[ delta-skymiles-reserve-american-express-card.points-program-override.name ]] for each dollar.
Before we unpack the details of this offer, here are the terms to be aware of:
The promo is valid for hotel and rental car bookings between May 13 - June 24, 2024
Travel must take place between May 13 - September 8, 2024
The SkyMiles account must belong to and match the name of the credit card being used
Now this is the second time a promo like this has been offeredā¦ specifically for earning MQDs on hotel and car rental bookingsāwhich feels sort of weird that itās back š¤·š»āāļø
If Ryan Gosling is suspicious, then we ALL should be.
Especially because when Delta completely overhauled its [[ delta-skymiles-reserve-american-express-card.points-program-override.name ]] program, hotel and car rental bookings initially DID count toward elite status.
But then there was the whole public uproar thing about how insane the spending requirements would be to earn some MQDs to then get you your precious elite status.
A harsh reminder below š
Delta then walked back on some of its new changes (e.g. lowered elite requirements), but as a result, hotel and car rental bookings were removed from being eligible ways to earn MQDs.
So yeah, confusingā¦
Maybe Delta is testing this and will eventually (and permanently) add back in hotel and car rental bookings as eligible ways to earn MQDs via its Travel Extras site.
Currently, the three ānormalā ways to earn MQDS are:
1 MQD per dollar spent on Delta flights
1 MQD per dollar spent through Delta Vacations
1 MQD per every $10-$20 spent on an eligible Delta card
So with this promo, there is obviously money to be made by Delta in having its travelers book this way.
Be warned that it may not always be the best deal compared to if you looked elsewhere.
BUTā¦ If youāre gunning for those MQDs and want to still work towards elite status with Delta, youāve now got another means to do soā¦ at least for now.
š”Have you seen?? Both the [[ delta-skymiles-reserve-american-express-card.name ]] and the [[ delta-skymiles-reserve-business-american-express-card.name ]] are being offered as limited-time edition metal cards made from an actual Boeing 747.
The Points Guy āProtect Your Pointsā Initiative
Hey, yāall. Weāre gonna have a heart-to-heart about something we REALLY care aboutā¦
Iām talking about miles, points, credit card perks, reward programs, and even payment security when it comes to swiping your favorite travel card.
And Iām guessing that if you read Daily Dropā¦ you care about those things, too!
Maybe youāve already heard about the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA) and what itās proposing, but hereās the SparkNotes version to get you up to speed.
Credit cards are the most secure way to make a purchaseāthanks to card issuers who use large payment networks like Visa and Mastercard to ensure your secure information is protected.
And what happens in exchange for this incredibly important service?
Networks charge an interchange (or transaction) fee to the merchant.
A portion of that interchange fee then goes towards funding reward programs that we as consumers greatly benefit from.
Iāve personally only ever been able to book a bougie business-class flight thanks to the points and perks I get from being a credit card consumer.
However, if Congress passes the CCCA, a new mandate on reducing these interchange fees will be in place to shift from using larger, trusted networks to cheaper, smaller, and less secure ones.
This can increase the risk of fraud and cyber-attacks for both you as the card consumer, as well as many smaller businesses who also rely on these larger processing networks for protection.
Additionally, this change could ultimately destroy credit card rewards programs as we know them today. šØ
Reduced interchange fees = reduced funds for reward programs.
To be clearāthis change will only benefit the worldās corporate mega-stores (think Walmart, Target, Amazon, etc.).
The best way you can protect your points is to reach out to your stateās congressional representative.
The Points Guy makes this process easy with the form below. Iāve already taken action to voice my opinionāand now itās your turnš
Please support our sponsors!
š¤ Travel Trivia
Can you guess the northernmost airport in the world?? |
Answer: Svalbard Airport, Longyear (LYR)
Serving the town of Longyearbyen (which by the way is the northernmost town with a population over 1,000), this airport is located at Hotellneset, about five kilometers northwest of the town.
Over the years, this airport has connected such a remote community, along with a few mining settlements and research stations, to the rest of the world.
The history of aviation in Svalbard traces back to World War II when the first airfield was constructed. Pretty cool, huh?
But, it wasn't until 1973 that the current airport, with its single runway measuring 2,484 meters (8,146 feet) in length, was built and usable.
Despite its extreme location, Svalbard Airport, Longyear handles regular traffic from Norway's two largest airlines -- Norwegian Air and SAS Scandinavian Airlines.
Aside from commercial flights, the airport also runs charter services, like flights operated by Luftransport.
Though it may not be a bustling hub like many major airports, Svalbard Airport serves as a lifeline for people living in this remote Arctic region.
I'm curious ā have you flown in or out of Svalbard Airport?
Want to learn more about some of the worldās most extreme airports? Check out this article by Daily Passport.
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ā¦or you can just buy these prizes from our website if you want to keep us all to yourself. š
I hope youāll take part in voicing your opinion about protecting your points and your purchase security!
And with that, I wish you all a lovely day, and weāll chat again soon ā¤ļø