✈️ An exciting airline will fly to the U.S.

Estimated read time: 4 minutes and 36 seconds

☀️ Good morning from beautiful, snowy Queenstown, New Zealand! 🇳🇿

While I learn how to ski again, here are some big updates from the travel world for you all to catch up on:

• ✈️ A new (exciting) airline will fly to the U.S.

• 🏨 New targeted Marriott promos

• 📆 Hyatt adds the feature we’ve been begging for

• 🇯🇵 How to travel Japan with points

✈️ A new (exciting) airline will fly to the U.S.

Starting this October, Gulf Air will launch nonstop flights between New York (JFK) and Bahrain (BAH) — and if you’ve never flown it before, this is your chance to fall in love.

I’ve flown Gulf Air multiple times, and it’s become one of my favorite airlines to book with points.

Here’s why:

• Its home base at Bahrain International Airport is modern, huge, and somehow… peaceful

• The Gulf Air lounge is world-class — think big-name Middle Eastern luxury without the chaos and crowds of Doha or Dubai

• Gulf Air’s Dreamliner business class (which is what it’ll fly to NYC) is outfitted with Apex Suites, one of the most spacious and private business-class products flying today 👇

And while the airline itself is amazing, it gets even better when you book it using Aeroplan points (which you can earn by transferring points from basically every major U.S. bank).

Here’s an example:

You can fly nonstop from New York to Bahrain in business class for 90,000 Aeroplan points, which is a very fair redemption for a 12.5-hour flight:

But here’s where the magic happens… 😏

In some cases, adding a second flight can actually lower the price, due to Aeroplan’s complicated (and in this case, awesome) award chart.

For example, you can continue from New York to Bahrain… and then onward to Singapore (SIN) — all in business class — for just 87,500 Aeroplan points total.

Let me say that again: You’ll pay fewer points to fly much farther.

This example also gives you a 13-hour daytime layover in Bahrain, which is exactly the right amount of time to leave the airport, see the country, and be back in time for your flight.

And yes, I do mean the entire country. Bahrain is tiny — but packed with history, culture, and camel sightings if you know where to look.

Some layover ideas:

• Visit the Al Fateh Grand Mosque (one of the largest in the world)

• Wander through ancient ruins and museums

• Stroll the souqs, sip some mint tea, and let a local show you around — the hospitality in Bahrain is next-level

For many travelers, Gulf Air has flown under the radar — but that’s exactly why I love it.

It’s an excellent alternative to the “big three” Gulf carriers like Emirates, Qatar, and Etihad. It’s easy to book, reliable, and surprisingly luxurious — and now, with direct flights from the U.S., easier than ever to experience.

🏨 New targeted Marriott promos

Marriott is sending out a wave of targeted promos right now — and they’re quite competitive. So, before I dive into the specifics of my offer, go check your own account to see if you’ve been targeted (and for what).

Here’s what I got:

• Stay #1 = 4,000 bonus points

• Stay #2 = 6,000 bonus points

• Stay #3 = 8,000 bonus points

That’s 18,000 bonus points total, and the rules are pretty lax:

• Only paid stays count

• But a “stay” can be just one night

• You must include a Friday or Saturday in each stay

Overall, this is a very easy offer to maximize… and potentially worth a “mattress run.” 😏

If you’re unfamiliar with the term “mattress run,” it basically means booking cheap hotel nights just to earn points or elite status — without any real intention of using the room.

For example, I’ve got a Moxy Hotel in my city for just $37 a night.

If I did three separate weekend stays there, I’d pay $111 total and earn 18,000 bonus points, plus around 2,600 more points from my Marriott card and Titanium elite perks.

That’s over 20,000 points — and I can easily redeem them for more than $111 in value.

And while $37 hotels are a rarity, you can check what’s available near you and consider this strategy (even if you only need to do it for one or two nights).

Of course, if you already have travel plans, you could unlock this promo with minimal effort — maybe even by switching hotels mid-trip to break up your stays.

Either way, go check your Marriott account and see what promo (if any) you’ve been targeted for, and make sure you use a card with strong earning rates on Marriott hotels for your cash stays.

📆 Hyatt adds the feature we’ve been begging for

World of Hyatt just rolled out a small change that solves a massive problem — one we’ve all been yelling about for years.

Until now, Hyatt’s points calendar would show you whether a night was standard, peak, or off-peak — but not whether there were actually rooms available to book with points.

This meant you’d get excited about a tasty redemption… only to click through and see: nope. Nothing. Try again.

Now? Two major upgrades:

First, when searching normally, the calendar won’t show a points price unless a room is actually available. If there’s no space, you’ll see a note that says “points rates unavailable for selected dates.”

Even better — you can click “View Rates” and then “Points Calendar” to see a full month-by-month calendar with blocked-out dates showing when there’s no award space at all.

This makes it way easier to find dates at high-demand properties without refreshing the site like a maniac or doing 17 test bookings.

You’ll be pleased to know that these new features also work in the Hyatt app (yay).

This is a big win for anyone who uses points to book luxury stays, like the Park Hyatt Kyoto, Alila Ventana Big Sur, or that dreamy all-inclusive Ziva in Cabo.

Oh — and don’t forget that you can transfer points to Hyatt at a 1:1 ratio from both Ultimate Rewards points and Bilt Rewards.

That means cards like the [[ chase-sapphire-reserve.name ]] or the [[ chase-sapphire-preferred-card.name ]] could get you into a $1,000+ suite for just a few clicks.

Thanks, Hyatt. We’ll stop complaining now.

🇯🇵 How to travel Japan with points

Ever looked at flight prices to Japan and thought, “Guess I’ll just swim”?

Well, what if I told you that you could spend two full weeks exploring Japan — flights, hotels, everything — without spending a fortune?

In this week’s Daily Drop YouTube video, we’re breaking down exactly how to plan a killer two-week Japan trip using points and miles, including specific programs, strategies, and redemption tips to make it happen.

That’s all for today, folks!

Whether you’re eyeing a cheeky mattress run, refreshing Hyatt’s calendar like it’s Ticketmaster, or plotting your escape to Japan on points, I hope you learned something useful today.

See you tomorrow ❤️

45.0302° S, 168.6615° E

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