🏨 Book a $2,000 hotel for $0... and zero points

Estimated read time: 4 minutes and 38 seconds

Good morning friends, and welcome back to Daily Drop! It’s going to be another jam-packed week of travel goodness, so let’s not waste any time:

• 💳 Top Cards Update (June 2024)

• 🏃🏼‍♂️ Mike on the Move

• 🙏🏼 Refer your friends to Daily Drop

💳 Top Cards Update (June 2024)

As I’m sure many of you have heard, it is now June.

And another month means another set of epic card offers to inform you about, so strap in tight.

The main offer you’ll want to keep in mind is the [[ chase-sapphire-preferred-card.name ]], which currently has an elevated welcome offer (which is ending soon, by the way).

I’ve talked your ear off about it already, so I’ll just leave you with the following links if you want to read more about it or apply before it’s too late:

• This newsletter

• This article

• The [[ chase-sapphire-preferred-card.casual-card-name ]]’s card page

But there are some other offers that have recently dropped, and I am personally pretty pumped about them.

First, let’s start off with two hotel cards, the [[ hilton-honors-american-express-surpass-card.name ]] and the [[ hilton-honors-american-express-card.name ]].

The welcome offers on some of these co-branded cards include chunks of points and, most importantly, Hilton Free Night Awards.

Here’s why this is so exciting…

Hilton Free Night Awards are the most valuable in the biz because they have no cap, as long as you use them for a “standard room.”

This usually means a rough cap of 90,000 or 95,000 points at the higher-tier properties, like the Conrad Tokyo, for example.

But there are a handful of properties in the world where a “standard room” is anything but standard… 😏

For example, next week, I’ll be in Doha, Qatar.

I was able to redeem my Hilton Free Night Award for this hotel, which costs a minimum of 120,000 points per night for a standard room.

However… at this hotel, every “room” is actually a private, 2-story villa.

So, in this case, even a “standard room” is a private villa with a pool… which is crazy…

If you can find properties like this, you could redeem your Hilton Free Nights for a hotel that costs thousands of dollars per night.

The fact that you can now get one of these awards (and tens of thousands of points) from the [[ hilton-honors-american-express-card.casual-card-name ]] (with no annual fee) is, and I’m sorry for using this language, bonkers.

It means you can book a $2,000 hotel room for ZERO dollars… and ZERO points… 😉

Thank you, thank you… but please hold your applause until the end of the performance.

Anyway, speaking of insane hotel offers…

The [[ marriott-bonvoy-business-american-express-card.name ]] is currently offering FIVE Marriott Free Night Certificates worth 50,000 points each, with an annual fee of just over $100.

Since you can top up Marriott Free Night Awards by up to 15,000 points each, you can use these awards for stays that cost up to 65,000 points per night.

That means your credit card (and some extra Marriott points) could book you a 5-night stay at the JW Marriott Maldives, which would otherwise cost… wait for it… over $7,000. 🤯

Sounds like a pretty solid tradeoff to me…

And if you’re writing off this card because it’s a business card… stop. Stop that. Right now.

You’d be surprised how easy it is to qualify for business cards.

In fact, thousands of normal Daily Drop readers have successfully opened business cards after reading this newsletter and realizing they were eligible, and you can, too. 🫵

Anyway, I have one more honorable mention.

It’s the [[ aeroplan-credit-card.name ]], which just increased its welcome offer by about 10,000 points.

It’s not the highest offer we’ve seen, but it’s still a LOT of [[ aeroplan-credit-card.points-program-override.name ]] for a low-annual-fee card.

Given you could use those points to book this business-class flight on Singapore Airlines from the U.S. to Germany, it’s hard to argue with the value here.

As you can see, there is no shortage of amazing credit card offers to boost your points balances ahead of the summer and fall travel seasons.

Check out this page for a full list of current elevated offers, and have fun.

🏃🏼‍♂️ Mike on the Move

After some downtime from my surgery, it feels good to finally be back on the move.

Earlier this week, I flew from Bali to Surabaya on Garuda Indonesia, one of the best airlines in the world.

Since Garuda is a member of the SkyTeam alliance, you can use Flying Blue Miles, Delta SkyMiles, and more to book flights with them.

As you can see, the flight I took can be booked for just 7,500 Flying Blue miles and about $10 in fees.

It’s a great example of how your points earned at home in the U.S. can provide value almost anywhere in the world, thanks to airline alliances.

From Surabaya, I did something CRAZY…

I took… a train. 😮

But not any train… it was a LUXURY-ass train, and it was amazing.

Although these private train suites resemble a first-class suite on a plane, the price does not resemble that of a first-class flight.

This train costs just $75 for the 4-hour journey to Central Java, which is not bad at all.

But of course, there is a way to redeem points for this journey, too.

Don’t forget that Capital One miles can be used to offset any travel purchase at a rate of one cent each.

So, this $75 train can be booked with 7,500 Capital One miles.

These train suites have free wifi, fully reclining seats, entertainment, noise-canceling headphones, multiple meals, closing doors, and more.

So, even though 7,500 points can get more value being transferred to partners, I have no problem using them for this really cool, unique experience.

This is also a good example of how your points can be used in creative ways all over the world in ways you might not immediately think of…

But while I have you here, tell me something:

Now, in Central Java, I am writing this newsletter to you from my favorite hotel in the world: The Alila Solo.

This is a luxurious, 5-star Hyatt property that costs just 3,500 points or as little as $42 per night, which, fun fact, is cheaper than my rent in Toronto was…

So, you know, that’s fun. 😑

I was just here earlier this year but returned because of the sheer value this hotel offers, like:

• Constant suite availability (I used an upgrade certificate from a milestone reward to confirm a suite for seven nights)

• Free breakfast for Globalists

• Amazing spa facilities (free use by guests)

• Lounge access with free dinner and drinks every night (for Globalists)

• A great location in an amazing, underrated city

For 3,500 points, it can’t be beat.

And since I’m still a little slow after my surgery, it was a great place to relax, save some money on a comfortable stay, and, most importantly, do a mattress run.

Oh, what is a “mattress run,” you ask? 😏

Tune in on Wednesday, and I’ll give you the lowdown on mattress runs, including some creative examples you might not be aware of.

Hey there…

Did you know that we tell you about our Daily Drop Referral Program every single week in this part of the newsletter…?

You probably just scroll past it every day… and it’s okay. I forgive you.

But… You currently have 0 referrals, only 1 away from receiving the Daily Drop Travel Toolkit.

So do me a quick favor… Copy the following link, send it to EVERYONE you know, tell them to read Daily Drop, and I’ll send you some cool swag:

https://newsletter.dailydrop.com/subscribe?ref=PLACEHOLDER

Thanks in advance, love you. 😘

That’s all for today, folks!

I hope today inspired you for your next card and gave you some examples of how to think outside the box when it comes to using your new stashes of points and miles.

And with that, I’ll bid you adieu.

Cheers,

7.5695° S, 110.8250° E