🧳 Checked bag or carry‐on?

Estimated read time: 4 minutes and 48 seconds

☕️ Goooood morning and welcome back to Daily Drop — the newsletter equivalent of finding $20 in your coat pocket.

Except instead of $20, it’s award flight tips, and instead of your coat pocket, it’s… your inbox.

Here’s what we’ve got:

• 🧳 Checked bag or carry‑on? Let’s settle this

• ✈️ Another month, another sweet spot to Europe

• 🍝 From the Pacific Northwest straight to pasta

• 💸 How to make $600 in travel magically disappear

🧳 Checked bag or carry‑on? Let’s settle this

I’ve checked a bag exactly once in my life — flying home from Oman with a traditional sword (not exactly a “throw it in the overhead bin” kind of situation).

Other than that? I’m a one‑small‑backpack traveler. Nothing else. No roller bags, no checked luggage, no “Wait, is that mine on the carousel?” anxiety.

Here’s why:

• No baggage fees.

• No lugging a suitcase over cobblestones at 2:00 a.m.

• Security, customs, and immigration are a breeze.

• Freedom to explore if I arrive early or have a late departure — my whole life fits on my back.

On my recent three‑week winter trip to Australia and New Zealand, I carried everything — jacket, sweatshirt, toque, gloves, laptop, and other clothes and gear — in this 24‑liter Aer backpack.

It’s my favorite travel bag on the planet, and yes, it all fit.

But I get it — checked bags and larger carry-ons do have their perks.

Sometimes you need the space, sometimes you don’t want to think about cramming everything into one tiny bag. Just be careful:

• Airlines love charging baggage fees, even internationally.

• Weight limits can be brutal — and expensive to exceed.

That’s why in this week’s Daily Drop YouTube video, we’re going deep on the pros and cons of checked bags vs. carry‑ons.

We’ll cover:

• How to avoid baggage fees (yes, it’s possible)

• The bags we swear by, like the indestructible LEVEL8 suitcase

• Little tricks like tossing an Apple AirTag in your bag so you always know where it is

It’s a fun one — whether you’re Team Carry‑On or Team Checked.

If you’ve been reading Daily Drop for a while, my bag preference probably doesn’t surprise you… But I’m curious to see where you all land on this debate.

✈️ Another month, another sweet spot to Europe

You know how we always say that there are ways to cross the Atlantic for fewer points than a domestic flight?

Well… here’s your monthly reminder. 😏

Flying Blue just dropped its August Promo Rewards, and they’re looking very tasty.

If you book by the end of this month, you can snag discounted awards between Europe and a bunch of U.S. cities on KLM or Air France for travel all the way through January 31, 2026.

Here’s what’s on tap:

• Economy: Seattle (SEA), Washington, D.C. (IAD), Miami (MIA), San Francisco (SFO) — 18,750 miles each way

• Premium Economy: Phoenix (PHX) and Dallas (DFW) — 30,000 miles each way

• Business Class: Montreal (YUL) — 45,000 miles each way

Even without a transfer bonus, these are stellar rates — especially those long-haul Premium Economy redemptions from Dallas and Phoenix.

And if you’ve been in this game for a while, you know Flying Blue is everywhere when it comes to transfers.

You can transfer points from all the major U.S. banks — often with a bonus — making it ridiculously easy to top up your account when a deal like this drops.

Feeling extra adventurous?

This month’s promo list also includes sweet spots beyond North America, like flights between Europe and Tanzania or even China for just 22,500 miles in economy. 👇

You can check out the full list of routes and prices here.

Bottom line: This is your chance to lock in peak-season Europe flights for off-season prices — but only if you book by August 31.

🍝 From the Pacific Northwest straight to pasta

Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines are officially one big happy family.

And while that means all sorts of exciting things like reciprocal benefits and a combined loyalty program, the thing I’m most excited about is the new long-haul routes they’re rolling out.

The latest? Seattle to Rome. 😎

Although it doesn’t start until next summer, this will be the first nonstop route between the Pacific Northwest and Italy, which already feels epic enough…

But Alaska is also taking it up a notch by flying it on former Hawaiian Airlines 787s — complete with cozy business-class suites with closing doors.

But here’s where it gets interesting:

Alaska quietly launched a teaser page for this new route. If you drop your email on the list, you’ll get access to an exclusive offer when the flights go on sale this fall.

What’s the offer? They’re keeping it a mystery.

But if history is anything to go by, Alaska tends to deliver the goods. I wouldn’t be shocked if it’s a discounted fare (cash or miles) or even a bonus miles promo.

Either way, this is big news for Pacific Northwest travelers — and that mystery offer makes it even more fun.

Add your name to the list now so you don’t have to watch everyone else score a deal while you sit there with FOMO.

💸 How to make $600 in travel magically disappear

Good news for anyone who recently signed up for the [[ chase-sapphire-reserve.name ]]:

Many cardholders have been targeted with a new perk: $100 back when you spend $600 on travel through the card’s portal.

On its own, that’s a nice little boost. But paired with the current welcome offer of 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points and a $500 travel credit in the same portal? It becomes something much more interesting.

If you’re targeted for the $100 offer, those two credits alone cover $600 off a $600 purchase — meaning you could book a trip for $0 out of pocket.

Expiration dates for this credit may vary, but I’m seeing September 30 on my end.

To put that into perspective… if the new Seattle to Rome route we just talked about caught your eye, you could use these two credits to book five nights at this beautiful Rome hotel for $687.

Your cost after the credits? Just $87 total — and you could even wipe that out with a few thousand points from the welcome offer (notice how this hotel is even eligible for Points Boost).

And that’s just one way to use it… You could stretch those credits to cover well over a month of travel in places like Southeast Asia (I’m not even kidding), even booking through the bank portal. 👇

On top of all of the new perks and credits recently added to the [[ chase-sapphire-reserve.casual-card-name ]], you’ll still get flexible redemption options, travel protections, and a long list of everyday benefits that make it a powerhouse in any wallet.

Bottom line: Between the huge welcome offer, easy‑to‑use travel perks, and now extra targeted credits, this card is an absolute standout right now.

That’s all for today, my friends!

I hope you enjoyed this Monday’s edition of Daily Drop. Make sure you tune in tomorrow, where I’ve got a super neat trick to share with you… 😏

Peace ✌️

6.9175° S, 107.6191° E

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