✈️ Earn easy airline miles (from a hotel stay)

Estimated read time: 4 minutes and 32 seconds

☀️ Good morning and welcome back to Daily Drop — your favorite travel newsletter (at least it better be).

We’ve got some good ol’ fashioned deals, tips, and travel inspo for you today, so let’s dive in:

• ✈️ Earn 750 airline miles from a Hilton stay

• 🏨 Save 25% on Hyatt stays in the Americas

• 💼 I applied for this new business card — here’s how it went

• 🌎 Where in the World Wednesday Thursday

✈️ Earn 750 airline miles from a Hilton stay

This isn’t the kind of deal that’s going to get you a business-class flight to the Maldives… but it is one of those “click a button now and thank yourself later” situations.

Here’s the scoop:

• Qatar Airways is giving you 750 bonus Avios when you complete any Hilton stay (cash or points) before September 30.

• Just link your Qatar Privilege Club and Hilton Honors accounts and register for the promo. That’s it. No need to book through a specific portal or use a special code!

• Plus, you’ll still earn your usual Hilton points for this.

Qatar Avios are super flexible. You can transfer them 1:1 to British Airways, Iberia, Finnair, and Aer Lingus, and use them to book flights on partners like American Airlines and Alaska Airlines.

So even if you never fly Qatar Airways, this tiny bonus could help you top off a redemption elsewhere.

Don’t forget to stack

Remember that certain cards like the [[ hilton-honors-american-express-aspire-card.name ]] earn as much as 14x points on Hilton purchases, in addition to the extra 10x you get from Diamond status (a perk of holding the [[ hilton-honors-american-express-aspire-card.casual-card-name ]]).

Throw in a shopping portal bonus like Capital One Offers (which is currently offering 10x miles on Hilton stays) and even one cheap night at a Hampton Inn will be pretty rewarding.

This is just another reason I love having a Capital One card, like the [[ capital-one-venture-rewards-credit-card.name ]], which gives me access to these offers.

Anyway, register for the Hilton offer here, link your accounts, and you’re done. Set it and forget it.

🏨 Save 25% on Hyatt stays in the Americas

If you have summer travel coming up, Hyatt is offering up to 25% off select properties across the U.S., Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean — including everything from standard Hyatt Place hotels to splashy resorts.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Book by July 28 and stay by September 30

• The sale includes both Hyatt members-only rates and public rates (but you should obviously book as a member — it’s free to join and always saves you more)

We’re seeing great discounts on:

• California Hyatt House locations for well below their usual summer rates

• Beachfront Mexico resorts that shave off hundreds on longer stays

• Caribbean getaways with solid savings if you time it right

If you’re looking for some additional deals abroad, Hyatt also has sales right now for:

• Europe, the Middle East, and Africa

• Asia Pacific

Just note that booking windows vary between these sales and regions.

Whether you’re planning a last-minute city break or want to burn some vacation days somewhere warm and discounted, it’s worth plugging in a few dates and seeing what pops up.

💼 I applied for this new business card — here’s how it went

One of our contributors recently applied for the new [[ sapphire-reserve-for-business.name ]] — and the experience was way smoother than expected.

Despite being over 5/24, she was instantly approved. No pop-ups and no weird hoops to jump through. 👀

Of course, it is a business card, so the bank asked for things like an EIN and estimated revenue. But overall? Surprisingly painless.

Between the massive 200,000-Ultimate Reward point welcome offer and the stack of premium travel perks, it’s a compelling option if you’ve got business expenses to funnel through a new card.

We’re not saying it’s for everyone, but if you’re curious what the real application process looks like, we broke it all down here 👇

🌎 Where in the World Wednesday Thursday

Of all the places I’ve traveled (112 countries and counting), I never thought I’d call Bandung, Indonesia home. But here we are.

One minute you’re sipping espresso in a trendy café, the next you’re dodging goats on a foggy mountain trail. It’s awesome (and underrated).

There’s technically no functioning airport right now (lolz), but who cares? Indonesia casually built Southeast Asia’s only high-speed rail, connecting Jakarta to Bandung in just 27 minutes.

How to get here with points

Getting to Jakarta (CGK) from the U.S. is easier than you’d think — and award space is abundant.

One of the best deals? Cathay Pacific Asia Miles allows you to fly from multiple U.S. cities to Jakarta (via Hong Kong) for just 38,000 miles in economy.

If you pair Indonesia with a trip to Japan, you can get excellent value for your Delta SkyMiles, flying between the two countries for just 22,500 miles in economy or 40,000 miles in business class. 👇

Where to stay (this is where things get good)

Bandung is a hotel goldmine.

IHG has five excellent properties here — including the brand-new Voco, with rooms starting around $60 per night or 8,000 points.

Prefer Marriott or Hilton? You have options like the Moxy Bandung — a fun and stylish hotel with the best rooftop bar in town, often priced at just $40 go $50 per night, or sometimes as few as 5,000 points.

My favorite, though, is the Hotel Indigo (an IHG property), tucked in the hills of Dago Pakar. In one direction, you have giant malls… and in the other you have this:

Bandung truly blends city buzz with mountain calm. And hey — if all else fails, my spare bedroom is usually free. 😉

I know this was a little off the beaten path… but so is Bandung! So, tell me:

That’s all for today — nothing too flashy. But hey, 750 Avios and a discounted hotel stay ain’t bad for five minutes of reading.

See ya tomorrow for more points and perks. ✌️

6.9175° S, 107.6191° E

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