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✈️ Frontier is busting out a TON of new routes...

Plus, you'll be surprised to learn just how far you have to walk to your gate at some U.S. airports...

Estimated read time: 3 minutes and 41 seconds

🌎 Every year, Lonely Planet releases what they call “best in travel.” This year, some of those countries include Mongolia, Benin, Pakistan, Croatia, and more. Read the full lineup at the link.

Hey there, friends. Welcome back to your favorite travel newsletter (or at least it’s my favorite travel newsletter, but I’m a tad biased).

I’ve got some good stuff for you today, so let’s dive in:

🏨 Buy Hilton points with a 100% bonus

Remember that time a couple of months ago when Hilton had a big sale on points, and I told you how you could save hundreds of dollars by BUYING points?

Well, I have good news. Hilton is having the same exact sale... again.

Until May 14th, you can get up to a 100% bonus on purchased Hilton Honors points. For those of you who weren't around during the first sale, I'll sum things up very quickly:

Basically, buying points can save you a TON of money... but not always.

For example, some really expensive hotels are surprisingly cheap to book with points. Throw in a bonus like this one, and you could save a significant amount of money compared to if you were to just pay cash.

Let me give you an example of this idea that saved me over $300 a couple of years ago.

When looking for hotels in India back in 2022, I noticed a pretty reasonably priced DoubleTree by Hilton for around $100 per night (including taxes, etc.) for a total of $521.58.

Because this hotel is priced at only 10,000 Hilton points per night, I booked the 5-night stay for just 40,000 points.

With this promotion, I could just buy 20,000 points and get an additional 20,000 points as a bonus, enough to book this stay.
 
The entire 40,000 points only cost me $200, saving me $321.58 from booking the same nights at the same hotel with cash.

This is a pretty extreme example of this concept, I realize that...

But even if you save a fraction of that, you still might find it worthwhile to crunch the numbers and potentially book some really cheap Hilton hotel stays. 

Whenever Hilton offers this sale, there is usually a way to benefit by using this approach.

Of course, you don't need to book an entire stay on paid points. Buying points is also a great way to top up your balance.

If you're a few thousand points short of booking a room, this is the perfect way to spend a few dollars to unlock a free hotel stay.

If you hate the idea of buying points altogether, that’s also fine. Hilton credit cards also have some ridiculous welcome offers right now that can earn you well over 100,000 points in the snap of a finger.

✈️ Frontier launches new nonstop routes for summer travel

For many of you, Frontier might make you feel some type of way…

A meme of Spongebob making a disgusted face

Just, why…

I know, but let’s give them the benefit of the doubt on this one because starting in June, the airline is launching new nonstop flights to 12 airports across the U.S. 👇

Route

Frequency

Start Date

Buffalo to/from Philadelphia

3x per week

June 6th

Chicago to/from Salt Lake City

3x per week

July 14th

Dallas-Fort Worth to/from Sacramento

4x per week

June 13th

Dallas-forth Worth to/from Seattle

4x per week

June 14th

Dallas-Forth Worth to/from St. Louis

4x per week

June 15th

Denver to/from Savannah

3x per week

June 13th

Norfolk to/from Philadelphia

3x per week

June 5th

Ontario to/from Sacramento

Daily

July 11th

And perhaps the best part? Fares start at just $19! But you need to book by Wednesday, April 10th (at 11:59 p.m. EST) for travel between June 5th and August 31st.

Screenshot showing Frontier's website ad for new $19 routes

There are a handful of blackout dates during the month of July that you’ll want to be aware of it.

I have to say, if you’re planning on some domestic summer travel, and if you go in with realistic expectations with this, you might just find a really solid deal!

But again, this is Frontier. So take that for what you will 😅

🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday

Do you know the top 10 largest and smallest U.S. airports by land area and their walking distances to the nearest and farthest gates?

Correct answer: Well… let’s just take a look at the numbers - because they are WILD.

Airports (in the U.S.) with the longest walks:

  • Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (Dallas, Texas) - 2.16 miles

  • Washington Dulles International Airport (Dulles, Virginia) - 1.62 miles

  • George Bush Intercontinental Airport (Houston, Texas) - 1.52 miles

  • Denver International Airport (Denver, Colorado) - 1.45 miles

  • John F. Kennedy International Airport (New York, New York) - 1.38 miles

Airports (in the U.S.) with the shortest walks:

  • Blue Grass Airport (Lexington, Kentucky) - 0.11 miles

  • Westchester County Airport (White Plains, New York) - 0.12 miles

  • Harrisburg International Airport (Middleton, Pennsylvania) - 0.13 miles

  • Lihue Airport (Kauai, Hawaii) - 0.18 miles

  • Hollywood Burbank Airport (Burbank, California) - 0.20 miles

KURU Footwear recently did a survey to measure the walking distances in the top 10 largest and smallest U.S. airports.

Photo of a crowded airport

For the largest airports, such as Dallas/Fort Worth and Denver International, travelers face walks over a mile long to reach their gates...I'm sorry...what?!

Smaller airports like Blue Grass Airport and Westchester County Airport have significantly shorter walking distances that are much less than a mile.

Some travelers sometimes opt for smaller airports to avoid the hassle of long walks and crowded terminals, while others still prefer larger airports.

All I'm saying is… I wouldn't be booking a 30-minute layover at DFW... 😅

Want to learn more? Read the full report here.

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That’s all for today, folks. I’m gearing up for my dreaded 3-flight, 30-hour journey home…

Since I can’t sleep on planes, it’s going to be especially painful… but it also makes me curious:

Can you sleep on planes?

If so, I'm jealous

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

I’ll be interested to see the breakdown from that poll… 😉 But for now, have a good day, and I’ll see you tomorrow. ❤️

Mike Dodge
Head Writer, Daily Drop

37.8136° S, 144.9631° E