✈️ Get 20% more points for 0% more work

Estimated read time: 4 minutes and 13 seconds

Good morning and welcome back to Daily Drop, the newsletter that’s a whole lot like Wheaties. Not only is it the traveler’s breakfast of champions, but it's guaranteed to make your travel hacking game much, much stronger. 💪

Here’s what I’ve got to kick off the week:

• ✈️ 20% transfer bonus to Aeroplan (yay)

• 🍪 Tasty Travel Tidbits

• 🏃🏼‍♂️ Mike on the Move: One of the most unique hotels in the world

✈️ 20% transfer bonus to Aeroplan (yay)

You know how the Chinese zodiac consists of various animals to represent the year? Like last year was the Year of the Tiger?

Well in the travel hacker’s zodiac, 2023 is the Year of the Transfer Bonus.

Because in addition to ALL of the other great transfer bonuses that have happened recently, Aeroplan is now offering a 20% bonus from [[ chase-sapphire-preferred-card.issuer.name ]].

Here are the deets:

• Transfer points from [[ chase-sapphire-preferred-card.issuer.name ]] to Aeroplan and receive a 20% bonus

• There is no maximum to the number of points or transfers you can make

• Valid until July 31st, 2023

• Bonus points will be reflected in the original transfer (and credited immediately)

While this isn’t as drastic as some of the other bonuses we’ve seen recently, Aeroplan transfer bonuses are definitely on the rare side.

I also think that while I may be a bit biased, Aeroplan is definitely one of the most valuable points currencies out there.

Given the sheer number of airline partners (which number more than 50), there are plenty of ways to make use of a healthy stash of Aeroplan points…

I recently booked a ticket for later this year to head to Kigali, Rwanda from Toronto for only 51,000 Aeroplan points - a huge steal for an 8,000-mile journey to a lesser-known African city…

I’ve also told you about some of the other “bucket list” flights you can book with Aeroplan points, including Emirates first class, Etihad Apartments, ANA The Room, and more.

So if you’ve been eyeing some Aeroplan awards or just want to boost your balance of valuable, flexible points, I’d highly recommend taking advantage of this offer.

🍪 Tasty Travel Tidbits

• 😬 Uh oh… Delta pilot arrested in the airport before a long-haul flight

• 😎 (Maybe) hang out with Bryan Cranston for one Marriott Bonvoy point

• 🏨 Hilton launches a new long-term stay brand

🏃🏼‍♂️ Mike on the Move: One of the most unique hotels in the world

Last week, I told you about my travel hacking through India this month, including a very special booking at the Alila Fort Bishangarh in rural Rajasthan, India.

Well, I stayed there… and it was one of the best hotel experiences of my life. So much so that I extended my stay and burned another one of my valuable Hyatt Category 1-4 Free Night Certificates.

As a Category 4 hotel, this was an easy decision, and my two certificates saved me well over $600 on this two-night stay.

In addition to being an extremely luxurious 5-star property, this hotel offered much, much more.

I ate the best food I’ve ever eaten in India (and there’s some darn good food in this country), enjoyed a relaxing environment hours away from the normal hustle and bustle of Indian cities, met some AMAZING people, learned about the history of this small town in India, and even got to try my hand at archery, along with many other free activities.

They also upgraded me (yay Globalist status) to their Grand Suite, which was huge, super comfortable, and overlooked the Rajasthan countryside.

The hotel is built into a hundreds-of-years-old fort atop a hill, and the view NEVER gets old… it’s actually just stunning, and I couldn’t believe we actually got to stay there…

But one of the things that made this stay so special was that of the 59 rooms and suites in this hotel, only five rooms were occupied, including ours…

I’d say there were about 10-15 staff members for every guest while we were there. There were even more live musicians than guests, which is wild.

I even tried to join the band. But I failed.

That means we got a much more special experience than we otherwise would’ve, and it’is a perfect example of one of my favorite travel hacks: traveling in the off-season.

This month, I’m traveling through India, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Cairo - places that hover around 100 degrees every day, and places that most normal people would specifically avoid this time of year… as they should.

But I’m not a normal person. I’m a weird-ass person.

I’m also a person who loves dirt-cheap travel. And there’s no better way to book dirt-cheap hotels and flights than traveling during the time that nobody else wants to.

For example, most of my hotels this month are costing less than $50 per night, including some super nice Hyatt and Marriott properties. The ones I’m using points for are also cheap compared with other times of the year.

Even ultra-luxurious hotels in Dubai are inexpensive ☝️

For example, the Andaz (a Hyatt hotel) on the Palm Jumeirah is just $101 per night, which we’ll be spending a few nights at.

Considering my Hyatt Globalist status gets me free breakfast and free lounge access (aka more free food and drinks), $100 per night (between two people) is an actually insane deal.

Now listen… I’m a Canadian boy. I like me some cold weather. So 100 degrees is not my idea of “fun” in most scenarios.

But I love Dubai, and personally, 100 degrees in June versus 90 degrees in the winter makes absolutely no difference to me… But the $40 hotels versus the $300 hotels DEFINITELY make a difference to me.

I know this section has been a bit rambly, but here are the takeaways:

• Traveling in the off-season can save you a ton of money or points and give you a more private, unique experience.

• Look in the nooks and crannies of the world to find some unique experiences. Points and miles can unlock some of the most unique hotels that you’d otherwise never get to see.

• If you have Hyatt free night awards and have ever wanted to travel to India, go to the Alila Fort Bishangarh. It might just be the coolest hotel I’ve ever stayed at.

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That’s all for today folks!

What’s the coolest hotel you’ve ever stayed in? Let me know by replying to this email or reaching out on social media.

Take care, travel safe, and see you bright and early tomorrow ❤️

26.9124° N, 75.7873° E 🇮🇳