✈️ How to book a stopover for just 5,000 points

Estimated read time: 4 minutes and 15 seconds

Good morning and welcome back to Daily Drop, a healthy part of any well-balanced travel-hacking breakfast.

Before we get started, I just want to let you know that we’ll be taking the day off tomorrow to celebrate the good ‘ol Fourth of July. So while you’re crying because you miss us so much, just look up at the fireworks and know that we’ll be back in your inbox first thing Wednesday. ❤️

But enough small talk. Today is going to be VERY good. Here’s why:

• 💳 Top Cards Update (July)

• 🏃🏼‍♂️ Mike on the Move: Booking a stopover for 5,000 points

• 🖼️ Meme

💳 Top Cards Update (July)

Another month, another batch of INCREDIBLE card offers that you need to know about.

This month, we have a few new offers as well as a couple of offers I’ve changed my mind about. So let’s get into it.

Card #4: [[ hilton-honors-american-express-card.name ]]

The [[ hilton-honors-american-express-card.casual-card-name ]] is special… On the surface, it looks like any other $0 annual fee card with a decent offer.

But this offer is potentially more valuable than other big-boy ones because it comes with a Free Night Award that has no cap.

That means that by signing up for a card that costs $0 per year, you’ll earn a certificate that could book you a hotel that costs THOUSANDS of dollars…

Personally, I just used one of these certificates to book this amazing property in Kyoto, Japan:

In addition to this certificate, you’ll earn a huge batch of Hilton points as well. So I definitely recommend looking into the [[ hilton-honors-american-express-card.casual-card-name ]] if you’re a hotel buff like me.

Card #5: [[ southwest-rapid-rewards-plus-credit-card.name ]]

I changed my mind about the [[ southwest-rapid-rewards-plus-credit-card.casual-card-name ]] recently… At first, I was underwhelmed by the current offer.

A few months ago, the same card offered something much, MUCH more valuable for signing up; the Southwest Companion Pass.

But I rarely travel with a companion, so I find this current offer to be far more exciting… And the offer includes more than just a stash of points - there’s another special treat. 😉

Also, Southwest flights can often be booked for just a few thousand points, making this offer extremely valuable just from the sheer number of points alone.

So click this link and check it out if you want to earn a BUNCH of points that could book you a number of free flights.

Card #6: [[ ihg-rewards-premier-credit-card.name ]]

This card is one of my best friends in the world. It’s a role model to me, and it’s what I want to be when I grow up.

A few months, ago I got REALLY excited about the [[ ihg-rewards-premier-credit-card.casual-card-name ]] and wrote a whole article about how much I love it.

I use it all the time now, and it remains a staple of my wallet.

Thankfully, the card has just launched another REALLY exciting offer. While it’s not quite as high as it was in February, it’s a close second - and still WELL worth signing up for.

If you maximize the points to the extreme, you could use this welcome offer to book as many as 35-40 nights at this hotel chain…

I’m still just as excited about this card as I was when I wrote about it. If you want to be happier, healthier, and more content with your life (and maybe book a few hotel rooms), I’d recommend signing up for it.

I could talk about credit cards all day, but sadly we only have a few minutes left, so I’ll leave it here for now… But check out our Top Cards Page if you want to see even more awesome ways to rack up points quickly.

Cheers.

🏃🏼‍♂️ Mike on the Move: Booking a stopover for 5,000 points

There’s one travel hack that I use ALL the time and never gets old. I’m talking about using Aeroplan points to book a stopover for just 5,000 points.

Now there are some pretty complex ways you can use this benefit, but for now, let’s keep it simple. I’ll share an example I used this past week, then get into the weeds on how you can maximize it further.

Last week, I flew from Abu Dhabi to Cairo. A few days later, I flew from Cairo to Madrid. Normally, these two flights would cost 37,500 Aeroplan points.

Instead, I booked a flight from Abu Dhabi to Madrid, but added a stopover in Cairo for five days, for a total flight price of just 30,000 points.

Let me explain…

A one-way flight from Abu Dhabi to Madrid is about 3,500 miles. According to Aeroplan’s award chart (below), this flight should cost 25,000 points one-way.

But because of the stopover program, we can add a city in between those two cities for an extra 5,000 points, which is why the price comes out to 30,000 points instead of 37,500.

Obviously, the savings get more drastic if you use this feature on more flights that cover longer distances.

To make things even better, you can include up to 3 stopovers on a single itinerary, and each stopover can last up to 45 days.

Last year, I booked a pretty complex set of flights in Central and South America making use of this stopover feature. The coolest part was that this was all booked with Aeroplan points on a single, multi-leg itinerary:

Here’s how I structured my booking to maximize stopovers and save points:

• Toronto to San Pedro Sula (with a Stopover in San Salvador)

• San Pedro Sula to San José (with a Stopover in Guatemala City)

• San Jose to Medellin (with a Stopover in Quito)

• Medellin to Toronto (with a 24-hour layover in Punta Cana)

Since the last leg includes a stop in the Dominican Republic for less than 24 hours, it counts as a layover rather than a stopover, so it doesn’t cost any extra points.

So, I’m saving 15,000 points by adding in these three stopovers and only have to pay one set of taxes and fees since everything is on one itinerary 👇

So in total, I was able to book 11 flights to 7 countries for a total of 83,000 Aeroplan points. This is an example of how you can really stretch the Aeroplan award chart and stopover benefit.

As a quick reminder, Aeroplan points are VERY easy to earn. Most U.S. credit cards allow you to transfer points to Aeroplan. For you Canadians, it’s even easier. There are tons of Canadian cobranded Aeroplan cards, along with others that also allow you to transfer points at a 1:1 ratio.

Oh. Hey there.

I just wanted to give you a friendly reminder to tell all your friends about Daily Drop, so they can start traveling around the world like you do.

I’ll even raise the stakes a bit. If you refer just ONE person to Daily Drop using the link below, I’ll personally come to do your dishes for a year.

Okay, not really. But you can get some Daily Drop swag for as little as one referral. Just copy and paste the link below and start sending:

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

🖼️ Meme

That’s all for today, folks. I’m finishing up this crazy, 7-week trip here in beautiful Tenerife, Spain, and am definitely itching to get home to my own bed… for a few days.

Still, I’m pretty pumped that I was able to take advantage of so many excellent travel hacks like Aeroplan’s stopover program.

Take care and see you in a couple of days,

28.2916° N, 16.6291° W