✈️ Huge award discount on Turkish Airlines

Estimated read time: 4 minutes and 21 seconds

Hello from Hong Kong, and welcome back to another installment of your favorite travel newsletter.

There’s some time-sensitive material today, so let’s get right to it:

• ✈️ Award Drop: 40% discount on Turkish Airlines

• 💳 [Targeted] We’ve spotted some new Delta merchant offers

• 🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday

✈️ Award Drop: 40% discount on Turkish Airlines

Did everyone read the big story this past weekend about how the mayor of New York was indicted over accepting tens of thousands of dollars of free flights from Turkish Airlines?

It was a pretty wild story and included a ton of luxury trips to Istanbul, courtesy of Turkish.

While most people were disappointed in how many free luxury flights he took from them, I was just confused.

After all, with miles and points, we can ALL just apply for credit cards and book free flights on Turkish Airlines. 🤦‍♂️

Speaking of which…

To celebrate the mayor’s indictment (not really, but the timing is funny), Turkish is having a 40% sale on award flights from the U.S.!

Here are the deets:

• You must book your flights by TOMORROW, October 2nd

• Travel can take place between November 1st and March 31st, 2025

• Only valid in economy class

• Only on Turkish-operated flights, not partner awards

The big perk here is that the booking window is HUGE.

Since it extends well into next year, this is an excellent opportunity for people looking to travel to Europe, the Middle East, or beyond in the winter and lock in some cheap flights now.

With the 40% discount, you can fly between the U.S. and Istanbul for just 24,000 miles, which is an excellent deal.

Of course, since Turkish butchered their award chart earlier this year, there aren’t a TON of good deals beyond flying from the U.S. to Istanbul.

If you add another 10,000 miles to that booking, you can go to cities like Dubai and Muscat, which is not a bad deal.

But traveling beyond that to cities in India or further in Southeast Asia will run you too many miles to make it worthwhile, in my opinion.

Still, even booking a flight to Istanbul and then a cheap cash flight to another destination is a perfectly reasonable way to combine points and money to have a cheap trip.

This flight from Istanbul to Greece is only $38, for example. 👇

So here’s the bottom line:

Turkish Airlines is having an award sale with flights from the U.S. to Turkey for just 24,000 miles, which is a great deal.

You can transfer points to Turkish from Capital One Miles, ThankYou Points, and Bilt Rewards, making them super easy to earn by signing up for a good credit card.

If you do want to hop on this deal, make sure you do so by tomorrow!

💳 [Targeted] We’ve spotted some new Delta merchant offers

If you hold a card that is issued by this bank, you’re likely aware of the merchant offers that are on constant rotation.

You’ll also likely know that these can be targeted, so you never know what you’ll get when you check your account.

Some of them can be meh, but some of them can be great.

And today, Delta is the star 😎

The first offer I’m seeing is in my account for this shiny, premium card.

This is about as straightforward as it gets. If you make at least a $450 purchase directly with Delta by October 30th, you’ll be gifted a $90 statement credit.

And like we always say, do not go out of your way to spend money on Delta if you weren’t already planning to or didn’t find a legitimate reason to do so.

But if you’re already making a booking with at least that amount, then getting $90 back is an easy, great deal.

Next up. If you have a co-branded card from Hilton, check your accounts for this one 👇

You’ll receive 10,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points when you spend at least $300 with Delta by October 24th.

Now, typically, Hilton points aren’t usually considered to have the highest value. With them being worth around .5 cents each, you’re getting a cash value of around $50 for the 10k points from this offer.

It’s not the greatest, but it’s definitely something.

Considering some Hilton properties can start at just 10,000 points a night, you’re certainly coming out ahead here if you already have a Delta booking in mind that satisfies the requirement.

Here are some additional details for both offers:

• Flights must originate in the U.S. and be purchased in USD

• You must book directly with Delta (either online, through their app, or via phone)

• Not all Delta “purchases” are eligible, like gift cards, inflight purchases, and buying SkyMiles

Overall, I’d put these offers right in the middle—not the best we’ve ever seen, but certainly not the worst.

Remember that if you check your accounts and have received either of these offers, be sure to activate them first!

🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday

The answer is… Saudi Arabia! 🇸🇦

Yep, this country covers over 830,000 square miles and holds the record for being the largest in the world without a single river.

Instead of rivers, the country relies on underground aquifers, oases, and modern desalination plants to support its growing population.

In fact, Saudi Arabia has some of the world’s most advanced water systems, which are pretty fascinating if you're ever looking to nerd out.

Although the lack of rivers might make it seem like Saudi Arabia would struggle to support human life, its history tells a different story.

Ancient trading routes, like the famous Incense Route, brought wealth and culture to the area, and modern cities like Riyadh and Jeddah have become bustling hubs of commerce and culture.

So, even without rivers, Saudi Arabia has managed to thrive—and is an incredible place to explore if you love desert adventures and rich history!

Do you have a trip with some fun travel wins to share? Did you get any tips and pointers from the newsletter or other members in our Daily Drop Lounge??

We love to see members of our community jet-setting off to their next trip… Especially when they scored some cheap flights thanks to Daily Drop!

If you aren’t already a member of this group, come on over and join us there 🙂 

That’s all for today, folks!

I hope you enjoyed some fun trivia and solid points and miles deals. For now, take care, and I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow for hump day. 🐪

Cheers,

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