Estimated read time: 5 minutes and 12 seconds

Good morning and welcome back to Daily Drop.

If newsletters were Olympic sports, we’d be curling. Nobody fully understands what we’re doing, but you can’t stop watching.

Here’s what we’ve got on deck today:

• 💳 My favorite card is still my favorite card

• ✈️ Get an easy 250,000 Cathay miles

• 💧 The hydration hero you need this fall

• 🔁 Current Transfer Bonuses

💳 My favorite card is still my favorite card

I’ve told you multiple times in the past that this IHG credit card is my single favorite in my wallet. It might seem strange, but the value is just there.

The card just changed, and I like it even more

Earlier this month, this card got a major makeover (along with the other IHG cards).

The fee went up, the perks changed, and I wasn’t sure if I’d feel as strongly about it.

Well, it turns out I do.

I just got $125 back on the annual fee

One of the new perks is a $100 airline credit (when you spend $250 or more on a single purchase).

Another perk is $25 of United Travel Bank credit every six months.

Well, I had to book a flight on United the other day, which cost around $331.

Thanks to the two airline perks I mentioned, I was able to shave $25 off the price, then get $100 credited back right away:

That was a flight I needed to book. And it was the cheapest one available.

So that is literally cash back in my pocket, which basically covers the new annual fee.

I’ll get even more value soon

The other big new perk is $100 of food and beverage credits at IHG properties per year ($25 every quarter) which get deposited right into my IHG account. 👇

I have an IHG stay in December, and another in January booked already.

Because they fall in different quarters, I’ll have $25 for each stay to get some free food or drinks.

That’s freaking awesome.

Anyway, as someone who already loved the card, I can confidently say I think it’s even better now after the refresh.

If you like IHG and stay there at least a handful of times per year, it’s one of those cards that continues to earn its keep in my wallet.

✈️ Get an easy 250,000 Cathay miles

Remember a few weeks ago when I told you about how you can buy a phat package of Lufthansa miles?

Well, the same company is out with a new offer to buy a package that includes 250,000 Cathay Pacific miles.

Let me be upfront – this one isn’t as valuable as the Lufthansa one. Partly because we can already transfer to Cathay from many U.S. credit cards.

Still, if you use these for the right flights, you can easily get double or triple the value you pay for the package.

The deal

When you sign up for an ASMALLWORLD membership using our link, you can earn 250,000 Cathay miles in addition to all of the normal perks of the membership.

Aside from the miles themselves, the most useful and valuable perk is being able to book hotels with VIP rates through ASMALLWORLD.

Similar to other bank hotel platforms, this VIP rate gives you room upgrades, a $100 property credit, free breakfast, late checkout, and even lets you earn hotel points on the stay (which is unique in the portal world).

How valuable are the miles?

The question comes down to: Are 250,000 Cathay miles worth just under $4,000?

If you redeem them the right way, the answer is an easy yes.

For example, you can use Cathay miles to fly British Airways business and first class to Europe.

Check out this flight from Pittsburgh to London on British Airways using Cathay miles:

Even though you have to pay $450 in taxes and fees, that’s a good deal for the following reasons:

1. Other programs (like American and Atmos) charge DOUBLE those taxes and fees, and

2. The cash price of this flight is almost $10,000 🤯

You could book almost four flights like this and get close to $40,000 in value from a package you paid $4,000 for.

Fly Cathay itself

Next month, I’m flying Cathay’s new Aria Suites to Hong Kong (and I’m so excited).

You can fly business class from the U.S. all the way to Asia for 91,000 Cathay miles in business class.

The taxes on that flight are only around $200, which is easy to swallow for 14 hours of lie-flat bliss.

But also, even that cash rate is over $4,000 on the same day. 👇

You could book that flight round-trip and still have enough miles for a business-class flight to Europe, netting around $18,000 in value total.

Pair this with a card offer for more value

The price tag is obviously huge here, but if you use it as an opportunity to hit the minimum spend on a card, you can rack up a ton more points.

For example, the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card still has an insane elevated offer. This one purchase would put you less than $100 short of meeting the spending requirement.

Then you have 83,000 Capital One miles on top of the Cathay miles.

You can copy and paste that tactic to cards like this one, which requires $5,000 of spending for its current welcome offer.

Go check out our Top Cards Page and Elevated Offers page and pick the one that’s right for you.

The bottom line

This Cathay offer is definitely a little more niche…

But for anyone looking to fly premium cabins on oneworld airlines like Cathay Pacific and British Airways, there could be some serious value on the table.

As always, run the numbers and make the choice for yourself as to whether or not this offer is right for you.

🔁 Current Transfer Bonuses 🔁

Well, that about wraps things up for this week, friends.

I hope you have a lovely weekend, and I’ll see you bright and early Monday morning.

With all the love in my heart,

53.5501° N, -113.4687° W

With contributions by Sam Anthony and Katie Begnoche.