✈️ One airline, two very good deals

Estimated read time: 4 minutes and 41 seconds

👋🏼 Good morning from Bandung, Indonesia – where Daniel and I just crossed a slippery suspension bridge over a volcanic crater in a thunderstorm while discussing obscure points programs. Like normal people.

Since we didn’t slip and fall to our deaths, here is a newsletter:

• 3️⃣ 3 ways to fly to Europe with one card

• ✈️ Save $300 on Singapore Airlines (yes, even to Europe)

• 🥂 Last-minute business class awards

• 🏨 IHG has already launched a new promotion for 2026

3️⃣ 3 ways to fly to Europe with one card

The other day, I told you about the [[ chase-sapphire-preferred-card.name ]] and why it’s the most popular among Daily Drop readers.

Well, we decided to go a step further… we wrote an article breaking down three different ways to use this card’s welcome offer to fly round-trip to Europe (even for multiple people).

Once you see just how powerful this tiny card is, I have a feeling you’ll add it to your wallet. 😉

✈️ Save $300 on Singapore Airlines (yes, even to Europe)

There’s a fun deal floating around where you can save up to $300 on Singapore Airlines flights when you pay with a Mastercard.

At first glance, you’re probably thinking, “ummmmmmmm who cares? I’m not going to Singapore.”

But be patient, my friend. I’ll tell you exactly why you should care.

Here’s how this deal works:

• Book cash flights by January 2nd, 2026

• Travel can take place through May 31st

• Must be a round-trip booking

• Use code MCPREMIUM when searching

• Save $150 in premium economy

• Save $300 in business class

• Flights must originate in the U.S.

• You must use a Mastercard to pay

When I saw that this only applied to premium bookings, I almost wrote it off.

But…

Singapore flies from New York to Frankfurt, which has some much better pricing options than those pesky 19-hour flights to Asia.

For example, I ran a search with this promo code flying business class to Europe and premium economy on the way back.

The total cost for both flights came out to $2,034, which was surprising for two reasons:

• It worked on a mixed cabin ticket

• The overall discount was more than $300

Keep in mind this is one of the world’s BEST airlines, and one of those legs will be in lie-flat business class.

You’ll also earn quite a few Singapore miles from the booking – around 8,700 to be specific.

Plus, you get free seat selection included with both legs. 👇

And, you could use a travel credit card to really rake in the bonus points.

In fact, this would be a great deal to pair with the new welcome offer on the [[ capital-one-venture-x-rewards-credit-card.name ]].

You’ll earn 2x miles, but also knock out a solid chunk of the minimum spending requirement to unlock the [[ capital-one-venture-x-rewards-credit-card.signup-bonus-miles ]] welcome offer miles.

Anyway, this is a fun way to get some world-class flights, a little discount, and a solid return on your spend – if you’re willing to shell out some cash.

🥂 Last-minute business class awards

If you’d rather book the flights I just told you about using points instead of cash, you’re in luck.

Singapore Airlines also just launched their latest batch of Spontaneous Escapes, some of which are fantastic deals for U.S. travelers.

Here’s how this works:

Singapore releases a list of discounted award flights every month – but only if you book this month and travel next month.

This month’s list includes the exact flight I just told you about from New York to Frankfurt.

You can book this flight in business class for 62,300 Singapore miles and $5.60 in taxes and fees, which is a very good deal.

Don’t forget that most major banks transfer to Singapore, including:

• Membership Rewards points

• Ultimate Rewards points

• Capital One miles

• ThankYou points

So, racking up these miles is quite easy – even if you have to pool points from multiple banks.

If you’re craving a trip to Japan, you can take advantage of one of Singapore’s other fifth freedom routes between Los Angeles and Tokyo.

You can book this route in premium economy for 56,350 Singapore miles, which is definitely not bad for crossing the Pacific in some level of comfort.

One word of warning: these discounted Spontaneous Escapes awards are nonrefundable.

Personally, I’ve still been able to book and cancel these in the past, but technically, you’re not supposed to be able to.

Anyway, go be spontaneous, kids.

🏨 IHG has already launched a new promotion for 2026

You know what I love most about IHG One Rewards? They ALWAYS have some global promotion going on.

There is always a reason and an incentive for staying with them.

Case in point: starting January 1, IHG is launching its next global promotion (literally one day after their current one ends.

Between January 1 and March 31, 2026, you can earn unlimited double points on all stays.

Here are some more deets:

• You must register for this promo (you can do it now)

• You won’t earn any bonus points on your first stay

• Starting with your second stay, you’ll earn double points

This isn’t the craziest promotion, but here’s why it’s cool:

IHG awards 10 points per dollar just for being a free member. With this promo, everyone is earning at least 20x points per dollar.

If you have the [[ ihg-rewards-premier-credit-card.name ]], you earn another 10x. If you have diamond status like me, another 10x. Use a portal, and… you get the idea.

So let’s take an example stay at the tasty-looking Intercontinental in downtown Indianapolis, which costs $179 per night.

Let’s say you have the [[ ihg-rewards-premier-credit-card.casual-card-name ]] I mentioned earlier. Just by holding the card, you get automatic platinum elite status.

So here are your total earnings per night:

• 10x for being a member: 1,790

• 10x from the double points promo: 1,790

• 10x from the card earnings: 1,790

• 6x for having platinum status: 1,074

In total, a single night here would earn you 6,444 IHG points. From one night. You could use those points to book a cheap Holiday Inn somewhere in Southeast Asia:

Of course, if you have a multi-night stay, you can see how those earnings add up even more.

So here’s the bottom line:

IHG was my favorite hotel program this year for exactly this reason: They offer constant ways to both earn tons of points and then redeem them for good value.

Register for this promotion now and start racking up some bonus points on your stays starting in January.

That’s all for today, amigos. I hope you enjoyed these tips for booking flights and hotels without breaking the bank (or your points balances).

See you tomorrow,

6.9175° S, 107.6191° E

With contributions by McKay Moffitt