😎 This will maximize your points redemptions

Good morning from Dali, China!

As Mike already mentioned earlier this week, Daily Drop’s editorial team is making a sweeping trip across Asia together to bond, and write. And bond some more 🥰

We’ve got a great summary from this week, so let’s get to it!

✅ Check out our Daily Drop Reader 2024 survey results for some fun stats.

✅ Are you feeling up for a timeshare presentation if the reward is 75,000 Hilton points?!

✅ Did you know you can book even the weirdest, more obscure airlines with points?

✅ Use Daily Drop Pro to find flight deals like a… pro… in this week’s YouTube video.

✅ Mike received his one million SAS miles! Here’s how he’s using them.

🏆 Favorite pick: Are you diversifying your points?

Just like having multiple cats is better than having just one (in my humble opinion), having multiple miles and points currencies is also better than just having one type.

This diversification of points opens up the greatest potential opportunities to make travel redemptions and save a lot of $$$$ in the process.

Now this really applies if you’ve been in the travel game for a little while…

Obvi, if you’re new to all this, you’re less likely to have access to multiple cards which could offer difference points currencies 🙃

But hey, if you’ve only ever had UR points… you’re missing out. Just like if you’ve only ever had MR points and nothing else… you’re also missing out, but on different things!

Sure, only UR points can transfer to Hyatt (a Daily Drop team favorite) or United Airlines (a very popular U.S. airline).

But only MR points can be transferred to Hilton at a 1:2 ratio… or at a 1:1 ratio to Delta, ANA, and so on!

And say, what if you wanted to transfer points to TAP Air Portugal for a trip to… Portugal… You’d need Capital One Miles to do that.

There are SO many scenarios where having access to multiple points currencies is crucial, and so helpful, when it comes to travel planning and maximizing your redemptions.

To diversify my card portfolio, I personally have:

• This popular card which gives me access to UR points

• This premium card and this mid-tiered one which give me access to MR points

• This sexy one for Capital One Miles

• And this one which grants me ThankYou points

So take a step back, look at your credit card portfolio, and see how you might want to diversify your wallet and gain access to as many different transfer partners and travel redemptions as possible! 🤗

🏃🏻‍♀️ Runner-Ups

🥇Marriott promo

It is the week of hotel bonuses, apparently….

And that’s because Marriott just launched a new global promo that’s offering both extra elite nights and bonus points 👀

Here’s the deal: You can earn double elite nights and 1,000 bonus points per night when staying at Marriott hotels.

And here are the details:

• Only paid stays count

• You must register for the offer

• Valid for stays between February 11th and April 28th, 2025

• There’s no cap to the number of points and bonus nights you can earn 🎉

Chipping away at earning elite nights will eventually help you earn fun benefits like free breakfast, suite upgrades, late checkout, and more.

The fact that Marriott is offering two types of perks with this promo is awesome, and not something we see all the time.

If you’ve got some Marriott stays coming up (or after reading this you want to book some Marriott stays), check out our full-length newsletter section for some additional details and examples.

🥈 Earn double elite night credits with IHG

IHG is a SOLID hotel brand that maybe doesn’t get enough love, but it truly is a great program.

And they’ve recently upped their game by offering a couple of sweet promos…

First up is the ability to earn double elite night credits on paid stays until April 22nd. You must register for it, and there is a maximum of ten bonus nights allowed.

You can then pair that with a second promo that’s going on through March 31st which will allow you to earn double points on all stays 🙌

We love a good promo stack 😎

This is all super straightforward, and IHG is often known for having these simple promos that can add a lot of value.

Plus, if you maxed out this double nights promo, you’d earn 20 elite nights right off the bat and would unlock IHG’s first milestone reward which lets you choose perks like getting a suite upgrade, more bonus points, or food and bev credits 😏

Double plus, the hotel’s co-branded card currently has an elevated welcome offer right now, so there is literally no better time to apply if you’re on the market for a fabulous hotel credit card (and one that offers the coveted 4th-night free perk!).

Want a few more details? Check that out here. 

📣 Quick Callouts

• ❌ Expired: Massive Delta award drop

• 💪 Sweet: 100% transfer bonus to Avianca Lifemiles from Bilt (February 1st only!)

• 😎 Good to know: Should you go for Oneworld status?

• 🌎 Inspo: Where in the World Wednesday: Athens, Greece

• 🤓 Travel trivia: Which airline was named the safest in the world for 2025?

That should hold you down until Monday when the clock resets and we launch into another week of Daily Drop.

Thanks for tuning in, and I’ll see you next time 🙂 

52°22'35.4"N 52°15'17.4"W