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- đ Tips for traveling to Scandinavia this summer
đ Tips for traveling to Scandinavia this summer
Flights, hotels, and a little travel inspo to help you pull the trigger
Estimated read time: 4 minutes and 38 seconds
đ A 40-centimeter snake briefly disrupted Japan's bullet train service, causing a 17-minute delay on a Tokyo to Osaka route known for its insane punctuality. A snake. No thank you. Read more from the story here.
Good morning and welcome back to Daily Drop! Iâve got a fun journey of a newsletter for yâall today, so letâs dive right in:
âď¸ 30% transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic
Life can be pretty dark sometimes.
Wars, famine, natural disasters; sometimes itâs hard to even get out of bed in the morning with all of the depressing things going on.
But thereâs one thing that truly makes life worth living: something that motivates me to keep going. And it only comes around once in a blue moon.
Iâm talking, of course, about a 30% transfer bonus from [[ american-express-gold-card.points-program-override.points-currency ]] to Virgin Atlantic.
And thankfully, itâs happening right now.
Until May 31st, youâll get 30% more points when you transfer your [[ american-express-gold-card.points-program-override.points-currency ]] to one of our favorite airline programs.
Transferring points at a 1:1 ratio to Virgin is already a good deal, so an extra 30% makes this a no-brainer.
For example, you can regularly fly from the U.S. to the U.K. on Virgin for just 10,000 Virgin miles.
With this transfer bonus, youâre looking at just 7,700 [[ american-express-gold-card.points-program-override.points-currency ]] to fly across the ocean, which is, as we say in the biz, âvery good.â đ¤
But where this bonus really shines is with premium cabin awards. Just look at this flight from Washington to London in Virgin Upper Class (business class) for 47,500 miles.
With this transfer bonus, youâre saving more than 10,000 miles to fly a great premium product⌠if you can swallow the heart-attack-inducing taxes and fees.
Since Virgin is a member of SkyTeam, you can also use Virgin miles to fly with partner airlines beyond just London.
For example, you could book this flight from New York to Oslo, Norway, for just 12,000 Virgin miles or just 9,300 [[ american-express-gold-card.points-program-override.points-currency ]].
Of course, the main issue with flying to Norway is that hotels are CRAZY expensiveâŚ.
Which brings me to my next point⌠đ¤
đ¨ Five or ten-night summer pass for Nordic hotels
Despite being a pretty stingy human, I somehow have no problem shelling out some bucks when it comes to travel.
But thereâs one part of the world that is often so unbearably expensive that I just⌠canât⌠I canât do it.
Iâm talking about⌠you guessed it⌠Scandinavia⌠especially in the Summer.
Thankfully, thereâs a new offer from Strawberry Hotels to help us solve this problem for the 2024 Summer season.
Woah, woah, woah⌠wait⌠WTF is âStrawberry Hotels?â đ¤
They used to be known as âNordic Choiceâ hotels, which is essentially the same as âChoice Hotels,â but in Scandinavia. So youâll recognize many of Strawberryâs brands like Comfort Hotels, Quality Hotels, Clarion Hotels, and more.
Anyway, theyâre offering a Summer Pass that allows you to prepay for various numbers of hotel nights at fixed rates:
5-night pass for âŹ495 (âŹ99 per night)
10-night pass for âŹ890 (âŹ89 per night)
Once you have this pass, you can redeem your hotel nights at dozens of properties around Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and even Lithuania.
Before we go any further, I want to point out some of the fine print here:
Not every hotel in these countries is participating. You can see the full list on this website
The stay window is from June 20th to August 18th
There are blackout dates, which vary by city (annoying, but you can see the dates very clearly on this page)
You do not need to book consecutive nights. You could even redeem them as one-night stays if you want!
The nights are redeemable for two people staying in a double room
All in all, the restrictions are pretty reasonable, and the website does a great job of making the parameters clear, so I approve. đ
And as you might imagine, booking hotels for a flat rate of âŹ99 or âŹ89 per night in Scandinavia could save you boatloads of cash.
For example, this hotel in Oslo costs âŹ741 for a 5-night stay in the Summer.
By buying the 5-night pass for just âŹ495, youâre saving âŹ246 (or $263 USD) on this stay, which is EXCELLENT.
If youâre planning a longer trip through multiple Scandinavian cities, the 10-night pass could easily save you hundreds of dollars on multiple stays in different cities.
So hereâs the bottom line:
Scandinavia is a popular tourist hotspot in the Summer. This hotel pass allows you to join in on the Nordic fun without breaking the bank.
Okay. So now we know how to fly to Scandinavia for cheap and how to stay there for cheap⌠Now all we need is a little inspiration⌠đ
đ Where in the World Wednesday: Bergen
If it isnât obvious enough in this newsletter that we love Scandinavia⌠Weâre about to convince you more.
Today, FareDrop is featuring a cheeky little business-class flight to Bergen, Norway! đ
And yes, $2300 is no small price, but if youâre looking to splurge a bit and want to fly across the Atlantic in big, bougie, lie-flat seats⌠$2300 isnât half bad for a cash price.
I feel like Bergen is Osloâs little brother that often gets overlooked. Or if anything, itâs just a stopover to head up to the fjords.
And trust me, you should go see the fjords, but Bergen is one of Europeâs oldest port cities, and the Bryggen Wharf is a UNESCO World Heritage site that shouldnât be missed.
Youâll probably recognize the image of its colorful wooden buildings that line the pier (buildings that date back to the 14th century!).
Sheâs a stunner.
Itâs also got a blend of all the things you might wantâart, surrounding mountains, and history.
And speaking of the mountains, if you want to get to the top for incredible views, the easiest way is to take the Fløibanen funicular that has been carrying people almost 1,000 vertical feet since 1918.
North of the city, youâll find the dark and intriguing Fantoft Stave Church that was built around 1150 đ¤Ż
Itâs got that characteristically haunting, vertical design and is solely constructed of woodâno nails or anything else.
I, personally, probably wouldnât be climbing to the top of itâŚ.. đŹ
If you want a few more ideas, consider visiting the famous Fisketorget fish market, the Bergenhus Fortress, or exploring the Trollskogen Troll Forest.
Norway is one of my favorite countries and is just so easy to navigate through.
So if you want to hop on this deal (or get alerts for TONS of other cheap flights), consider signing up for FareDrop!
If youâve been to our Top Cards Page (which I certainly hope you have), youâve probably noticed that thereâs one card that never really leaves.
Iâm talking about the [[ capital-one-venture-x-rewards-credit-card.name ]]. The reason is simple: itâs just an amazing card, and I canât think of many people who wouldnât benefit from having it.
So, in this weekâs YouTube video, Brendan dives into the card and its features to tell us if this is indeed still his favorite card.
Check it out đ
Thatâs all for today, folks! I hope you enjoyed this Nordic-themed newsletter.
I know Iâm going to be eyeing some flights and hotels out there in the near future after writing all of this⌠đ
For now, take care and have a lovely rest of your day â¤ď¸