✈️ Transfer partners, explained

Estimated read time: 4 minutes and 56 seconds

Good morning and welcome back to Daily Drop, the Big Mac of newsletters. 🍔

We’re packed with layer upon layer of juicy, delicious travel tips. But unlike a Big Mac, Daily Drop won’t kill you (yet 🤡 🔪).

All jokes (and veiled murder threats) aside, today’s newsletter is jam-packed with good stuff – so let’s dive in:

• 💳 Transfer partners, explained

• 🚗 Get bonus Delta MQDs on car rentals and more

• 🇬🇧 A new (easy) way to earn Virgin Atlantic miles

• ✈️ Earn 25% bonus Southwest points from your spending

• 🦐 The tiny travel upgrade you didn’t know you needed

💳 Transfer partners, explained

Last week, we hosted a masterclass about transfer partners. It was met with rave reviews and was described by some as “the single greatest thing to happen in 2026.”

(It was me who described it that way, to be clear)

Anyway, if you missed that class or just want a little refresher, we also made a YouTube video with the short, 10-minute version of why transfer partners are so valuable and how to use them to your advantage.

Check it out:

🚗 Get bonus Delta MQDs on car rentals and more

If you’re like me and stuck on the hamster wheel of elite status, I’ve got good news for you:

Delta is making it just a teeny bit easier to earn status this year with a new promotion to earn MQDs (Medallion Qualifying Dollars) on non-flight activity.

This includes car rentals, hotels, and vacation rentals booked through Delta’s travel portal.

This means for every dollar you spend on those things (before taxes), you’ll get 1 MQD.

For anyone who flies Delta regularly and likes having even a low level of elite status, this could be fantastic.

For example, Delta Silver status only requires 5,000 MQDs per year. If you hold an eligible Delta co-branded credit card, you’ll already have a 2,500 MQD boost.

If you wanted to head to Austin, Texas, and rent a car for five days, it would only cost you $350 through the Delta portal.

Between this and the MQD Headstart from your co-branded card, you’re already more than halfway to Silver status before even getting on a plane.

Some Delta co-branded cards (like the one I have) also come with annual credits to use toward hotels booked through Delta – which means you can save money AND get bonus MQDs if you play your card(s) right.

To be eligible, you need to book your travel by May 18, though the travel itself can take place through September 30, which is great.

The bottom line?

This is a super-simple way for Delta loyalists to rack up some extra MQDs.

🇬🇧 A new (easy) way to earn Virgin miles

Rove Miles is on freaking FIRE lately. 🔥 They are back with another new transfer partner – and this is a big one.

As of yesterday, you can transfer Rove Miles to Virgin Atlantic at a 1:1 ratio.

Here’s why this is exciting…

Rove allows you to book hotels through their portal and rack up a TON of miles, which you can transfer to programs (like Virgin).

Virgin also happens to have insanely low prices for flying between the U.S. and Europe.

This puts us in a situation where we can buy a hotel room, and the points we earn from it will be enough to fly us to Europe.

Let me explain:

This hotel in London costs $189 per night during peak travel season (early to mid June) when booked through Rove.

Three nights there will run a total of $640 after taxes – again, not bad for London in June (especially for a hotel with a 9.4 rating).

As you can see, you’ll earn over 13,000 Rove Miles from the booking. That’s enough to transfer to Virgin Atlantic and book a round-trip flight between the U.S. and London – also in peak travel season:

You’ll have to pay the taxes and fees for your flights, but it’s still a great deal.

Throw in the 1,000 Rove Miles you get instantly from signing up, and you can see how this is a good arbitrage situation.

To make it a teeny bit better, you’ll also earn points from your credit card. I personally use this card for all general “travel” to earn 3x UR points per dollar.

Anyway, here’s the bottom line:

Yes, Rove. Yes. Please keep it coming.

✈️ Earn 25% bonus Southwest points from your spending

A lot of co-branded credit cards are worth holding even if they never make it into your everyday wallet rotation.

Why? Because the side perks can do a lot of heavy lifting.

Maybe it’s a free checked bag that saves you cash every time you fly. Maybe it’s a free night certificate that can wipe out most of the annual fee in one shot.

And then, every once in a while, these cards throw in a targeted promo like this one from Southwest… which is where things get a little more fun. 😏

Some Southwest cardholders are being targeted for a Q2 spending offer that gives you 25% bonus points on your purchases after you register, up to 20,000 bonus points.

Some fine print:

• Valid from April 1 through June 30

• You need to register to be eligible

• You must spend at least $3,000 in the promo window

Now, before your brain starts doing normal, real-person math, let me crush your dreams and give you the Southwest math:

If you spend $3,000, you’ll earn 750 bonus points.

In other words, this is basically an extra little 0.25x bump on your spending, not a 25% bonus on whatever category multiplier your card normally earns.

I know. Rude.

The good news is that if you register late, purchases you already made during the promo window can still count retroactively.

So if you’ve already been swiping away in April, go check your account and register before you forget.

Is this the most earth-shattering promo of all time? No.

But given the recent welcome offers on Southwest cards, I suspect many of you are spending on the cards anyway.

So why not get some extra juice out of it? 🤷🏼‍♂️

That’s all for today, my friends. I hope you enjoyed these quick-hit deals, and look forward to even more crazy stuff tomorrow morning.

明天见，再见 ✌️

31.8206° N, 117.2290° E

With contributions by Sam Anthony.