🛩️ TRENDING TRAVEL NEWS 🛩️
• Hail Mary: A crowd-funding effort to buy Spirit Airlines is underway, with the aim of relaunching as the world’s first cooperative airline.
• Underrated: Skip the summer crowds at these lesser-visited European cities.
• Hangry: Delta cuts food and beverage service on flights 349 miles or less.
• Birthday Benefits: This card just got some new perks for its 60th anniversary.
Good morning and Happy Wednesday! You're almost halfway through the week, my friends.
You can do it, I believe in you.
If you need a little extra boost to get past hump day, we’ve got some fun stuff lined up:
🇩🇪 Book a free stopover in Germany
Some points programs offer unique stopover perks. For example, Aeroplan allows you to add a stopover for 5,000 points.
Flying Blue allows free stopovers in Paris and Amsterdam when using points.
Then, there are programs like TAP Portugal, Emirates, and others that allow you to add a stopover when booking cash flights.
The latest addition to that group is none other than Lufthansa, which just added the ability to book a free stopover in Munich.
This is very simple (which I appreciate).
All you do is search for a flight on Lufthansa’s website.
If the route you book includes flights to/from Munich, you’ll see this screen pop up with the ability to toggle a stopover and select how many days you’d like to spend in Munich. 👇
In the resulting search, you’ll see all available options that include a stopover. The best part is that this works across all fare classes, from basic economy to business or first class.
You can do this with a simple Eurotrip, or even larger multi-continent trips like this flight from New York to New Delhi, India, with 5 days in Munich in between.
Unlike some other airlines, this stopover doesn’t include hotels, transportation, or anything else…
But 24 hours after booking a stopover, you’ll get an email from Lufthansa with various discounts and offers for hotels, shopping, activities, and more.
If you are going to shell out some bucks for a flight like this, you’ll want to maximize your points earnings.
Personally, I use this card. It earns 5x MR points on paid flights and has solid travel protections in case something goes wrong.
Oh, and if you need to book a place to stay in Munich, here are some tips:
Marriott or Hilton for 5-night stays
Marriott and Hilton both offer 5th night free perks when redeeming points, making them perfect options for a 5-night stopover in Munich, especially at more reasonably-priced hotels like this one:
This hotel costs 86,000 points for a 5-night stay in Munich
You could easily earn enough points for that stay (and more stays) by getting a Marriott co-branded card, many of which currently have elevated welcome offers.
IHG for 4-night stays
If you hold an IHG co-branded credit card, you can get every 4th night free when redeeming points.
Munich is full of budget properties like Holiday Inns, which can cost as few as 15,000 IHG points per night.
Leverage portal credits
If you hold a premium card like this one (which is currently offering 150,000 UR points after signing up and meeting the minimum spending requirements), you can book through the bank’s portal and leverage the $500 of annual credits at The Edit, which has a few hotels in Munich. 👇
You could even pay cash for the portion the credit covered, then redeem points at 2 cents each to cover the rest (plus get free breakfast and other perks).
The bottom line
If you’re looking to build a multi-country trip in Europe and beyond, Lufthansa now has a great way to put it all on one booking itinerary.
Thanks to various cards and their perks, you can then use points and miles to enhance the other aspects of your stay, too.
🤔 Which $95 travel card is best?
If you’re like me, you’re a psycho with well over a dozen credit cards.
I love playing the game of getting welcome offers, using my card perks strategically, and leveraging varying earning rates to always be earnin’.
But most people are… well… not like me.
The reality is that you can get tons of value in the points and miles world by holding one or two solid, low-fee cards.
But which one should you get…?
That’s exactly what we cover in this week’s Daily Drop YouTube video. We’ll compare our two favorite $95 cards to help you decide which one is best for you.
✈️ Get an instant 1,250 miles
Rove Miles are pretty awesome. I’ve already told you about the many ways I’ve been earning and burning them this year, so we won’t go too deep on that.
But right now, there is a way to earn 1,250 miles in exchange for like 1 minute of your time.
And believe it or not, that’s already enough miles to book some travel. 😏
Earn 250 miles for completing a Rove survey
Rove has been sending out a survey asking about what users want to see happen with their program (including asking about which new transfer partners you want).
Regardless of whether or not you care, you can fill out the survey and earn 250 Rove Miles. Just make sure you add the phone number associated with your account at the end of the survey, because that’s how they add your miles to your account.
That’s already easy, but it’s even better when you combine it with the fact that you can earn 1,000 Rove Miles just for signing up if you haven’t already.
The normal signup amount is 500 miles, but Daily Drop has a special link that’ll give you 1,000 – just FYI. 😉
Anyway, you need at least 2,000 Rove Miles to transfer to most partners, so you’ll still need to earn a few more in order to use them.
You could accomplish that by booking hotels through Rove, or even using their shopping portal to buy gift cards or book travel with various retailers.
Once you have 2,000 Rove Miles, you could transfer them to a program like Lufthansa and book short-haul flights around Europe.
In fact, 2,000 miles is enough to book some flights for the whole family.
This flight from Vienna to Copenhagen costs just 350 Lufthansa miles per person, for example:
You could also win 50,000 Rove Miles
Everyone who completes the survey will also be entered for a chance to win 50,000 Rove Miles, which could book you a LOT of free travel.
And if you do win 50,000 miles, just let me know when and where you’re going to fly me. 😉
Anyway, this is a deal that fits into the category of “not life-changing, but take 2 minutes and get some free miles anyway.”
Have fun.
SPONSORED BY THE GOOD LIFE ABROAD
🧳 This is what slow travel should look like
What if you didn’t just visit Europe… but actually lived there for a bit?
Look, I love a good 3-day sprint through a new city as much as anyone, but there’s a big difference between checking off the sights and actually settling into a place.
That’s where The Good Life Abroad comes in.
They’re basically rethinking what travel looks like for adults 55+, swapping rushed itineraries for one- to two-month stays in Europe, where you can slow down, build routines, and actually “live like a local” (I hate those clichés… but in this case, it’s true).
Here’s the cool part: you’re not doing it alone.
Each program brings together a small group of like-minded travelers, all living in exclusive apartments within walking distance of each other. So you get the independence of solo travel plus a built-in community when you want it.
And if you’re thinking, “Okay, but am I just left to figure everything out?” — nope!
A dedicated Community Manager helps to coordinate optional group activities, experiences, and local insights… while still giving you plenty of freedom to do your own thing.
If you’re wondering where you could do this, here are a few standouts:
Lisbon – Coastal views, incredible food, and that laid-back rhythm
Florence – History, art, and pasta that will ruin all other pasta forever
Paris – Cafés, culture, and OMG, don’t even get me started on the croissants
The whole idea is simple. Travel slower, go deeper, and actually soak in the experience, not just rush through it.
If that sounds even a little bit like your vibe, you can request a free catalog and see what it’s all about.
That’s all, folks. Tune in tomorrow for some tips on maximizing your points on vacation rentals like Airbnb.
Peace out,
With contributions by Sam Anthony and McKay Moffitt.
