Book this hotel before White Lotus does

☀️ Good morning and welcome back to Daily Drop — the newsletter that believes the true mark of adulthood is knowing which airport lounges have edible hummus.

Speaking of hummus, let’s dig into some travel:

• ✨ The White Lotus effect: book France before the frenzy

• ✈️ Frontier’s “all you can fly” pass is back

• 🌎 Travel trivia reveal

✨ The White Lotus effect: book France before the frenzy

The news is out: The White Lotus is taking its dark, dramatic, and hilariously uncomfortable resort escapades to the French Riviera for Season 4 (possibly at the legendary Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat).

Every season has turned its hotel backdrop into the breakout star — Maui, Sicily, Thailand — and bookings at those Four Seasons properties skyrocketed after episodes aired. 🤑

But here’s the catch: you can’t use your usual hotel points. Four Seasons isn’t part of major loyalty programs like Marriott Bonvoy or World of Hyatt.

So, are you out of luck if you’re dreaming of a White Lotus-style getaway? Not quite.

Booking the Four Seasons with points

If your heart is set on the Four Seasons experience, here are your options:

Credit Card Travel Portals: Programs like Fine Hotels + Resorts from this bank or this bank's “The Edit” often include perks like breakfast, late checkout, and upgrades — even without status, giving you a little extra value for your points booking.

Points Boost Offers: Two of our favorite travel cards (specifically this one and this one) now run dynamic “Points Boost” deals, making portal points bookings worth up to 2x more on hotels and flights.

For example: three nights at the rumored filming location priced at 136,288 points vs $2,726 cash = 2 cents per point in value.

The points-friendly Riviera alternative

Prefer to stretch your points? France is packed with luxury hotels that do play nicely with loyalty programs, and transferring points may be the best way to go:

• Hyatt Regency Nice Palais de la Méditerranée (Hyatt) — A beachfront classic.

• AC Hotel by Marriott Nice (Marriott) — Chic, modern, and central.

• Le Méridien Nice (Marriott) — Riviera gem with points potential.

• InterContinental Carlton Cannes (IHG One Rewards) — Iconic Cannes landmark.

These options let you lock in real value on your points, leaving you with more euros for rosé and croissants. 🥐

Bottom line: If you’ve got your heart set on a Four Seasons, premium portals and rotating offers are your best bet. But if you’re chasing max value, there are Hyatt, Marriott, and IHG properties that give you Riviera chic at a fraction of the price.

📅 Book early — once Season 4 drops, those terraces will fill faster than the show’s plot twists. 😵‍💫

✈️ Frontier’s “all you can fly” pass is back

Frontier is selling its GoWild! Pass again — this time for 2026–2027 travel.

On paper, it sounds… well… wild: pay a flat annual fee and get unlimited flights for just $0.01 per ticket.

What’s even more wild is that if you buy before September 12, the pass costs just $299.

In practice, the pass comes with a jungle of rules and fine print. Here’s what you should know:

The basics

• Purchase by September 12 to lock in the $299 rate

• Booking windows: Domestic flights can only be booked one day before departure (10 days for international).

• Blackout dates: Pretty much every holiday and peak weekend is blocked.

• Nothing included: Bags, seat selection, snacks, even breathing room cost extra.

• Taxes & fees still apply: This is the big one — you’re not flying for free. You’ll save on the base fare, but you’re still paying government taxes and carrier fees on every ticket.

Real examples: when it makes sense (and when it doesn’t)

💸 Cheap domestic flight: Denver (DEN) → Las Vegas (LAS)

• Total price: $25.98

• Airfare: $0.63

• Taxes & fees: $25.35

• Pass savings: Less than $1 👇

In other words, the GoWild! Pass doesn’t do much for these already-cheap domestic hops. You’ll still pay almost the full ticket price because most of it is taxes and fees.

🌴 International flight: Atlanta (ATL) → Punta Cana (PUJ)

• Total price: $237.57

• Airfare: $94.00

• Taxes & fees: $143.57

• Pass savings: $94 👇

This is where the pass shines. International routes (or pricier domestic ones) can have base fares of $50-100+, which you’d save entirely with the pass.

A couple of these round-trips could easily cover the annual cost.

Bottom line

The GoWild! Pass is best if you:

• Already fly Frontier a lot (or are willing to).

• Have flexibility to book last minute.

• Don’t mind paying extra for bags, seats, and fees.

But if you mostly fly cheap domestic routes, your savings will be tiny — sometimes literally less than a dollar.

My recommendation: Look up a few routes you’d realistically fly and check how much of the fare is base price vs. taxes/fees. If the base fares are high enough, the pass could be worth it.

🌎 Travel Trivia Reveal

Yesterday, we asked you which hot spot is costing U.S. travelers the most this year.

Here’s one last hint 👇

And the correct answer is… Rwanda! 🇷🇼

On average, Americans are spending over $18k per person when visiting.

That’s more than Antarctica, which lands at fifth place with an average trip cost of about $14.5k. So what’s making this so darn expensive, you ask? We’re talking gorilla trekking permits, luxury safari lodges, and insaaane wildlife adventures across Rwanda’s national parks. So yeah… justified.

The capital, Kigali, is also a super cool city with tons of history, but it doesn’t exactly bring costs down. Africa dominates the “expensive” list overall, with Seychelles, Botswana, Kenya, and Namibia all clocking in above $14k.

Meanwhile, a European vacation for less than $6k is starting to look like a bargain. Thank goodness you read Daily Drop and use miles and points to make these crazy trips way cheaper. 😉

Read more about the priciest travel spots.

That’s all for today, folks!

I hope you enjoyed today’s White Lotus section… I just finished binging Season 3, so I’m definitely in the mood for a little Four Seasons adventure. 😏

Anyway, have a great day and see you tomorrow. ❤️

6.9175° S, 107.6191° E

With contributions by Alison Carrico, Tiffany Eastham, McKay Moffitt, and Benji Stawski