Earn 35k bonus points from one hotel stay

Good morning from Jakarta (again), and welcome back to Daily Drop!

I’ve got some more last-minute travel tips for you, so let’s get to it before it’s too late:

• ✈️ Avianca Award Sale (ends tomorrow)

• 🏨 Earn 35k bonus points from one hotel stay

• 🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday

✈️ Avianca Award Sale (ends tomorrow)

Okay, this is a good one…

Avianca LifeMiles is one of the best points programs out there.

Wait, let me rephrase…

Avianca Lifemiles is one of the cheapest points programs out there… Even with some recent devaluations, they offer some of the best deals in the biz, especially with partner airlines.

But until tomorrow, they’re offering some INSANE deals on flights booked on Avianca itself.

Here are the details:

When you book your flights by TOMORROW, you can lock in the following deals:

• 25% off award flights between December 2nd and January 15th

• 45% off award flights between January 16th and May 31st

So yeah… 45% discount on award flights six months in advance. This is great news, y’all.

On this sale page, you can see some examples of various deals that are available from the U.S. 👇

These are just insane… flying from the Northeast to South America for a few thousand points is bonkers.

I mean, look at this: Washington, D.C., to Costa Rica for 3,800 points?? WTF??

As a reminder, you can easily transfer points to Avianca LifeMiles from any of the following programs:

• MR Points

• Capital One Miles

• ThankYou Points

• Bilt Rewards

Avianca has sales like this a few times per year and even has occasional transfer bonuses.

So, if you don’t have any points to transfer now, you should consider signing up for a good credit card offer so you have some lying around for the next time.

Anyway, this is a fantastic deal for people looking to travel to Central and South America, especially those of you who are willing to book at least a couple months in advance.

🏨 Earn 35k bonus points from one hotel stay

A couple of years ago, Preferred Hotels was basically an unknown program… but lately, we’ve been seeing them pop up more and more.

And until tomorrow, you can cash in on a CRAZY good deal from booking just one stay with them.

As part of Preferred Hotels’ new Cyber Sale, you can get a 35% discount on stays and earn 35,000 bonus points.

Here are the deets:

• Must be a minimum three-night stay

• Must book your stay by TOMORROW

• Stays can take place through March 31st, 2025

• Only certain hotels are valid for the promo

• You need to use promo code MKTCYB24

While not every hotel is part of this promo, MANY of them are…

You can see the whole list on this page, but there is no shortage of hotels in the U.S. and abroad from which to choose.

Even if you wanted to come up to my neck of the woods in Toronto, you could book a luxury hotel right by the water for $232 a night (which is solid for downtown Toronto).

Considering the normal cash rate is close to $400 per night, this is a great deal…

Plus, you’ll earn 35,000 bonus points from a 3-night stay on top of the roughly 6,000 points you earn just from being a member.

Those 40,000+ points are enough to book another night at a hotel like this one in New Orleans.

You’d still have over 10,000 points left over afterward, which you can easily top up by transferring ThankYou Points at a 1:4 ratio.

So here’s the bottom line:

This is last-minute, but I think it’s one of the best hotel deals we’ve seen in the past week, given the huge discount, huge return on spend, and the fact that most eligible hotels are really nice.

🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday

The correct answer is... Japan! 

If you’ve ever complained about a delayed train, here’s a fun fact to make you wish for Japanese efficiency. In Japan, trains are so punctual that a delay of just five minutes warrants an official “delay certificate.”  

These certificates, called chikoku shoumei, are issued to passengers so they can show proof of the delay to employers, schools, or anyone else who might need an explanation for their tardiness. 

Japan’s culture is deeply rooted in precision and accountability, so this really isn't that surprising.  

In cities like Tokyo, where multiple train lines run simultaneously, these certificates are a practical solution to a potentially stressful situation. 

From the sleek Shinkansen (bullet trains) to local commuter lines, Japan’s railways are famous worldwide for being fast, clean, and incredibly reliable. 

For comparison, in countries like England or Switzerland, trains are known for efficiency but don’t quite match Japan’s level of punctuality—or its proactive approach to delays.

As for Narnia? Well, time works differently there anyway! 

So next time your train’s running late, imagine a world where a simple certificate could clear your name—and maybe even impress your boss. In Japan, it’s just another day on the rails. Read more here.  

This Daily Drop Lounge member called out a fantastic win that they scored thanks to Daily Drop Pro!

If you’ve been living under a rock (or are just new around here 🙃), the Daily Drop Lounge is our exclusive Facebook community where you can share your travel wins, ask other travelers questions, or weigh in on others’ questions.

Plus, we think it’s the coolest group around 😎 If you’re not already a member, you can join here.

That’s all for today, folks! It’s good to see so many last-minute travel deals popping up, and I’m glad I was able to tell you about as many of them as I could…

Tomorrow, I’m going to give one of you free airline elite status. So make sure you tune in. 😉

Cheers,

6.1944° S, 106.8229° E