Earn 9x points on dining

Good morning from Zhengzhou, my last stop on a 7-week trip around the world. 🌎

I’m about to head out to the airport for my journey home, but I’ve got some verrrrrrrrrrry exciting stuff to tell you about first:

• 🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday

• 🍔 Earn 9x points on dining

• 💳 Intro to transferable points

• 🌎 Travel Trivia Reveal

🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday

🍔 Earn 9x points on dining

By now, you’ve probably heard of Rakuten – the shopping portal where you can earn cash back from everyday purchases at thousands of retailers.

Here at Daily Drop, we usually talk about the fact that you can choose to earn MR points instead of cash back (assuming you already have a card that earns MR points).

You can also earn Bilt Rewards, though the cash-back-to-points ratio is less than 1:1 (unless you have Bilt status), so it’s less ideal than earning MR points.

Well, Rakuten also has a fun dining program called Rakuten Dining that allows you to link various cards and earn cash back (or points) when eating out at various restaurants.

As you can see, this program lets you earn 5% back automatically, which is freaking awesome.

All you need to do is link a card (or cards) to Rakuten. When you use that card at eligible restaurants, you’ll get cash back from Rakuten.

Of course, you can’t just eat anywhere and expect it to trigger. Here’s how you can see which restaurants are eligible:

• Open the Rakuten app

• Click “In-Store”

• Click the tab that says “Dining”

I checked, and there are quite a few restaurants listed – though obviously those of you who live in bigger cities will have more luck.

Anyway, there’s another layer to sweeten this pot a bit…

Rakuten is also offering a one-time $10 bonus when you dine out for the first time – on top of the 5% cash back.

This $10 reward expires in early August, so make sure to use it while you can.

If you choose to earn MR points, that $10 will be 1,000 points instead.

The points earnings are insane here

Keep in mind that you still earn points on whichever card you link to your Rakuten account.

For example, this popular card earns 4x MR points on dining worldwide.

When you dine at a Rakuten Dining eligible restaurant, you’ll be earning 9x MR points per dollar… for eating food… 🤤

For example, if you have a $50 meal, you’ll earn the following:

• 200 points from the card

• 250 points from Rakuten Dining

• 1,000 points from the one-time bonus

That’s almost 1,500 points from a meal that you were going to eat anyway.

The bottom line

This is a great way to boost your rewards.

If you live in a city with a lot of eligible restaurants, it could certainly be worth going out of your way to more than double your normal points earnings on dining.

💳 Intro to transferable points

As you just read about in the last section, MR points get us really excited. That’s because they’re transferable – meaning you can send them to a bunch of different airlines and hotels.

That flexibility is why transferable points are ALWAYS better than other points.

But it can also be hard to wrap your head around the concept of transferring points… especially when points have different values and banks have different partners.

That’s why we have a 5-email course called Transferable Points 101. If you sign up, you’ll get 5 emails to help you get a grip on the concept of transferring points.

Oh, and don’t worry – you’ll still get daily emails from me for all the best deals on how to use your newfound points knowledge. 😉

🌎 Travel Trivia Reveal

A few minutes ago, we asked you which state park was ranked the best in 2026…

If you guessed Gooseberry Falls State Park, you were spot on! 🏞️

National parks get a lot of attention in the travel industry, but our local state parks deserve just as much love.

And according to USA Today’s 10Best rankings for 2026, Gooseberry Falls State Park is feeling the most love this year.

The Minnesota state park, which climbed up from its bronze finish last year, has taken the crown for 2026.

Perched on the North Shore of Lake Superior, Gooseberry Falls gets its name, in part, from the cascade of waterfalls found in the park.

Hikers have access to 18 miles of trails, weaving through the forests, with an additional 8 miles of mountain bike trails for visitors to enjoy.

And the park is enjoyable all year long, with cross-country skiing and snowshoeing available in the winter months, along with icy views of the frozen falls.

Visitors have the chance of spotting the multitude of animal species in the park, including otters, black bears, white-tailed deer, moose, and gray wolves — and for you birders, the park boasts over 225 bird species, including bald eagles.

Northern parks swept the podium this year, with Mohican State Park in Loudonville, Ohio, taking second place and Peninsula State Park in Fish Creek, Wisconsin, placing third.

To see the full list of the top ten Best State Parks for 2026, click here.

That’s it for today, friends! I don’t know about you, but I love it when I can rack up a crap ton of points from stuff I’m already spending money on… like food.

I hope you can use this tip to earn a ton of points too, and I’ll see you again tomorrow.

Ciao,

34.7466, 113.6253

With contributions by Sam Anthony and Katie Begnoche.