Earn a free flight each month

Welcome back to Daily Drop!

We’re like the Jonathan Taylor Thomas of the ‘90s… We’re just absolutely killing it, and you really can’t escape us — no matter where you look. 😍

…but anyway. Let’s get to the travel highlights.

✅ Did you see that Daily Drop Pro launched a NEW Points Deals feature?!

✅ Southwest announced another overhaul to its program starting later this month.

✅ Use the elevated welcome offer on our most popular card to fly across the Atlantic this summer.

✅ You can now book Japan Airlines flights with JetBlue points!

✅ Our latest YouTube video will tell you if the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is still the #1 travel card in 2025.

🏆 Favorite pick: Earn a free flight each month from daily spending

Sometimes, you’re not on the market for a new credit card with a fancy welcome offer. And sometimes, you have to make do with earning points on your current cards.

But it is still possible to rack up a ton of points without the help of a large welcome offer, and here’s how I do it.

The most important point here is I don’t just swipe any old card for any purchase — I maximize how much I earn by selecting the card that earns the most on any given spending category.

It’s a very deliberate, intentional decision to avoid ever earning one point per dollar spent.

If you want more details, you can read my full newsletter section on how I earn 18k points a month from everyday spending.

Otherwise, here’s a summary:

• Dining and groceries: I use this golden card to earn 4x points per dollar, which totals around 7,200 points per month

• Gas stations: I use this underrated card to earn 3x points per dollar, which totals around 1,200 points per month

• Travel: I use a combination of our most popular card and this premium card, which earn between 2x and 5x points per dollar, and total around 5,000 points per month

• Miscellaneous: For everything else that doesn’t fit into a higher earning category, I use the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card to earn 2x miles per dollar, which totals around 5,000 miles per month

So, my two-person household earns an average of 18,400 miles and points each month. That's not too bad, especially with no welcome offer in the mix!

So what can I (and you) do with that amount of points earned each month?

Well, I recently booked this flight from Vancouver (YVR) to Mexico City (MEX) for just 12,900 points through Aeroplan — thanks to the ability to transfer points from most major banks.

I’m also seeing these new Points Deals alerts in Daily Drop Pro, where I would almost have enough to book a flight to Amsterdam (AMS) and could easily book a flight to Quito, Ecuador (UIO). 👇

So I hope this shows how you and your household can accumulate a lot of points just from your everyday spending — as long as you’ve got a strategy in place to use the right card at the right time. 💪

🏃🏻‍♀️ Runner-Up

🥇Spring cleaning (but for your wallet)

My allergies are at an all-time high during this time of year, but so is the urge to do a clean sweep through my wallet.

As McKay mentioned earlier this week, it’s the perfect time for a little points-and-miles spring cleaning.

Ask yourself:

• Am I using the right card for my spending habits?

• Am I earning the right points?

• Have I used up my airline credits, hotel free-night certificates, or other monthly credits (hellooo, Uber) that tend to hide until they expire in silence?

• Am I on track to requalify for any elite statuses?

• Have I hit all my spending thresholds for bonus categories?

So, before we enter the second half of the year, go through your wallet, check your card benefits, skim through any apps, and make sure you’re maximizing each card to its fullest potential.

And if you aren’t, it might be time to look at downgrading, or even canceling a given card 🤷🏻‍♀️

📣 Quick Callouts

• 💡 Good to know: Book flights with ZERO points using United’s Excursionist Perk

• 🤓 Travel trivia: Which airline ranks as the best for nervous flyers?

• 🙂 Interesting: Did you get a targeted offer for American Airlines elite status?

• ↕️ Weird: Avianca LifeMiles un-devalued itself…

• 😬 Uh oh: Something is going on with Emirates, and you might want to book flights sooner rather than later

That’s all for this week! Have a lovely first weekend in May, and I’ll see you next time 🙂

52°22'35.4"N 52°15'17.4"W