Live like a billionaire (with points)

Good morning, beautiful people – and welcome back to Daily Drop. Today’s newsletter will be a bit longer than usual… but I had some fun with it, and I hope you enjoy.

Here’s what I’ve got for you:

• ✈️ How to get $250 of travel… instantly

• 🌎 Where in the World Wednesday: Monaco

• 💳 Why I pay $800 a year for a credit card

✈️ How to get $250 of travel… instantly

Most credit card welcome offers make you wait.

You sign up, spend a few thousand dollars over a few months, and then you get the bonus points.

But this travel card flips that script a little.

Right now, the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is offering 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 in the first three months, plus something that’s way more fun in the short term: a $250 travel credit.

And here’s the key detail…

That $250 credit hits your account immediately after approval. 👇

No spending requirement. No waiting months. Just boom – $250 sitting in your travel account ready to use in Capital One Travel.

You can use it on flights, hotels, vacation rentals, or even car rentals.

And if you think $250 doesn’t go that far, let me give you a real example.

When I signed up for this exact offer a couple of years ago, I used the credit to book five nights at a hotel in Fukuoka, Japan.

The hotel cost about $47 per night, which meant the entire stay was basically covered by the credit before I even earned the 75,000 bonus miles.

Meanwhile, another (awesome) Daily Drop team member, Alison, just signed up for the card and used her credit to book a domestic flight in China from Chengdu to Beijing. 👇

Same deal: instant credit, instant travel.

And remember – that’s before you even factor in the 75,000 miles you’ll earn from hitting the welcome offer’s minimum spend.

The last time we saw this offer was back in 2024, which is why I keep bringing it up. It simply doesn’t pop up very often.

And when you step back and look at it…

Getting $250 in travel immediately from a card that only charges a $95 annual fee is pretty wild.

If you want to check out the details of this travel card, I highly recommend you do so sooner rather than later. 👇

🌎 Where in the World Wednesday: Monaco

Monaco has a reputation.

You picture billionaires stepping off 200-foot yachts, parking Bugattis next to the casino, etc.

Walking around Monte-Carlo feels like you accidentally wandered into the world’s most expensive car dealership.

But Monaco is actually ridiculously easy to visit.

And if you play your cards right (literally and figuratively), you might not even need to spend much money at all.

Getting there is the easy part

The gateway to Monaco is Nice, just across the French border.

And getting to Nice from the U.S. is stupid easy, since all three major U.S. airlines fly there nonstop from multiple cities, including Philadelphia, New York, Atlanta, Boston, Newark, and Washington, D.C.

Now, if you go to Delta’s site and search for a flight from Boston to Nice, you’ll notice that prices are always INSANE on this route when using Delta SkyMiles:

That’s way too much… So let’s shave like 90,000 miles off of that price, shall we?

If you search for the SAME flight on the SAME day (mid June) through KLM/Air France Flying Blue, you can book that same nonstop Delta flight for just 24,500 miles.

So instead of using your entire pile of Delta miles, you can transfer 24,500 miles from any bank program and book through Flying Blue instead.

Once you land in Nice, Monaco is only about 30 minutes away by train, and it’s one of the easiest little day trips in Europe.

Trains run frequently, cost just a few euros, and drop you right at Monaco’s underground train station, which is basically carved into the side of the mountain.

Or…

The helicopter option

Instead of taking the train, I decided to arrive in Monaco the most Monaco way possible:

By helicopter.

There’s a company called Blade that runs helicopter flights from Nice Airport to Monaco. The flight takes about seven minutes, runs dozens of times per day, and costs €195.

Yes, it’s expensive. But also… it’s a helicopter ride along the French Riviera.

After landing in Nice, you walk over to the Blade desk, where they check you in and load you into a van. Then they casually drive you across the airport runway to the helicopter pad.

A few minutes later, you’re strapped into a helicopter, lifting off over the Mediterranean.

Seven minutes later, you’re landing in Monaco like a Bond villain.

They even have a free shuttle service that takes you directly to your hotel.

How to make it free

If you happen to have Bilt Rewards Platinum status, you actually get one free Blade helicopter ride every year.

Most people use this perk for Blade’s routes in New York City, where helicopters shuttle people between Manhattan and JFK or Newark.

But here’s the kicker:

The voucher also works on the Nice/Monaco route.

So yeah, that helicopter ride along the Riviera could cost you exactly $0.

And if you don’t have Bilt status, you still have options – you can use Capital One miles to offset the purchase at a rate of one cent per point, which makes the splurge a lot easier to justify.

The Monaco hotel situation

Now let’s talk about the part that hurts: Hotels in Monaco are expensive.

Like… painfully expensive.

Thankfully, I managed to “dodge” the worst of it by staying at the Fairmont Hotel, right in the heart of Monte-Carlo.

My room cost less than €300 per night, which is honestly a pretty solid deal by Monaco standards, especially given the location and sea views.

Since the Fairmont is part of the Accor program, you can use Accor points to pay for the stay, which is exactly what I did.

And Accor has one really underrated perk: you can also use points to pay for any charges to your room, including food and drinks… except at Fairmont hotels. 😭

Thankfully, there’s also a Novotel in Monaco:

Even if you just go here to eat, you can use your Accor points to save some cash instead of buying a $30 instant cappuccino at the Fairmont (yes, really).

If you’re more of a Marriott Bonvoy person, there’s also the Le Méridien Beach Plaza, which is just a short walk away from Monte-Carlo. Award nights typically run around 70,000 to 80,000 points.

Personally… that’s a little steep for my taste, and you can make your Marriott points go much further elsewhere.

But hey, it’s Monaco. 🤷🏼‍♂️

Of course, there’s one thing you absolutely have to do when you visit Monaco:

Walk into the world-famous Casino de Monte-Carlo. 🎰

The Mike Dodge Gambling Method™

Now, I am not a gambler. I have zero interest in spending hours feeding money into slot machines or sweating over blackjack tables.

But I do have a system.

I call it The Mike Dodge Gambling Method™ – and it works every time.

Here’s the gist:

You walk into the casino with $10 or $20, go to the nearest roulette table, and put all of it on black.

• Do not hedge your bets.

• Do not play any card games.

• And if you’re even thinking about putting it on red, this method is not for you.

If you win, you cash out, go to the bar, and buy a pint of Guinness. Not wine, not a cocktail, and especially not any other kind of beer (a lot of people mess this step up).

If you lose… you also go to the bar and buy a pint of Guinness.

Best-case scenario, you walk out with your money and a pint of Guinness. Worst-case scenario, you just had a very expensive pint of Guinness.

After the Guinness, you leave. Period.

Yesterday in Monte-Carlo, I put my chips on black… and won. I enjoyed my free Guinness and even kept a little souvenir.

Which means that, technically speaking, not only did I manage to visit Monaco without spending much money…

Monaco actually paid me to be there. 😏

💳 Why I pay $800 a year for a credit card

Look, I get it.

Every time someone hears that people like me willingly pay $800 or $900 per year for a credit card, the reaction is usually somewhere between confusion and mild concern for my mental health.

And honestly… fair.

But once you actually understand how these premium cards work, that annual fee can end up feeling a lot smaller than it looks on paper.

Between the built-in credits, the points you earn on everyday spending, and the travel perks that come with it, many cardholders end up getting more value back than they pay in annual fees.

In this week’s Daily Drop YouTube video, we break down one of the most popular premium cards out there and show you exactly how it works. 👇

Alrighty, folks. That’s gonna do it for today. I hope you enjoyed today’s content, and if you end up using my foolproof gambling method, I want to hear about it.

See you tomorrow ✌️

43.7102° N, 7.2620° E

With contributions by McKay Moffitt, April Wilson, and Alison Carrico