Portal Kombat: Southwest edition

☀️ Good morning and welcome back to Daily Drop — the loyalty program of newsletters: sign up once, and we’ll keep showing up with perks until you forget why you subscribed in the first place. 😎

Here are today’s perks:

• ✈️ Stack points through Southwest’s portal

• 🏨 Triple Hyatt points on vacation rentals

• 🤔 Is InterContinental Ambassador still worth it?

✈️ Stack points through Southwest’s portal

If you’ve got back-to-school shopping, home improvement plans, or just want an excuse to buy another pair of Nikes you don’t need — now’s a good time to do it through the Southwest shopping portal.

From now through August 11, you’ll get a bonus of up to 2,000 Southwest points when you shop through its portal:

• Spend $50 = 250 bonus points

• Spend $250 = 1,000 bonus points

• Spend $500 = 2,000 bonus points

Keep in mind that you can only earn one of the above bonuses, not all of them. One bonus amount will be awarded at the end of the promo period based on your total spend.

Buttttt… these are in addition to the points you already earn from the retailer itself — and many stores are offering boosted rates. For example:

Whether you’re picking up a new fridge, stocking up on beauty products, or shopping for school supplies, make sure to click through the portal first.

For example, if you use a card like the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, you’ll earn 2x miles on top of the portal points.

I personally use the Alaska shopping portal all the time — even when the rates aren’t the highest. Alaska miles are just that valuable to me.

Plus, some merchants like Marriott and Viator (which are currently offering 2x to 7x on the Alaska portal) are brands I already spend with anyway.

So, no matter what you’re buying — use a portal. The only thing worse than overpaying for shampoo is missing out on free miles for it.

🏨 Triple Hyatt points on vacation rentals

Triple points on vacation rentals? Yes, please. 🤩

Hyatt is currently running a promo for its Homes & Hideaways platform — basically its answer to Airbnb — and it’s surprisingly generous:

• Triple points on qualifying stays through September 7, 2025

• No registration required

• No minimum stay needed

Normally, World of Hyatt gives you 5x points per dollar on these stays. With this promo, that jumps to 15x points per dollar.

And if you pay with a Hyatt co-branded credit card, you’ll tack on another 4x bonus points, for a grand total of 19x per dollar. That’s some serious earning potential.

For example, you could book a cozy cabin in Big Bear Lake, California, for around $500 per night. 👇

Sure, it’s expensive AF. But these places can sleep five people, making them ideal for a group getaway where you split the cost.

And because math is sexy:

• $500 x 19 points = 9,500 Hyatt bonus points earned

• That’s enough for another free night at a hotel like this one in Puerto Rico, which normally costs well over $200 per night:

If you’re planning a friends’ trip, family getaway, or just want a weekend escape with hotel rewards baked in, Hyatt Homes & Hideaways is looking really tempting right now.

Remember, this promo runs through September 7, so you’ve got some time to plan something fun. 😎

🤔 Is InterContinental Ambassador still worth it?

Most hotel loyalty perks come from chasing elite status — staying dozens of nights per year to earn better rooms, late checkout, and maybe a free bottle of water at check-in if you’re lucky.

But InterContinental Ambassador flips that model on its head.

This is a paid membership program, specifically for InterContinental hotels (IHG’s luxury brand with properties worldwide).

Unlike traditional elite status, you don’t have to stay a single night to unlock benefits — you just pay a flat fee and start enjoying perks immediately.

What it costs:

• $225 per year, or

• 45,000 IHG One Rewards points

What you get:

• Guaranteed 4:00 p.m. late checkout — a real benefit, not “subject to availability”

• Guaranteed room upgrade — usually one category up

• $20 food & beverage credit per stay (valid on paid stays)

• One complimentary weekend night certificate — when booking a paid weekend stay through the Ambassador rate (for a minimum stay of two nights)

• IHG One Rewards Platinum Elite status, which adds perks across all IHG brands — including bonus points, upgrades, welcome gifts, and more

Yep — even if you never set foot in an InterContinental, this membership still gets you elite status with Holiday Inn, Kimpton, Voco, Crowne Plaza, and more.

Real-world example:

A couple of years ago, I used my free weekend night at the InterContinental Ljubljana (an amazing city, by the way), where rates typically hover around $250 per night.

So with just that one stay, I effectively “broke even” on the membership… and that was before factoring in the room upgrade, the 4:00 p.m. checkout, and the food & beverage credit.

Now imagine doing that twice a year — or using your new Platinum status for upgrades and perks at other IHG hotels during road trips, work travel, or long weekends.

So if you’re mainly after status — and don’t care about the InterContinental-specific benefits — the IHG Premier may be of better value.

But for those who love luxury hotel perks without the elite night grind, Ambassador is one of the few programs that lets you buy your way in.

The bottom line is this: InterContinental Ambassador is one of the only paid hotel memberships that consistently pulls its weight.

With real, guaranteed benefits and elite status baked in, it can pay for itself in a single stay and make your next high-end weekend escape a whole lot sweeter.

Well, that’s gonna finish things off for today, kiddos. I personally see InterContinental Ambassador as a great little hidden gem in the hotel loyalty world.

What do you think?

Catch you in the next one ❤️

37.8136° S, 144.9631° E

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