️ Shortcut to Star Alliance perks

Gooooooooood morning from crazy Afghanistan. 🇦🇫

I’m having an exciting (and stressful) adventure in this beautiful country – but I’m going to take a break from all the biryani and mountains to tell you about some cool travel stuff:

• 🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday

• 🏨 Awesome status match to get United/Air Canada perks

• ✈️ Save on flights even after you’ve booked

• 🌎 Travel Trivia Reveal

🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday

The answer is hanging out near the bottom of the newsletter… you know the drill. 👀

🏨 How to turn hotel status into airline status

What if I told you that you could sign up for a hotel credit card, take a few flights, and suddenly have premium United status (with lounge access)?

No joke. Here’s how it works:

Marriott Bonvoy has a web of partnerships that let your hotel elite status spill over into airline perks.

Some of these are nice-to-haves, while others are game‑changers if you know how to play them.

The simple stuff

If you reach Marriott Titanium Elite status, you automatically get:

• United MileagePlus® Premier Silver status, which comes with slightly better seat selection, a small shot at upgrades, and free standby.

• You also get Aeroplan 25K status, which includes a couple of upgrade credits and Star Alliance Silver perks.

All you need to do is link your accounts, and boom — instant elite status.

But here’s the thing… these perks won’t drastically change your travel life — and Marriott Titanium status isn’t exactly easy to earn.

Where it gets interesting

The real magic is Marriott’s partnership with Singapore Airlines…

If you have Marriott Platinum status (which you can get instantly just by holding the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card), you can match to Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Elite Silver status.

Silver is… fine. You’ll get a few benefits when flying Singapore or other Star Alliance airlines, including United.

But the real gold is what happens next.

The play

Once matched, Singapore gives you six months to complete just four flights on its own metal.

Do that, and you’ll be upgraded to Singapore Airlines Elite Gold status — which just so happens to translate into Star Alliance Gold status… for an entire year. 😮

Why you should care

That’s not just a shiny logo next to your name. Star Alliance Gold means:

• Priority check-in and boarding on all Star Alliance airlines

• Free checked baggage allowance (even in economy)

• Access to over 1,000 Star Alliance lounges worldwide — including United Clubs in the U.S.

• Bonus mile earnings on paid flights

In other words, you could book a United domestic economy ticket and still stroll into the United Club for a pre-flight snack and champagne simply by attaching your Singapore KrisFlyer number to your boarding pass.

And hitting that four-flight requirement might be easier than you think.

You don’t even need to fly to Singapore itself — the airline operates fifth-freedom flights that start in the U.S. and end in other countries, like:

• New York (JFK) → Frankfurt (FRA)

• Los Angeles (LAX) → Tokyo (NRT)

If you have a trip to Asia on your radar, you could knock this out in one go by booking a single round-trip flight via Singapore to a destination like Bangkok (BKK).👇

If you’re already in Asia and want to really leverage this promo, you could book some very cheap short-haul flights.

Personally, I’m flying from Indonesia to Malaysia via Singapore round‑trip for $273 next month. This will get me Star Alliance Gold status for the next year, which I already know will far outweigh that cost.

Bottom line: This is one of those rare sweet spots where you can take a single credit card perk, a single trip, and completely transform the way you travel for an entire year.

PRESENTED BY JUNOVA

✈️ Save on flights even after you’ve booked

Booking flights is stressful enough. Trying to time it for the best price…?

Even worse. 🙃

Most of us hit “purchase,” close the tab, and hope we got the best price.

That’s where Junova comes in.

Instead of you constantly re-checking prices, Junova monitors your flight after you book it. If the price drops, they work with the airline to secure a credit automatically.

The process is super simple:

• Book your flight directly with the airline (Junova works with United, Delta, American, Southwest, and Alaska)

• Share your confirmation with Junova

• If the price drops, Junova handles the rest

If savings are found, Junova secures a flight credit and charges a 20% success fee on the savings. No savings? No fee. 🙌

On average, flights that save do so more than once, with total average savings of $371 per flight.

Extra perk for Daily Drop readers: Sign up using our link and you’ll get $25 in Junova credits to start.

👉 junova.ai (referral code: DAILYD)

Heads up: Junova doesn’t work on basic economy tickets, and flights must be booked directly with the airline (not through third-party sites).

If you’re booking paid flights (especially trips planned months in advance), this is one of those set-it-and-forget-it tools that can quietly save you some extra cash.

🌎 Travel Trivia Reveal

We asked you which country ranked the highest for international tourist arrivals…

… and if you chose France, you’re on the money.

U.N. data shows that France welcomed 102 million international visitors, making it the most-visited country in the world.

Paris obviously plays a major role, but France’s popularity extends far beyond the capital. People go for the wine regions, alpine towns, historic cities, coastal destinations, and more than 50 UNESCO World Heritage Sites across the country.

Spain followed closely behind with nearly 94 million visitors, with the United States, Turkey, and Italy rounding out the top five.

The U.N. actually throws these studies together each year in a massive “World Tourism Barometer,” and it’s pretty interesting.

Want to learn more about world tourism over the past few months? Check this out.

That’s all for today, my friends. I hope you enjoyed this overlooked way to shortcut yourself to some amazing airline perks.

Take care and see you bright and early tomorrow. ✌️

34.5553° N, 69.2075° E

With contributions by McKay Moffitt