š„ TRENDING TRAVEL NEWS š„
⢠Heads Up: Heat wave shuts down many European cities ā what you should know if you're traveling soon.
⢠Summer Sale: World of Hyatt is offering up to 25% off qualifying stays if you book by July 28.
⢠Marriott Bonvoy Escapes: Save up to 20% on hotels when you book by July 6
⢠Good to Know: What to expect if youāre applying for this brand new business card.

āļø Good morning and welcome back to Daily Drop ā the only thing moving faster than TSA lines this week (18.5 million people, yāall⦠pray for the agents).
Iāve got a ton of stuff to send you off into the long weekend with, so letās get started:

š Flying Blue Promo Rewards (and a sneaky trick)
Flying Blueās latest batch of Promo Rewards has landed ā and once again, itās offering some of the cheapest ways to cross the Atlantic (or head somewhere a little more tropical) using points.
This month, youāll get 25% off select Air France and KLM flights between the Americas and Europe, with economy awards starting at just 18,750 miles one-way.
That includes flights to Europe from cities like Atlanta (ATL), Dallas (DFW), Detroit (DTW), Toronto (YYZ), Austin (AUS), and Portland (PDX).
These deals are live now and available for travel through December 31, 2025, but youāll need to book by July 31 to lock in the discount.
How to find award space (even this summer)
Flying Blueās search tool can be annoying ā unless you know this secret trick. š
When you search on the Air France or KLMās site, choose āBook with Miles,ā enter your route, and then select the furthest possible date far in the future (June 26, 2026, at the time of writing). š

Screenshot from klm.us
That will trigger a full monthly calendar view of award availability, which you can then scroll back to 2025.
I used Austin (AUS) to Berlin (BER) as an example and found many days in August (next month) wide open at the discounted rates ā proof that you can still use these Promo Rewards even for last-minute summer travel.

Screenshot from klm.us
This tool is also great for finding the cheap 60,000-mile business-class rates to Europe, which, fun fact, is also available on the same route even next month:

Screenshot from klm.us
Even cheaper with a transfer bonus
Donāt forget that thereās still a 20% transfer bonus from ThankYou points to Flying Blue through July 19 ā which makes these prices even sweeter.
That means the 18,750-mile economy awards drop to just 15,625 ThankYou points or just 50,000 points for business class. š¤š¼
And if you have points with a different bank, youāre also covered, as you can transfer points from pretty much all of them.

šØ Insanely easy hotel status
If you hold the Chase Sapphire ReserveĀ® weāve been raving about lately, thereās a new perk youāll want to jump on: a free upgrade to Marriott Gold Elite status ā no strings attached (for three months, at least).
How it works
Register between July 1 and September 30, and youāll receive three months of complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status.
And if you stay three paid nights at Marriott hotels within that three-month window, your Gold status will be extended all the way through February 2027.
That means you could technically wait until September to register, then knock out your three qualifying nights later this fall or even in December ā and still lock in elite benefits like enhanced room upgrades, late checkout, and bonus points for over a year.
How to access it
Log in to your account and select ācard benefits.ā Youāll see the Marriott deal on that page, which youāll need to activate:
There are a few fine-print details to keep in mind:
Nights must be paid stays to extend your status
You must book directly through Marriott ā third-party sites like Expedia, Hotels.com, or even some credit card portals wonāt qualify
You canāt already have Gold or higher status
There are a number of co-branded cards that already offer this status, but itās nice to have yet another awesome travel benefit packed into just one card.
Itās just one more reason Iām personally holding onto the Sapphire Reserve, which recently rolled out a massive refresh full of new travel perks and statement credits.
You could even pair this with the cardās $500 travel credit to cover those paid nights and still get elite status locked in for 18+ months.
Oh, and the cherry on top? That card also has an epic welcome offer that includes earning 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points and that $500 travel credit after spending $5,000 in the first three months. š

š³ New 50% hotel transfer bonus
Once you have your Marriott status, youāre gonna want to book some stays to take advantage of your new benefits.
Thankfully, the same freaking bank has you covered on that front with a 50% transfer bonus from Ultimate Rewards points to Marriott Bonvoy.
Donāt get me wrong, transferring Ultimate Rewards points to Marriott isnāt an automatic home run⦠But for the right redemption? You could get excellent value.
For example, letās say you book one of those Flying Blue Promo Rewards to Vienna (VIE) next month.
You could then book this Marriott property for just 15,500 points per night:

Screenshot from marriott.com
With Marriottās fifth-night free perk, a five-night stay here would run you just 62,000 Marriott points ā even in July or August.
With this transfer bonus, thatās just 41,000 Ultimate Rewards points for five nights⦠in an expensive European city⦠in peak summer travel season.
That sounds pretty good to me. š

š¤¦āāļø What is going on with Emirates??
Okay, now that weāve finished our Marriott/Flying Blue European bonanza, letās change the subject and finish off the week with some good news.
And by good news, I mean bad news. ā ļø
Effective September 16, the transfer ratio from Membership Rewards points to Emirates will be reduced to 5:4 from the current ratio of 1:1.
This is⦠devastating.
Weāve already seen ThankYou points reduce its transfer ratio to Emirates earlier this year, and I suspect the other banks will follow the same trend in the near future.
So what can you do?
Well, there are still ways to get excellent value from Emirates miles. So, while you canāt book first-class awards with points, you can book business class and upgrade to first ā and Emirates offers one of the best premium seats in the sky.
Personally, I just upgraded myself to first class for just 18,750 miles for a special birthday flight, which I transferred from Membership Rewards points.

Screenshot from emirates.com
If youāre interested in flying Emirates, I recommend hunting down some awards and transferring your miles while you still have time.
You can book Emirates flights from the U.S. to Europe for as few as 87,000 miles in business class ā a good deal for a luxury airline like Emirates.

Screenshot from emirates.com
And if you donāt have any opportunity to fly Emirates in the near future, we still have Capital One miles and UR points to transfer at a 1:1 ratio⦠for now. š¬

Alright, my friends. Weāre off tomorrow, but I hope all you Americans have a lovely and safe 4th of July.
See you on Monday. āļø
With contributions by Tiffany Eastham, McKay Moffitt, and Benji Stawski