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Good morning from Côte d’Ivoire – the Ryan Gosling of countries:
It’s just… uncomfortably hot.
Now that I’ve got you thinking about all the wrong things, let’s get into the newsletter:
🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday
In which country is the largest church in the world? |
Scroll to the end of the newsletter to see if you nailed it… or if you didn’t. 😉
✈️ The best transfer bonus this year (so far)
For the next couple of weeks, you can get a 40% bonus when transferring UR points to Virgin Atlantic, which we don't see very often.
Virgin Atlantic has some incredible award rates to Europe, including economy flights from the U.S. to London for just 6,000 miles in economy. 👇
With this bonus, that’s 4,300 UR points… to fly to Europe… so… yeah. It’s awesome.
If you travel with a family or a partner, this is a great way to stretch your points for multiple people.
But Virgin has other sweet spots, too. For example, if you don’t want to go to London, you can fly from the U.S. to Europe on Air France or KLM using Virgin miles – often for cheaper than what those airlines charge for their own flights.
New York to Vienna on Air France for 12,000 Virgin miles
Take 40% off of that, and it’s a pretty solid deal.
And I know many of you have been curious about using Virgin Miles to book Delta One awards. And I have good news and bad news.
The good news is that yes, you can totally book Delta One awards with Virgin miles.
For example, I just found this nonstop from Boston to Lisbon on Delta One for just 47,500 Virgin miles.
With this 40% transfer bonus, that’s just 34,000 UR points to fly across the pond in Delta One.
Now the bad news…
When you book premium cabins (like Delta One) through Virgin, you have to pay extreme taxes and fuel surcharges. In the previous example, that’s over $1,000 of cash fees.
For reference, Delta itself is charging 495,000 SkyMiles and $6 for the same flight on the same day.
So yes, you’re saving more than 450,000 points, but that means nothing if you aren’t willing to shell out the cash.
So here’s the bottom line:
This is an awesome deal. There’s no doubt about it. There are tons of great ways to use Virgin miles.
Make sure you hop on this before it ends on February 28. And if you need to rack up more UR points, we’ve got you covered.
😅 Mid-February energy check
How’s the “Tuesday” of the year treating you? Because for me, this is the part of the year where motivation is… questionable.
The holidays are long gone, we’re past the False Spring and back to dreary days, and I’m somewhere between “I’ve got this” and “maybe I just need a nap.”
One small thing that’s helped me feel more human lately? Actually staying hydrated. Not in an intense, carry-a-gallon-jug-with-me-everywhere way, just enough that I’m not wondering why I feel sluggish, foggy, or weirdly cranky by 3 pm.
That’s where LMNT has been clutch in my daily routine.
Photo by LMNT
LMNT’s electrolyte packets are easy to toss in a bag or keep at my desk, have no added sugar, and give me a solid balance of sodium, potassium, and magnesium… which is especially crucial if I’m working out, traveling, or just surviving busy days.
I notice it most with energy and focus. I’ve got fewer of those “something feels off, but I can’t explain why” moments.
And because LMNT is always generous with Daily Drop readers, here’s how you can get the same benefits for yourself:
Get a FREE sample pack (that’s eight flavors!) with any purchase at DrinkLMNT.com/DAILYDROP.
Cheers to getting through February, one good habit at a time… and remembering that doing a little is still doing something. 🫶
🌎 Travel Trivia Reveal
Earlier, I asked you a trivia question about the world’s largest church.
Ready for this one?
According to Guinness World Records, the largest church in the world (by total area) is the Basilique Notre-Dame de la Paix, located in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire! 🇨🇮
It doesn’t look like much… but it’s freaking huge.
The only reason I know this is because… I’m in Côte d’Ivoire literally right now.
But here’s where it gets interesting: This massive church was inspired by St. Peter’s Basilica (if you couldn’t tell from the photos).
But… it actually:
Has a larger footprint
Has more total interior square footage
Is slightly taller (its dome reaches about 158 meters, edging out St. Peter’s)
So on paper? It wins.
But…
Despite being physically larger, it actually seats fewer people than St. Peter’s.
St. Peter’s can accommodate around 20,000+ worshippers, while the basilica in Yamoussoukro seats roughly 7,000 inside (with space for more standing).
Most people assume the largest church must be in Vatican City.
So, here’s your lesson for the day: the “biggest” things in the world aren’t always where we expect them to be. Sometimes they’re in places most people never even think to look.
Isn’t travel fun? 😉
That’s it for today, folks. I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather here in Africa, so I’m going to take a nap…
But fear not – I’ll be back tomorrow with more points-and-miles tips.
Ciao,
With contributions by McKay Moffitt
