š TRENDING TRAVEL NEWS š
⢠Join Us: Want to learn more about Daily Drop Pro? We have a free onboarding session today. Join here!
⢠Travel Tip: What are Fifth-freedom flights and how can you book them?
⢠Heads Up: Flying in or out of Newark International (EWR)? Donāt miss these delay updates.
⢠Southwest Sale: Use code SUNNY30 for up to 30% off base fares ā book by May 8.
Daily Drop is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as Bankrate.com. This may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers.

Good morning and welcome back to Daily Drop. Todayās newsletter is PACKED with good travel tips, so letās not waste any time.
Hurry up, start reading:

āļø You told me to book this trip
Last week, I asked you to vote on where I should go this week. I promised to book a trip to the winning destination and show you how I pulled it off with points and miles.
So, without further ado, here are the results:

Screenshot from Daily Drop
After I saw the results, my thought was:
Great, I guess Iām going to Penang. But itās too bad they didnāt choose Myanmar⦠or China⦠Or Indonesiaā¦
So I decided to book a trip to ALL of them. And I used no fewer than TEN great travel tricks that YOU can use too.
I want to emphasize⦠All the tips I am about to tell you can be used anywhere on any type of trip. So please donāt get mad because Iām in Asia. š
Letās dive in:
Part 1: Somewhere else in Indonesia
This was the easy partā¦
I kicked things off with a quick high-speed rail trip to Bandung and booked this luxurious getaway at an IHG hotel for just 10,250 points per night:

Screenshot from ihg.com
Since I hold the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card, I get every fourth night free when using IHG points.
And since I have IHG Diamond status from this deal late last year, I also get lounge access and free breakfast at Intercontinental hotels.
Anyway, 10,000 points per night is insane for this resort. Itās right near the mountains, the weather is cool, itās peaceful, and I just love it here.
Boom. Indonesia? Check. ā
Part 2: Penang and Myanmar
Now this is where the real deals start to come inā¦
I found a flight from Jakarta (CGK) to Penang (PEN) via Kuala Lumpur (KUL) for just 7,500 Alaska miles and about $30, which is an amazing sweet spot.

Screenshot from alaskaair.com
Thanks to my Alaska MVP Gold 75k status, I can spend my layover in the Malaysia Airlines business-class lounge.
Even better: Under Alaskaās new program, Iāll also earn EQMs from the award flight, boosting my progress toward the next milestone reward.
In Penang, I was stoked to see this Hilton resort property for just over $60 per night. š
Since I have the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card, I get $200 to use toward resorts like this every six months, so my net out-of-pocket cost is around $30 for a three-night stay. š¤š¼
PLUS⦠I booked this through the Capital One portal to earn 10x Capital One miles on this stay.
So even though my Hilton Amex Aspire gives me a $200 rebate, I still earn 10x miles on that $200... and, of course, a boatload of Hilton points.
I was proud of that stack.
Then came Myanmar, which was a surprisingly easy add-on thanks to an Aeroplan sweet spot. I booked a flight from Penang to Yangon (RGN) via Bangkok for just 8,000 points and less than $20 in fees:
š” Pro Tip: Most major banks allow you to transfer points to Aeroplan at a 1:1 ratio, making it one of the best and most accessible programs out there.
The reason I chose to do things in this order was also to buy some time to get my Myanmar visa approved.
They have a very efficient and easy e-visa program. It only costs $50, and my visa was approved in less than one day.
Now, I get that Myanmar isnāt high on most peopleās travel lists right now (and thatās fair), but Yangon is still very much functioning, and there are some serious deals to be found.
Case in point: I booked a four-night stay at the Pan Pacific hotel ā Yangonās newest and most luxurious 5-star hotel ā for around $50 per night (normally $100+).
š” Even though this hotel doesnāt belong to a major chain, you can use Capital One miles to offset purchases like this at a rate of one cent per point.
Part 3: China
From Myanmar, I will jet off to China.
As you might know, Americans (and others) can now travel to China for up to TEN DAYS without a visa, thanks to new visa-free transit rules.
You can read more about how that works in the many newsletters Iāve written on the topic (like this one).
But before I go to Guilin, I wanted to visit another one of my favorite cities ā Xiāan.
I booked this cash flight from Yangon to Xiāan:
It was a little pricey, but I used the Hilton Amex Aspire to pay for it, which triggered the quarterly $50 statement credit (which can be used with ANY airline).
In Xiāan, I booked four nights at this Hyatt hotel right in the center of my favorite neighborhood for just 5,000 points per night:
Plus, since itās a UrCove brand, it will trigger my ā2k next stayā milestone awards (read more about Hyattās milestone rewards here).
Ultimately, Iāll get 4,000 Hyatt points back on my 20,000-point spend, which is great.
From here, I booked a cheap cash flight to Guilin, where I booked four nights at this Holiday Inn in the city center for just 5,500 points per night:
Since I bought a bunch of IHG points earlier this year when they had their 100% sale, I effectively paid around $27 per night for this stay, which is fantastic.
Part 4: The journey home
Iām almost done, I promiseā¦
From Guilin, I was feeling like I wanted some Japan time. So, I used my SAS miles from last yearās Million Mile Challenge to book this flight to Tokyo:

Screenshot from flysas.com
I hadnāt booked anything in Tokyo yet (Iāll explain why in a sec), but I did lock in a sweet way to get back to Indonesiaā¦
Using some Delta miles I racked up from the Delta SkyMilesĀ® Platinum Business American Express Card I opened a few months ago, I booked this business class flight:

Screenshot from delta.com
As you can see, long-haul awards in Asia cost just 40,000 Delta miles in business class, which is fantastic for almost eight hours in a lie-flat seat and only $27 in taxes.
But then⦠plot twist.
I got sick. Like, really sick. š¤
I was supposed to fly to Penang on Monday, but on Saturday, I started going downhill, and by Sunday, I was basically dying in bed.
So yeah⦠I cancelled the whole thing. š¤·š¼āāļø
But you still learned some stuff, right? You can use these same tricks wherever you travel, so take note of them for your next big trip. š

š¦ Fight off ājet bellyā with this probiotic
Presented by: Pendulum
You guys⦠I know Iām not the only one who has suffered from the infamous jet belly, gurgly gut, or travel bloat while on the road. š¤¢
Our gut microbiome is a critical part of our overall health, so let me introduce you to Pendulumās Akkermansia probiotic.
This probiotic strain is naturally found in the gut microbiome but can get depleted over time from stress, travel, and diet.
It contains live Akkermansia (which Pendulumās PhD scientists were the first to manufacture and sell live), so you wonāt find this next-generation strain in typical probiotics. š
Akkermansia can:
Naturally increase GLP-1 production*
Strengthen your gut lining
Improve metabolic and digestive health
With 15K+ medical provider recommendations, 3K+ mentions in scientific publications, and happy customers like Halle Berry (no, Iām not joking!), it is for sure living up to the hype. š
And you know what? Daily Drop readers will get 20% off their first membership order! Your discount will be applied at checkout.
Plus, this is available with HSA/FSA funds!
*Based on preclinical studies. **This product is not intended for weight loss.

šÆāāļø Double the points, double the fun
Letās talk referrals ā aka the easiest ways to earn a boatload of points with minimal effort.
If you recently opened the Chase Sapphire PreferredĀ® Card, you can share your personal referral link to friends, partners, co-workers, or anyone whoās mildly interested in travel.
When someone is approved through your link, youāll earn 10,000 bonus points, up to 100,000 bonus points per year.
Thatās the kind of math we love to see.
Even better? The current Sapphire Preferred offer is massive ā 100,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 in the first three months. So if they sign up, they get 100k, you get 10k ā and suddenly youāre both planning your next trip on points.
š” Pro Tip: Your friend wonāt be eligible if they currently have a Sapphire card or have received a Sapphire welcome offer in the past 48 months ā so maybe donāt refer your fellow points nerds.
Otherwise, this is one of the highest-reward, lowest-effort ways to stack Chase points.
So send the link, watch the points roll in, and definitely take credit when your friend flies somewhere for ājust the taxes and fees.ā
And if you donāt already have the Sapphire Preferred... well, what are you waiting for? š

Alright, alright. I know this was a doozy, so Iāll let you go now.
But I hope you got some value from everything we shared with you today, and I promise tomorrow will be lighter (but still awesome).
Love you all and see you tomorrow ā¤ļø
Opinions expressed here are author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within this post.