đ Travel + Leisure readers voted on the best 25 islands in the world, with the Maldives coming in first. Want to read the rest from the survey, along with other top destinations around the world? Check that out here.
Good morning, my friends, and welcome back to Daily Drop, your go-to guide for all things points and miles⌠and cat memes.
Weâve got a fun announcement and some positive points and miles news today, so letâs get to it:
đ Our new Points and Miles Encyclopedia
As you know, one of our goals here at Daily Drop is to educate you about points and miles concepts.
But even with a daily newsletter, it can be hard to keep track of everything going on, especially when there are hundreds of weird terms being thrown around all the timeâŚ
Thatâs why Iâm super psyched to tell you about our new Points and Miles Encyclopedia!
This guide breaks down tons of definitions, abbreviations, and acronyms and even includes some illustrations to help you understand. đ
Much like our Transfer Partners Cheat Sheet, this is something you can bookmark in your browser and reference whenever you need a quick insight to⌠basically everything in the points and miles space.
The best part?
Anyone can access this new resource with ease by referring ONE friend to Daily Drop.
We are always trying to refresh this toolkit and add new valuable resources, so itâs something that will continue to give you value over time.
So hereâs the bottom line:
Everybody knows ONE person who wants to learn how to travel the world for pennies on the dollar.
Send them your unique referral link below, and itâs a win-win for everyone:
https://newsletter.dailydrop.com/subscribe?ref=PLACEHOLDER
As always, you can track your referrals, rewards, and progress by clicking this link, which is unique to you:
đł Bilt adds TWO new transfer partners
Okay, now for some other exciting news that broke over the weekendâŚ
Our friends over at Bilt Rewards have done it again. Just months after adding their last transfer partner, theyâve announced TWO new transfer partners: Accor Live Limitless and TAP Air Portugal!
These are two programs that I doubt youâre super familiar withâŚ
Personally, Iâm most excited about Accor. Accor is the biggest and best hotel loyalty program you arenât using right nowâŚ
While other programs transfer to Accor at a 2:1 ratio, Bilt is offering an even better 3:2 transfer ratio.
And while that still sounds bad, Iâll tell you why itâs not.
Accor consists of tons of brands youâve heard of and maybe even stayed at:
If you travel abroad, youâll notice a TON of brands ranging from super budget to luxury.
Therefore, earning and redeeming Accor points is VERY easy. They have over 50 brands, more than any other loyalty program.
Better yet, their program is super simple: Redeem 2,000 Accor points for a âŹ40 credit toward a hotel stay.
To earn those 2,000 Accor points, youâll transfer 3,000 Bilt Rewards.
Since 40 Euros is worth roughly $44, your Bilt points are redeemable at a flat rate of 1.5 cents each with Accor.
đł FYI - the fastest and easiest way to rack up Bilt Rewards is with the Bilt MastercardÂŽ, which has pretty solid earning rates on everyday spend!
Make no mistake about it - thatâs excellent value when you can guarantee it with every transaction.
Since Accor has such a wide variety of brands, you can stretch those points far with cheap budget stays at hotels like this one, where I stayed in Indonesia earlier this year:
Or, as most of you probably prefer, you can redeem them for world-class hotels like the famous Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City.
I spent a week here a few years ago, and it remains one of the most memorable trips of my life!
Anyway, hereâs the bottom line:
Accor is a really solid program, especially for international travel. Their flat-rate redemptions take all the headaches out of the points and miles game.
With Biltâs 3:2 ratio, itâs a transfer partner you can guarantee value out of.
As for TAP Air Portugal, I need to do some more research⌠but Iâll fill you in on some of their sweet spots later. đ
đŞ Tasty Travel Tidbits
đŻđľ Japanese Airline ZipAir has just announced new nonstop flights between Tokyo and Houston beginning in March of next year. Flights are already on sale and are starting at just $333 one-way, which is an excellent deal.
đłď¸ Cruise alert: Virgin Voyages is selling cruises for two with Virgin Red points! At a minimum of 140,000 points, itâs far from the best deal weâve seen. Still, if youâre looking for a cheap way to take a luxury cruise with points, itâs not terrible! As a reminder, you can transfer points to Virgin Atlantic and then onward to Virgin Red after linking your accounts.
âď¸ Wow!!! United just dropped a press release where they announced some SUPER exciting new routes for next year. The lineup includes places like Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, Nuuk, Greenland, Dakar, Senegal, and more. Way to go, United!!
Thatâs all for today, folks! I hope you enjoyed this weekâs first newsletter - itâs always nice to kick off the week with a bang.
Take care, and be sure to tune in tomorrow for even more travel fun times.
Ciao âď¸
