This island = points paradise

🌅 Good morning and welcome back to Daily Drop — the IKEA of newsletters: confusing at times, but you’ll always end up somewhere you didn’t plan on going.

Let’s start Monday off on a high note:

• 🇨🇼 Curaçao: the Caribbean’s colorful curveball

• 🏨 Hyatt’s 20% off points sale (better than it sounds)

• ⚽ Free Atmos Rewards points for watching soccer

• 🧳 7 travel essentials we can’t live without

🇨🇼 Curaçao: the Caribbean’s colorful curveball

If Aruba is the extrovert of the ABC islands, Curaçao is its artsy, cooler cousin — bright candy-colored streets, diving that rivals anywhere in the hemisphere, and a food culture that’s as much Dutch as it is Caribbean.

And unlike most of its neighbors, it sits outside the hurricane belt, which means year-round sunshine without the stress of storm season.

Why Curaçao belongs on your radar

• UNESCO-level charm: Willemstad’s Handelskade is a rainbow row of Dutch colonial houses you’ve probably seen on postcards, but cross the floating Queen Emma bridge into Otrobanda and you’ll hit street art, cafés, and live music.

• Adventure on tap: Snorkel the Tugboat wreck, dive the “mushroom forest” reefs, or day-trip to Klein Curaçao for a shipwreck beach straight out of a movie.

• Nature escapes: Hike Christoffel National Park at sunrise, chase blowholes at Shete Boka, or spot flamingos near Jan Kok.

• Culture you can taste: From pastechi (fried pastry pockets) at beach shacks to Creole stews in family-run landhuizen, Curaçao has flavor baked in.

• Local vibe: Dutch, English, and Papiamentu all float around here. Learn one word: dushi — it means good, sweet, or nice, and you’ll hear it constantly.

How to get there with points

In addition to cruises, flights to Curaçao (CUR) are surprisingly easy to book with points and miles.

From Florida, nonstop flights on American Airlines from Miami (MIA) can be booked for just 7,500 Atmos Rewards points + $18 — cheaper than what AA charges through its own program.

If you’re connecting from Chicago or Dallas, it’ll only run you 15,000 Atmos points one-way.

JetBlue also flies nonstop from New York (JFK) for as few as 13,500 TrueBlue points + $5.60. Since Ultimate Rewards points can transfer to JetBlue at a 1:1 ratio, that’s a solid deal for a nearly five-hour international flight.

If you’re Delta-loyal, Curaçao is a nonstop hop away. Using SkyMiles, you’ll usually see around 22,000 miles — not great.

But here’s the pro move: Book the exact same flight via Flying Blue for just 14,000 transferrable points + $33, thanks to the magic of transfer partners.

Where to stay with points

Curaçao isn’t short on hotels across programs, but one standout is the Curaçao Marriott Beach Resort.

• Points price: 23,400 per night

• Cash price: $306 per night

• Marriott Bonvoy’s Fifth Night Free perk means five nights will run you 117,000 points total. The same stay would cost over $1,500 cash.

That’s solid value, considering a single Marriott card welcome offer (like the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card) could get you these five nights and still leave you with close to 70,000 points left over.

How to play your trip

Here’s a simple Curaçao game plan that blends the “must-sees” with the offbeat:

• Day 1: Wander Willemstad, snap the candy-colored Handelskade, grab lunch in Otrobanda, and cap it with sunset cocktails on the floating bridge.

• Day 2: Rent a car, snorkel the tugboat in the morning, then beach-hop west to Playa Grandi for a swim with turtles. End the day with cliffside views at Playa Forti.

• Day 3: Pick your poison — boat to Klein Curaçao for a shipwreck/beach day, or hike Christoffel at dawn for panoramic views. Refuel with a cold batido (fruit shake) afterward.

Bottom line

Curaçao is the rare Caribbean island that blends UNESCO streets, world-class diving, and real cultural flavor — and you can actually book it without torching your points stash.

🏨 Hyatt’s 20% off points sale (better than it sounds)

On paper, a 20% discount on buying Hyatt points doesn’t sound like the deal of the century. But hear me out…

Because Hyatt points are so valuable, this sale is almost guaranteed to work in your favor if you use it strategically.

Take my upcoming trip to Krakow, Poland. I’m staying at the Hyatt Place Krakow, which costs about $136 per night in cash.

But the same night costs only 3,500 points.

And thanks to this sale, I can buy 4,000 points for just $83 — saving myself over $50 per night. That’s real cash staying in my pocket.

Of course, the best way to book Hyatt hotels is still by transferring Ultimate Rewards points after earning a big welcome offer (like the one on the Chase Sapphire Reserve® for 125,000 UR points 🤯). But if you don’t have a stash of points handy, this is a solid way to play the game.

And it’s not just budget hotels where this shines… let’s look at New York City.

The Hyatt Centric Wall Street often runs over $900 per night after taxes during peak travel season.

As a Category 5 hotel, it’ll never cost more than 23,000 points per night. With this sale, you could buy those points for about $478 — effectively cutting the price in half.

And during off-peak pricing nights, it’ll cost just 17,000 points, making this an even better tactic.

So what are you leaving on the table if you buy points instead of paying cash?

Not much, honestly. Hyatt doesn’t offer portal bonuses, and paid stays don’t earn many points anyway.

Plus, award nights still count toward Hyatt promos. For example, I have a targeted offer that gives me 10,000 bonus points for every five nights (including award nights) — which effectively adds a 2,000-point rebate per night.

This promo runs until October 6, 2025. Don’t sleep on it — because buying points here could actually be the cheapest way to sleep in a Hyatt bed.

⚽ Free Atmos Rewards points for watching soccer

If you live on the West Coast, there’s a new no-effort way to pad your Atmos Rewards balance (formerly Alaska Mileage Plan).

Alaska/Atmos has teamed up with local soccer teams — and here’s the kicker: For every goal these teams score at home this season, you’ll earn 100 Atmos points.

That’s it. No spending, no flying, no spreadsheets — just free points whenever your city’s team finds the back of the net. ⚽️

Here are the teams you can register for:

• Seattle Reign FC

• Portland Thorns

• LA Galaxy

• San Diego Wave

• SDFC

Eligibility terms:

• Your Atmos Rewards account address must be located within the team’s home city or within 75 miles of it.

• Each team has its own registration page, and you can sign up in 30 seconds to start collecting.

• Points are only awarded for regular-season home goals (not away games).

Why this matters: Atmos points are super valuable, especially for short flights — you can book trips for as few as 4,500 points one-way.

So even if your team has a good run and racks up 15 to 20 home goals, you’re already halfway toward a free flight for doing literally nothing. 🤷🏼‍♂️

🧳 7 travel essentials we can’t live without

I’ve survived overnight buses in Albania, 12-hour layovers in Tajikistan, and one unforgettable middle seat between two armrest hogs on Spirit.

The only reason I’m still here to tell the tale?

A carefully curated set of travel essentials that basically hold my sanity together. So in this week’s Daily Drop YouTube video, we’re sharing seven important travel items we truly can’t live without. 👇

That’s all for today, amigos. I hope you enjoyed this look at a cool place close to home, and a couple of ways to earn some of our favorite points currencies.

Take care and see you next time ✌️

6.1944° S, 106.8229° E

With contributions by Tiffany Eastham, McKay Moffitt, and Benji Stawski