🤓 Trivia Tuesday: Can you name the famous tunnels in Vietnam that are secretly camouflaged and were defended during the Vietnam War? Keep reading to find out.
Howdy! Welcome back to Daily Drop, the newsletter that turns any frown upside down.
Well, not really… but it’ll turn it into a free trip, so you tell me which one is better.
Here’s what we got cooking today:
💳 Throwback… Tuesday: The magic of the reconsideration line
🏨 Hyatt, Marriott, and MGM: The hotel love triangle
🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday
💳 Throwback… Tuesday: The magic of the reconsideration line
Many moons ago, back when Daily Drop was but a wee young lass, I told you about an amazing travel hack that helps you turn credit card rejections into approvals.
Just a few days ago, I used this hack again, and it totally saved my butt…
There have been a TON of great credit card offers in recent months, and I’m sure this hack could really come in handy for some of you, so let’s dig it back up, shall we?
If you haven’t heard of this before, it’s one of the best tools in the credit card world. It essentially gives you a second shot at securing the credit card you want to get.
Getting rejected from a credit card application can come down to all sorts of reasons. But the common thread is that the decision is made by a computer algorithm.
The reconsideration line gives you the opportunity to have a real human look into your application and, more importantly, the chance for you to plead your case to them 🙏
After my application was denied, I received this email after spending just five minutes on the phone with the reconsideration specialist:
In our original article, I list out some specific, hands-on tactics for using this number, as well as some examples from my own personal experience when why my applications were denied, and how I turned them around.
So go check out the full article if you want a deep-dive on the reconsideration line, or you just want a quick refresher on one of the best tools in the travel credit card game 👇
🏨 Hyatt, Marriott, and MGM: The hotel love triangle
You may remember a few months ago when I shared a dank travel hack to get a FREE cruise just for status matching between a few programs.
That hack was largely made possible by the unique relationship between Hyatt and MGM (and you can read more about it here if you have no clue what I’m talking about).
Sadly, that opportunity has recently been cut off completely, and the relationship between Hyatt and MGM terminated 💔
The good news?
Just a few days after ditching Hyatt, MGM announced a new special relationship with… wait for it… MARRIOTT 😱
I know… drama…
This is actually important, so let me break down why you should care.
Hyatt’s partnership with MGM offered many amazing perks for anyone traveling to cities like Las Vegas, in addition to the obvious perks of the status match I told you about.
For example, you could book nights at hotels like the Excalibur in Vegas for only $32 a night (or less sometimes), which was a great way to rack up Hyatt elite nights and reach elite status.
With this partnership out of the way, this type of “mattress run” will only be possible until September 30th.
So if you want to rack up cheap elite nights or get Hyatt benefits in Vegas, you better do so before the end of the summer.
But…
There is a silver lining to this whole thing.
As of now, we don’t know what the new partnership with Marriott looks like, but I imagine it will look something like the previous Hyatt partnership, meaning you’ll be able to earn and redeem Marriott points at MGM properties.
This may sound like a downgrade, but I’m not SUPER upset about it…
I think that Marriott points are easy to come by, and the earning rates from staying at hotels are MUCH higher than Hyatt, making this a fairly valuable potential partnership.
This is also an example of where Marriott’s dynamic pricing model may be PREFERABLE over Hyatt’s award chart that we love and cherish.
You see, with Hyatt, the cost to book MGM properties with points was always high despite the low cost of the rooms.
In the example above, the 21,000 points you’d need to book this room are worth about $420, whereas the cash cost is only $149, which is terrible value for points.
With Marriott, we can probably expect much lower points pricing that reflects the low cash costs of the rooms.
So here’s the bottom line:
If you have any intention of using the current Hyatt/MGM partnership, you need to act quickly.
Keep your eyes peeled for more details about the Marriott relationship, which might be even more valuable.
🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday
Correct answer: Cu Chi Tunnels, Vietnam
Around 45,000 Vietnamese people died defending these tunnels during the war. They were built using a one-person passageway and entrance to get to the underground construction.
After 1975, their government preserved the tunnels by turning them into a war memorial park open to the public.
The tunnels really are amazing, and it’s hard to believe these underground passageways could support that many people. Now, the tunnels are known to reach about 250 kilometers... crazy!
Vietnam is one of my favorite countries on Earth, and I’d definitely love to check out these tunnels next time I swing by.
Read more about the history of the tunnels here.
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That’s all for today, friends!
I don’t know about you, but I LOVE using the reconsideration line… It’s such a great tool that people don’t often know about and can be super helpful!
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Take care, have a lovely day, and I’ll see you tomorrow morning 🥰
