Planning travel is proven to boost your mood

Marriott has recently launched its "Week of Wonders" promotion with a number of exciting offers. Some of them are pretty great and some of them are... well... meh.

This one falls somewhere in the middle of that spectrum.

Until October 15th, Marriott Homes & Villas is offering double points and double elite nights on stays of five nights or more. Here are some details:

• You must book your stays by October 15th, 2022
• Stays can take place through April 30th, 2023
• Stays must be 5 nights or more to qualify

So how many points will you earn, exactly?

Marriott Homes & Villas awards members a base rate of 5 points per dollar. Although this is much less than the rate of 10 points per dollar at Marriott Hotels, it's still worth considering, and here's why:

With this promo, you'll earn 10 points per dollar for stays that offer many benefits that hotels don't typically offer.

Marriott Homes & Villas is similar to Airbnb - you are renting out someone's home, which means you have a private space, kitchen, and the normal comforts of being in a home as opposed to a hotel.

The nice thing is that you can get those nice perks while still earning points AND elite night credits at Marriott, which can help propel you toward earning elite status... which then earns you even more points.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, the properties in this program are definitely on more of the "home" side than the "villa" side of things... and that's not a bad thing.

When I was in Athens last month I booked a 5-night stay at a Marriott Homes & Villas property to take advantage of their previous promo. The apartment I stayed in wasn't luxurious by any means, but only cost about $40 per night. Considering hotels in Athens were hovering around the $300/night range, this was an amazing deal for me, even without the promotion.

Since this promotion also offers double elite night credits, you'd earn a total of 10 Marriott Elite Nights for this 5-night stay, which already gets you to the lowest level of elite status.

Overall I think this promotion is definitely worth considering if you have any travels coming up that require 5 nights of accommodation.

I know, I know... Two Marriott promos in one email? It's a little much.

But it's worth it because Marriott Eat Around Town is offering 8x points on over 16,000 restaurants for ALL members until October 31st.

Let me refresh your memory on exactly what this program entails. Basically, you register your credit card(s) and Marriott Bonvoy number with Eat Around Town. Then whenever you dine at a participating restaurant, you'll earn a varying amount of Marriott Bonvoy points.

This is the easiest way to rack up free hotel nights just from dining normally.

To make things even better, you'll get 1,000 bonus points for every ten times you dine with restaurants in the program. 

Given the large footprint of restaurants participating in the program, I think this is a great offer. Combine this with the previous offer and you might find yourself with a nice fat stack of Bonvoy points in the near future.

Thankfully, using those Bonvoy points to book a trip is very important. That's because...

We all have bad days sometimes. It's just part of life.

In fact, yesterday was a little rough for me - I got shaken down by some corrupt transit workers in Budapest who took my metro ticket and forced me to pay a fine.

Outnumbered 3 to 1 and in a rush to catch a train to Bratislava, and after I realized they weren't going to budge, I just reluctantly paid the fine... though I have a trick up my sleeve to get my money back... more on that in a future newsletter.

Anyway, I was in a pretty bad mood for most of the day. But there's something about travel that makes it hard to stay upset for too long.

Immediately after getting on the train, I had some complicated bookings to make for the India leg of my trip (it's gonna be pretty crazy). Looking at the different airlines, hotels, and activities, and thinking about the new cities I would see in just a few short weeks really just boosted my mood immediately. 

As it turns out, that's quite common.

In a 2013 World Tourism & Travel Council study, 80% of participants said that travel improves their general mood and outlook on life. 75% of them also said that travel helps to reduce stress.

And I'm not just talking about sitting on the beach in Cancun sipping piña coladas and getting caught in the rain. In fact, studies have shown that most of the happiness related to travel occurs both before and after the trip itself. The anticipation of the trip, the sense of wonder, and the thought of seeing something new all have a profound effect on our mental well-being.

Of course, the trip itself also has similar effects on us. Experiencing new cultures, dealing with language barriers, and the novelty that comes with travel all make our brains work in healthy ways.

What I'm trying to say is this: when you're having a bad day, spend some time thinking about a trip you have coming up or a trip you'd really like to have. Then read the Daily Drop to learn how to make it a reality 🙂

That's all for today, friends.

Are you going to use these promos to rack up some serious Bonvoy points? Have you ever had a travel mishap like I did yesterday? Let me know by replying to this email or reaching out on social media.

Have a great day and I'll see you tomorrow,

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