A weird 25% transfer bonus

Howdy from sunny and beautiful Hainan, China! 🇨🇳

In case you aren’t aware, this hidden gem of a destination allows Americans (and 58 other nationalities) to enter and travel anywhere in the province without a visa for a full month!

But onto the important stuff:

• 🔄 A weird 25% transfer bonus

• ✈️ Act fast: 40% off Breeze Airways Fall Sale

• 🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday

🔄 A weird 25% transfer bonus

We’ve been seeing a lot of transfer bonuses floating around recently, but one of these bonuses is not like the rest…

That’s because it involves a program that we rarely talk about and many of you likely haven’t heard of.

I’m talking, of course, about Leading Hotels of the World, which currently has a 25% transfer bonus from ThankYou Points.

When you first see that image above, you might want to gloss right over this opportunity.

We’re used to seeing programs transfer at a 1:1 ratio or even a 1:2 ratio with some programs.

Seeing 1,000 points turn into 250 points (including the transfer bonus) might seem like a terrible idea.

But it’s not. Not at all. In fact, it’s pretty good.

I found some pretty solid options for hotel nights both in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world that would actually be worthwhile with this effective 4:1 transfer ratio, in my opinion.

For example, this nice beach hotel in Malibu, California, costs just over 8,000 LHW points per night.

That means that with the current bonus, you’d shell out 34,000 ThankYou points to book one night.

Personally, that’s more points than I usually spend on a hotel night, but it’s also not far off from redemption rates with other programs like Marriott, IHG, and Hilton for top-tier hotels like this one.

Plus, I found even better deals in an equally exciting city like Dublin, Ireland, which has multiple properties for only around 5,000 LHW points per night, or 20,000 ThankYou Points with this bonus.

20,000 points for a nice hotel right on the river in Dublin is a great deal and WELL worth that transfer ratio.

But the program gets even better…

You see, when you become a member of LHW (which, like most programs, is totally free to sign up for), you get some nice perks when booking hotels with them, such as:

• Free room upgrades

• Continental breakfast for two

• Late checkout (when available)

• Members-only room pricing

This is a great way to get extra value and perks without needing any elite status, and it makes the points even more exciting and valuable.

So here’s the bottom line:

The 4:1 transfer ratio might look scary, but that’s just the way their currency works, and the opportunity can definitely be a worthwhile and valuable way to use your ThankYou Points.

✈️ Act fast: 40% off Breeze Airways Fall Sale

Breeze Airways is a low-cost carrier that often provides routes to smaller and mid-size airports—typically areas that are underserved by larger airlines.

Take a peek at their (pretty decent) network 👇

And right now, they’re offering a Fall Sale where you can get 40% off flights!

The catch? You must book by TODAY, September 24, 2024 (11:59 PM PST) 🥵

If you’ve been perusing some routes and think a last-minute booking will work for you, here are some additional details:

• Use promo code BOOKIT at checkout to score your discount

• Discounted flights are eligible for travel between September 30, 2024 - February 4, 2025 🙌

• There are some blackout dates, which you can view here

I know these last-minute bookings may not work for many, but sometimes, they can be the very thing that gets you the best deal 😎

This is especially helpful if you do live near a smaller airport that isn’t serviced by other airlines and are hoping to travel sometime before February 4th next year.

Just keep in mind that these low-cost carriers will impose other fees for things like additional baggage and seat selection.

But overall, getting 40% off your flight feels pretty good if you can make it work for you.

🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday

The correct answer is… Air France and KLM Flying Blue! ✈️

Flying Blue takes the top spot globally for airline reward programs, according to a detailed report from Point.me. I personally love Flying Blue and think it gets better and better every year.

If you are a Daily Drop loyalist, then you know Flying Blue often offers monthly 15,000-mile reward flights between North America and Europe, which is one of the best regular sweet spots in the biz.

They also have reasonable rates with other partner airlines, of which there are many.

Point.me’s rankings are based on factors like redemption rates, customer service, and change fees, and they compiled data from over 55 experts to rank 62 airlines worldwide.

U.S.-based airlines, unsurprisingly, didn’t fare as well… 😬

Frontier and Spirit Airlines had some of the lowest scores, with Delta’s SkyMiles also underperforming despite its large user base.

Curious to see how your favorite airline stacks up? Check out the full report and see which programs are worth your loyalty!

Well this is a fun one from the Daily Drop Lounge for all you Swifties out there.

Who would have thought that you’d see a deal like this come through just by holding a card that earns Capital One miles!

We love to see travel wins like this one… especially when you can stack redemptions from multiple programs 😍

The world of miles and points is a fun one, eh? If you want to see more travel wins like this or share your own, head on over and join us in our Facebook community—the Daily Drop Lounge.

That’s all for today, folks!

I think this transfer bonus to LHW is a great example of why you shouldn’t get stuck in too small of a box with the popular programs…

Booking independent hotels and using more obscure programs like this one are excellent ways to get value for your points while still getting tasty perks.

Anyway, tune in tomorrow, and I’ll tell you about one of my favorite airline program sweet spots. 🤘🏼

再见,

20.0442° N, 110.1999° E