🇶🇦 Absolute boss: The CEO of Qatar Airways apparently spends his weekends walking around Doha airport helping random passengers in need. Read this article for one example of how he connects with his passengers.
Good morning from beautiful and chilly Chikole, Indonesia!
It has been a CRAZY busy weekend in the travel world. So, without wasting more time, I will attempt to fill you in on all of the wonderful updates:
✈️ Virgin Atlantic 40% award sale (today only)
Virgin Atlantic is an excellent airline. Not just because of their great planes, lounges, and service - but because they’re always offering ways to save money and points on their flights.
The latest opportunity is a 40% discount on award flights, which ends TODAY!
Here are the details:
Save 40% on every Virgin Atlantic flight in every class of service (i.e. economy, premium, business)
You must book your flights by TODAY
Valid for travel through December 31st, 2024
That’s it. Extremely generous, very few restrictions, but a tight booking window…
Given how easy it is to transfer points from various banks, this is a no-brainer.
For example, you can fly from the U.S. to London for only… wait for it… 6,000 Virgin Atlantic miles… 🤯
If you wanted to fly in style, you could even book BUSINESS class in a freaking BED on the same route for as few as 28,500 miles.
But beware: Flying Virgin business class to the U.K. will incur a massive cash cost of over $1,000 in taxes and fees, which largely offsets the benefits of booking with points.
For example, you can fly one-way in business class from New York to London this summer for the same cash price without using any points…
Still, flying in economy or premium economy offers excellent value here, considering you’ll get to fly on a world-class airline like Virgin.
And don’t forget that Virgin flies to more places than just the U.S.…
I’m eyeing this flight from Bengaluru to London early next month, which now looks VERY appealing.
22,500 miles and about $350 in cash fees for an 11-hour business-class flight is certainly a bargain!
So here’s the bottom line…
Virgin is offering an amazing way to save points on flights all over the world.
So, if you’re a Virgin fan and have some travel plans before the end of December, I’d consider hopping on this deal… just make sure you do it today. 😉
🇺🇸 Flying Blue status match for U.S. residents (yay)
Last month, I told you about a status match that Flying Blue was offering for Canadian and European residents.
It was truly a sad day for America.
But Flying Blue heard our cries and is now offering an equally good status match for ‘Merica. 👇
Here is how it works:
If you have elite status with any of the airlines on this list (which includes United, American, JetBlue, Alaska, Air Canada, and more), you can match to a corresponding tier of Flying Blue status for a period of 12 months.
Given the huge list of eligible airlines, I reckon many of you will be eligible here.
If eligible, you will have to pay a fee (😭) based on which tier you match to. Here is what that looks like:
$99 for Silver Status
$299 for Gold Status
Sadly, they do not allow U.S. residents to match to Platinum status (likely because of the high number of top-tier airline elites in the U.S.).
Still, Gold status comes with some pretty sweet benefits like:
Free checked bags
Access to SkyTeam lounges worldwide
Free seat selection
Priority airport security, boarding, etc.
Extra mileage earnings
This is especially exciting for Delta fliers who don’t currently have elite status with Delta.
Since Delta is a member of the SkyTeam alliance, Flying Blue Gold status will get you access to Delta lounges (which even some Delta elites and cardholders don’t get…) and extra checked bags, both of which could easily pay for the price of this status match.
Anyway, this match is being offered in partnership with a company called StatusMatch, and you can check it out and apply on this website.
🏨 30-night hotel pass for $499
We’ve covered some really epic airline deals today… but airlines are BORING.
You know what’s not boring? HOTELS.
And an unsuspecting hotel chain has just come out with a ridiculous chance to book hotels for $16 per night…
That’s right, folks. Wyndham is offering the chance to buy a 30-night hotel pass for just $499.
In terms of the pass itself, there really aren’t many restrictions. The big catch here is that they will only sell 25 of these passes in total…
Thankfully, they have a system to give everyone a shot at buying one.
All you need to do is click this link, fill out the registration form by July 4th, 2024, and wait.
Starting on July 8th, they’ll begin drawing winners and notifying them by email.
If you’re selected, you’ll have 48 hours to respond and purchase the pass for $499… so make sure you keep an eye on your email (more than you already do because of Daily Drop 😉).
Now, onto the fun part… the terms and conditions. Here is how this pass works:
You’ll be allowed to book 30 cumulative nights through the end of September.
Each stay can be anywhere from one night to ten nights at a time.
You CAN book multiple rooms at the same hotel on the same night for friends or family, but each room will count as a “Pass Night.”
To use your Pass Nights, you will have a dedicated Pass Concierge who will assist with booking.
Not every Wyndham property in the world is eligible, but most are - more than 9,200, in fact.
Blackout dates apply to certain Caesar’s and resort properties.
Pass Nights do not earn points or count toward elite status.
Only U.S. residents are eligible for this promotion (sorry, world).
So, look…
If you’re lucky enough to be selected for this deal, you can book hotels all around the world for less than $17 per night, which is insane, given that the stay period is the summer high season.
For example, a 10-night stay at this hotel in Dubai would normally run you $1,490.
With this pass, you’d use 1/3 of your allotted nights for a rough cost of $166…
That means you’re saving over $1,300 on this stay and still have twenty nights left over.
So here’s the bottom line:
Every U.S. traveler should register now. Winning this pass is a fantastic opportunity to save money while traveling around the U.S. or abroad.
If one of you wins, please reach out and let me know… and if you want to share a few Pass Nights with me, I won’t argue with you. 🤗
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Phew… we managed to cover three excellent travel opportunities in less than five minutes! Wooh!
I hope you enjoyed today’s newsletter, and I look forward to seeing you tomorrow for even more good travel stuff.
Byeeeeeeee,
