🇪🇺 Wooh! Romania and Bulgaria are now officially part of the Schengen zone of Europe, meaning you don’t need to pass through immigration to enter from other Schengen countries. Read more here.
Good morning and welcome back to Daily Drop, your daily dose of all things points, miles, travel, cat memes, and more.
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Here’s what we’ve got today:
✈️ Award Drop: Business Class to Ireland
Another day, another excellent way to redeem your valuable points and miles for outsize value.
This time, you’re heading to Dublin, Ireland… in business class. 😎
Here is the summary:
Right now, there is a ton of business-class award availability on Aer Lingus between the U.S. and Dublin.
While there are a number of ways to book Aer Lingus with points, one way is way cheaper than the rest: Alaska Airlines MileagePlan.
For example, flying between Boston and Dublin in business class on Aer Lingus will only run you 45,000 Alaska miles.
As you can see, a round-trip ticket will only come with a reasonable cash expense of just over $70, which is great.
The nice part about this particular deal is that there is a LOT of availability…
These prices are available as early as May but continue all through July and August, and even some space in September.
August and July, in particular, are WIDE open, with basically every day of the month still available.
The reason for using Alaska miles here is that using other programs is much pricier…
For example, here is what it looks like if you run a search through British Airways or Aer Lingus itself using Avios. 👇
As you can see, you have to shell out 30,000 more points than with Alaska, along with hundreds more dollars in fees and surcharges.
In my opinion, using 120,000 Avios and paying a few hundred bucks to fly business class to Europe is still a decent deal, especially considering how much easier it is to get Avios than Alaska miles.
Speaking of which…
Here’s how you can get points into either of the two aforementioned programs:
Alaska Miles
Transfer points from Bilt Rewards
Spending on an Alaska credit card
Avios
Transfer points from any of the following programs:
As for possible routes you can take, there is great availability right now from various U.S. cities, with the following award pricing through Alaska Airlines:
Boston-Dublin (45k one-way, 90k round-trip)
Philadelphia-Dublin (45k one-way, 90k round-trip)
Chicago-Dublin (55k one-way, 110k round-trip)
Minneapolis-Dublin (55k one-way, 110k round-trip)
Booking through Alaska is as simple as going to their website, entering your destination and dates, and checking the box that says “Use Miles.”
On the resulting search page, you can also select “View by Calendar” in the top-right corner to view other date options.
Dublin is obviously a very popular destination for Americans, so this is a great chance to lock in some cheap business-class flights for your summer or fall getaway.
Even if you hate Dublin, this is a great way to get yourself across the Atlantic in style, then book a cheap Ryanair flight (since they’re based in Dublin) to somewhere else in Europe.
These seats will likely start to dwindle quickly, so I recommend you hop on this deal ASAP!
🏨 Hilton’s “Guest Gratitude” Promotion
I know there’s been a lot of hotel talk lately… but it’s not my fault…
It feels like every hotel program is really bringing their A-game in 2024, and I gotta say: I like to see it.
Hilton is exemplifying this trend by launching yet another promotion (sadly, this one is targeted) that offers a TON of value…
Here’s the deal:
If you’re eligible for this promotion, you’ll earn double points on all Hilton stays for four months…
What’s unique about this, however, is that the four-month clock doesn’t start until you register for the promotion, which you can do anytime before December 31st of this year.
So theoretically, you could register on December 31 and be earning double points one year from now.
The best part of this promo is that it also stacks with Hilton’s global promotion (open to everyone) to earn up to 2,500 points for every stay.
If you’re like me and have a hotel credit card like this one, your earnings would be… just ridiculous.
For example, let’s look at a single night at this hotel in Cancun, which costs $115 per night.
With both promotions and the aforementioned card, you’d earn the following points:
10x points for being a Hilton member: 1,150 points
14x points from using your card: 1,610 points
10x points for being Diamond Elite (which comes with the card): 1,150 points
10x bonus points from the “Double Points” promotion: 1,150 points
2,500 bonus points from the global promotion
Total: 7,560 points
For a $115 one-night stay, that is an amazing return on your spending.
Multiply that by longer stays or more expensive nights, and you can imagine how this stacking opportunity could really add up…
Anyway, it’s sad that this won’t be available to everyone… but definitely check your account (or click this link) to see if it’s available to you!
🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday
Which of these claimed the title of the world's busiest international airline route in 2023? |
Only Email Recipients can participate in polls. |
In 2023, the world's busiest international airline route was from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (KUL), to Singapore Changi (SIN), with a staggering 4.9 million seats flown.
And here is the top ten list:
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (KUL) to Singapore Changi (SIN): 4.9 million seats
Cairo, Egypt (CAI) to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (JED): 4.8 million seats
Hong Kong (HKG) to Taipei, Taiwan (TPE): 4.6 million seats
Seoul Incheon, Korea (ICN) to Osaka Kansai, Japan (KIX): 4.2 million seats
Seoul Incheon (ICN) to Tokyo Narita, Japan (NRT): 4.15 million seats
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (DBX) to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (RUH): 3.99 million seats
Jakarta, Indonesia (CGK) to Singapore Changi (SIN): 3.9 million seats
New York City (JFK) to London Heathrow (LHR): 3.88 million seats
Bangkok, Thailand (BKK) to Singapore Changi (SIN): 3.5 million seats
Bangkok (BKK) to Seoul Incheon (ICN): 3.4 million seats
This route, which ranked second four years prior, reclaimed its top position, proving the popularity of travel between these two Southeast Asian hubs.
(Photo courtesy of the OAG)
There were some shifts in this list from 2019, with notable newcomers like Cairo to Jeddah, Seoul to Osaka, and Dubai to Riyadh.
Also in this article was a top 10 list for the busiest flight routes in the United States in 2023.
And at the top -- Honolulu, Hawai‘i (HNL) to Kahului, Maui (OGG): 3.6 million seats!
Read more about the busiest airline routes in 2023 here.
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Wow, what a jam-packed newsletter, huh? Award deals, hotel stacking, and aviation fun facts… oh my.
I hope you enjoyed today’s installment of Daily Drop, and I look forward to seeing you first thing tomorrow. ❤️
