Earn 25k bonus points with this mattress run

Good morning, and welcome back to Daily Drop, the only travel guide you’ll ever need (but don’t quote me on that when you get lost in the woods in Albania or something).

We’ve got a few good opportunities on the docket for today, so let’s jump in:

• 🏨 Earn an easy 25k Marriott points

• ✈️ Save $300 on Qatar Airways

• 🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday

🏨 Earn an easy 25k Marriott points

Have you ever heard of “Vacations by Marriott?”

I haven’t.

At least, I hadn’t until a few days ago when they dropped a sweet offer to earn 25,000 bonus points, which could prove to be super lucrative.

But first, let’s talk about what Vacations by Marriott is.

Basically, it’s a mini travel agency where you can book packages that combine car rentals, flights, and, of course, Marriott hotels.

You can book various combinations that include a hotel and car, hotel and flights, or all three.

And until tomorrow, Marriott will throw in 25,000 bonus points when you book a package.

Here are the deets:

• You must book one of the combinations I mentioned above (car, flights, hotel)

• The stay must be at least four nights

• You must book by tomorrow night

• Travel must take place by December 31st, 2024

Overall, this could be an excellent deal.

For example, I have a mini-trip planned to Kuala Lumpur in October.

I looked up a Marriott package from Jakarta to Kuala Lumpur (flights and hotel for five nights) and found some great deals:

After looking up the flights, I found that the cost is only a few bucks more than if I were to book the hotels and flights individually on my own.

Those extra few bucks are WELL worth the 25,000 bonus points I will get in exchange.

But even if you want to book a trip in the U.S., there are some pretty reasonable deals.

For example, this package from Washington, D.C., to New York only costs $521.

For round-trip flights and five nights in the NYC area, that’s not a bad deal at all, even before the bonus points.

Marriott points are worth just under a penny each (usually), so the 25k points are worth almost $250.

Between the bonus points and the points earned from your stay, you’d have enough to book a night at a Ritz-Carlton hotel like this one:

Or you could get crazy and book FIVE nights at a hotel like this one:

Buy five, get five free sounds pretty good to me.

So crunch the numbers for yourself to see if you could take advantage of this deal and if 25,000 bonus points could help you out for a stay down the road.

If you do end up booking one of these packages, make sure you use a co-branded credit card to maximize your points earnings even further.

✈️ Save $300 on Qatar Airways

I love a good merchant offer (from the bank that is home to MR points), and I saw this particular deal come through on both this premium metal card AND its golden sibling 👇

Now, spending $2,000 on airfare is obviously no cheap feat, but if you’ve got a flight in mind, getting $300 off your purchase feels like a nice win.

Here are some things to be aware of with this deal:

• These offers can be targeted, so you’ll need to check your card’s account to see if you find this deal in there!

• You must book your flights by September 23, 2024

• Flights need to be booked online on Qatar’s website or through their mobile app

• Purchase must be made in USD

• Flights need to originate from the U.S.

Qatar Airways is one of the best airlines in the world. They’re particularly known for their drool-worthy Qsuite business class seats 🤤

I’d personally prefer to use my points to book a seat like that, but this cash offer works swimmingly if perhaps you need a positioning flight, like these ones from New York and Miami to Doha 👇

And maybe that positioning flight is in preparation to then board your Qsuites flight somewhere 😏

Or, hell. Maybe you just what to BALL OUT and pay cash for one of the best business class flights of your life.

There are many ways to spin it.

But if you DO find this deal in your account, and you DO want to book a cash flight, make sure you’re using a card that will get you a ton of points for booking directly with an airline…

Like this one that offers 5x per dollar, or this one which still gets you a modest 3x.

I feel like these merchant offers are easy to forget about, and many of them slip away, going unnoticed by the masses.

So all I have left to say is… go check your accounts!

🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday

The correct answer is... The Luxury Collection!

The Luxury Collection, part of Marriott, has been ranked as the top luxury property brand in the latest North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index from J.D. Power.

This prestigious brand includes popular hotels such as The Phoenician in Scottsdale, The Gwen in Chicago, and the Hotel Imperial in Vienna.

Despite rising prices, overall satisfaction in the luxury and upper upscale hotel categories has remained steady or even increased, according to the report.

The index, built from nearly 40,000 guest surveys between May 2023 and May 2024, focuses on guest room quality, hotel staff, and value.

Other highly ranked brands in various categories included Hyatt House, Staybridge Suites, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Drury Hotels, and Home2 Suites.

With post-pandemic travel prices still high, guests are taking fewer trips but staying longer, putting more emphasis on the quality and service of the hotel stay.

Read more about the rankings here.

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That’s all for today, folks! I hope you enjoyed another jam-packed newsletter of travel content and trivia.

I’m off to catch my train to another central Java city as I prep for my upcoming trip, but don’t worry - I’ll be back first thing tomorrow with some more good stuff for you.

Bye-bye for now,

7.8014° S, 110.3648° E