✈️ Delta is revamping its boarding process! Starting May 1, they'll introduce a number-based system for zones, aiming to enhance boarding clarity. The actual boarding order remains unchanged. Read more about it here.
Howdy, and welcome back to Daily Drop, the Sam to your Frodo - we always have your back when it comes to travel.
Speaking of travel…
✈️ United MilePlay offers are being sent out
Every once in a blue moon, United has what they call a “MilePlay” promotion.
Basically, some United members will receive targeted offers to earn varying amounts of bonus points.
And this past weekend, they sent out a round of these offers, some of which are pretty good.
Personally, I received an offer to earn 7,500 bonus United miles after completing two qualifying flights.
A “qualifying flight” means any cash ticket (one-way or round-trip) with a base fare of $200 or more.
Generally speaking, this seems to be the most popular type of offer people have been receiving, though the requirements (and rewards) vary.
I’ve seen people with offers for more than 10,000 miles and offers where the qualifying flight cost is slightly higher than $200.
Overall, I think this is great!
Even 7,500 United miles might be more valuable than you think at first glance.
For example, I’ll be traveling to Brunei from Singapore later this year, and I noticed that flights back to Singapore are quite expensive, ranging from $200-300 USD one-way…
However, since Singapore Airlines is a Star Alliance member, you can book the same exact flight any day of the week for just 8,800 United miles and a few bucks in taxes.
That means that those 8,800 United miles are yielding a value of about 2.5 cents each, which is great.
So whether you’re flying domestically on United or some obscure corner of the globe on a partner airline, United miles can really come in handy!
I personally already have a United flight booked with cash for next week, so I’ll be canceling and rebooking so it qualifies for this offer.
If you want to see if you have any offers like this for the MilePlay promotion, just click this link, enter your United membership number, and register for any available offers.
Good luck, and I hope you rack up some valuable United miles!
🇬🇧 Virgin Atlantic status match
If you were upset by last week’s status match to British Airways because you’re more of a Virgin Atlantic kind of gal, then I’ve got great news for you…
Virgin Atlantic is now also offering a status match, though it differs from the aforementioned one in terms of its value and difficulty of obtaining.
Check it out:
Virgin will offer either Silver or Gold elite status to elite members of a variety of different airline programs.
However, to match elite status, you’ll need to do more than prove your status in one of these other programs…
You’ll also need to have a flight booked via Virgin Atlantic. I say “booked via” Virgin Atlantic because award flights also count, even if you fly with a partner airline (yay).
If you want to match to Silver status, that flight can be economy. But if you want to match to Gold status, it will need to be in premium economy or business class.
But let’s take a step back for a sec…
Here is the list of airline programs and equivalent statuses you can match from:
As you can see, that’s quite a hefty list and includes programs both in the U.S. and abroad.
All you need to do to take advantage of this opportunity is go to this status match page, fill out the forms, attach proof of your existing status, and wait to hear back from Virgin about it.
If you are eligible based on the requirements I mentioned earlier, you’ll be granted status 72 hours before your flight, and the status will last for 12 months.
Virgin Atlantic is a very popular airline (and rewards program), so I suspect plenty of you have flights already booked that could qualify you for this match.
Having top-tier status with Virgin gives you some really nice perks, even when flying economy.
So if you are a big Virgin fan, now’s your chance to take your fandom to the next level.
🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday
🚂 Which European luxury train route will venture to Italy's Ligurian coast for the first time in June 2024? |
Only Email Recipients can participate in polls. |
I’ll give you a hint… it looks like this:
That’s right, folks, the correct answer is The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express.
She's back – and better than ever! In June 2024, the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express will embark on a historic journey to Italy's Ligurian coast, departing from Paris and heading to Portofino over a two-day trip.
This iconic luxury train route (known for its bougie-ness) will be selling tickets at a hefty price of $8,500 for a one-way ticket.
So, in honor of this new route, here are some fun facts about the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express (or VSOE):
Back in the day, there was the regular Orient Express chugging between Paris and Bucharest, but that's old news since the VSOE came along
The train was started in 1982 by James Sherwood, who snagged original carriages at an auction
It doesn't stick to just one route -- From London, it zips through Paris, Milan, and Venice. Plus, it swings by Zürich, Innsbruck, and Verona (pretty much offering a tour of Europe)
The VSOE is also very much about "it's not the destination but the journey" since they offer some pretty luxurious Grand Suites, Suites, and Historic Cabins... which they should, considering the tickets could pay off college loans... but I digress.
So, if you're up for an adventure in old-school glam, maybe check out VSOE's new route, which you can read more about here.
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That’s all for today, my beautiful readers. This week is already off to an exciting start, eh?
Make sure you stay tuned, though… because we’ve got transfer bonuses, tips for flying first and business class, and much more coming at you before the weekend.
Take care, have a lovely day, and I’ll see you tomorrow ❤️
