Red Alert: The best $5 travel deal in history

Good morning from Toronto, the city that, unlike most of North America, is already in full-blown winter. And I’m sad about it.

Thankfully, this newsletter should completely change the mood:

• 🚨 Red Alert: The best $5 travel deal in history

• ✈️ Surprise 15% transfer bonus to…

• 🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday

🚨 Red Alert: The best $5 travel deal in history

Alright. I know I talk a lot about how I’m going to “blow your mind” with travel hacks and deals.

But today, I REALLY mean it…

That’s because right now, you can get an EPIC package of merch, a shot at winning the trip of a lifetime, and a full year of low-cost flight deals…

… for $5. 🤯

The stars have aligned and for TODAY ONLY, you can take advantage of stacking multiple promotions to unlock this deal, which is broken down into three components:

• FareDrop’s Black Friday Sale

• Rakuten elevated cash back (today only)

• Rakuten new member signup bonus (ending soon)

Again, today is the ONLY day that all three of these things overlap. So pay attention. 👨‍🏫

As you know, FareDrop has a Black Friday sale going on, which I’ll list out the details for below:

• Sign up for an annual Pro Membership for just $49.50

• Get a free airport t-shirt

• Get a FREE Lonely Planet eBook

• Get an automatic entry into our Maldives Giveaway

First of all… this is an insane deal. I personally LOVE my airport t-shirt. I rock it all the time around the world to represent my home airport. With this deal, you’ll also get one of these snazzy tees.

And that’s on top of an already-valuable FareDrop membership.

I remember back in 2019 when I was a FareDrop customer (LONG before I ever became part of the team), I snagged round-trip flights from New York to Madrid for $225…

And that’s just one example (of many) of how FareDrop can save you hundreds or thousands of dollars on flights.

But if that $49 price tag is still a bit steep for you, hold my beer.

TODAY ONLY, you can get 10% cash back on a bunch of different retailers on Rakuten.

The list of retailers includes travel sites like Orbitz, Travelocity, and… you guessed it… FareDrop.

That means that the $49.50 price tag is now down to a slightly more palatable $44.55.

Not bad, not bad. But we can do better… 😏

If you use our referral link to sign up for Rakuten right now, you can get a $40 bonus after you make a purchase of at least $40.

Wait a minute… does that mean… Oh my god… 😧

Yep. When you make your $44.55 FareDrop purchase, you’ll get $40 back.

So your net cost for a full year of flight deals, a t-shirt, a Lonely Planet eBook, and an entry into our Maldives giveaway will shake out to just $4.55.

That’s INSANE. I pay more than that for my delicious morning cup of Tim Horton’s coffee (not sponsored, but open to it 🤗).

Four dollars is basically nothing for what you’re getting here… Any one of the items that you get individually would be worth that price, let alone all of them together…

Instead of walking you through the exact specifics of how to do this, I’m going to hand things over to our Community Manager Megan, who made a very short video walking you through every single step (with screenshots) of how to take advantage of this exact deal. 👇

So do yourself (and me) a favor:

Support your favorite travel newsletter by taking five minutes and spending five dollars, and you’ll get some amazing value in the process.

If I see you rocking your airport t-shirt in person in an airport somewhere, I’ll buy you a beer. And I’m not kidding. I’ve done it before. And I’ll do it again.

FYI so you don’t yell at me - FareDrop does charge tax in some states, so your purchase might be a few bucks more than $4. I still think the deal is great.

✈️ Surprise 15% transfer bonus to…

For a short time, you can get a 15% bonus when you transfer MR Points to Avianca LifeMiles.

Now your first question might be…

Well, LifeMiles are the award currency for Avianca, one of the largest Star Alliance carriers and a major airline based in Colombia.

Your second question might be,

And the answer might surprise you…

LifeMiles are actually a GREAT currency to use for booking flights all over the world, including on airlines like United, Air Canada, Lufthansa, and more.

In fact, Avianca often sells Star Alliance flights for fewer miles than other popular programs like United and Aeroplan…

For example, you can fly nonstop from New York to Frankfurt on Lufthansa for just 24,000 LifeMiles.

Booking the same exact flight on the same exact date through Aeroplan would run you 35,000 points, and United charges 44,000 miles…

As you can see, these rates are already pretty desirable… throw in this 15% transfer bonus from MR Points, and we’re cooking with gas. 🔥

Even booking domestic flights in the U.S. is pretty solid with Avianca.

For example, this flight from Seattle to Los Angeles (flying on United) only costs 10,000 LifeMiles. Booking the same flight on United costs 9,700 United miles.

With the current transfer bonus, LifeMiles comes out ahead of United on their own flights…

So here’s my point:

Don’t write off this transfer bonus or LifeMiles as a program. If you play your (credit) cards right, you could save a TON of miles on Star Alliance awards.

And one final piece of fine print:

This bonus is offered by Avianca, not the bank in question. So when you log into your bank account, you won’t see the 15% bonus advertised.

However, Avianca has confirmed that this bonus is valid, and they will be the ones awarding the 15% bonus points after the transfer goes through.

🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday

In what year was the first ever recorded December holiday market? I’ll give you a hint… it took place in Vienna.

I’ll give you a sec to think about it…

Correct answer: 1296

Damn… that OLD.

In the festive realm of Christmas markets, the roots trace back to Vienna in 1296 when Duke Albrecht I authorized 14-day fairs in December.

While these gatherings weren't initially tied to Christmas, they still led to the modern holiday market. The tradition evolved over the centuries, reaching its golden age in the 19th century.

But, it faced challenges. The Nazis reappropriated Christmas markets in the 1930s, turning them into propaganda symbols. Thankfully, after World War II, markets experienced a resurgence, becoming global phenomena.

Today, they attract visitors worldwide, each market offering a unique blend of tradition and modern flair. From Vienna to Shanghai, these markets continue to captivate with their festive charm, creating global recognition rooted in a rich history.

CNN recently wrote up a ranked holiday market list that I found super interesting. You can read more about it here.

Obviously, today is “Travel Tuesday.” Sadly, many of the deals of the day won’t be announced until after I write this newsletter…

Thankfully, you can come join us over in the Daily Drop Lounge, where we’ll be posting some of the last-minute travel deals that pop up today.

Even if you hate good travel deals, the lounge is just a fun place to hang out with fellow travel nerds like me.

So come join us:

Well that was a doozy, huh?

I don’t know about you, but I think our FareDrop stack might just be the best Travel Tuesday deal this year.

Take care and I’ll see you tomorrow for hump day ❤️

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