The card with a secret signup bonus...maybe

Good morning from the United Club at Newark Airport! That’s right, kids - I’m actually in America. But just for a night between flights…

Because I have elite status with Air Canada, I get into the United lounges even when flying economy. This is another great example of how powerful elite status can be.

Speaking of elite status, we’ve got some completely unrelated hacks to tell you about today:

• 💳 This card has a secret signup bonus… maybe

• 💰 Another incredible Air France/KLM promo

• 🖼️ Meme

• 🎙️ Podcast: How to earn a million Marriott Points

💳 This card has a secret signup bonus… maybe

There’s a credit card that we LOVE here at Daily Drop. It’s the Bilt Mastercard®. We talk about it a lot, but for some reason, a lot of you don’t love it.

And I think I know why…

It’s because there’s no signup bonus. But I have news for you…

You MIGHT be wrong about that. 🤫

Here’s what I mean…

When you sign up for the Bilt card, there is a big chance that you will get a very special email that looks like this:

That’s right, folks. Many cardholders can get 5x points in the first five days of receiving their Bilt card, which is actually quite powerful.

We’ve talked about getting strategic before when it comes to signup bonuses.

For example, if you have some big purchases to make anyway, you sign up for a credit card and meet the minimum spend without breaking a sweat.

With the Bilt card, you can use the same strategy.

Let’s say you need to book some flights for you and your hubby, and hotels in Europe for a trip.

Boom. If you had a trip like this planned already and simply put the expenses on your new Bilt card, you’re earning 10,625 points right off the bat with the 5x bonus.

Let’s say you also need to fill up the car with gas, buy groceries, or buy a new refrigerator.

You can consolidate ALL of those things into a 5-day period and get 5x points on all of it.

Or maybe you’re getting married and have a ton of wedding expenses like our community manager Megan did recently (mazel tov, by the way).

She opened the Bilt card prior to making her wedding purchases so she could rack up tens of thousands of points, which she could then use to book a honeymoon or two by transferring them to airline and hotel partners.

There are a couple of pieces of fine print with this (not) signup bonus, however…

1. It is not guaranteed. We reached out to Bilt, and it sounds like it’s pretty much up the roll of the dice as to who gets this signup bonus. Having said that, most people get it. But you might not.

2. Rent does not count toward the 5x. Still, if you can get strategic to be able to put your rent on the card AND get the 5x bonus points, you’re still doing well points-wise.

Overall, this is great. The Bilt card is amazing, and Bilt points are arguably the most valuable of all the programs.

Combined with Bilt’s Rent Day promotions and the $0 annual fee, it’s really hard to justify NOT getting this card if you live in the U.S., especially if you rent.

FYI, we also have a go-to guide for the Bilt Rewards program. If you’re new here or just want to get to know Bilt a bit better, check it out:

💰 Another incredible Air France/KLM promo

As if Air France and KLM haven’t blessed us enough recently with their October promos, we’ve got another treat for you all—but it is targeted, meaning not everyone may receive it.

But if you hold this shiny metal card, check your account offers right meow to see if you have this incredible deal sitting inside 👇

We’ve seen a similar offer like this in the past, and getting 20,000 MR points for a $1,000 flight is just BONKERS.

Plus, since this offer is seen most commonly on this card, remember that you’d also score 5x MR points per dollar spent on a flight booked directly with the airline.

So if you spent that $1,000 on KLM to head to Amsterdam, for example, not only would you be rewarded with 20,000 MR points, but you’d also rack up an additional 5,000 points ($1,000 × 5 MR points) just by using that card to book your flight 🤯

25,000 MR points are enough to essentially book another award flight across the Atlantic for a future trip 👇

It’s also enough to zip around Europe a bunch of times if you’re already over there—Amsterdam to Milan, Munich to London—the possibilities are endless.

Here are the main terms and conditions to be aware of:

• Flight must be booked directly through Air France or KLM

• Flight must originate in the U.S. and be charged in USD

• You need to book your ticket by December 1, 2023, but travel can take place after that

This is such a good deal, that it’s likely this offer will quickly reach its enrollment cap… so if you see it hanging out in your account, scoop it up and add it to your card before it disappears!

🖼️ Meme

🎙 Daily Drop Podcast: Episode 2

We’ve officially published EPISODE 2 of the Daily Drop Podcast. 

This week, we talk about how to earn one million Marriott Bonvoy points, update you on some crazy travel stories, and talk about status-matching opportunities.

As I said last week, this is still pretty new for us. So please send us your thoughts, ideas, and feedback to podcast@dailydrop.com so we can keep getting better. 😁

You can use the same email to send us questions you want us to address in a future podcast episode.

So hurry up and go find the podcast on all of the major apps.

Oh… and I’m not supposed to tell you this, but we might be putting out some special bonus episodes too… 😉

That’s all for today, friends! Next time you hear from me, I’ll be back home in Toronto after 49 days around the world.

And I definitely plan on staying put for a while.

Do you have any upcoming travel plans? Have I convinced you to get the Bilt card yet? Let me know by replying to this email or reaching out on social media.

Take care ❤️

40.6895° N, 74.1745° W