The easiest hotel status match ever

Hey there, friends. Welcome back to Daily Drop, the Japanese high-speed rail of newsletters.

We are on time EVERY day without being even a minute late, or your money back. 😉

Here’s what I’ve got for you today:

• ✈️ Fly to Europe in business class… with CASH

• 🏨 The easiest hotel status match ever

• 🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday

✈️ Fly to Europe in business class… with CASH

Flying in business class is one of the big reasons that many people want to get in the points and miles game.

It allows us to experience something that would otherwise cost a lot of money, which most of us could never afford.

But every once in a while, there’s a way to experience the luxury of business class without any points, miles, or fuss.

And right now, La Compagnie is offering cheap round-trip business-class flights to Europe to celebrate its 10th anniversary.

Here is the deal:

• You must book your flights by July 21st, 2024

• Travel can take place through March 31st, 2025 (wow)

• Valid for flights from New York (EWR) to Paris (ORY)

• The round-trip will cost $2,000 on available dates

Okay, so I think this is fantastic, and I’ll tell you why:

Not only is $2,000 a solid price for round-trip flights between the U.S. and Europe (keep in mind that some airlines charge more than that in taxes and fees when booking flights with points 🤯), but La Compagnie actually looks like a really nice experience.

In addition to having fully lie-flat beds, there are other perks that make this sound pretty appealing.

For example, they also offer free, unlimited wifi and claim to have some pretty awe-inspiring meals on board that reflect the season and destination.

Here’s what else I like about this offer…

It’s so damn simple.

We can spend hours toiling over credit cards, points, miles, transfer partners, award availability, etc., which, as I said, often STILL comes with some cash cost.

Or, you can spend one minute on La Companie’s website, book a perfectly solid ticket, and forget the fuss.

I spend a lot of time on airline websites, and even I was surprised by how simple and pleasant the booking experience was here.

To make things better, you can book tickets through the end of March 2025… which is a HUGE window.

So whether you want to go to the Olympics this summer, head to the Christmas markets, or even go to Europe on next year’s Spring Break, this deal has you covered with plenty of availability.

So here’s the bottom line:

I’ve come to appreciate the value of simplicity when it comes to travel deals.

If I can save a ton of points, get a solid price, and save the most precious resource of all (time) in the process, I’m all for it. 🤷🏼‍♂️

🏨 The easiest hotel status match ever

Status matches and status challenges are by far the easiest way to turn your loyalty with one program into loyalty with… well… MANY programs.

Personally, I’ve done quite a few of them this year.

But I just came across one that has piqued my interest, and I find it to be VERY exciting… 😏

This time, our guest star is none other than Choice Privileges.

We talk about Choice every once in a while, usually when there’s a decent promo or something.

But you know what would make me care a lot more about them?

Having top-tier Diamond elite status and all of the tasty perks that come with it, like the following:

Thankfully, Choice actually has a well-kept secret that I’m going expose the crap out of right now.

It’s called the Diamond Status Jump, and it’s verrrrrrrrrrrrrry good.

Here’s how it works:

• Step 1: Book a stay at a Cambria hotel (one of Choice’s brands)

• Step 2: Send an email to Status_Match@choicehotels.com and attach the following:

  • Copy of your folio/receipt from your stay

  • Proof of status with another hotel program

  • Your Choice Privileges member number

• Step 3: Get Diamond status 🤘🏼

That’s right, folks. Staying ONE night at this specific hotel brand will earn you Diamond status, which includes free breakfast, bonus points, and more at ALL Choice brands.

To make things better, here’s how long you will have status:

• If you apply for the match between January and June, you’ll have status through the end of the current year.

• If you apply between July and December, you’ll have status through the entire following year.

The last time I checked, it was still early July.

That means if you applied for this match today, you’d have status through December 31st, 2025!!! A year and a half!!!

The best part is that, according to the terms and conditions, you can use a Cambria stay from any time in the past 12 months and still apply…

Although Cambria is one of the higher-end Choice brands, there are still plenty of cheap properties around…

For example, I grew up in the glorious state of New Hampshire (#livefreeordie🤘🏼), where you could stay in the mountain haven of North Conway at this Cambria hotel for around $100.

So… You could essentially “buy” 1.5 years of top-tier elite status for just $100.

That’s pretty epic.

But right now, some of you may be wondering:

It’s a great question. But we simply don’t have time to discuss this any further today…

So tell me:

🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday

I was actually a bit surprised by the top spot here…

Generally speaking, European and East Asian cities rank much higher for safety than U.S. cities.

However, the top spot in this case goes to none other than Honolulu, Hawaii!

While Honolulu is certainly one of the safer major cities in the U.S., I do have some issues with how these rankings were determined…

The report from Forbes surveyed actual travelers (which feels like good data) but also pulled data from third-party sources like the U.S. State Department (which is less good data).

For example, you’ll never see a city like Erbil, Iraq, on this list.

And yet, according to data by Numbeo (along with plenty of other sources), Erbil ranks FAR higher than Honolulu in every safety category (and, in fact, has some of the lowest crime rates in the world).

The U.S. State Department also classifies this destination in their highest risk category despite its incredibly safe stats (which I can vouch for, having been there recently) and physical border from other, more dangerous parts of Iraq.

So, when you read these articles online, take it all with a grain of salt and look into the sources they pull from.

Generally speaking, I much prefer to speak with travelers who have actually been to a city (there’s a good chance you can find them in the Daily Drop Lounge 😉) to make a judgment about its safety.

Sorry to turn our fun trivia into a PSA about safety and research… but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. 😅

Want to help Daily Drop take over the world? Share our newsletter with your friends/family/pets/colleagues/enemies and win some rewards in the process!

You currently have 0 referrals, only 1 away from receiving the Daily Drop Travel Toolkit.

Or copy your unique referral URL to share with others: https://newsletter.dailydrop.com/subscribe?ref=PLACEHOLDER

…or you can just buy these prizes from our website if you want to keep us all to yourself. 😉

Alright, kiddos… I’ve droned on long enough today, so I’ll leave you alone until tomorrow.

Have a great day ❤️

7.5695° S, 110.8250° E