🐍 A 40-centimeter snake briefly disrupted Japan's bullet train service, causing a 17-minute delay on a Tokyo to Osaka route known for its insane punctuality. A snake. No thank you. Read more from the story here.
Good morning and welcome back to Daily Drop! I’ve got a fun journey of a newsletter for y’all today, so let’s dive right in:
✈️ 30% transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic
Life can be pretty dark sometimes.
Wars, famine, natural disasters; sometimes it’s hard to even get out of bed in the morning with all of the depressing things going on.
But there’s one thing that truly makes life worth living: something that motivates me to keep going. And it only comes around once in a blue moon.
I’m talking, of course, about a 30% transfer bonus from MR Points to Virgin Atlantic.
And thankfully, it’s happening right now.
Until May 31st, you’ll get 30% more points when you transfer your MR Points to one of our favorite airline programs.
Transferring points at a 1:1 ratio to Virgin is already a good deal, so an extra 30% makes this a no-brainer.
For example, you can regularly fly from the U.S. to the U.K. on Virgin for just 10,000 Virgin miles.
With this transfer bonus, you’re looking at just 7,700 MR Points to fly across the ocean, which is, as we say in the biz, “very good.” 🤌
But where this bonus really shines is with premium cabin awards. Just look at this flight from Washington to London in Virgin Upper Class (business class) for 47,500 miles.
With this transfer bonus, you’re saving more than 10,000 miles to fly a great premium product… if you can swallow the heart-attack-inducing taxes and fees.
Since Virgin is a member of SkyTeam, you can also use Virgin miles to fly with partner airlines beyond just London.
For example, you could book this flight from New York to Oslo, Norway, for just 12,000 Virgin miles or just 9,300 MR Points.
These two flights are operated by Air France but booked with Virgin miles
Of course, the main issue with flying to Norway is that hotels are CRAZY expensive….
Which brings me to my next point… 🤗
🏨 Five or ten-night summer pass for Nordic hotels
Despite being a pretty stingy human, I somehow have no problem shelling out some bucks when it comes to travel.
But there’s one part of the world that is often so unbearably expensive that I just… can’t… I can’t do it.
I’m talking about… you guessed it… Scandinavia… especially in the Summer.
Thankfully, there’s a new offer from Strawberry Hotels to help us solve this problem for the 2024 Summer season.
Woah, woah, woah… wait… WTF is “Strawberry Hotels?” 🤔
They used to be known as “Nordic Choice” hotels, which is essentially the same as “Choice Hotels,” but in Scandinavia. So you’ll recognize many of Strawberry’s brands like Comfort Hotels, Quality Hotels, Clarion Hotels, and more.
Anyway, they’re offering a Summer Pass that allows you to prepay for various numbers of hotel nights at fixed rates:
5-night pass for €495 (€99 per night)
10-night pass for €890 (€89 per night)
Once you have this pass, you can redeem your hotel nights at dozens of properties around Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and even Lithuania.
Before we go any further, I want to point out some of the fine print here:
Not every hotel in these countries is participating. You can see the full list on this website
The stay window is from June 20th to August 18th
There are blackout dates, which vary by city (annoying, but you can see the dates very clearly on this page)
You do not need to book consecutive nights. You could even redeem them as one-night stays if you want!
The nights are redeemable for two people staying in a double room
All in all, the restrictions are pretty reasonable, and the website does a great job of making the parameters clear, so I approve. 👍
And as you might imagine, booking hotels for a flat rate of €99 or €89 per night in Scandinavia could save you boatloads of cash.
For example, this hotel in Oslo costs €741 for a 5-night stay in the Summer.
By buying the 5-night pass for just €495, you’re saving €246 (or $263 USD) on this stay, which is EXCELLENT.
If you’re planning a longer trip through multiple Scandinavian cities, the 10-night pass could easily save you hundreds of dollars on multiple stays in different cities.
So here’s the bottom line:
Scandinavia is a popular tourist hotspot in the Summer. This hotel pass allows you to join in on the Nordic fun without breaking the bank.
Okay. So now we know how to fly to Scandinavia for cheap and how to stay there for cheap… Now all we need is a little inspiration… 😏
🌏 Where in the World Wednesday: Bergen
If it isn’t obvious enough in this newsletter that we love Scandinavia… We’re about to convince you more.
Today, FareDrop is featuring a cheeky little business-class flight to Bergen, Norway! 👇
Deal is valid on 4/23/24, but prices change quickly!
And yes, $2300 is no small price, but if you’re looking to splurge a bit and want to fly across the Atlantic in big, bougie, lie-flat seats… $2300 isn’t half bad for a cash price.
I feel like Bergen is Oslo’s little brother that often gets overlooked. Or if anything, it’s just a stopover to head up to the fjords.
And trust me, you should go see the fjords, but Bergen is one of Europe’s oldest port cities, and the Bryggen Wharf is a UNESCO World Heritage site that shouldn’t be missed.
You’ll probably recognize the image of its colorful wooden buildings that line the pier (buildings that date back to the 14th century!).
She’s a stunner.
It’s also got a blend of all the things you might want—art, surrounding mountains, and history.
And speaking of the mountains, if you want to get to the top for incredible views, the easiest way is to take the Fløibanen funicular that has been carrying people almost 1,000 vertical feet since 1918.
North of the city, you’ll find the dark and intriguing Fantoft Stave Church that was built around 1150 🤯
It’s got that characteristically haunting, vertical design and is solely constructed of wood—no nails or anything else.
I, personally, probably wouldn’t be climbing to the top of it….. 😬
If you want a few more ideas, consider visiting the famous Fisketorget fish market, the Bergenhus Fortress, or exploring the Trollskogen Troll Forest.
Norway is one of my favorite countries and is just so easy to navigate through.
So if you want to hop on this deal (or get alerts for TONS of other cheap flights), consider signing up for FareDrop!
If you’ve been to our Top Cards Page (which I certainly hope you have), you’ve probably noticed that there’s one card that never really leaves.
I’m talking about this card. The reason is simple: it’s just an amazing card, and I can’t think of many people who wouldn’t benefit from having it.
So, in this week’s YouTube video, Brendan dives into the card and its features to tell us if this is indeed still his favorite card.
Check it out 👇
That’s all for today, folks! I hope you enjoyed this Nordic-themed newsletter.
I know I’m going to be eyeing some flights and hotels out there in the near future after writing all of this… 😉
For now, take care and have a lovely rest of your day ❤️
