Beautiful good morning from "the big apple!"
I'm referring, of course, to Ottawa, Ontario. It's less exciting than the real big apple, but it's where I'll be camped out until New Year's Day.
We're going through a bit of a blizzard here up north, so I'm staying cozy and vigorously researching travel content to share with you all.
Here's what I came up with:
- 🎁 Turn unwanted gift cards into United miles
- 🍪 Bite-sized travel tidbits
- 🌱 Sponsored by Athletic Greens
- 🌎 Big travel news out of China and Hong Kong
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🎁 Turn unwanted gift cards into United miles
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Don't you hate when you finish the holiday season with a bunch of gift cards you'll probably never use?
Apparently, United Airlines is familiar with this issue because they are now offering miles in exchange for tons of different gift cards.
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Here are the details:
- Over 100 different merchant gift cards accepted
- Mileage rate varies by gift card value
- Gift cards must have a minimum balance of $15 and a maximum of $100
- Your United MileagePlus account must be at least 90 days old
- Only available for residents of the U.S.
To determine how many miles you'll receive, you can enter the merchant details and gift card value in the dedicated portal.
United has also published a mini chart to give you a rough estimate of how many miles you'll earn:
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So now for the big question: Is this worth doing...?
Let's run some numbers. Don't worry; this will be quick.
If we use the chart above to determine the value per mile, we end up with the following:
- $25 gift card (670 miles) = 3.73 cents per mile
- $50 gift card (1,330 miles) = 3.76 cents per mile
- $100 gift card (2,660 miles) = 3.76 cents per mile
The exact amount might vary with different merchants and gift cards that don't have these exact balances, but the numbers all hover around 3.7 cents per mile.
United miles are generally worth about 1.1 cents per mile, so this is definitely not optimal...
But you're not using cash for these miles - you're using gift cards. If you have no plans for using a gift card or you value United miles more than whatever you might purchase with said gift card, the sub-optimal redemption rate doesn't really matter.
In my opinion, It's better to get a free flight rather than let the piece of plastic rot away in your sock drawer. 🤷🏼♂️
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🍪 Bite-sized travel tidbits
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Here's some further reading while you sit in the airport for 20 hours waiting for your Southwest flight:
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🌱 Sponsored by Athletic Greens
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I have some trivia for you: What do Kara, Nate, me, and a bunch of Olympic athletes all have in common?
No, no, it's not our fabulous physique and washboard abs - one of us doesn't have that, and I won't say who 😳.
The answer is, of course, Athletic Greens.
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Athletic Greens has created AG1— a nutritional drink that contains a whopping 75 high-quality ingredients to support full-body health, beginning with your gut.
One of the things I love most about AG1 is how travel-friendly it is. It comes in these tiny travel packets that are PERFECT for travelers like you and me and helps you keep up with your health goals while on the move.
AG1 by Athletic Greens is more than just… well… greens. It's chock full of multivitamins and minerals, pre/probiotics, immune support, digestive support, and more, all in a single scoop.
AG1 helps us sustain our energy, gut health, and immunity support through the colder months. It's the best thing you can do for yourself in under a minute (just like The Daily Drop is the best thing you can do for yourself in under 5 minutes 😉).
But seriously - in just one minute a day, you can start to build better habits and give your body the support it needs.
Oh, and if you're worried about this tasting like dirt, don't be. Many people (myself included) are pleasantly surprised by how good AG1 tastes.
I know - a healthy drink that also tastes good?? Who knew that was possible?
Anyway, we’ve got a special treat for you: Start the new year strong by ordering AG1 today, and you'll also get:
- A free welcome kit
- A year’s supply of Vitamin D
- Flexible delivery schedule
- 60-day money-back guarantee.
Let's recap; by ordering AG1 by Athletic Greens you'll get an all-encompassing, nutritional drink in a form that you can take on the go, along with everything listed above, all risk-free.
So there’s really no reason not to try this out. I’ll even make it as simple as humanly possible for you 👇
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🌎 Some great news out of Hong Kong and China
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This week has been eventful over in East Asia, with two countries announcing significant changes in their COVID travel policies.
First up today, we have Hong Kong.
As of today, December 29th, Hong Kong is dropping ALL testing, quarantine, and vaccine pass requirements (to visit local venues and businesses) related to the pandemic.
This is just one month after their most recent change, which dropped some of the more cumbersome requirements.
For anyone looking to travel to or transit through Hong Kong, you can now rejoice greatly. Go rejoice now; I'll be here.
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As with most countries that have recently reopened, Hong Kong is probably going to see a lot of tourist traffic in the coming weeks and months...
... especially because of this next piece of news...
China has also significantly eased travel restrictions this week, which is sure to have a big impact on the travel world.
As of January 8th, 2023, China will drop all quarantine requirements and only require a PCR test taken within 48 hours of departure to the country.
Before you get too excited, this does not mean you can travel to China.
The Chinese government has stated that they will not be issuing tourist visas yet, with no clear timeframe for when they will. Unsurprisingly, most of us probably wouldn't be able to afford to go anyway, given the sky-high flight prices and general lack of flights going into the country...
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I know; it's a bummer... 😢
What this does mean is that Chinese citizens and residents will have a much easier time traveling abroad now that returning home is so easy.
So basically, the world now has another 1.4 billion potential travelers flooding the tourism market. As a result, you can expect to see higher demand (mostly for Asian destinations), higher prices, and less availability.
According to data from various travel platforms, online travel searches from China have increased ten-fold since this announcement... So you can bet they plan on taking advantage of these newly relaxed policies.
Don't get me wrong; I'm really excited for the Chinese people; I can't imagine how I would feel being so strictly locked down after these last few years. I'm really glad that so many people will get to go experience travel the way the rest of us have for the last year.
There is, however, some controversy surrounding this decision.
China is seeing a surge in COVID cases right now, and experts are worried that this may result in the virus spreading through infected travelers.
Japan has even implemented restrictions specifically for Chinese travelers that don't apply to anyone else, and the U.S. is considering similar restrictions.
Overall, this is one of the biggest travel developments since the very beginning of the pandemic nearly three years ago.
I REALLY hope the COVID numbers ease in China and the government makes some progress on allowing foreigners back into the country. I know I'll be quick to explore the massive, diverse, beautiful country whenever possible.
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That's all for today, friends! Can you believe it's already almost 2023??
I'm really excited about 2023... and you should be, too. That's because tomorrow I'll be sharing some very special Daily Drop news with you... But you'll have to tune in tomorrow to find out what 😉
Would you be more excited about traveling to Hong Kong or China (potentially)? What was your favorite piece of Daily Drop content of 2022? Let me know by replying to this email or reaching out on social media.
See you tomorrow!
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