Meet the Team

Meet the Team

If you’re looking for jet-setting jedis, miles and points meisters, travel-hacking wizards, and globetrotting visionaries…

You’ve found us here at Daily Drop. Get to know us! 👇

Nate got his start in the travel-hacking world after doing some initial research on how he could afford an amazing honeymoon on a newlywed’s budget. After a bit of skepticism, he took the plunge and signed up for his first travel credit card (and got that sign-up bonus, of course!).

A $6 flight (that he booked using miles and points) sealed the deal, and since then, he’s learned everything he can about earning and redeeming miles and points for cheap flights and accommodation. The travel hacks that got him that first $6 flight have grown into landing some of the best business and first-class seats in the sky.

Watch Nate (and Kara!) travel the world on YouTube.

What is your favorite country or travel experience? If I was forced to choose, I would say Antarctica. It felt like we were on a frozen safari!

Do you have a favorite travel hack that you’ve done? My first time flying first class, I redeemed 85,000 points to fly Emirates from Athens to New York. I don’t think anything can beat flying in first class for the first time!

Mike is a true travel obsessive, but this wasn’t always the case! He grew up in a small town in New Hampshire and only first left the country after graduating college to sing on tour through Chile, and then as part of another opera production in Austria.

His life as a freelance musician warranted some deep-diving into learning how to travel for cheap. This initial budget travel progressed to the full-blown travel hacking tactics that he continues to use today… and as they say, the rest is history.

Read the Daily Drop newsletter from Mike five days a week.

What is your favorite country or travel experience? Hiking the Alta Via 1 in the Italian Dolomites with my best friend, which is ironically the one trip for which I could not use a single travel hack.

Do you have a favorite travel hack that you’ve done? Suite talking: You don’t need a fancy credit card, points, miles, or anything other than a good attitude and a friendly interaction!

It’s safe to say that Megan LOVES travel. She grew up going on many road trips with her family but didn’t actually leave the country (or own a passport!) until she was 23. That first international trip truly had her hooked.

Her love and knowledge of travel hacking actually came by accident. A serendipitous visit to an airport lounge sparked a conversation with a couple who were travel-hacking their way around the world. Megan found that learning and sharing travel tips and wins with others was (and still is) more valuable than any Google search!

Come hang out with Megan in the Daily Drop Lounge.

What is your favorite country or travel experience? Scotland. All of Scotland.

Do you have a favorite travel hack that you’ve done? Flying Virgin Upper Class from LA to the Maldives! I scored two $7,000 tickets for 89,000 Chase points.

Tiffany first caught the travel bug during a study abroad program in Italy when she was in college. She’s since returned over a dozen times to visit family, apply for dual citizenship, and just spend time there out of pure (Italian) joy.

Her travel-hacking journey began several years after that initial trip to Italy, but learning about travel credit cards (and miles and points!) was always the first tool in her travel toolkit. Last year, she quit her job as a healthcare provider in order to travel more regularly and take advantage of all that is the wonderful world of travel hacking.

Explore more travel resources from Tiffany on the Daily Drop site.

What is your favorite country or travel experience? 100% Italy! I still remember that feeling of emerging from the metro in Rome and seeing the Colosseum for the first time.

Do you have a favorite travel hack that you’ve done? Using my Amex points to book an $8,000 Emirates business-class seat from Seattle to Dubai… for $100!

Brendan is obsessed with finding the next crazy adventure and expanding his comfort zone. After visiting 48 states in the U.S., he took his travels internationally and turned to miles and points to open more travel possibilities.

In fact, he took a three-month honeymoon using miles and points, and has been hooked on travel-hacking ever since! He’s booked countless flights and hotels using miles and points, and hasn’t paid out of pocket for any flight in over two years!

Watch Brendan do a weekly travel-hacking breakdown on the Daily Drop YouTube channel.

What is your favorite country or travel experience? Lucerne, Switzerland. Hard to get to and rather pricey… but 100% worth it!

Do you have a favorite travel hack that you’ve done? Two-player mode: My wife and I booked our whol wedding using the two-player mode strategy, paid off the cards in full, and used the points to go on a three-month honeymoon.

Austin began using a passport at 12 years old on a mission trip to Brazil. He quickly fell in love with the people, churrascaria, and exploring the world. By his freshman year of college, he had been to four continents!

After graduation, Austin became a business traveler who was forced to use the company card. He became an expert on elite status and redeeming points, but was late to the party on the best ways to earn points (and the power of sign-up bonuses!). He is now our resident family travel hacker, traveling full-time domestically in a camper or abroad with his wife, 7-year-old daughter, and 5-year-old identical twin boys.

See Austin’s work as our technical guru any time you visit Daily Drop or FareDrop!

What is your favorite country or travel experience? Jumping into the Amazon’s Meeting of Waters from the second story of a boat on my 13th birthday will always be a special memory for just me. But seeing my three young kids make it to the base of Angel’s Landing via the West Rim Trail in Zion National Park was a really proud and rewarding momen as a dad.

Do you have a favorite travel hack that you’ve done? I’m sitting on a couple of sign-up bonuses, attempting to find enough business class availability to take the whole family somehwere. But until then, the best value of a trip I’ve ever had remains a $200 FareDrop from Nashville to Athens, Greece!

Are you ready to take the travel-hacking plunge?

If you’re feeling confused, overwhelmed, inspired, or excited… welcome to the club! We all had to start from somewhere, and trust us, you’re not alone!

If you’re wondering where to go next, we’d all vote for checking out Miles and Points 101 to give you a breakdown of the basics.

Back to blog