Planes, trains, and... Ramen?

August 10th, 2022

Estimated read time: 3 minutes and 51 seconds

Good morning and welcome to the first edition of The Daily Drop 🎉

Here's what we have on the docket today:

• 🚂 Book train tickets with Uber
• 💸 Buy Hilton points with a 100% bonus
• ✈️ Deal of the day
• 🥸 Meme

🚂 Planes, Trains, and... Ramen?

Uber recently announced that by the end of August, riders in Europe will be able to book train and bus tickets using the Uber app. Uber is making serious moves toward becoming a one-stop-shop travel app, adding to its existing repertoire of ride-sharing, electric scooters, groceries, and of course, UberEats.

Theoretically, this means you could book a ride to the train station, a train to another country, a ride from there to your hotel, and a box full of fried chicken (probably the most dangerous part of the journey 🍗) - all in a few minutes from the same app.

They haven't delved into other things like boat travel yet, but that doesn't mean you won't still see some ambitious drivers trying to make it happen 👇

Does this apply to Uber users outside of Europe?

Yes and no. While you won't be able to book a bus from New York to Boston (not that anyone would want to torture themselves like that anyway), you WILL be able to book trains and buses if you're visiting Europe, even if your account and app are from the U.S. or elsewhere.

I wouldn't be surprised if we see Uber roll out features like this in our neck of the woods in the not-too-distant future as well.

💸 Buy Hilton Points with A 100% Bonus

Hilton currently has a promotion to buy points and receive up to a 100% bonus (the offer is targeted, but every account should have some bonus in the 80-100% range).

This isn't the most exciting offer (mainly because Hilton regularly puts on promos like this), but there are some really interesting ways you could leverage a deal like this for dirt cheap hotel stays.

For example, if you were to spend $100, you'd normally only be able to buy 10,000 points. With this deal, you'd now get 20,000 points for the same price. For reference, there are Hilton properties out there that only cost 5,000 points per night. That means your $100 could get you as many as 5 nights at a Hilton.

If you just read that last line and thought "wow, Mike is terrible at math," you're wrong (at least in this instance). Here's why:

Hilton (and other chains like Marriott) have a policy where you always get your fifth night free when using points to book a stay. This means that the points price for four nights will be the same as the points price for 5 nights. So with a 5,000 point-per-night room, 20,000 points will get you a 5-night stay. When you break down the price you paid for the points, you're buying a hotel stay for $20 per night. And who said you should never pay for points? 😏

I wouldn't recommend buying points just for the sake of doing it, even with a good deal like this. However, if you have a particular booking in mind or know you'll be staying at a cheap property in the next year or so, this could be a great chance to stock up.

If you don't already have a Hilton Honors account, it's free to set up and only takes about 2 minutes. Go do that now, I'll wait for you.

✈️ Deal Of The Day

Have you ever been to Canada? If not, now is your chance. For the hefty price of $105 (that's sarcasm, don't worry), you can fly round-trip between NYC and Toronto for a few dates in the Fall, which is a truly insane deal.

Speaking of Canada, let's get the elephant in the room out of the way - I'm both American AND Canadian and spend most of my time in Toronto (hence my unbiased decision to feature it in the first newsletter 😋).

I was as disappointed as the rest of you when Kara and Nate stopped sending FareDrops from Canadian airports. I might've cried a little bit.

I've read your replies and the good news is that The Daily Drop isn't just for Americans. While most of the specific deals and travel news may not apply as well to folks outside North America, the principles and general travel hacking tips absolutely do (I'm also twisting some arms to get Canadian airports back in the FareDrop app 😉)!

🥸 Fun Travel Meme

Well, that's going to do it for day one. Did you learn something new? Are you planning to take advantage of any of these deals? Let me know by replying to this email or reaching out on social media.

Until next time,

Mike Dodge

Head Writer, The Daily Drop

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