Good morning and welcome back to the Daily Drop!
I just realized that I never got you a Christmas present... so my gift to you will be bringing you the Daily Drop every day this holiday season.
I'm sure my gift from you is still in the mail 😉
Here's what's cooking on this Monday morning:
- 🌎 Neom: The controversial megaproject to build a "utopia" from scratch
- 🏨 Hilton gets a head start on 2023 promos
- 😡 What do passengers hate the most while flying?
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🌎 Neom: The controversial megaproject to build a "utopia" from scratch
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When you think of a utopia, you might think of a place where nobody gets ill, puppies are supplied by the government, and there are an infinite number of seasons of Breaking Bad.
At least, that's MY personal utopia...
What might not come to mind, however, is a $500,000,000,000 Saudi Arabian planned city megaproject in the middle of the Arabian desert. And yes, that was the correct number of zeros back there.
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That's precisely what Saudi Arabia wants to do with Neom, a hyper-futuristic city run entirely on renewable energy and an incredibly ambitious project. The point of Neom is to revolutionize civilization and urban planning to let people live more sustainably and "blend in" with nature... So yeah, they're talking a pretty big game.
The project includes several sub-projects, like a city built on the water for tech companies and a mountainous area where the 2029 Asian Winter Games will (allegedly) be held.
Sadly, there are some controversies (mostly centered around human rights issues) with this project as well.
If those issues are overcome and the project is successful, however, that would be pretty cool. And Saudi Arabia seems to think it will be successful because they've already started operating long-haul flights to and from Neom, which is currently pretty deserted.
Currently, Saudia even has nonstop flights to London, which is pretty wild.
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But don't get too excited and buy your ticket just yet - allegedly, only two buildings have been constructed so far.
If the country's track record for ambitious construction projects is any indicator, I would keep your excitement at bay. Years ago, construction began on the Jeddah Tower, a building slated to be the tallest in the world, surpassing the Burj Khalifa by 600 feet.
Unfortunately, construction abruptly stopped in 2018 with no clear path forward, and currently stands in Jeddah only 1/3 complete.
I hope Neom pans out differently. If completed, it would definitely be amazing to live in a world where such projects are possible. I'd also love the challenge of figuring out how to fly there on points 😉
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🏨 Hilton gets a head start on 2023 promotions
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The new year has yet to come, and we've already got some fantastic travel hacks to look forward to in 2023.
Hilton was first out of the gate with their new "Double Up & Explore" promotion. I'm getting a bit of déja vu from this promotion... probably because it's uncannily similar to one we just saw earlier this year...
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Here are the details:
- Earn double points on ALL stays
- Earn 1,000 bonus points per unique brand you stay at during the promotion period
- Valid for all stays between January 1 and April 30, 2023
- You must register for the offer
Overall, this promotion is fantastic. Easy to understand, no restrictions on the length of the stay, and a long window to book and complete stays.
But here's one of the best parts...
This promotion is valid for both cash stays AND award stays. This means you can book a stay on points and get some in return (of course, this only applies to the 1,000 bonus points per brand).
Since certain brands already give you welcome points on award stays, you could actually get a sizeable rebate on some of your stays with this promotion.
Let's walk through a couple of examples:
This property in Kuala Lumpur costs only 8,000 Hilton points per night.
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Because the choice benefit for this property is 750 points, you'll get a total of 1,750 points back with the current promotion.
For a stay that was already free, it's not too shabby to get a 22% points rebate.
If you were to pay cash for the same property, it would cost you $24 (which is already insanely cheap). With the double points promotion, you'd earn the following:
240 base points + 240 bonus points + 750 choice points + 1,000 bonus points
The points are worth about $11.15, meaning you're earning a 46% return on your purchase.
Personally, I have Hilton Diamond status and a Hilton cobranded credit card that earns me 14x points at Hilton, so I would earn the following:
- 10x base points: 240
- Double points promo: 240
- Diamond bonus: 240
- Hilton credit card: 336
- Choice benefit: 750
- Brand promo: 1,000
The total of 2,806 points is worth about $14, meaning I would be raking in a 57% return on a one-night purchase.
What I'm trying to say is that if you maximize this promotion, you could really rack up a lot of points or get a nice rebate on award purchases. Just make sure you register for the offer before booking any stays.
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😡 What passengers hate the most, according to a survey
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We all have pet peeves when it comes to flying. Personally, I would rather sit in the cargo hold than in a seat that's being kicked by a child for hours on end.
But have you ever wondered how other flyers feel about these things?
Well, you no longer need to. That's because Upgraded Points has conducted a fascinating survey that outlines passengers' biggest pet peeves, airline complaints, "would you rather" situations, and more after surveying hundreds of flyers.
I found it really interesting and even learned some surprising stats. Check it out!
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That's all for today! I hope you had a lovely holiday weekend and don't have too bad of an eggnog hangover.
What is your biggest pet peeve on planes? What do you make of Saudi Arabia's massive megacity project? Let me know by replying to this email or reaching out on social media.
Cheers,
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