Good morning from the most remote place I've written this newsletter from; Mbeya, Tanzania!
It's been more than five years since I spent time in this part of Tanzania, and it's one of those places that just feels like home.
There are no points and miles hacks for this kind of place, but you don't need them when a hotel or homestay costs less than a Starbucks latte.
I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to get way off the beaten path... but you'll need to learn to speak some Kiswahili or Kinyakyusa first 😉
Let's kick off the week with a bang, shall we?
- 🏨 The best hotel chain you've never heard of
- 💰 Buy Hilton points with a 100% bonus
- 🚂 Amtrak looks toward the future of train travel in North America
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🏨 The best hotel chain you've never heard of
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Since I'm in Africa for a couple of weeks, I wanted to share a points and miles trick that might save you quite a bit of money when traveling in the bigger sub-Saharan African cities.
When you think of sub-Saharan Africa, you probably don’t think of a place with a thriving luxury hotel scene with lots of opportunities to use your points and miles.
While most hotel chains don’t have much to offer in this part of the world, there is one chain that shatters those expectations entirely.
I’m talking about Protea Hotels, a major African hotel brand owned by Marriott Bonvoy.
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Protea hotels can be found all over the place in Africa, usually with many options in the big cities.
Since it’s owned by Marriott, the properties all participate in the Marriott Bonvoy program, meaning you can earn and redeem points at them.
These hotels are not the Ritz-Carlton or St. Regis, but they are also not the Holiday Inn.. they’re generally quite lovely, perfectly comfortable hotels.
Even more importantly, they usually offer great value for your Marriott points. Look at a few examples of properties dotted around East and Southern Africa, and compare the points cost to the cash cost of the room:
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As you can see, it’s not uncommon to get about 2 cents per point in value when staying at Protea Hotels, more than double the typical value of Marriott points.
Another thing I love about Protea is the elite recognition. As a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite member, I’m entitled to many fantastic benefits at Marriott properties.
Depending on which part of the world you travel to, it can sometimes be hard to get hotels to honor these benefits.
After all, if 50% of guests have elite status, you can’t give them all suite upgrades (what a world that would be, eh?).
Protea hotels don’t see as many elite members as properties in Europe, Asia, and North America, so you can expect some great treatment when you stay there.
So next time you think about a trip to Africa, stock up on Marriott Bonvoy points and check out Protea hotels. It’s a great option that will save you tons of money without requiring you to break your points bank.
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💰 Buy Hilton points with a 100% bonus
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Remember that time a couple of months ago when Hilton had a big sale on points, and I told you how you could save hundreds of dollars by BUYING points?
Well, I have good news. Hilton is having the same exact sale... again.
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Until March 7th, you can get up to a 100% bonus on purchased Hilton Honors points. For those of you who weren't around during the first sale, I'll sum things up very quickly:
Basically, buying points can save you a TON of money... but not always.
For example, some really expensive hotels are surprisingly cheap to book with points. Throw in a bonus like this one, and you could save a significant amount of money compared to if you were to just pay cash.
Let me give you an example of this idea that recently saved me over $300.
When looking for hotels in India a few months ago, I noticed a pretty reasonably priced DoubleTree by Hilton for around $100 per night (including taxes, etc.) for a total of $521.58.
Because this hotel is priced at only 10,000 Hilton points per night, I booked the 5-night stay for just 40,000 points.
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With this promotion, I could just buy 20,000 points and get an additional 20,000 points as a bonus, enough to book this stay.
The entire 40,000 points only cost me $200, saving me $321.58 from booking the same nights at the same hotel with cash.
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This is a pretty extreme example of this concept, I realize that...
But even if you save a fraction of that, you still might find it worthwhile to crunch the numbers and potentially book some really cheap Hilton hotel stays.
Whenever Hilton offers this sale, there is usually a way to benefit by using this approach.
Of course, you don't need to book an entire stay on paid points. Buying points is also a great way to top up your balance.
If you're a few thousand points short of booking a room, this is the perfect way to spend a few dollars to unlock a free hotel stay.
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🚂 Amtrak announces major train upgrades on the horizon
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Woah... TRAIN news?? In the Daily Drop??
That's right folks; I'm going into uncharted territory today.
But it's for a good cause; because Amtrak is planning to invest heavily into their train infrastructure, specifically with their longer routes.
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Amtrak has a massive network of routes, with over a dozen of them being long-distance, overnight rides.
The big problem with Amtrak is... well... their trains are straight out of the 70's... and it shows.
Apparently, Amtrak was aware of this and is now accepting bids from train car manufacturers to significantly upgrade the travel experience.
I'm a big plane nerd, as you probably know by now, but I know many of you really enjoy (and even prefer) riding on trains.
Trains provide a really comfortable, easy way to travel with the added benefit of seeing more out your window than just clouds.
If train travel in the U.S. can start to inch its way toward places like Europe and Eastern Asia, I could see it playing a much bigger role in long-distance travel for Americans.
Amtrak has much bigger plans on the horizon, however.
They also recently announced plans to build higher-speed rails and new, more luxurious train cars on some of its regional routes.
Overall, it looks like Amtrak (and North American train travel) is going to see a much-needed makeover, which I'm personally quite excited about.
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That's gonna do it for this Monday morning, y'all.
What is your favorite train experience, and where was it? Have you ever thought about planning a trip to Africa on points? Let me know by replying to this email or reaching out on social media.
Asubuhi njema,
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