✈️ How to book flights to Europe for 9,000 points
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For those of you who don't really have a frame of reference for how many points you need to get to or from Europe, just know that 9,000 points is NOTHING in the grand scheme of things.
Typically (depending, of course, on which airline you fly) it will cost anywhere from 25,000 to 50,000 points to fly in Economy to Europe.
Before explaining the nitty gritty, let me first introduce you to the world of KLM/Air France Promo Rewards. These are deals that are published on a monthly basis by KLM and Air France that offer huge discounts on specific routes with these airlines. One month might include routes like Chicago to Paris while the next month it could be Amsterdam to Düsseldorf. They are always changing and are only good for the month in which they are published.
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Now that that's out of the way, let me tell you why this is so important right now.
The current list of promo rewards includes routes from the U.S. to Europe for as little as 11,250 miles each way. Just take a look at this example from NYC to Paris on Air France. To make things even better, there is a TON of availability throughout the next 6 months, so you should be able to find this price for almost any date in the near future.
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How to get KLM/Air France miles
The points program for these two airlines is called Flying Blue, and the easiest way to get these miles is by transferring from American Express, Chase, Citi, Capital One, Bilt, or from your favorite hotel program.
Right now, however, you're going to want to use Amex points. That's because Amex currently has a 25% transfer bonus to Flying Blue, meaning you can transfer only 9,000 points and you'll have enough to book the flight above.
You're going to want to book flights before September 30th because that's when both the Promo Reward and Amex transfer bonus end. If you want to see a full list of discounted routes you can visit this page (including all of you Europeans since the list includes about a dozen European routes as well). |
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🏨 Earn free hotel nights just for dining normally
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What if I told you that you could earn a free hotel night or two just from going out to dinner 3 times? Would you think that's too good to be true?
Well, it's not quite that simple, but there is indeed a way to do exactly that.
If you weren't aware, Marriott Bonvoy has a program called "Eat Around Town" which allows you to earn Marriott Bonvoy points by dining at certain restaurants in your hometown or city.
Here's how the program works:
- Register with your Marriott Bonvoy number
- Enter at least one credit or debit card
- Earn points when you use one of the registered cards at participating restaurants
- Earn 4x points for being a Marriott member
- Earn 6x points if you have any tier of elite status with Marriott
To sweeten the pot, Marriott is currently offering a great promotion for new signups to this program.
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Here is a breakdown of the promo:
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Earn 1,000 bonus points after your first dine of $30 or more
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Earn 2,000 bonus points after your second dine of $30 or more
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Earn 3,000 bonus points after your third dine of $30 or more
Aaaaaaand some caveats:
- All three dines must be within 60 days of registering
- You must complete a review of each restaurant within 30 days of dining
- You must stay opted-in to emails from Eat Around Town
If you think this sounds too tedious, don't be deterred just yet. You'd be surprised by just how many restaurants are part of this program. In fact, I've earned Marriott Bonvoy points in the past just by having all of my cards registered and accidentally dining at a participating restaurant.
When you account for tax, tip, and the extra side of onion rings you needed to have, $30 isn't really that burdensome, especially given you only need to do it 3 times over a 2-month period.
So just how valuable is this offer?
Well, let's break it down. Even if you hit the bare minimum requirements (you don't have elite status and spend exactly $30 on each meal), you would earn 6,360 points for minimal effort. Here are a few examples of hotel rooms you could book with that many points (or close to it):
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How you can maximize this offer
First of all, earning elite status with Marriott is quite easy. Many credit cards offer elite status as a perk, but you can also stay 15 nights a year to earn the lowest-tier status. This alone will boost your points earned on dining by 50%.
Second, if you have multiple people in your household, you can all sign up for this offer.
Along those same lines, you can even split the bill if your dinner comes out to more than $60 so that each meal is getting you two qualifying transactions toward the bonus points.
If you're worried about having all of these points scattered between Marriott Bonvoy accounts, you can also transfer up to 100,000 points per year to other accounts, completely free of charge. This means that you could earn bonus points on as many accounts as you want, then funnel them all into one account and book nicer hotels or more nights at cheaper ones.
Overall, I think this is an excellent promo to take advantage of, especially given the minimal effort required.
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🛳 Cruise ship startup is selling on-board condos
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If you've ever wanted to buy a 1 million dollar condo, live a luxurious lifestyle, and be permanently adrift away from all those pesky humans, I have great news for you.
And these aren't any ordinary cruise ship rooms... I mean, look at this 👇
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What's even more insane is that these condos are ALL-INCLUSIVE. That means that for the rest of your life, all food, drinks, and a number of amenities such as fitness centers, a bowling alley, and more.
This lifestyle comes at a hefty price though... crippling loneliness and sea-sickness.
Just kidding... hopefully 😬
But it will run you a cool $1.1 million... for the smallest ones.
Still, this is a really interesting concept and one that has garnered a TON of interest. So much interest that some entire floor plans have already sold out. I guess I can't blame them - they get to travel on the open seas and visit incredible port cities all around the world forever, all while staying at home. Not too shabby, eh?
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That's all I got for you today. I don't know about you, but I think the two promos in today's newsletter are pretty darn enticing.
Are you going to book a 9,000-point flight to Europe? Would you live on a cruise ship full-time? Let me know by replying to this email or reaching out on social media.
Take care and safe travels,
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Mike Dodge
Head Writer, The Daily Drop
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