Good morning and Congratulations to Argentina on their EPIC world cup win yesterday!
I'll be heading down to Argentina in just a couple of months and have been learning a lot about the country recently. I know fútbol is an integral part of life down there, so I was excited to see them clench the victory over reigning champs France.
Naturally, we'll be celebrating with some travel hacks and other fun goodies:
- 📆 Two important end-of-year miles & points tasks
- 🏨 Hilton offers 4,500 points for new signups!
- 🌱 Sponsored by Athletic Greens
- ⚽️ The world cup by the numbers
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📆 Two miles & points tasks for the end of the year
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As we approach the end of the year, reviewing your travel hacking end-of-year checklist is essential. Many clocks reset on January 1st, so let's jump into two important things you can do to maximize your 2022 travel activity.
1. Mileage runs and mattress runs
By now, you all know that to earn elite status, you must meet specific requirements in the calendar year. For airlines, it usually involves flying a certain number of miles, spending a certain amount of money, etc.
Hotel programs are more straightforward, usually requiring you to stay at that hotel chain for a certain number of nights.
If you are close to hitting elite status, now is your last chance to book some mileage runs or mattress runs to boost yourself to the next tier.
As we've discussed before, the value you get for a year's worth of upgrades, bonus miles, lounge access, and more can easily be worth paying for a last-minute flight or hotel stay if it unlocks said benefits.
For example, if you have 56 nights at Hilton hotels so far in 2022, you should seriously consider going for Diamond status. Here's why:
Hilton requires you to stay 60 nights to unlock Diamond status, which comes with complimentary breakfast, room upgrades, 100% bonus points, and more.
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Since Hilton also has a promotion until December 31st which earns you double elite nights, you'd only need to stay two more nights before then to hit 60 nights and a full year of amazing benefits.
So the question becomes: what is the cheapest hotel room I could book for two nights to unlock these benefits, and is a full year of Diamond status worth that price? If the answer is yes, I'd go ahead and lock in that mattress run while you can!
2. Threshold benefits
This one is a little bit less straightforward than number one, but one of my favorite parts of the travel hacking game.
Different programs, as well as some credit cards, have what we call "threshold bonuses."
Basically, when you reach certain thresholds (spending, points, flights, hotel nights, etc), you can earn different rewards separate from elite status.
For example, I'm a big flyer of Air Canada. Their points program, Aeroplan, has several threshold bonuses that frequent fliers can achieve throughout the year.
One type of threshold bonus is for eUpgrades. In the Aeroplan program, these are credits that you can use to upgrade your flight from Economy to Premium Economy or even Business class.
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As you can see, I'm currently at 77,494 qualifying miles for this year. However, if I reach 80,000, I'll unlock ten more eUpgrade credits, which I consider to be very valuable. So the question is this: is the cost of a flight that will earn me 2,500 more miles worth the payoff of 10 upgrade credits?
For me, the answer is a resounding yes.
I could book a couple of domestic flights between Toronto and Vancouver for around CAD $150 (or about $110 USD) each way.
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Since the distance between these two cities is a little over 2,000 miles, this would safely put me over the 80,000 miles threshold I need. So I could pay about $220 to unlock business-class flights potentially worth thousands of dollars.
Hitting 80k miles won't boost me to the next tier of elite status, but that doesn't mean there aren't other worthwhile opportunities to take advantage of.
These are just a couple of examples of tasks that I always do at the end of the year, though there are definitely more I could share if you're willing to have your ear talked off. If you want to know more end-of-year travel hacks, reply to this email and let me know!
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🏨 Earn 4,500 Hilton Honors points for becoming a member
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Speaking of Hilton hotel promos...
Hilton is offering 4,500 Hilton Honors points for new members who sign up and complete a few requirements.
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Here are the details:
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Sign up before December 31st, 2023
- Complete one stay and earn 1,500 bonus points
- Complete a second stay and earn another 3,000 points
- Stays must be completed within six months of signing up
- No registration required
So yeah - the registration window is vast... in fact, you have more than a full year to do this. So why am I telling you now?
Hilton is currently offering one of its best promotions ever, which will earn you double elite nights and some bonus points until the end of the year. When January 1st hits, another amazing promotion will also begin (details to come later this week 😉).
So, you could wait until December 31st of next year, but my advice would be to register sooner than later, complete your stays within the next six months, and stack your bonus points and elite nights with Hilton's awesome promos.
Plus, who knows what the world will look like a year from now? Will Smith might go on another celebrity slapping spree, Elon Musk might decide to buy The Daily Drop and fire me, and the corn kid might run for president.
What I'm trying to say is you never know what will happen down the road, so take advantage of this awesome opportunity while you can... oh, and corn is awesome. 🌽
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🌱 Sponsored by Athletic Greens
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New Year's resolutions are tough.
Many of us have this idea of a "new year, new me" scenario where the new year will magically bring all the change we want.
Realistically, these things don't happen on their own.
Setting intentions and building solid habits is the best way to ensure lasting positive change. One of the best ways to instill good habits is by making them simple.
If something is easy to do, you are more likely to do it day after day.
That's why AG1 is an excellent solution for those of us looking to live a healthier lifestyle. You don't need to bend over backward and drastically change your way of life to start building healthy habits.
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Athletic Greens has created AG1— a nutritional drink that contains a whopping 75 high-quality ingredients to support full-body health, beginning with your gut.
What I love most about Athletic Greens is how simple it is. It's as easy as drinking a glass of water, and it comes in these neat little travel packets that are PERFECT for travelers like me (and many of you). It basically makes it impossible to NOT to stay healthy while traveling.
AG1 by Athletic Greens is more than just… well… greens. It supplies necessary multivitamins and minerals, pre/probiotics, immune support, digestive support, and more, all in a single scoop.
AG1 helps us be more resilient through the holidays and colder months through all-day energy, gut health, and immunity support. It's the best thing you can do for yourself in under a minute (just like The Daily Drop is the best thing you can do for yourself in under 5 minutes 😉). But seriously - in just one minute a day, you can start to build better habits and give your body the support it needs.
Oh, and if you're worried about this tasting like dirt, don't be. Many people (myself included) are pleasantly surprised by how good AG1 tastes.
I know - a healthy drink that also tastes good?? Who knew that was possible?
Anyway, we’ve got a special treat for you: Start the new year strong by ordering AG1 today, and you'll also get:
- A free welcome kit
- A year’s supply of Vitamin D
- Flexible delivery schedule
- 60-day money-back guarantee.
Let's recap; by ordering AG1 by Athletic Greens you'll get an all-encompassing, nutritional drink in a form that you can take on the go, along with everything listed above, all risk-free.
So there’s really no reason not to try this out. I’ll even make it as simple as humanly possible for you 👇
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⚽️ The world cup by the numbers
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I'm not a big sports guy. I can enjoy a good hockey game like any other respectable Canadian, but I'm about as useless as the G in Lasagna when it comes to soccer...
But you don't have to be a sports buff to know that the world cup has just concluded, with Argentina claiming victory in Qatar (congratulations, Argentina).
So today, I wanted to share something that all travel and sports enthusiasts can enjoy. This article from Forbes outlines the world cup in Qatar through numbers. It talks about the different countries that participated, facts about the host country of Qatar, financial estimates, and more.
I find it really interesting to see this massive global event broken down this way, and I'm sure some of you will too!
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That's all for today! It's hard to believe the new year is so close already. But I haven't been wasting any time planning my travels for 2023. And let me tell you... it's going to make my 2022 look like child's play.
What are your 2023 travel plans, if any? Are you shooting for any hotel or airline elite status before the end of this year? Which country were you rooting for in the World Cup? Let me know by replying to this email or reaching out on social media.
Hasta luego,
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