Estimated read time: 3 minutes and 14 seconds
🤓 Trivia Tuesday: In the U.S., and in many Western locations, folks point with their fingers to direct other folks on where to look, walk, or pay attention. In some other cultures, including those in Nicaragua and Papua New Guinea, people point with what? Keep reading to find out!
Good morning from Kyoto, the moistest city on Earth. Seriously, y’all—it’s rough.
I’m taking refuge from the unbearable heat to bring you a good promo, some weird news, and fun facts. Here’s what I have on the docket:
❓ Ask me anything (TODAY)
🏨 Hilton’s new promo: Earn up to 54x points
🍪 Mmmm… Tasty Travel Tidbits
🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday
❓ Ask me anything (TODAY)
Have you ever wondered what my favorite travel deodorant is?
Maybe you’re curious about my biggest fears in life. Or maybe you want to know what I HATE about travel. Or maybe you want to know if I’ve ever killed a man.
If any of these sound like questions you’d like to ask me, now’s your chance. Later today at 6pm EST, Megan and I are hosting an “Ask Us Anything” session to answer all of your burning questions.
To join, simply be in the Daily Drop Lounge at 6pm sharp, and we’ll go live on Facebook.
This will ideally be travel-focused, but I’m down to clown, so you can throw any questions you want at me!
See you there 😉
🏨 Hilton’s new promo: Earn up to 54x points
Oh hey there, Hilton. Long time, no see.
I feel like it’s been forever since Hilton has done anything substantial. That’s why I’m pretty pumped that they’ve launched a new promo.
And it’s a sweet one (not to be confused with a suite one).
Until the end of the year, you can earn up to 3x points on Hilton stays, offering the chance to rack up quite a few points.
Here’s how it works:
Register for the promo. Now.
Promo is valid for stays between September 6th and December 31st, 2023
Earn 2x points on ALL stays
Earn 3x points on stays in certain cities in the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Australia
The list of cities that the 3x applies to isn’t crazy, but it does include many popular destinations like Tokyo, London, Melbourne, Chicago, and more.
So let’s examine this more closely, shall we?
Normally, you earn 10x points per dollar spent just for being a Hilton member. With this promo, you’ll earn either 20x or 30x points per dollar just for being a member.
If you have elite status, you’ll earn even more points on top of that. For example, I have Hilton Diamond status, which earns me an additional 10x points per dollar.
If you have a Hilton co-branded credit card, you can earn even MORE points. The lowest-tier Hilton card earns ANOTHER 7x points per dollar on Hilton hotels, whereas the highest-tier one (which is a great card, BTW) earns 14x points per dollar at Hilton properties.
So in the end, here is what you could be looking at in terms of points earned per dollar if you play your cards right (pun intended):
10x base points
20x additional points (in the form of 3x points) with the promo
10x points (Diamond elite status)
14x points (credit card)
Total: 54 points per dollar
Fifty-four points per dollar at Hilton Hotels is, to put it eloquently, super dope sauce.
If you booked this Hilton hotel for three nights, it would cost you a total of $402 after taxes and fees.
However, if you maximize your points earned from this promo (since the hotel is in Shanghai, the 3x promo applies), you will earn a total of 21,708 points, which is enough to book another one or two free nights somewhere.
As you can imagine, this is a great chance to rack up Hilton points for anyone, especially if you already have Hilton stays booked. Personally, I’ll be looking at upcoming bookings to see if I can switch some to Hilton stays.
Make sure you register before your first stay so you don’t miss out on those sweet, sweet points.
🍪 Mmmm… Tasty Travel Tidbits
🤦♂️ American Airlines denies boarding… to an infant.
🎁 Starlux is offering gifts to its frequent flier members
🪓 WTF? A United pilot attacks Denver airport with an axe
🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday
Correct answer: their lips and nose
When done collectively, this gesture ends up looking like a scrunching together of the face.
Why do they do it this way? Well, I could ask you the same thing! It simply is how it is. 🤷🏼♂️
The reasoning could have to do with their cultural value of discretion. People from these parts of the world (and particularly in Papua New Guinea) understand the importance of leading people correctly, meaning that even with this untraditional way of pointing, they're careful with their communication methods.
Just as we point to the nearest exit, they might perk their lips and nose toward the door.
Pretty interesting, eh?
I don't know about you, but I find small cultural details like this fascinating. It's really cool to read about other people's normal tendencies when they can be so different from our own.
Did you know that Daily Drop has a Youtube channel? Check out our latest video for some visual travel hacking tips 👇
That’s all for today. Why is so much crazy stuff happening in the news these days? Pilots going ham with axes, live bears escaping on planes, and more. It’s certainly a crazy time to be alive.
What’s the craziest travel story or piece of news you’ve ever heard? I’d love to hear about it, so let me know by replying to this email or reaching out on social media.
See you tomorrow,