December 2nd, 2022 Estimated read time: 3 minutes and 44 seconds
Good morning and welcome back to The Daily Drop. Today is going to be a rollercoaster of emotions. We've got excellent tips for booking luxury flights, devastating news from the lounge world, and a miraculous story of survival. So strap in and prepare yourself. Here's what's cooking:
- ✈️ How to book first-class flights with points
- 🪦 R.I.P. Delta SkyClub access...
- 🛳️ Man falls off of cruise ship and lives to tell the tale
✈️ How to book first-class flights with points
People often ask about the best way to book luxurious business and first-class flights on excellent airlines using points and miles. The answer is complex, and the truth is there are many ways you can do so. But one points program in particular stands out for its long list of airline partners, ability to book stopovers, and the various bucket list awards you can book, including Etihad first-class and more. I wrote a longer piece on our blog that discusses how to use this points program to book first-class flights on multiple world-class airlines. It also explains some of the other features like stopovers and more. Most importantly, I tell you how you can quickly rack up points with this program to get yourself on a luxurious flight ASAP. It's definitely a gamechanger, so please check it out 👇 ✨ Check out the post (5-minute read) ✨
🪦 R.I.P. Delta SkyClub access...
It's always sad to mourn the loss of things we love. Like when Breaking Bad finally ended after five seasons... or when Mcdonald's discontinued their mysterious Szechuan Sauce. Then brought it back. Then discontinued it again.
Even more devastating than those examples, however, is the recent announcement Delta made regarding upcoming changes to their lounge access policy. In a nutshell, it's very bad news for almost everyone. Not only can many people no longer access the lounges (as of January 2023), but only certain people are even allowed to BUY lounge memberships too. Oh, and they increased the cost of those memberships by hundreds of dollars. When I see it in writing like this, I realize more and more how absurd these changes are. It's really an unprecedented move for an airline to completely devalue such a significant aspect of its program overnight. Here is a summary of the changes:
- Only Diamond, Platinum, Gold, and Silver Medallion members can purchase annual lounge memberships.
- The cost of an individual membership is increasing by $150, while the executive membership is increasing by more than $600.
- Diamond Medallion members who use choice benefits for a lounge membership will now have to use three choice benefit selections (increased from two).
- Individual membership and guest pass access will no longer be choice benefits.
- Delta SkyClub members flying in Basic Economy can no longer enter the lounges unless by another method (i.e., as a credit card benefit).
- Diamond, Platinum, and Gold Medallion members flying in Main Cabin or Comfort Plus will no longer have lounge access.
- The fee for bringing guests into the lounge will increase from $39 to $50 per person.
So... yea... it's rough. They completely gutted the program. I can't believe Delta would do something like this overnight, especially when people only have about a month to prepare for these changes.
To be clear about the fifth bullet point, if you have a Delta SkyClub membership (an annual lounge membership that you pay HUNDREDS of dollars for), you will NOT be allowed to enter the lounge when flying basic economy. And this is in the same announcement where they increased the price of that membership. 🤦♂️ The entire point of buying a lounge membership is to gain access without needing to shell out for expensive business-class flights. It doesn't make any sense at all. What I'm trying to say here is: this is terrible news, and everything is bad. Alright, that's the newsletter for today, folks. Goodbye! Just kidding, I would never leave you on such a dark note. Actually, quite the opposite. I have some good news: there is a way to combat the mean Delta executives who are trying to take away your lounge access.
The best way to guarantee continued access to Delta SkyClub lounges like this one is with a credit card that offers lounge access as a perk. Two cards offer this perk for Delta lounges specifically, and one of them offers a LOT more than just that, including unlimited visits to Priority Pass lounges (more than 1,400 around the world), Plaza Premium lounges, and the fabulous Centurion lounges. If you maximize all of the annual credits on that card, it basically pays for itself... So this could be your ticket to retaining access to Delta lounges. Alternatively, you could forget Delta exists and take your business elsewhere. Just be warned: When one airline makes a move like this, others usually aren't far behind...
🛳️ Man falls off cruise ship and lives to tell the tale
Well, now that we've had some serious ups and downs in today's newsletter, let's end things on a happy note with a miraculous story of ocean survival. Back on Thanksgiving Day, a 28-year-old man went missing on the Carnival Valor, a cruise ship that had recently departed from New Orleans.
It was around 10:45 am when his family reported him missing, and search and rescue efforts began. Apparently, the last time he had been seen was around 11 pm the night before. It wasn't around 8:30 pm on Thanksgiving night when a freight ship in the Gulf of Mexico spotted the man treading water, barely keeping his head above the surface. The coast guard was able to find him and get him to a hospital. Despite being in severe shock and highly dehydrated, the guy was otherwise fine and in stable condition. So let's do some math (only a tiny bit, I promise). He was reported missing at 10:45 am, and wasn't found until 8:30 pm. So this guy survived alone in the ocean (which was cold, rainy, and full of sharks) for AT LEAST 10 hours, but probably more. That's insane. This guy is either an incredible swimmer or very, very, very lucky. Or both. You can see a clip of when they found and rescued him here 👇
I don't want you to think that cruises are dangerous, however. There are rigorous safety measures taken to avoid situations like this. When someone goes overboard, it's almost always either a deliberate move or someone being extremely reckless, usually under the influence of alcohol. Many cruise ships have camera technology that can detect when someone falls over the edge and will alert the crew immediately. Staff members (including waiters and bartenders) are also very well-trained to keep an eye on people behaving erratically and to avoid serving guests too much alcohol, to avoid potential accidents like this. The details of exactly when and how this guy fell off the ship are still a mystery. I'll be curious to learn exactly how long he was in the water. Regardless, it's pretty miraculous that he survived.
That's gonna do it for this week! It's been a pretty exhausting week with all of the news out of the travel world... and maybe the 14-hour timezone change I've experienced... Have you ever been on a cruise? Are you sad about the Delta lounge policy changes? What's your favorite feature of the Aeroplan program? Let me know by replying to this email or reaching out on social media. Have a wonderful weekend, Mike Dodge Head Writer, The Daily Drop
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