🤔 Should you buy points right now?

✈️ TRENDING TRAVEL NEWS ✈️

• Heads Up: Delta will unbundle premium cabins so flyers can pay less for fewer benefits.

• Global: Which passports unlock the most countries in 2026? The newest rankings are here.

• Setting Sail: Planning a cruise? These ships were named the best in world for 2026.

• Expansion: This airport is planning to add 32 new gates and more nonstop routes.

Good morning from Toronto – my old hometown. I’ve got a fat cup of Tim Hortons coffee in my hand and two fluffy cats on my lap, so life is good. 🐈

Let’s get into it:

• 💳 How to use this $250 travel credit
• 💸 Buy IHG points with a 100% bonus
• 🏨 Hyatt Promo: Earn 50k bonus points

💳 How to use this $250 travel credit

As you know, the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is out with the coolest offer ever.

It’s unique in that you can earn both miles (75,000 of them, in fact), along with a $250 travel credit.

And y’all are pretty hyped about it.

But we keep getting a lot of questions about that $250 credit. So today, I want to tell you about how you can use it and how highly you should value it.

Basically, you can use the credit to book hotels, flights, or even car rentals in the Capital One Travel portal.

For example, check out this round trip from Chicago to Cancun. It’s bookable through Capital One for just $282:

If you search for each of those flights individually (booking directly on their websites), the total is $278.

That means you’re only paying a $4 markup to book through Capital One – and only $32 out of pocket to fly round-trip to Mexico, which is solid.

When I signed up for this same card offer back in 2024, I used my $250 credit to book a 4-night stay in Fukuoka, Japan, for just over $250.

The credit made this stay basically free, and it felt amazing to stay downtown in such a cool city without breaking the bank.

Needless to say, it’s extremely easy to get pretty close to $250 of cash value from this credit.

Oh, and want to know a little secret? When you sign up for the card, you get the $250 instantly.

So while you need to spend $4,000 in three months to earn the 75,000 bonus miles, the $250 is usable right away.

So here’s the bottom line:

I can’t stress enough how much of a slam dunk this card offer is.

The $250 credit covers the annual fee of the card for 2+ years, and the welcome offer miles can book you any number of different trips.

Let me know if y’all have any other questions or hesitancies around the Venture Card, the welcome offer, Capital One miles, or anything else. 🫡

💸 Buy IHG points with a 100% bonus

One question we often get here at Daily Drop is:

“Is buying points a good deal?”

And there’s no one-size-fits-all answer to that. It depends on the program, how much you personally value points, and the specific ways in which you intend to use the points.

Sometimes, it’s an easy “no.” Other times, it’s hit or miss. And sometimes, you can almost guarantee it’s a good deal.

This is the latter.

Until February 5, you can buy IHG points with up to a 100% bonus, offering some great ways to get discounted hotel stays.

Before we get into any examples, this deal is the exact reason I choose to hold onto my IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card every year.

One of the card’s perks is getting every 4th night free when using points.

As you’ll see, combining that with points purchases like this is one of the best hotel tactics out there.

For example, I recently spent a few nights at the Hotel Indigo in downtown Dubai. If you have the IHG Premier and stay four nights, you can book this place for as few as 17,250 points per night (or less if you want to roast yourself alive in the summer 😉).

Four nights would cost you a total of 69,000 points (nice), which is already a good deal for four nights in downtown Dubai.

But with this points promo, you could also just buy those points for $350 total.

That brings the nightly cash cost down to just $86 (against the hotel’s normal cash rate of $132 per night).

In other words, by spending just 5 minutes crunching the numbers and buying points, you’re shaving $46 per night off your hotel bill.

I do this all the time when I want a four-night stay and don’t have a stash of IHG points to burn, so I can’t recommend it enough.

🏨 Hyatt Promo: Earn 50k bonus points

Speaking of good hotel deals, Hyatt is offering a unique way to earn quite a few bonus points – and I suspect this deal will be appealing to many of you.

For ALL of 2026, you can earn up to 50,000 bonus Hyatt points at two specific brands.

Here is the deal:

If you book a minimum 5-night stay at either Hyatt House or Hyatt Studios, you’ll earn 5,000 bonus points for that stay.

You can do this up to ten times, and stays through December 31 are eligible.

If you haven’t heard of Hyatt studios, it’s because most locations haven’t even opened yet. But given this promo is valid for a year, that’s okay.

One example of a currently-open Hyatt Studios is in Mobile, Alabama, which costs $282 per night against a points rate of just 3,500 points.

That’s an incredible points deal, first of all.

But when you throw in the 5,000 bonus points, you’re basically shaving 1,000 points per night off that rate (if you booked a stay of exactly five nights), which is bonkers.

In my opinion, the real value of this promo is with Hyatt House, which is a much more established and ubiquitous brand with locations all over the world.

For example, last year, I stayed at the Hyatt House in Kanazawa, Japan - a Category 2 property that costs as few as 6,500 points per night, or just over $100 if you’re paying cash.

Kanazawa is a great, underrated city in Japan, so spending five nights here for that price is already a good idea.

Throw in the bonus points, and you’re getting a nice return on your points or cash spend.

Don’t forget that staying at either of these brands will also check off Brand Explorer boxes, putting you closer to earning a Hyatt Free Night Award.

Anyway, here’s the bottom line:

I love this offer. It’s a bit restricted in terms of brands, but here’s what I love:

• They are both budget brands, making them good options for 5-night stays
• The deal is valid for the entire year, so no need to rearrange your life to make it work
• The brands in question are ones that most people haven’t stayed at, making them good for Brand Explorer
• The points bonus is quite generous, considering the value of World of Hyatt points

Make sure to register for this offer before completing any stays. 👍

That’s all for today, my friends. I hope you have a wonderful day, and I’ll see you bright and early for another newsletter.

Adios,

Mike DodgeHead Writer, Daily Drop

43.6548° N, 79.3884° W

With contributions by McKay Moffitt