October 17th, 2022 Estimated read time: 4 minutes and 53 seconds
Good morning, lovely people. Look, we need to have a little chat (don’t worry, you’re not in trouble). Last Friday, a storm was a’ brewin’… The perfect storm. A storm that rendered most of the best content of the newsletter… well… useless.
Basically, the amazing IHG promo that I hyped up was pulled at the last minute, therefore preventing most people from successfully registering for the offer. The promo did successfully work for myself and a number of friends, but there was sadly no way to know that it was going to be pulled the very next day. My guess is that the offer wasn’t meant for public use but somehow slipped through the cracks, was discovered by a bunch of travel hackers, and was pulled when they saw that way too many people were signing up for it. As disappointing as this may have been, the fact is that there is never any guarantee that these offers will stick around. I try my best to make sure you hear about them as quickly as possible, but it’s just the nature of this business. So in the future, I’d recommend trying your best to read the newsletter as soon as it arrives in your inbox to have the best chance of snagging these deals. Second, it seems that the link to the Starbucks/Delta promo was also broken… The good news here is that the promo is still intact, and you can find it with a simple Google search. The link I used didn’t work because of some tech mumbo jumbo that I won’t get into right now (because, *ahem*, I don’t totally understand it...) Anyway, let’s get into the newsletter:
- 💳 The potential credit card apocalypse
- 🏨 Hyatt: buy two, get one free
- 😂 Funny travel meme
💳 The potential credit card apocalypse
Okay, this really isn’t as dramatic as the headline makes it seem... I just wanted to grab your attention. Did it work? Don’t gloss over this, because it’s still very very important, and could impact your future travel hacking strategies. And before I get into this, let me just say that while this does involve government legislation, it’s bipartisan. So we can save the politics talk for the Thanksgiving dinner table. Basically, there is some proposed legislation going through congress that would require U.S. merchants to diversify which payment networks they use. Payment networks are companies like Visa and Mastercard. If this legislation passes, companies would be required to work with additional, potentially smaller (and cheaper) networks aside from these behemoths. The hope is that by doing this, companies will charge lower merchant fees, and therefore lower the price of goods for the consumer. So how does this affect credit card rewards? Whenever you swipe, tap, or insert your Visa (or Mastercard, Amex, etc.) credit card at checkout, Visa charges a fee. Part of the fee goes straight to Visa, while the other part goes to the card issuer, like Chase or Capital One. These fees are part of how banks are able to afford to offer things like points, travel credits, and other credit card perks. If the banks are now competing with companies who are charging far less for these fees, we could see our rewards start to dwindle. Will this tactic work the way they want it to? The interesting part about this whole story is that similar legislation was passed many years ago with debit cards. So first they came for debit cards, now they’re coming for credit cards, what’s next??
Specifically, the previous legislation strictly limited Debit Card rewards, thereby lowering swipe fees and *theoretically* saving both businesses and customers money. Unfortunately, that did not exactly happen... Although merchants were saving money on lower fees, most of them didn’t adjust their prices at all, and none of the savings were passed on to consumers (are you really surprised?) So I find it hard to believe that things will work out as planned with this current legislation... Anyway, be on the lookout for this bill to pass in the near future. Fingers crossed that it won’t have too detrimental of an effect.
🏨 Hyatt: Buy two, get one free... in Malaysia
Wow, that last section was kind of a bummer, eh? That’s okay because I’m about to brighten up your mood more than this corgi trying to wag its non-existent tail.
That's because until October 31st, you can book nights at Hyatt hotels in Malaysia at a “buy two, get one free” rate. Here are the details:
- Book by October 31st, 2022
- Stay before April 30th, 2023
- Buy 2 nights, get the third free
- Buy four nights and get the 5th free
Now I know that Malaysia might seem a little out of left field, but hear me out. Travel is finally starting to ramp up again and Malaysia is one of many countries that has recently opened its doors to foreigners. There is a lot to see and do in Malaysia, and the fact that you can get such an amazing deal on hotels might be a good reason to add it to your list for this coming year. After doing a quick search, I found some pretty sweet deals like three nights at the Alila in Kuala Lumpur for only $185 total, which is pretty awesome for such a nice hotel.
Still not convinced? Well, did you know that Malaysia has a fruit that’s so stinky it’s BANNED from many public places? Yea, it’s pretty hardcore. If stinky fruit isn’t your jam, then maybe you can check out the Batu Caves just outside of Kuala Lumpur, or visit the iconic Petronas Towers. I know a lot of you have mentioned that you’re planning trips to Southeast Asia in the near future. This could be a great way to book some great hotel rooms without breaking the bank. Technically, there is a promo code for this offer (MALA22), but I was able to see the rates show up without using any promo code.
✈️ Brought to you by FareDrop
Here at the Daily Drop, we love to share tips on how to use points and miles to hack your way around the world. But there’s one hack that beats all others… CHEAP 👏 FLIGHTS 👏 I’m sure by now you all know about FareDrop (you know, that company that owns this one), the app that sends amazing flight deals straight to your inbox every day. Normally, the international version costs $49 per year and the international version with business-class flights would run you a cool $99 per year. Well, it turns out I know a guy who knows a girl who went to college with a guy who once met a guy who is best friends with the guy who started the company (you may have heard of him). And he told me that for a limited time, Daily Drop readers can get 20% off their first year of the Global Plan or 40% off their first year of the Global Pro Plan! The catch? It’s only good until the end of the day today. So if you want to travel the world and save money doing it, sign up for a paid FareDrop membership today 👇 ✨ Sign up now ✨ If you heard about this last week but the website showed dates that didn't make any sense, I have it on good authority that's all been fixed. Oh, and if you’re sad that FareDrop only allows you to depart from U.S. airports, then you might not have to be sad for much longer… well, at least not if you’re Canadian.. 😉 but you didn’t hear that from me.
😂 Funny travel meme
I stumbled on this and thought it was hilarious. Obviously, the sign is referring to the veteran returning home, which is really heartwarming. But given the recent Summer of travel mishaps and crazy baggage delays, I think this is a pretty funny joke, though a little too real...
That's going to do it for today, folks. I know the newsletter was a little longer today, but I wanted to at least give you some explanation for Friday's underwhelming newsletter. Are you planning a trip to Southeast Asia anytime soon? What do you make of the new potential legislation and its effects on travel rewards? Let me know by replying to this email or reaching out on social media. Take care and talk soon, Mike Dodge Head Writer, The Daily Drop
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