This issue of our newsletter brought to you by the Daily Drop Newsletter​

Hello Reader,

💸 This Week's Best Deals in Travel

We've moved this feature up to the top this week because there are two great deals that can save you money in your travels that are expiring soon. Take advantage of them. Although there's an initial spend, you'll make back many times what you invest in benefits.

Our favorite card's enhanced signup offer is ending soon

This is our favorite travel credit card (which unfortunately banking compliance regulations prohibit us from naming here, but it's easy to figure out.) We're using this card primarily on all our travels, and the points we accumulate have recently got us free airfare to Europe, and free hotels all over the place. This card is offering 60,000 points and a $300 statement credit for travel purchases within their travel portal, after you spend $4000 during the first three months you have the card. That's a value of up to $1050 for an annual fee of only $95. Read our full review of this card for even more details on how this card delivers great value. This offer is ending soon, so don't miss it.

Daily Drop Pro sale ending this week

​Daily Drop Pro is currently on sale for $99/year for life. (It goes up soon to $149 annually.) Daily Drop Pro is an amazing travel tool for several reasons:

→ Flight award searches

• Search around the world for flights using miles and points
• Step by step walkthrough on how to book
• Sort and filter by airline, program, points, and more

→ Hotel award searches

• Search all major hotel brands for your points stay
• Search by card perks you have

→ Wallet

• Organize your cards and points
• Make searches easier by filtering for points you have

→ Cash deals (fare alerts by email)

• Set the preferences for deals you want
• Get flight deals for economy, business class, and domestic flights

→ Have no idea how to use points and miles?

• Free online introductory class on how to accumulate and use points and miles
• Get your questions answered in the community space, and attend live workshops

Hurry, this Fare Drop Pro deal is ending in the next couple of days!

🧭 Where in the World?

As we write this, we're in Padua, Italy, which is a good deal calmer than Rome, Florence, and Venice where we've spent the last two weeks with some old friends.

We learned, again, the advantages of using expert guides to navigate some of the world's busiest destinations. Everyone in our group praised the experiences we had with Context Travel in Rome and Florence. We'll give you more detail in our next newsletter. In Venice, we ventured out on our own into some of the more far flung districts, enjoying an overlap with Venice's Biennale Arte 2024.

We're now in Padua we are taking a breather to plan our next steps. Since we got in late yesterday afternoon, we've lined up tickets to see Giotto's famous frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel, made a brief visit to the enormous Padua Basilica of St. Anthony during the All Saints Day mass, and learned that Padua's University - the second oldest in Italy, founded in 1222 – is home to some 70,000 students. We love us a good college town! Dinner? A very reasonably priced pizza and salad, with a glass of Spritz Aperol, invented in this Veneto region.

One note: this trip to Italy drove home the point that you need to make advanced reservations to see the popular sights in well-touristed cities. Cities like Rome, Florence, Venice and Padua are dealing with over-tourism by limiting tickets to many of their attractions. Don't be disappointed. Reserve well in advance, especially if you're going on your own. And, even if you're not, remember the best tours sell out as well.

🧳 Our Latest Posts

While we're updating our Rome and Florence content, we'll share these posts about some of Florence's best sights. We found ourselves referring to these posts about the Basilica of Santa Croce, this one about the Medici Chapels, and this one on the museums as we rediscovered why we love this city.

🗞️ Travel News From Around the Web

• We're big fans of train travel, especially in Europe, so we're doubly glad to see news of Europe adding even more high speed trains, especially in Spain. BTW, we're on a Eurail pass right now, beginning our trip around Italy and the eastern Adriatic region.
• Here's a list of the airlines in the US with the most delays and cancellations, along with some suggestions to minimize their effect on you.
• One of our favorite parts of Spain, the Valencia region, has been devastated by flooding and, obviously, flights and trains have been affected. We have a trip to Valencia planned for this spring. Until then, we'll keep the people of the region in our thoughts. The floods are a sad reminder of the effects of climate change on travel. If you haven't read this essay by Rick Steves on that topic, please do.
• Finally, if all the other news these days stresses you out, here's a simple movement routine to combat that. We're using it a lot lately.

❝Travel Quote of the Week❞

I don't feel that I belong anywhere. Or rather, if there's a place I belong, I don't feel I'm there. – Tom Stoppard

​

Happy travels,

Kris and Tom

​ Tom Bartel and Kristin Henning ​Travel Past 50​ ​ Connect with us: Facebook, Threads, Instagram, ​ Join our Facebook community.

​

P.S. What more can we do for you? Reply to this newsletter and ask us anything.

Do you like this email? Please forward it to a friend!

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here.

Are you planning to book a trip soon?

• See our favorite travel resources​
• Check out our recommended travel accessories​
• Get the best travel credit card for you​
• Read all our Travel Skills tips posts​

Some other recommendations from our partners:

• See the travel gear and books we recommend at our Travel Past 50 Amazon shop​
• Shop our favorite place for outdoor gear and travel clothing at REI Co-op​
• Get your travel insurance with Allianz Travel Insurance​
• For your Spain travel, check out suggested itineraries at Spain's official tourism site​

Travel Past 50 is part of affiliate sales networks and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers.