When I first started applying for travel-related credit cards, I focused exclusively on airline-branded cards. That was years ago and as a newbie at the time, I missed out on the more lucrative mileage and point-earning capabilities for everyday purchases that more traditional cards offered.

Fast forward several years and I woke up to the true value of loyalty programs offered by the card issuers themselves. I originally focused on Chase products and the Ultimate Rewards program. And I recently signed up for the American Express Platinum card and Membership Rewards.

Why? Because I’m now more flexible in my airline and hotel choices given I’m nearing million-miler status on United and I’m no longer gunning for any particular elite level with a hotel chain. Both Ultimate Rewards and Membership Rewards each offer great choices on where I can transfer (or use) my points for travel.

Here are my current top three cards:

1.  The Platinum Card® from American Express

I’ll be flying American Airlines quite a bit more shortly and the Platinum card gives me Admirals Club lounge access. The $450 annual fee for the card pays for itself given the amount I fly, which I blogged about recently, through not having to pay the lounge fee, plus the card offers $200 in airline fee credits. And I love Membership Rewards where I can transfer points to more than a dozen airline programs, plus hotels.

2.  Chase Ink Plus Business Card

This is my primary business credit card and it gives me 5X points on the first $50,000 spent annually at office supply stores, and on my cell phone, landline, internet and cable TV services. It also gives 2X points on the first $50k for gas station purchases and hotels rooms bought directly with the chain. The current sign-up bonus is pretty good and offers 50,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 in the first three months. And the intro annual fee for the first year is $0, then $95. There’s also the Chase Ink Bold card with similar perks and annual fee with the primary difference being it’s a pay-in-full charge card.

3.  Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card

This is my primary personal credit card and it gives me 2X points on travel and dining purchases, plus a 7% annual points dividend on all of my points earned. As with the Ink Plus and Ink Bold cards, this card has no foreign transaction fees and also has a $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95. If redeeming points directly through Ultimate Rewards, it provides 20% off airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises. The current sign-up bonus is 40,000 points after spending $3,000 in the first three months.

For other airline, hotel and flexible credit cards that earn miles or points, click here.

Related posts:

How the American Express Platinum Card Can Pay for Itself

Limited Time Bonus for the Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN

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This past January I took a mileage run on United to Tokyo and stayed at the Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport for one night. The online rate I booked was shockingly low at only 8,000 yen (about $85) for a fully cancelable standard Hilton Queen room. The non-refundable advance purchase rate was only 1,000 yen less, for what it’s worth.

The hotel offers free shuttle service from the airport at various times throughout the day, typically in 20- or 30-minute intervals (except mid-day when it’s hourly). I had just missed one shuttle and out of laziness and a desire to take a nap as soon as possible, I grabbed a cab for the short ride (about $17).

As a Diamond HHonors member, I was upgraded to a Deluxe Plus room, which the only difference I can ascertain from the website description is 108 additional square feet of space.

The bed was very comfortable and a bit softer than what’s found in many U.S. locations. And there was plenty of desk space and drawers.

Deluxe Plus Queen Room

My welcome amenity included two bottles of water and a couple of hazelnut biscuit crackers. Also included with my status came complimentary health club admission and “American Breakfast,” which turned out to be access to the full buffet.

Welcome Amenities

The nightstand next to the bed controlled the room lights and temperature, and also included a digital alarm clock. Inside the closet a safe large enough for my 15” MacBook Pro was present along with robes and slippers.

I was expecting a super-small bathroom, but was pleasantly surprised by an average sized one similar to what you’d find at say a La Quinta or Holiday Inn – not necessarily a U.S. Hilton. And yes, the toilet featured all the bells and whistles that the Japanese love. The Peter Thomas Roth amenities, standard for Hilton, were slightly larger than what you’d find in the U.S., but still TSA friendly.

Service was excellent at the hotel and everyone spoke English quite well, which you’d expect for a worldwide brand at an airport location. I didn’t snap photos of the breakfast buffet the next morning, but it was fantastic. Everything from typical Western dishes to Japanese and other fare was available.

While the hotel is rather isolated for walking to much of anything, it’s ideal for a quick night before catching a flight the next day. Oh, and if you’re coming in from the city on the train, the hotel also offers free shuttle service to/from Narita Station.

Related posts:

Flight Review: United Airlines Global First Class, San Francisco to Tokyo

Lounge Review: United Global First, Tokyo Narita Airport

Lounge Review: ANA Suite Lounge, Tokyo Narita Airport

In case you haven’t already read about it, Hilton HHonors has unveiled its second quarter 2013 bonus point promotion.

Hilton HHonors 2013Q2 Promotion

The “Daily Grand” promotion runs from April 1 to June 30, 2013 and provides 1,000 bonus points for every weeknight of a stay, and 2,000 points for every weekend night. A weekend night is defined as Friday, Saturday, or Sunday for all regions except for hotels within the Middle East and Africa where a weekend night is defined as Thursday, Friday, or Saturday.

Registration is required (only once) and must be done prior to checkout of the first stay during the promotion period. As other bloggers have noted, it appears all properties are participating since there’s no mention of excluded locations in the FAQs.

It’s a no brainer to take the few seconds it takes to register, but this promo does little to excite me given the upcoming devaluation to the HHonors program.

On Monday I posted a quick snapshot of my 2012 flying showing a map of my travels. I’ve been LAX (pun sort-of intended) in updating my FlightMemory over the years, but I plugged my 2012 data yesterday to reveal the following:

In total, I flew 126,452 miles during the year. That’s less than 2011 and I have a feeling my travels in 2013 will drop even further – more on that in a moment. United was my top airline flown in 2012, I rode Boeing 757s most frequently and I traversed 21 different airports. My upgrade percentage was even better than it appears as the majority of my flights in coach were on single-cabin aircraft. I geek out in the analytics of it all (if you couldn’t tell) and I’m planning to load my lifetime data slowly but surely in the coming months.

What Lies Ahead?

It was a year of ups and downs for me in 2012, not unlike most years. And if there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s that I have absolutely no idea what’ll happen this year. On a personal note (which I tend to avoid on this blog), I’m very happy to close the door on last year. I lost my day job in January, had multiple medical issues throughout the year that had a significant impact on my life, and other events occurred distracting me from my vision for the year.

Looking back, though, travel remained very, very good considering my personal tribulations. I finally flew on an A380, I had an amazing trip to Australia including a spectacular time flying Virgin Australia domestically, I flew on United’s inaugural Boeing 787 flight(s), and I visited a new country. I hope 2013 will bring equally enjoyable travels.

One of the biggest changes recently is the fact I moved from Los Angeles to just outside of Reno. It’s quite a change, but a good one for multiple reasons. I’ll certainly miss LAX airport and the frequent mileage-runnable fares popping up there. But my travel goals may have changed for 2013. I’ll definitely hit million-miler with United this year (probably during the first few months) and I’m not necessarily gunning to hit 1K anymore. I say that now thinking lifetime Premier Gold status will be good enough for my travel patterns, but I sort of cringe at the prospect of dropping tiers. We’ll see what happens. And if airlines begin rolling out revenue-based frequent flyer programs as predicted, it might be the right time to slow down.

One of the things I definitely want to improve this year is Frequently Flying. After the loss of my job last January, I had visions of spending more time blogging. That (obviously) didn’t happen and I’ve been questioning an opportunity/decision I made during the year that has eaten up way more time than I thought it would. That might change soon, as I’ve learned some valuable lessons.

I hope your 2013 is off to a great start so far. I have my first flight this Saturday that I’m looking forward to… and it’s on Southwest!

When it comes to having elite status with a hotel, my two favorite perks are by far free Wi-Fi and access to the club lounge. I also appreciate the other amenities that vary by hotel chain – and even brand within a chain – including room upgrades and welcome gifts (free bottled water, food platters, etc).

But what keeps a brand front-of-mind even more in my book is when I receive an email from the hotel. And I’m not talking about the post-stay surveys (obviously), of which I probably complete 80% of the time. They’re the ones from hotel GMs or other managerial staff either before or after my stay that leave a lasting impact.

I was in suburban Chicago for a wedding the weekend before last and stayed at the DoubleTree Wood Dale, a property I’ve been to several times in the past. (Side note: this is a great hotel for out-of-towners attending the Chicago Seminars if the Holiday Inn and other overflow hotels book up – the rates are usually incredibly cheap and it’s just a short drive away).

The day after I checked out I received an email from the GM thanking me for my business and hoping my stay was “excellent.” He noted a survey would likely follow from Hilton, but he also encouraged feedback sent directly to him. And I did just that. My stay was indeed very good, though I noted a couple of very minor annoyances (a flickering light outside my room creating a strobe effect and a wet lobby floor from remodeling work).

The GM responded to my email within an hour, addressed my concerns and provided updates on the progress of the hotel’s refresh. His reply honestly did more to keep DoubleTree and Hilton front-of-mind than the free bottled water and room upgrade I received.

Similarly, I have a couple of separate hotel stays this weekend (United’s 787 inaugural!!!) and one property already reached out via email offering a specific point of contact for any issues that might come up during my stay.

These are just two examples of the many emails I’ve received since holding elite status with hotel chains. It’s a simple, free and effective marketing tool a hotel can employ to keep my business. I still want my published elite amenities, of course, but the act of personal, direct contact by an actual on-site employee increases the likelihood I’ll be a repeat guest and remain loyal.

[Speaking of outreach and communication, there is an issue with all reader comments being sent to the SPAM folder for BoardingArea blogs, including mine. I'm filtering through the hundreds I receive daily for actual comments and will get them approved and respond in-kind as soon as possible... I'm not ignoring you!]

Related posts:

Another Hilton Social Media Outreach Success Story

Hotel Promotion Failure Resolved via Twitter

Chicago Seminars: Summary