Greetings from beautiful Colorado Springs, CO! Randy Peterson and his incredible team at BoardingArea have put together a phenomenal weekend/conference for BoardingArea and other great self-hosted points and miles bloggers at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort. This is my first time in Colorado, and so far I’m loving everything about it (except the chilly nights, of course…)!

Aside from the great agenda we have planned here, I’m also having a blast learning unique things about all of the other bloggers and connecting with them on a personal level. Hey, I never knew Ric @ Loyalty Traveler had such an inner hippy to him (PS – I’m still 100% serious about that bathtub post I proposed to you, and I already know that Kendra is a big supporter of the idea too!).

Anyway, let’s catch up in the world of point and miles, shall we? I have to keep this short and sweet because I’m *supposed* to be giving my undivided attention to the BAcon sessions. Sorry, Randy I swear I’m still paying attention! :-P

• Free Admirals Club Pass with Klout: As Mommy Points blogged earlier this week, if you use Klout and have a score of 55 and above, you can qualify for a cool “perk”- a free American Airlines Admiral’s Club day pass. Any score lower than that will receive a $50-off coupon towards the annual membership fee.
• $10 Back on a $30 Uber Purchase With AmEx: Deals We Like and I have a very public love for Uber, an on-demand car service mobile app. I was thrilled when she let us know that from now until June 30, you can earn $10 back on a $30 Uber purchase when you use a synced American Express card. While I normally prefer to sync my AmEx card with Twitter and Facebook, it seems that this time around, registration is only available through your American Express online account. You can do this by logging in and clicking the “Offers For You” tab and clicking the “Save Offer” button. Yes, Uber gift cards trigger the $10 statement credit. If you’re new to Uber and want to learn more about it, check out my previous post about it here.
• Get HotelTonight Credits for Taking Pictures of Your Hotel Stay: Another app I really love is HotelTonight (related post). For a limited time, you can earn $5 in HT credits by taking pictures of your stay (for bookings made after May 7) and a bonus $5 if any pics from the set make it to the popular feed in the Photos tab. You can learn all about the full promotion here.

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I recently posted that I’ll be heading down to Miami for July 4th weekend after I had two successful BRG hotel claims (note: since that post, I managed to snag another successful BRG too!). Since it was cheaper [by far] to fly from EWR-MIA from Wednesday-Wednesday, I figured I’d block out a few days after July 4th and play around with some Avios redemptions to the Caribbean.

Personally, I am a huge fan of the British Airways Avios program for a number of reasons. The first reason is because the program is distance-based, meaning that award flights start at just 4,500 Avios each way if the distance in air miles is under 600. The second reason is that Avios are generally really easy to obtain via credit card sign-up bonuses. Lastly, I love using Avios for domestic redemptions because the taxes are only $2.50 each way on partner airline, American Airlines.

So far Avios have come to the rescue many times. Not only have I’ve found a number of last-minute flights in the $500+ range that I was able to book with Avios and just $2.50, but Dad and I also used 4,500 Avios each and $31 in taxes to get from Sydney to Melbourne on Oneworld partner, Qantas. Avios are definitely a staple in our household, and I generally transfer all of my American Express Membership Rewards points into the Avios program, especially when there is a transfer bonus like there is now (currently a 35% bonus for transfers made by June 7).

So now that I have a few days to spare after meeting with friends in Miami, I started putting thought into where in the Caribbean I’d like to hop to from Miami. I’m sure most of you already know that getting to the Caribbean during the summer months, especially over a holiday weekend, can cost a fortune, so if you have Avios to spare this is an excellent redemption opportunity.

I’ve never been to Grand Cayman before, and knowing that the flight is only 4,500 Avios each way (or ~3400 Membership Rewards points with the current 35% transfer bonus) plenty of daily availability, I was pretty much sold. The price in Avios and taxes below reflects the total for two passengers.

That same one-way flight on American Airlines prices out for $504 for two passengers. The return from GCM-MIA came out to 4,500 Avios each plus $82.10 a piece in inevitable taxes. Still, not bad – $84.60 and 9,000 Avios per person for a round-trip flight to Grand Cayman during a peak travel time works for me.

Below is a quick sample guide of where in the Caribbean and Mexico you can go to with Avios. As always, you can always play around with the British Airways Avios Calculator like I did to find more options from your home airport.

From Miami

• 4,500 Avios Each Way – Grand Cayman (GCM), Nassau, The Bahamas (NAS), Turks & Caicos (PLS), Montego Bay, Jamaica (MBJ), Cancun, Mexico (CUN)
• 7,500 Avios Each Way – Aruba (AUA), Punta Cana (PUJ), Bermuda (BDA), San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU), Belize City (BZE), Roatan (RTB), San Jose, Costa Rica (SJO), Liberia, Costa Rica (LIR)
• 10,000 Avios Each Way – St Maarten (SXM), Barbados (BGI), Curacao, (CUR), St. Lucia (UVF), Trinidad and Tobago (POS), Martinique (FDF)

From New York

• 7,500 Avios Each Way - Bermuda (BDA)
• 10,000 Avios Each Way - Curacao, (CUR), San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU), Cancun, Mexico (CUN)
• 12,500 Avios Each Way - Barbados (BGI)
• *Any of the 4,500 Avios redemptions listed above from Miami are effectively 12,000 Avios each way from NY since NYC-Miami is 7,500 Avios each way.

From Los Angeles

• 7,500 Avios Each Way - Los Cabos, Mexico (SJD)
• 12,500 Avios Each Way – Cancun, Mexico (CUN)

So How Do You Get Avios?

The easiest and fastest way to get Avios is through credit card sign-up bonuses. The first one that obvious comes to mind is the British Airways Visa Signature Card, which comes with a sign-up bonus of 50,000 Avios after a low minimum spending requirement of only $1,000 within 3 months.

Another thing to keep in mind is that British Airways is a transfer partner in both the American Express Membership Rewards program and the Chase Ultimate Rewards Program.

A great card is the The Business Gold Rewards Card® from American Express OPEN, which comes with a sign-up bonus of 50,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $5,000 in 3 months. This 50,000 sign-up bonus can be quite lucrative if you take advantage of an occasional transfer bonus from Membership Rewards to British Airways Avios. For instance, with the current 35% transfer bonus, 50,000 Membership Rewards points would transfer to 67,500 Avios.

Two other other Membership Rewards cards include:
American Express® Premier Rewards Gold Card (sign-up bonus is 25,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $2,000 in 3 months) and The Platinum Card® from American Express (sign-up bonus is 25,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $2,000 in 3 months. Also, see related post about the awesome perks related to this card). Both of these are personal charge cards.

Moving on to Ultimate Rewards cards… two of my favorites are the Chase Sapphire Preferred (40,000 Ultimate Rewards points after spending $3,000 in 3 months) and the Chase Ink Plus Business card (50,000 Ultimate Rewards points after spending $5,000 in 3 months).

Has anyone else recently redeemed Avios for a flight to the Caribbean or Mexico? If so, where did you go? Any other destinations I can add to the list?

Also, anyone have any recommendations for the Grand Cayman? I’ve already ironed out one night at the Westin Grand Cayman using Starpoints. Would love to hear feedback and recommendations from those who have visited before!

Cheers,

Angelina

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“Little brother” – heh. The title paints him to sound like I’m talking about a 10 year old… but he’s 23 (almost), living on his own in Aiken, SC, and ready to dive full force into the points and miles world (finally!). Granted the fact that he has grown up in a points-and-miles-obsessed family, he still didn’t really “get it” (like some of these people)… or have as much as an interest at all… until something “extraordinary” happened last weekend.

Last weekend, at FTU DC I was surprised to find out that I had won United MileagePlus Premier Gold status during the raffle. Since I have already passed the gold mark this year on my way to my Premier 1K status goal, I decided to gift the status. At first, my initial thought was to gift the status to Dad, but then I had an even better idea – I thought to myself, “Hey… maybe if Anthony gets to experience a little bit of the perks of having status, it’ll feed his desire to appreciate points and miles and he’ll want to learn more”.

To frame the story, earlier in January, Anthony landed his dream job right after graduating college. Fortunately for him, he’s been traveling heavily for business on US Airways, crediting his miles to his United MileagePlus account. His new Gold status with United will allow him the perks of having domestic lounge access via a status match with Turkish Airlines, and when he flies on paid United tickets, he’ll even score a chance of a complimentary upgrade to first class, something he has yet to experience.

After his excitement level heightened when I told him he’d be getting the Premier Gold status, I received a message from him I’d never thought I’d see in a million years. It read something like this: “Ang, what’s your opinion on the Priority Club Visa? I want to start getting travel credit cards so that I can visit Bangkok and fly first class this year”.

Two things about his message made me proud: 1. He had a specific travel goal in mind, and 2. He reached out to big sister for advice before doing it on his own. Good job, Ant!

So, if you’re also new to the game, or perhaps watching from the sidelines and want help with your first churn, follow along and pay attention to the pointers at the end of this post. You can even send me an email and I’ll do my best to point you in the right direction based on your own travel goals.

The first thing I told him to do was to check his credit score for free using Credit Sesame and Credit Karma. Since he is 23, I feared that he might not have a solid credit history yet to start churning. But… Dad had added my brother and me as authorized users back in the day to help us build credit. His score was in the 770 range. That’s good news.

Next, I told him to scrap the idea of the Priority Club Visa and to instead focus on a card(s) that will net him some valuable airline miles instead (ahem, United miles). Since it is his first churn, I didn’t want to overwhelm him with ridiculous minimum spend requirements or too many cards. As a side note, he already has the Starwood American Express and the Citi Platinum Select AAdvantage Visa.

The first card I recommended was the United MileagePlus Visa since we’re a United family by default (EWR). I received a targeted offer in the mail for the MileagePlus Visa with a sign-up bonus of 50,000 UA miles that I passed along to him, which is higher than the current 30,000-mile public offer for the MileagePlus Visa. Some people (myself included) have had success in asking Chase to match them to the higher offer if one should become available within 90 days of applying. To learn more about that by my example, you may take a look at my recent post – Chase Matched me to the 30,000 Freedom. As always, YMMV.

My brother also did some “homework” on his own and was considering applying for my favorite Chase card, the Chase Sapphire Preferred. However, I told him to hold off on that for now and here’s why: the United MileagePlus Visa and the Chase Sapphire Preferred are both Chase personal cards, and I generally do not recommend applying for two of the same types of cards per issuer when it comes to maximizing your chances of approval.

Instead, I told him to go for the Chase Ink Plus, also an Ultimate Rewards card, that comes with a higher 50,000-point sign-up bonus. He said he was vaguely familiar with the Ink business cards, but didn’t exactly know the difference between the Ink Bold and Ink Plus cards. I can imagine that there are readers out there who are also wondering the difference as well, so I’ll save my explanation about the two cards for a future post this week.

I’m keeping his churn quite “mini” with only two cards because I want him to ease into this in a way that’s feasible for him. When he starts getting used to managing multiple cards, he might be inclined to add more cards to his wallet. Right now, I believe I’m at 14, personally.

In the meantime, here’s some advice that I passed along to Anthony, and I’ll pass it along to anyone who can use it as well:

First Time Churner Advice – Tips & Pointers:

• First things first – Know Your Credit Score: Before you get started applying for your new travel credit cards, be sure to know your credit score and monitor it monthly. Sure, there are many programs out there, but many of them come with hefty monthly fees after the free trial period is up. I choose to monitor my credit score for free using CreditSesame and CreditKarma. When I say they’re free, I mean they’re free; you don’t even need a credit card to secure your sign up.
• Have Specific Travel Goals in Mind: I always tell people that miles are useless unless you plan on using them. This one is easy, and chances are you already have a travel goal in mind since you’re considering churning for miles to begin with. Do you dream of flying first class to your beach-front oasis in Maui? Or are you yearning to have your entire extended family join you for a family reunion in Orlando? Perhaps you want to visit a celebrity hot-spot like The Maldives. Whatever your dream plans are, be sure to jot them down and create a game plan. Having a specific end-result will help you create a realistic plan that’s personalized for you and your family’s travel needs.
• Are You a Responsible Spender?: I can not stress this enough. Earning miles through credit cards is NOT for you if you can not pay your bills on time and in full each month. I’d never recommend travel credit cards to someone who feels they are not a responsible spender. Definitely track your spend and link all of your accounts to Mint.com to make your life easier if needed. Spend within your means, and you and your credit cards will have a long, fruitful, and mutually-satisfying relationship. I promise.
• Meet Minimum Spend: Most of the current sign-up bonuses out there are only available after some sort of minimum-spend threshold is met. It’s senseless to apply for a card and lose out on a lucrative sign-up bonus by failing to be aware of deadlines. Please be very aware of the spend requirement and deadline and see if it realistically makes sense for you. What I personally find that works is pre-paying health insurance expenses, auto insurance, etc on a new card to help me quickly meet the spend requirement needed.
• The Application Process: When applying for new cards, I usually apply for a 2-4 at a time from an array of issuers to lessen to “credit inquiry pull”. Multiple applications processed in the same day generally have a higher chance of approval because the 2-5 point hit per application does not usually show immediately, and card issuers can not usually tell that you’ve applied for different cards within that same time frame. Of course, a healthy credit score is the key ingredient to maximize your chance of approval for travel credit cards, but don’t be afraid to apply for multiple cards if your credit is good since credit inquiries have a minimal effect on healthy credit reports. In fact, maintaining a good relationship with credit cards can actually increase your score all together.

So there it is – my brother has finally joined the bandwagon, and I’m certainly excited for him. What other advice can you give him? If you’re a new churner, what cards are on your mind and how will they help you reach your travel goals? I’m looking forward to hearing your stories!

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I recently came across the “Big Mac Index”, which was created by The Economist in 1986. Even though I’ve stumbled across these annual reports multiple times during my 30+ years in the financial services industry, I never really paid attention to it until now.

This year while all of you were learning and socializing at the Frequent Flyer University in the Washington D.C. area, I was home studying this year’s 2013 Big Mac Index to plan next year’s big “Dad Trip”.

The Big Mac Index is an interactive map used to measure the purchasing power between two currencies by evaluating the prices of McDonald’s famous Big Mac sandwich in its restaurants across the world. The data is published every spring by The Economist. According to the 2013 ‘index”, South Africa and India’s currencies are undervalued by more than 50%, simply meaning you’re most likely able to get the “most bang for your buck” in those areas this year.

Take a look at the 2013 Big Mac Index visual map below:

The map you see above depicts 2013′s results. For those interested in comparing this year’s data to last year’s data, you may find the 2012 Big Mac Index here.

Since I naturally like to travel on a budget, I’m using the 2013 index as a tool to help me plan my next trip:

Here are some of my vacation possibilities based on the data presented above:

• India
• South Africa
• Hong kong (visited)
• Ukraine
• Egypt
• Russia
• Taiwan
• China
• Malaysia
• Sri Lanka
• Indonesia (visited)
• Mexico
• Philippines
• Thailand
• Saudi Arabia (not interested at this time)
• Poland
• Pakistan (not interested at this time)
• Lithuania
• UAE (not interested at this time)
• Latvia
• South Korea (visited)
• Japan (visited)
• Singapore (visited)
• Czech Republic  (visited)
• Hungary (visited)
• Argentina (visited)
• Peru (visited)

Now I’m narrowing it down to these 5 countries based on my own personal interest:

• Thailand
• South Africa
• Russia
• Poland
• Ukraine

Narrowing it down even more, I’m leaning towards Thailand, South Africa, and Russia.

What are your suggestions and why? Have you used the Big Mac Index or something similar to plan your trips in the past?

Happy Travels,

The Dad.

Last week I had an awesome time at the 25th annual Freddie Awards that was held at the USA Today headquarters in VA. I was able to get my hands on not only one, but two, swag bags that were being handed out to all attendees. Since I am a minimalist at heart, I’ll go ahead and pass them along to two readers.

Inside the collectible 2013 Freddie Awards/AmEx reusable tote, there’s a leather notebook from Priority Pass, a copy of the latest issue of Inside Flyer Magazine, Executive Travel magazine, a notepad and pen from USAToday, and a multi-device retractable USB charger from Gogo.

I’ll keep this giveaway short and sweet.

One swag bag will go to to a winner from the comments section, and one will go to a Tweeter.

To win by commenting, all you have to do is leave a comment below sharing your favorite types of posts on the blog. I have a lot of fun ideas as to where I want to take the blog in the near future, and I appreciate all of the feedback and support I get from the readers. Simply leave a suggestion, tell me what you want to see more of, less of, or just any general feedback and comments.

To win by tweeting, follow me on twitter and send me a tweet saying anything your heart desires (be nice…) using #hashtag #JAPTGiveaway. A sample tweet would look like this: “HI! @angelinaaucello #JAPTGiveaway”

I’ll select a winner randomly from the comments and tweets on Monday May 7th at 9:00 AM ET. Good luck guys!

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I received an email yesterday from HowAboutWe, a site I recently joined that offers discounted “dates” in major cities. The email was suggesting that I book a date to receive a $50 Uber credit. I found out about HowAboutWe via a targeted ad that appeared in my Facebook newsfeed about a week ago. I’m new to using the site, and if you’re unfamiliar with the concept, I’ll make it simple – HowAboutWe is like the Groupon of modern-day dating.

Well the bad news is that I missed out on the $50 Uber credit offer since it was only valid for dates purchased yesterday… the price you pay for not keeping up with emails. But… the good news it, while taking a peek at the “Rewards” page, I found a pleasant surprise:

First things first, I LOVE Uber; and to be honest, I’m more excited about the Uber credit than booking a date, but hey… some of the dates listed are fun, and without question there are some really good deals. For instance – $22 gets you a carafe of wine and a tasting platter for two at a trendy NOHO hotspot. Dates range from cocktails and small plates for two, to comedy shows, to full-out lavish dinner plans.

Aside from claiming the $20 Uber credit, I went ahead and purchased the $22 NOHO night out too. I’m sure I’ll put it to use one of these days.

Not only do I now have an excuse for a night out on the town, now I can look like high-roller when I get there in style. Ha. Who am I kidding? Knowing me, those Uber credits will go towards rides to the airport instead ;).

Things to know:

• You’ll have to register for HowAboutWe, in which you’ll automatically be registered for a 30 day trial (no credit card of any kind is required). The link I provided is from my “Invite Friends” option on the site. I have no idea what the incentive is for joining from my link because nothing is mentioned. However, you can also join directly at HowAboutWe.com
• The $20 Uber credit may be a targeted offer based on your zip code. My guess is that cities that offer Uber (DC, NYC, LA… just to name a few) might populate the Uber offer in the Rewards page. Again, that is just my guess. I have no idea how offers are targeted.
• If you’re not yet an Uber member, you can sign up using my link if you’d like. You and I will both receive $10. Feel free to post your link in the comments for others to use if you please.
• When I claimed the Uber reward, I was told that further instructions would be emailed to me about redeeming the $20 Uber credit. I’ll be on the lookout for that.

Let me know if it works for you and hopefully you’ll get more than just the $20 Uber credit out of the site. Again, some of the dates sound really fun and are super affordable!

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A few friends of mine have been bugging me to join them in South Beach, Miami for July 4 weekend for some time now, and I never bit the bullet because I had forever been under the impression that Miami is SUPER expensive in general, and would be ridiculously-priced, especially during the holiday weekend.

Well out of curiosity, I decided to play around with flight prices just for fun, and I was super surprised and thrilled that I was able to find a round trip non-stop flight from EWR-MIA for just $264. But before officially booking the flight, I needed to scope out hotels. In my head, I was expecting South Beach hotels to be in the $500 range per night (which I’d never pay). Yeah…

I first started off by searching availability at Kimpton properties since I am on the road to maximizing my new Inner Circle status with them (related post). I was surprised to find out that their South Beach location, the Surfcomber Hotel, had open availability at the AAA rate of $350 for the date I had in mind. Mind you, that was a bit more (OK wayyy more) than I was looking to spend, but I booked it anyway “just in case”.

I’m naturally deal-hungry so I immediately went on HotelsCombined.com to see if any other booking engine was offering the same room at a cheaper price for the same room type and date I had just booked.

The good excellent news was this:

Olotels.com was offering the same room for $227 including all taxes and fees! This excited me. Since Kimpton’s reservation phone systems were down last night, I sent them a tweet asking if they could contact me so that I could submit a BRG claim with them and rebook the room. Within two minutes or so, I received a phone call from the Kimpton Twitter team and they went ahead and matched the $227 all inclusive rate and also threw in a $25 food and beverage credit. Awesome!

Feeling like I was on a roll and using the same technique, I went ahead and searched for more hotel nights for the time I’d be in South Beach. I searched on Olotels and found an incredible rate for $203 with all taxes included for the Marriott South Beach. Based on the range of prices I was seeing at other nearby properties, I knew that I’d have a good shot at qualifying for a best rate guarantee at Marriott.com. The same room was being offered at $405 at Marriott.com, so I immediately booked it and submitted a claim.

When I woke up this morning, I saw that I had received an email from Marriott saying that they would be honoring the claim and rebooked me at the rate of $125.38. The room rate reflects the nightly room rate, before tax, and an additional 25% discount for submitting a successful claim according to the terms of Marriott’s “Look No Further(SM) Best Rate Guarantee.” Not only did I feel I lucked out with an amazing rate, but I can also stack this stay with Marriott’s new MegaBonus promotion, allowing me to earn a free night certificate after completing two stays.

Best Rate Guarantee Tips and Policies

Many hotel chains offer an attractive best rate guarantee (BRG) policy as a way to promote direct bookings instead of bookings through a travel agency where they will likely have to pay a commission. As a general rule of thumb, it’s also always best to book directly with the hotel when it comes to earning points and miles because most 3rd-party bookings will not count towards stay credits and promotions.

Here are some tips to finding a lower rate that you can use when submitting a BRG claim:

• Check the Hotel Deals forum over at FlyerTalk.com
• Follow the Best Rate Gaurantee blog. (note: I have never submitted a claim based on information I’ve found on this site, but I do know of those who have).
• Compare rates across the board using a site like HotelsCombined.com

Here’s a summary of best rate guarantee policies within the major hotel chains:

• Kimpton: Will match the lower rate and throw in a $25 food and beverage certificate
• Marriott: Will match the lower rate and further discount it by 25%
• Hyatt: Will match the lower rate and further discount it by 20% (related post about my experience).
• Club Carlson: Will match the lower rate and further discount it by 25%
• Starwood: Will match the lower rate and give you a 10% discount or 2,000 Starpoints
• IHG: Will give you the first night free if you find a lower rate than what they offer directly through them.
• Hilton: Will match the lower rate and give you a $50 American Express gift cheque or $50 off your bill for reservations outside of the US.
• Choice Hotels: Will give you the first night free if you find a lower rate than what they offer directly through them.
• Wyndham Hotels: Will match the lower rate and further discount it by 10%.
• Best Western: Will match the lower rate and further discount it by 10%.

What other best rate guarantee tips can you share? Feel free to share your own personal stories in the comments as well!

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Wow, what a great weekend! It was so nice meeting everyone at the Freddie Awards and Frequent Traveler University in DC. I managed to get my hands on a lot of “swag” that I plan on giving away to some lucky readers. Stay tuned for a giveaway post.

In the meantime, let’s catch up on the latest points and miles offers, shall we?

• Club Carlson Category Changes: Starting May 1, a new award chart will go into effect with Club Carlson. Roughly 150 hotels will be moving down in category, requiring fewer points for booking a free night. On the flip side, about 100 hotels will be increasing in point-price. If your future travel plans include stays at Club Carlson hotels, you might want to take a look at the updated award chart. The good news is that if your desired property is one that will be requiring more points after May 1st, you can still secure your reservation under the old rates if you book your room(s) by tomorrow.
• $25 Off Alaska Airlines Flights: For a limited time, you can receive a coupon for $25 a future flight booking when you sign up for a new Mileage Plan account.
• American Airlines’ New 2013 Elite Rewards: I’m sure most of you already know the news about American Airlines’ new 2013 Elite Rewards, but I am still so excited about it. While I am on the road to United Premier 1K this year (already more than half way there!), I am still very much enticed by this and might even consider adding American Airlines’ into my future travel plans. Don’t forget to register!
• Marriott MegaBonus Promotion: Marriott’s new MegaBonus promotion is right around the corner, and it’s usually very lucrative if you’re a Marriott fan. The MegaBonus offer varies between accounts, but the most common seems to be the ability to receive a free night certificate valid at any category 1-4 hotel after completing two stays (that’s what I got). You may register directly here and see what offer you’ve been targeted for, or you can head on over to Loyalty Traveler for a complete post about the promotion.
• $23 Weekend SUV Rentals With Avis: In a couple of weeks, I’ll be attending the BAcon with other fellow bloggers over out in Colorado Springs. I’ve happily volunteered to transport a handful of bloggers between DEN-COS. Today was the day I decided to go ahead and book the car, and I remembered that Deals We Like posted about this great promotion. If you scroll down to the comments, you’ll even see that you can stack this offer with Southwest to earn bonus Rapid Rewards points. $102 total for a 3-day weekend SUV rental sounds like my kind of price, so I’m happy I was able to take advantage of this offer.
• 35% Transfer Bonus from Membership Rewards to Avios: If you have some American Express Membership Rewards points, from now through June 7, Membership Rewards is offering a 35% bonus on transfers to British Airways Avios. Every 1,000 Membership Rewards points you convert will equal 1,350 Avios. Check out Lucky’s post for the complete offer details. I included the American Express Business Platinum Card in my last churn with a 100K sign-up bonus, so I will definitely be transferring MR points to Avios!
• Speaking of 100,000 Membership Rewards points… I recently received a targeted offer in the mail containing a unique code for an American Express Business Platinum card with a 100,000 MR sign-up bonus. Since I already have the card, I’d be willing to pass the code along to someone else who might want to use it. Simply send me an email and I’ll get the code over to you. [EDIT: Code has been claimed, sorry guys!]
• The Results of The Freddie Awards: If you haven’t done so already, be sure to check out the winners of the 2013 Freddie Awards – there were SO many surprises this year…

Can you think of any other notable promotions to include in this round up?

I stumbled across a post in my newsfeed about a British Airways’ instant-win slots game on Facebook called “Instant Avios“ where you can win up to 60,000 Avios (complete T+C). You may enter daily until May 13, 2013, and you can earn more “tokens” simply by inviting friends to play.

Unfortunately, even with 5 tokens to start with, I didn’t have much luck… no prizes for me. How about you?

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Going For the Status Match

Earlier this year, Kimpton Hotels sparked my interest after I attended a travel event over at Kimpton’s Eventi Hotel in NYC. While the Kimpton portfolio itself is relatively small containing only a limited amount of properties the U.S., I’ve always heard great things about the brand in the past.

I then learned about a status match opportunity they were offering, so I quickly shot an email over to guestloyalty@kimptongroup.com, asking for a reciprocity match into the Kimpton Inner Circle program using my Hyatt Diamond status that I had at the time. While I had never stayed at a Kimpton property at the time of sending my email, reviewing at the perks and benefits associated with Kimpton’s Inner Circle really intrigued me.

Not only did I particularily enjoy the complimentary wifi and room upgrade perks, but what really caught my eye was this: Complimentary night at new hotels.

After studying their hotel collection, I saw that there were 6 “new” hotels that qualified for the complimentary night available for Inner Circle members. On top of that, Inner Circle members would additionally receive a $50 dining credit per stay. Was I really going to get 6 free nights and $300 in dining credits as a result of this status match? Wow!

At this point, I was curious and wanted to learn more. I had an upcoming night in DC that I needed a room for, so I called the Inner Circle VIP line and was able to book a complimentary night at the Donovan House in DC. Yup, it was true – I was able to reserve a night at the hotel completely free of charge just by being an Inner Circle member. I thought to myself, “man, this is just fabulous, but I can see this status match opportunity blowing up pretty soon and possibly being abused…”

Well, I guess between the time I made my booking and March 18, Kimpton decided to modify the terms of their reciprocity status match by sending out an email explaining that the free night benefit would only be available after completing 3 stays. Here’s an excerpt from what was sent:

It is the spirit of Kimpton to be generous; we offer reciprocity upfront and without required stays within any specified amount of time. We will continue to do so. However, in order to participate in the Free Night at New Hotel Offer we ask that you first complete 3 eligible stays.

By that point, I already had a confirmed free-night reservation. Would my reservation still be valid? Yes! The email then stated the following:

Existing complimentary reservations will be honored as of March 18, 2013. For any new reservations, we will require three stays before you are eligible for a free night booking at any of our new hotels.

I can bet that many people who were newly-status-matched into Inner Circle were bummed by that news, but in all honesty, it’s still an incredible offer that’s worth pursuing in my eyes.

My First Stay Experience – A Free Night at the Donovan House hotel in Washington D.C.

Two weekends ago, I spent a few days in San Juan, Puerto Rico because I wanted to burn some Hilton HHonors nights after the devaluation. Since the fares were cheaper to SJU originating from DCA, I decided to take Amtrak to Washington Station, spend a night in D.C., and then head to San Juan via Miami the following morning.

When I booked my free Kimpton night at the Donovan House, I received a personalized email from the hotel asking me to fill out my personalized preferences in my account. I arrived at the hotel for check-in around noon, but the room wasn’t ready, so I got lunch and walked around town a bit. When I returned, I was told I was upgraded to a corner room on a high floor with an awesome view. The room itself was modern, spacious and comfortable.

After exploring D.C. a bit, we returned back to the room and found a welcome note, a fruit platter and some sweet Honest Teas. In my Inner Circle profile, I had noted that my favorite drink was unsweetened iced tea and my favorite snacks were fresh mangoes, pineapples, and red velvet cupcakes.

 Did they nail it? Not so much, but nevertheless a personalized welcome amenity is always appreciated and makes me smile.

We then went down to the complimentary wine happy hour that’s held daily in the lobby between 5-6 pm and had dinner at the hotel’s restaurant, Zentan, using the $50 dining credit. The food was awesome and the evironment was trendy and nice. Overall, I can say I was quite pleased with my first Kimpton stay after experiencing the Donovan House.

My 2nd Stay and First Paid Night: The Eventi Hotel in Manhattan

Last Friday was my 26th birthday. When I returned home from San Juan, I had to figure out what to do to celebrate, and a local night out in NYC sounded like the way to go after a friend suggested that we possibly get a hotel room at the W Union Square. I figured that instead of staying at the W, why not try to knock out a paid stay at the Kimpton and work towards my 3 paid stays?

Turns out, at $212 a right, the Eventi Hotel was cheaper than any of the W Hotels anyway; and in my honest opinion, I think the Eventi is way nicer than any of the W Hotels in Manhattan that I’ve been to.

We arrived at 3 pm, and were upgraded from a standard king room to a suite. The size of the room was what I expected for NYC and it was new and modern, featuring a separate living room, comfortable bed, and a great bathroom. I also really loved the floor-t0-ceiling windows.

We set out to get some gelato and snacks at Eataly nearby, and when we returned, Kimpton hit the nail on the head with my personal preferences:

They even knocked on the door with birthday balloons the following morning. I was so blown away by such a spectacular stay at the Eventi filled with exceptional personalized attention.

Things I really like about Kimpton

Hosted Evening Wine Hours – every Kimpton hotel offers an hour of complimentary hand-picked wines between 5-6 pm. It’s a great way to socialize and relax before dinner plans.

Raid the Mini Bar – In Touch members automatically get a $10 mini bar credit ($15 in NYC) to use towards whatever snacks or drinks you want.

The Personal Experience/Overall Brand Image – The one thing that got me hooked on Kimpton was the fact they they don’t take themselves too seriously; their brand is hip, fun, and relevant, catered to making every stay personable and fun. You can even feel it from the wording on their website and emails.

They have an incredible pet policy – they welcome any pet, any size, at any of their hotels. Now… who wants to try checking in with a giraffe? Also, if you’re bummed that you don’t have a pet with you while on the road, they’ll even deliver a pet goldfish to your room! I’m kicking myself for not finding out about that during my stay!

Why I am pursuing Inner Circle

In all seriousness, I’ll admit that it’s tough to maintain top-tier hotel status with a hotel program entirely through stay credits. Are the benefits even worth it when you find yourself mattress-running and scrambling to get stay credits as a leisure traveler? Not for me. I’ve actually found that mid-tier hotel status is sufficient enough. For instance, Hyatt Diamond status is great because you get awesome free breakfast, but you need 25 stays or 50 nights a year to maintain it. I’ll take a Dunkin Donuts flatbread sandwich instead, thankyouverymuch.

Back in November, I was gifted a Hyatt Diamond 3-month trial as a Star Mega Do 4 participant and I didn’t re-qualify this year to maintain it. Frankly, just by having the Hyatt Credit Card, the Platinum status that comes along with it has been enough. I’m also automatically Starwood Gold and Hilton Gold just by having the American Express Platinum Card and Citi HHonors Reserve Card, respectively.

I do find incredible value in the Inner Circle program though, so in my eyes it’s “worth it” to stay 3 times (1 down, 2 to go) to unlock the other 5 complimentary nights. I’ve been so incredibly pleased by my two experiences at Kimpton hotels so far that I’ve been raving about the program to all of my non-point-and-miles-affiliated friends, encouraging them to go for the match themselves; when “real” friends get involved, you know I’m crazy about the program.

I’m not the only blogger who’s become newly-passionate about Kimpton either – Hack My Trip just recently posted a similar opinion/analysis on his blog too. He also raves about their customer service in this post too. Somethings in the air.

Conclusions

On so many blogs and forums, we’re taught to chase top-tier elite status with Hyatt and Starwood; they’re perceived to be the cream of the crop. Don’t get me wrong, they are great programs, but let’s be realistic – if you’re not a business traveler, it’s very hard to maintain those statuses as an average person or family. And to be completely honest, I found the Club Carlson program to surpass both the Hyatt and Starwood programs entirely, especially now that there’s a competitive US Bank Club Carlson Visa on the market.

A rule of thumb for pursuing any status in general: you have to seriously ask yourself if it’s “worth it” for you. Frankly, chasing Starwood Platinum or Hyatt Diamond Status is not worth it for me, but to each their own.

I’m so glad I was able to give Kimpton a chance. 6 free nights after completing 3 paid stays is an incredibly generous offer, and I think of it as a “stay 1 night, get 2 nights” kind of deal. I’ve been ridiculously pleased with and giddy about the Kimpton Inner Circle program this month. I’m hooked – good job, Kimpton!

If you’re interested in a reciprocity status match with Kimpton Inner Circle, you can learn more about it here.

Feel free to share your thoughts as well!

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There are two travel apps that I’m currently obssessed with at the moment. The first one is Uber, an on-demand taxi/car service app (related post for those who are unfamiliar), and the 2nd one is HotelTonight.

I previously blogged about the HotelTonight app when I first found about it last year, and I’m happy to say that I am still actively using it for spontaneous last-minute hotel bookings when needed.

For those of you who also use HotelTonight app, be sure to take advantage of their new April promotion to receive up to 14% back in credits. Here’s the scoop taken from an email I received from them:

You heard us: Everyone who books a room today through the end of the month (April 19-30) gets a refund in HT credits. It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3:

• Open the app right now and enter promo code APRILBONUS. You’re set to save for the rest of the month. No need to enter the code again.
• When you’re ready for a great night out / weekend away / staycation / etc., load up the app again, find an amazing hotel and just book it.
• Book 1 night before April 30, get 10% back in HT credits.
• Book 2 nights before April 30, get 12% back in HT credits.
• Book 3+ nights before April 30, get 14% back in HT credits.
• Nights don’t have to be consecutive.
• The credits will show up in your account by May 3rd.

I also noticed that my credits balance increased by $1 just by entering the APRILBONUS promo code.

For those readers who have never tried the app before, take a look at my previous post to learn how you can start with $25 in free credit. Oh, and a cool thing to note: in all of my experiences using the app in the past, I did receive a stay credit when I stayed at a Marriott, Starwood, and IHG hotel booked from the app.

Anyone else want to share their experiences using HotelTonight?

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