Enroll in Hilton HHonors® now through March 31, 2010 and earn Silver VIP status after two qualifying stays (normally earned after 4 stays) within 90 days of enrollment. Double Dip® your way to earn both HHonors points and mile for the same qualifying stay at over 2,900 Hilton Family hotels worldwide. Enroll online or call 800-HHONORS (800-446-6677) from the U.S. or Canada and mention origin code USAB. (Existing HHonors members may call 800-548-8690 and request promotion code USAB to be eligible for the Fast Track VIP offer.)

Remembers it’s two stays and not two nights. Good luck!

If you own a corporate American Express card, register at this link and get Silver status with 2 stays or Gold status with 4 stays.

When we took our trip to Thailand last March, we went as Gold Hilton members and got free breakfast, lounge access, and upgraded to a suite. Great benefits!

I’m currently a Diamond member through their American Express card. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we stay at a Hilton on our trip!

For those of you looking for a discounted carry on bag for our upcoming international trip, Timbuk2 has a whole selection of bags for 50% off. Hurry as the sale won’t last long.

Hurry!! Sign up for Frontier Airlines program here. By signing up by December 31st, you’ll get 1500 Frontier miles.

You can then transfer these points at Points.com to the program of your choice, including:

372 Air Canada Aeroplan points
311 Alaska Mileage Plan miles
329 American
637 Cathay Pacific AsiaMiles
296 Delta Skymiles
592 HawaiianMiles
348 Midwest Miles
637 Priority Club Rewards points
296 US Airways Dividend miles
$6 in Starbucks.

Personally, I will be signing up my whole family and transferring them to Delta.

As I presented in class last December, it has been possible to order dollar coins from the US Mint with free shipping in order to earn frequent flyer miles / hotel points.

I lost track, but have done easily over $80,000. I’m not trying to brag, as I was an amateur compared to some people, such as “Mr Pickles” who did $800,000.

But with the recent coverage by the Wall Street Journal and the LA Times, the gig is up.

I did try and spread the dollar coins throughout the city. Just ask my babysitter, people at fast food restaurants, and Costco.

It was fun while it lasted.

500 free Priority Club points for taking a survey. Must be done by Dec 31, 2009.

Every little bit counts!

I currently have enough Priority Club points for 6 nights in Bora Bora or 8 nights in any other destination. Bora Bora is 40,000 a night and other destinations are 30,000 a night.

Last year, I switched to DirecTV for 15,000 and more recently opened a Chase bank account for 15,000. Opening a Priority Club Visa account will get you 30,000.

If you’re already a Costco member, Sign up for automatic membership renewal with your American Express Card and they’ll extend your membership for two months – free! Call 1-877-258-6032 and provide your Costco membership number and American Express Card number. Two free months will be credited to your Costco membership within 30 days.

If you’re not a member, go here to get the same deal.

CNN has just done an article on Frequent Flyer millionaires. Basically people that have more than a million Frequent Flyer miles in their accounts.

Over the years I’ve probably accumulated that much. Usually when I have over 200,000 Delta Skymiles, it’s time to get out the globe and decide where we’re going to next.

To get a sense of the “disease” that is accumulating all these points, check out this clip from the new George Clooney movie “Up in the Air”. It’s about a serious frequent flier that has to make some life decisions.

Welcome to the most wonderful place to stay during the most wonderful time of the year. Sheratons of the Twin Cities invite you and your loved ones to experience the Minneapolis area this season for pre and post-holiday shopping.

Your experience includes:
$100 Macy’s® gift card each night of your stay
Macy’s 10% Discount Visitor Coupon for each night of your stay
Great night’s rest on our Signature Sweet Sleeper Bed™
Offer valid all days of week for stays November 16 – March 31, 2010

The rate for this hotel is $140 so this a very good deal for anyone in the Minneapolis area.

Last week, our international trip was finally announced! Our EMBA class is going to Budapest, Hungary and Rome, Italy!

Unfortunately, I’ve already been to both cities. Fortunately, Budapest is easily in the top 3 of all of the European cities I’ve visited. What’s not to love – the mild climate, fantastic and cheap food, and the natural hot baths. I’ve stayed at the Marriott, Intercontinental, and the Sofitel in Budapest before. Of the three, I prefer the Intercontinental. The Sofitel had one of the softest beds I have ever slept on. The Marriott was in need of a serious overhaul. I’ve heard that they have redone the hotel since I’ve been there last.

I went to Rome in 2005, but it was only for three days. I did a quick bus tour of all of the sites, it will be fun to go back there with this group. Someone in our group even speaks Italian.

It is tempting to extend on this trip, especially if Hungary is the last leg. I have wanted to go to Croatia for a long time, especially to the coastal town of Dubrovnik. This may be the perfect time.

I spent another day in Germany at the office. That night it was back to the airport to fly to London.

I’ve always been a proponent of signing up for any free promotions that are out there as you neve rknow when they will come in handy.

This happened during my trip to Thailand in March. BMI (British Midland) gave a 9000 BMI mile sign up bonus for joining their frequent flyer program. I will more than likely never fly on the airline but signed up anyways.

During our Thailand trip planning, I discovered that BMI is a partner of Star Alliance. I was able to use these BMI miles for a one wait ticket from Bangkok to Phuket.

This came into play on myst last trip. Back in August, Virgin Airlines was offering free Silver status. I signed up with them to get the status. In the packet, there were two free first class upgrade on the Heathrow and Gatwick Express trains.

We landed in London and went to purchase our tickets for the Heathrow airport express train. I was able to use these free tickets to get upgraded to first class. While it certainly isn’t as sexy as first class on an airplane, it was free.

As we were coming into London, the Smith song “Panic” was running through my head.