Marriott is offeringfree Gold Status for 90 days for both new and existing members with the ability to keep the status if you stay 12 nights during the 90 days.

The offer expires February 28, 2011.

One of my best Marriott experiences was as a Gold member staying at the JW Marriott in Bangkok. The lounge was incredible with a full breakfast in the mornings and fantastic appetizers at night.

Thanks to View from the Wing and TM Travelworld.

The Wall Street Journal writes about a $35,000 hotel room at the Four Seasons Hotel New York.

For $35,000, you do receive butler service, almost free room service by from the hotel’s restaurants (including one by Joël Robuchon), and a waterfall.

I stayed at a Marriott in Moscow once that included butler service. It was one of the most awkward conversations ever. After greeting me and showing me to my room, he called a few minutes later to ask if I needed any help unpacking my bags. I wasn’t even sure what to say and therefore told him that I didn’t need any help. How much do you even tip a butler that unpacks your bag? What about drawing you a hot bubble bath?

With all of the programs out there, it oftentimes can get confusing keeping track of all the programs. Especially the ones that are seldom used.

I’ve done quite a bit of research on the easiest ways to keep track of all of your miles and points.

My new favorite website is Award Wallet. You can add all of your frequent flyer numbers and accounts and it will send you emails with your balances. The best part is that it will also tell you your expiration dates as well.

You can also enter in your whole family to track their accounts as well.

I spent this afternoon submitting everyone’s numbers in. Here are our balances:

My Delta 250,000
My American Airlines 200,000
My HIlton 200,000
My Priority Club 260,000
My Marriott 120,000
Both of my kids Delta accounts: 20,000 each
My wife’s Delta account: 40,000
My wife’s American Airlines account 200,000
We’re also in the midst of earning enough points with British Airways to fly anywhere in the world in first class.

The point of this is not to brag, but just to show what flexibility I’ll have for our next trip(s).

We’ll have Marriott, Hilton, and Priority Club properties to choose from and three airlines to get the best tickets on.

While it certainly helps that I travel quite a bit, I also take advantage of every offer I can to earn more miles. I’ve switch to DirecTV, opened up bank accounts, and bought gold coins all for the sake of miles.

My travels to Russia

I never, ever, thought I would travel to Russia. Russia is a gigantic country. The first time I flew there, it was the dead of winter and as cold as anything I had ever been to. The first time I stayed there, I stayed at the Marriott Royal Aurora hotel. The hotel is gorgeous – but we paid a premium. Over $600 a night – and it came with butler service. Having never had a butler, I was a bit taken aback when he called to my room to ask if I wanted help unpacking my bags. Er, no thanks. The restaurant was fantastic, but once again, we were paying a serious premium.

They use “currency units” at the hotel instead of rubles. What this means is that the exchange rate may be 30 rubles / $1 – but the hotel uses 36 rubles to one currency unit. You end up paying much more for everything.

You can’t beat the proximity to the Red Square, but taking a taxi anywhere was a nightmare given the location.

The second time I stayed in Moscow, I stayed instead at the Marriott Renaissance Hotel. The price was $450 a night, but the hotel is in the middle of nowhere (at least by walking distance). It does have three different restaurants on location which was very nice. However, they had no air conditioning, just a fan!!

The next time I stayed in Moscow, I found my favorite hotel by far. It’s the Holiday Inn Lesnaya. I got rooms at $250 a night or less. The hotel is brand new, and situated just off the main Tverskaya boulevard and right by the Belaruskaya subway station. There are plenty of top notch restaurants within walking distance of the Holiday Inn Lesnaya. I would highly recommend this hotel if you’re planning on staying in Moscow. Be sure and book well in advance as hotel space is at a premium for a good quality Western hotel.

Here are some great hotel bonuses for the upcoming year.

Marriott is offering 2500 extra points after your first stay between February 1 and April 30, 2009. The maximum you can earn is 25,000 points on this promotion. Make sure your earning preferences are set to Marriott points.

Hilton has double points between January 6 and April 6 at these hotels

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Priority Club is giving 3000 bonus points for every third night, up to 30,000 points between January 12 and April 30.

Starwood has 500 bonus points for each qualifying night, plus 5000 additional for every 10th night between January 7 and April 30.