Time to play some catch-up with some miles and points news and deals that are going on in the middle of this week.  Hard to believe it is already Wednesday (thank goodness for Monday holidays)!

Okay, here goes catch-up time……

• Earn 1,000 American Airlines Business ExtrAA points by spending just $5.00.  1,000 ExtrAA points is enough for three AAdmirals Club passes or half of a domestic round-trip ticket.  This was originally a targeted offer, but it seems like it may work for anyone.  I’ll certainly take my chances for $5.  Check out The Points Guy for more info about that offer.  Additionally, if you don’t yet have a Business ExtraAA account, you can sign-up for one and possibly get an additional 500 points for joining by using code FLYAA.  Check out Million Mile Secrets for more info about that deal.  If both of those deals work, you could have 3/4 of a domestic round-trip ticket!  Amazing.
• The Associated Press now has just launched an article about the OneWorld MegaDO.  AP writer Scott Mayerowitz was on the trip and was really fun to hang out with.  He is a travel junkie just like the rest of us, and it was fun to read about the trip through his eyes!  Now I am just impatiently patiently tapping my foot waiting for details of the Star MegaDO 4 to be released so we can do it all over again. 
• The Frugal Travel Guy has a must-read post up today that tells the story of a reader who has had their Chase cards closed or suspended (can’t quite tell which) possibly due to credit card churning, and being viewed as a risk due to having too much credit extended.  While it is always much more fun to share news of a great credit card offer, it is important to share reminders that you need to always be protective of your credit.  It is also important to remember that there are some risks to getting multiple cards primarily for the purpose of earning miles and  points.  It is a risk I have been willing to take, but it is still a risk.
• Million Mile Secrets is also helping Hyatt give away 66,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points, so be sure to enter to win!   I’ll certainly be throwing my ring in the hat. 
• And finally, JetBlue is offering 20% off flights originating in the US today only.  The discount is good on flights booked today for travel from 5/1/12 to 6/13/12 using code SPRING12.

The discount does not appear until after you have selected your desired flights.  As shown below you can see the discount applied to your itinerary’s price.

Now it’s time to go get in on some of these deals!

The American Express Premier Rewards Gold card now increased their publicly available sign-up offer from 15,000 to 25,000 Membership Reward points.  While 25,000 points almost sounds ho-hum in the day of 50,000 point sign-up offers, this is still a card that is very much worth considering for families since it comes with some pretty solid family-friendly bonus point categories.

First, a little bit more about the improved offer.  American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card. The American Express Premier Rewards Gold card awards 25,000 Membership Rewards points after $2,000 is spent on the card in the first three months.  The $175 annual fee is waived the first year.  This offer was previously available by referral only, but considering how many problems I had and heard about with the referral system, I am very glad to see this offer go public.  I wish the sign-up bonus were even higher, but Amex has been pretty conservative on the non-targeted sign-up bonuses for a while, so at least 25K is better than 15K.

The two reasons that I think this is a solid card to consider are the bonus point categories and the Membership Rewards transfer bonuses.  The Premier Rewards Gold card awards 3X points on airfare, 2X points on gas and groceries, and 1X points on everything else.  I absolutely love the 3x on airfare.  I have recently started getting 3x by putting airfare on my Business Gold Rewards Amex and it really does add up quickly.  For families, 2x on gas and groceries is great.  Those are both very large and unavoidable expenses at my house, and earning bonus points on things I have to buy anyway is fantastic.  While this is slightly off-topic, earning 5x Ultimate Reward points this quarter when we fill up our car and truck at the gas station by having the Chase Freedom and Chase Sapphire Preferred and/or Ink Bold Business almost makes buying gas fun.  So while I don’t yet have the Amex Premier Rewards Gold card (though my mom does), I can vouch for the awesomeness of earning extra points for otherwise boring purchases such as gas.

If you choose to put a decent amount of spending on this card each year, you will receive 15,000 additional Membership Reward points after charging $30,000 on the card annually.  That is a pretty decent bonus and in my mind offsets the annual fee by itself, assuming you can hit that spending threshold.

While Amex hasn’t been perfect to me lately, one of the main reasons why I still like Membership Reward points are the transfer bonuses that they periodically run to hotel and airline partners.  Last year’s 50% transfer bonus to British Airways was a very popular transfer bonus around my house.  Membership Rewards has historically had some very solid transfer promos to Delta as well.  Of course, there are no guarantees about what the future will hold with transfer bonuses, but I know I don’t want to be left on the sideline if/when the next one comes along!

I hope to add this card to my credit card collection at some point this year to fill during the quarters that gas and/or groceries are not bonus categories with my Freedom card.    Do you have this card (or hope to get it in the near future)?  What do you think about the bonus categories and bonus points that come with this deal?

Disclosure:  Some of the credit card links used in this post do provide me a commission if you are approved for the cards by using my links.  As always, I only link to the best available offer that I am aware of.  Your support is always very much appreciated.

Apparently today is a good day to book hotel rooms.  Both Hyatt and Hilton have limited time sales going on right now.

Hilton Three Day Weekend Sale:

This Hilton sale goes through tomorrow (2/22) and is available for properties in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.  The reservations are non-refundable, so be sure about your plans before making a reservation.  Based on this Flyertalk thread, there are some pretty good rates to be had at some properties.

According to the Terms and Conditions: Save 33% on Best Available Rate and Best Available Bed and Breakfast rate at participating Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton, Hilton Garden Inn, and 20% off Best Available Rate at Hampton by Hilton properties when you book between February 20 and February 22, 2012 to stay during weekends in 2012.

Blackout dates may vary, please check with hotel at time of booking. “Weekend” is defined as Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights in Europe, and Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights in the Middle East & Africa, as per local law.

Be sure to register for the current Hilton weekend points promotion as well if you do get in on this sale.

Hyatt 48 Hour Sale:

Hyatt seems to be doing a 48 hour sale about once every month or two right now.  Just like with the Hilton sale, the reservations are non-refundable, but there are some decent deals to be had if your plans are firm.  The rate code for this sale is: C48FEB.  The sale offers up to 30% off for the participating hotels.  You can go here for a list of participating properties.

Here are some terms and conditions for this offer: Offer valid for bookings only between 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday February 21st and 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday February 22nd Central Standard Time, for travel between Friday February 24th 2012 and Saturday June 30th 2012 at participating Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, Park Hyatt and Andaz properties in the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean. Reservations are subject to availability and must be made in advance. Full non-refundable prepayment required at time of booking.

Too bad that the rates are non-refundable, but I would still rather see sales than not see sales!