Remember to use the code MAYFS for free shipping and go through a portal to maximize your points earning.  I went through the British Airways E-Store for 8x Avios per dollar.

Because I am sure you are just dying to know (insert friendly sarcasm), my kiddo picked out a pair of green Tom’s and a pair of sparkle Tom’s shoes in the next size up that will patiently sit on her shelf and wait until her foot gets a little bigger (which at this rate will be next week).

3,500 FlexPerks points are worth up to $70 toward airfare, so it absolutely makes sense for most people to partake in this promo, even if all you do is buy a gift card for now.  Happy shopping!

Star MegaDo 5: I wrote about this event here, but basically it is a chartered Air Canada flight from Toronto to Tuscon to San Francisco.  Along the way there will be plenty of social events, an AMARC inside tour, a Rimowa luggage factory tour, program with Air Canada, a hanger party, and more!  You will earn 2,500 elite qualifying miles for coach, 7,500 for “Tommy Class” (empty middle seat), and 15,000 for first class.  They are finalizing details, but hope to offer both Air Canada Aeroplan miles and United miles.

The dates are October 22nd-25th and tickets go on sale on Monday at Noon Central.  I have no idea how quickly this event will sell out, but given the history of previous MegaDo sales I expect that it will sell out before too long.  I plan to be on this trip as they are always a ton of fun.  The hotel partner will be Marriott.  The costs for the chartered flight start at $1199 for coach.  That includes the flight, ground activities, social events, ground transportation, and more.  It does not include getting yourself to/from the Do or the hotel costs.

If you want to go, I recommend being ready when tickets go on sale Monday!

NordicDo 2: This event is currently sold out, but there is a thread starting in case someone decides they can no longer attend and needs to find a replacement to take their spot.

Tampa Frequent Traveler University: If you prefer to keep your frequent flyer events a little more affordable and a little more focused on learning new tips, then Tampa FTU may be more up your ally.  This event is selling well, but is not yet sold out, so there is still time to book your tickets.  The event is September 27th – 29th at the Grand Hyatt Tampa.  The tickets are $100 which includes all the sessions and lunch both days.  There is also a negotiated group rate at the Grand Hyatt.  I will be presenting at this event and hope to see you there!

Chicago Seminars: The Chicago Seminars are similar to FTU and will be held October 11th – 13th at the Holiday Inn Elk Grove about 20 minutes from O’Hare airport in Chicago.  The cost is $85 which includes all sessions plus lunch both days.  There are very low hotel rates available (though I think the host hotel has sold out).  A couple of days ago I saw there were 149 tickets left for this (I think out of about 500).  I will be presenting and hosting a “spouses” reception at this event.

All four of those events are large, very well organized, have sponsors, etc.  I think that is great, but I also appreciate some of the smaller and less organized events, so I wanted to share a couple of those that are also coming up.

Brooklyn Reality Tour: This one has been going on for 14 years and is put on by DHammer (who posts comments here from time to time).  The dates have never worked out for me to attend, but I hear nothing but good things from those who join him in Brooklyn for a day of eating and eating and eating.  This year it will be held on June 1st and the costs are basically just to cover what you eat and the van.  Head here for more info.  Looks like a really fun group of folks going.

United MiniDo in NYC: Another small but fun event is the United MiniDo that will be in NYC on June 8th.  This one is capped at 30 people and is $100 each (but includes a four course dinner and some drinks).  United reps are likely to attend, and it is a good chance to bond with a smaller group of United flyers.  I attended the last one in Houston and had a lot of fun.

Some people have been asking me to host another event in Houston as I did last year.  Sadly my schedule and family responsibilities don’t permit me to host too many local events, but I do plan to host at least one thing this summer.  It will likely be another pretty informal gathering at a local (family friendly) restaurant, and I’ll be sure to give plenty of notice.  I hope many of you will be able to attend!

Pretty much all of these events listed benefit charities as well as provide a great platform for frequent flyers to get together.  Whether you like large organized events on chartered planes or small tours through Brooklyn that involve delicious food, there is something for everyone.  I hope some of you do take the time to attend an event at some point as there are great folks in the miles and points community.

Quick question…my wife has to do some spring/summer clothes shopping for our little girls. She shops mostly at places like Old Navy, Kohl’s, Target, etc.

I’ve read some about discounted gift cards, stacking deals, online shopping portals, store rebates etc, but am trying to figure out for in-store purchases, how to get the most bang for the buck.

Many of us are cleaning the winter items out of our kid’s closets and making way for some new summer items.  Like it or not, young kids outgrow stuff pretty much every year, so it has to be replaced somehow.  Grant hinted at many different ways to earn points while shopping, but it seems he is most interested in ways to do that in the store, as opposed to online.  You can make this process as complicated or as simple as you want, but I’m going to stick to the simpler ways to do this.

1. Buy retailer gift cards in retail stores.  Currently the easiest solution for earning some points at stores like Old Navy, Kohl’s etc. is to take your handy dandy Chase Freedom Visa card to Lowe’s Home Improvement stores and visit their gift card rack.  Lowe’s is one of the 5x bonus categories for this quarter via the Freedom card, so just purchase the gift cards you think you need and earn 5x Ultimate Reward points on the purchase – up to $1,500 max this quarter.  Then go spend those gift cards at stores like Gap Kids and Old Navy.  If you don’t have the Freedom, you can do the same with other cards that give bonus points at certain retailers.  For example, the Ink Bold® Business Card or Ink Plus® Business Card come to mind for their 5x potential via office supply stores.  Many cards also give bonuses at grocery stores, which usually have a decent selection of retail gift cards.

1. Buy a gift card online via online shopping portal.  Another option is to buy the gift card you want online via a shopping portal.  You can then use the card to shop in an actual store (or “double dip” place the order online back through the shopping portal).  Here is a post on the “ins and outs” of my favorite online shopping portal.  In some cases you will get up to around 10x points per dollar when going through a shopping portal like the Ultimate Rewards portal for purchasing the gift card.  However, there are some nuances to this, and while it will work with some retailers, it won’t work with all.  Who it works with also changes over time.  Sometimes it only works with physical gift cards, but not e-gift cards.  In other words, this is not an exact science.  That said, you can check out The Frequent Miler’s Lab to see recent reports with various retailers on whether or not this approach will work.
2. Register your credit cards to earn points in-store.  This one isn’t near as useful as the first two suggestions, but it does have some use so I will include it.  Certain online shopping portals, like United MileagePlus Shopping, will allow you to link your credit cards to your profile so you can earn bonus miles when shopping in participating retail stores.  This sounds great, but there are a very limited number of stores that actually participate – none of which are on your list.
3. Buy gift cards at a discount via a site like GiftCardGranny.com.  This won’t actually help you earn points, but it will help you save money.  You can buy gift cards to popular retailers such as the ones mentioned via online sites like GiftCardGranny.  I personally don’t use this service, but I know some others do.  I would rather buy the gift card myself and earn points than trust someone else’s re-sold gift card, but that is just me.

Grant, I hope some of these tips are useful.  I know we have tons of other shoppers in our mix, so please feel free to chime in with additional tips!

Disclosure: I do receive a commission if you are approved for a credit card via my affiliate links.  As always, thanks for your support!

I have no clue whether that will really help or not, but I do think about the boarding process frequently, and I wonder if early boarding matters to you? If so, I’m curious as to the reasons it matters. Here are my thoughts in a few different situations:

Early boarding with small children + car seats or similar contraptions:

Yes, I want to board the very first second I can if I have to lug and install a car seat on the plane. It is large, it is bulky, and my child cannot be seated in her assigned seat while I am installing it. This means I will absolutely temporarily leak into someone else’s seat while this process is happening. As a result, I would prefer for everyone’s sake that others not yet be around us. I will also temporarily be stalled in the aisle while I put the other bags in the overhead compartments, and get the car seat into our assigned row. I will go as quickly as possible down the (hopefully empty) jet-bridge and onto the plane to get ahead and minimize others being impacted by this cumbersome process.

We are absolutely “gate lice” who line up before boarding starts simply so that we won’t hold up a long line while we go down the aisle with the car seat and get it into position. In that case early boarding matters a whole heck of a lot to us, in an effort to be considerate to others (and avoid as many dirty looks as possible).

We are able to do this due to elite status that allows us to board with the first group, but if we didn’t have that status we would be SOL on most airlines as they no longer allow families with small children to board first. In the case of the car seat or other seat contraption, being one of the first really matters to me.

Early boarding with small children with no seat contraptions:

If I am not installing a car seat, there isn’t a whole bunch of incentive to board early with my kiddo unless I need spaces for overhead bags. In fact, the ideal situation is when my husband boards first to get all the “stuff” situated, and the kiddo and myself hang back until later in the boarding process. The earlier I get her on the plane, the longer I have to keep her entertained while remaining seated. Of course this only works if he can carry the car seat and any bags that would need overhead space. He is a good “donkey”, but even he has his limits on how much stuff he can carry at one time.

Early boarding with a roller bag:

I don’t need to be the first one on the plane if I am traveling alone with a roller bag. I do need to be in the first half of boarding to ensure an over-head bin, but I don’t need to be one of the very first on-board. So, for me if I am traveling with a roller bag that needs an over-head bin then early boarding does matter, but it doesn’t matter in the same way as if I had a car seat.

Early boarding without a roller bag:

If I am traveling only with a purse or similar that will fit under the seat in front of me, then according to the new American Airlines policy I now get to board earlier than I otherwise would if I had something like a roller bag that needed to go in the overhead bins. However, if I don’t have any luggage for the over-head bins, and I don’t have a car seat or similar to install, then what is my incentive to get on the plane earlier? On most airlines I have an assigned seat, so it isn’t like my seat is going to be taken out from under me just because I am the 100th person to board the plane instead of the 22nd person to board.

I guess if I am in first class I might be missing out on my “pre-departure beverage” if I wait too long to board, but that doesn’t really seem like a real problem. I just don’t quite get why someone would want to spend more time sitting on the plane if they didn’t have a specific need for getting on early.

I don’t have any issues with the new American policy, and I hope it does work for them. However, as a passenger I just wonder whether early boarding really matters when you aren’t concerned with bags, small children, or car seats?

Disney in a weekend with young kids may sound crazy to some, but to us it sounded perfect. We decided to stay at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress in Orlandosince I had won a couple free nights there via a charity auction a while back, and the nights were about to expire. It also would give me a chance to put my Hyatt Diamond benefits to good use. I am a huge fan of staying on Disney property with young children who still need naps in the afternoon, but I’m also not opposed to taking advantage of a good deal to stay close, but not too close, to all the Disney action.

Hyatt Grand Cypress location and overview:

The Hyatt Grand Cypress is very close to the Disney parks – not walking distance, but very reasonable driving distance. Depending on the park you are heading to, I would say it is an average of about a ten minute drive to get there, most of which is spent driving on Disney property. Of course traffic and/or parking delays could add to that a bit, but it did not take much time at all to drive to the parks in the morning. However, driving does mean that you now have a parking fee at Disney each day, and naturally you need a rental car as well.

The hotel is quite large and feels more secluded than it is. It has 800+ rooms, a kind of hybrid atrium style design, a lake, a golf course, several pools, a water slide, a Regency Club, Camp Hyatt, and more. It does charge a $12 per day self-parking fee and a resort fee of about $25 per day. Those are relatively substantial costs that need to be factored into the overall value. We had two of our three nights covered via the charity auction certificate, but the additional night that we paid out of pocket was about $225 + taxes/fees. The hotel did tell us when we checked in that they were waiving the resort fee “since it was our first time at the property”. I’m not sure if that was the real reason, if it was related to our Diamond status, the substantial renovations going on, or something else, but that was our experience. Our friends there the same weekend did not have the fee waived, but they did get some other fairly generous compensation in the end for some issues they had with their stay (more on that later).

Disney transportation options:

Other than driving yourself, you can take a complimentary shuttle from the hotel to Disney. While I think it is great that the hotel offers a shuttle, it is far from flawless. We didn’t use it as we had a car, but our friends did use it some when their schedule didn’t line up with ours.  The shuttle to the Magic Kingdom Ticket and Transportation Center departs at 8:50AM and 10:00AM. It picks up at the same location at 6:00PM, 8:00PM, 9:45pPM, and certain days at 11:15PM. This means you can’t get there for when the parks open, and you can’t use them to return to the hotel after lunch for a nap. This service would be much more useful it it were continuously running every 60 or 90 minutes in both directions throughout the day. However, with such a limited schedule it isn’t really practical for families with young children who can’t stay at the park all day.

We didn’t use a cab, but our friends looked into it and said to estimate about $25 – $30 for each trip, again not a great option either. I think most families with young kids who stay here will want their own car to go to and from the parks.

The rooms:

When we added a paid third night (which we actually used as the first night of our stay) to our two night certificate, I used a confirmed Diamond suite upgrade with that first night.  The hotel graciously allowed us to keep the suite all three nights. By looking at the website, our suite appears to have been the Executive Suite. Call us spoiled, but we do much better when we have ample space for us and our kiddo. What we lost by not being on Disney property, we made up for with additional space in the room. As you likely know, when you travel with a young kid you do actually spend a fair amount of time in the room with naps, downtime, etc. so the room matters more than when you are on an “adults only” trip that allows you to spend the bulk of your time out and about.

The suite had a full sized king bedroom, full bathroom, and balcony on one side, and then had another full sized room and bathroom devoted to the living area on the other side. The sofa did convert to a bed.

We had two issues with the suite. The first was that both bathrooms only had showers. It is clear to me that this was designed more of a conference hotel than a family hotel, but given the proximity to so many theme parks (and presumably families with children), it would be super helpful to have a bath tub instead of a shower.  Update: the hotel reports having tub/baths in rooms with double beds, so take that into consideration when booking your room.

The other issue was that the rooms of the suite were connected with two doors that only opened from one side. At one point our daughter shut the door to the living portion of the room with no one in it, and the keys for the rooms were all in the living room. This meant we couldn’t get in there without calling security. Had she shut herself in a different room than us with the keys it could have been a very scary situation. Since these rooms are not true connecting rooms, but instead one suite, I would much prefer if it were not possible for that situation to transpire. A normal door between the rooms that opens from both sides would be a better option in my view.

Despite that issue, the suite was perfect for hosting an impromptu “kids party”, complete with an explosion of toys!

We did enjoy the balcony, both to overlook the beautiful resort, and to see the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom at night. That said, balconies and young kids do make me nervous so we did not use it very much.

Dining options:

As is often the case for us on trips with our kiddo, we ended up just having dinner in the room most nights. By that point in the day we were totally pooped, and even staying awake to eat room service was a bit of a challenge. This hotel, like most/all Hyatts, has put an emphasis on healthy dining options for kiddos. This is a fantastic thing in my book, but can make it a little harder to order for a kid that is already wiped out and fussy. Sometimes a chicken finger will get consumed whereas a healthy veggie and noodle dish or salad might be passed on by a cranky kiddo. So, I love the healthy options, but they can be a double edged sword if your kiddo is not in the best of moods to begin with.  I think they will be even better for us as C gets a bit older, but again I really do like the effort Hyatt has put into this initiative.

The first night she fell asleep before her sunflower-butter and jelly sandwich with edamame could get delivered (though she ate it for breakfast happily the next day), and the second night she ate some of her noodle dish, but I may have eaten more of it than she did.

According to the hotel’s website, there are tons of restaurant and dining options within the hotel, but many of them were not operational during our visit due to the renovations.  This didn’t impact us very much, but the other family we traveled with had this to say, “the lunch solution was to use what would charitably be described as a 1980s cafeteria with terrible food and service.”  Eek – glad we didn’t eat lunch there!  Do note though that this is a primarily a temporary issue that should be much better now that renovations are complete.

In part two of this review I will cover the Regency Club, the awesome pools, getting Disney tickets from the hotel, and other pretty cool amenities they offer.  Have you stayed here before?  If so, what did you think of your stay?

On 99% of my trips I fly United or one of their Star Alliance partners like US Airways. I live at a United hub, so they have the most non-stop flight options, and for the most part I actually do have a good experience on their flights. I have a personal preference for the pre-merger Continental planes and crews, but I have grown to appreciate much of what United has brought to the table as well (like listening to Channel 9!). As a result, I always give preference to United when I am shopping for flights due to having mostly good experiences with them, wanting to use and earn elite benefits (like priority security, free same day changes, free checked bags, and premium seats), and because they generally have the best flight options for where I am heading.

I have a potential short trip to New York coming up in June. While the trip is not finalized, I started looking at airfare so that I could have an idea of what the trip might cost if it does materialize. As I usually do, I headed to ITA Matrix to get see how fares looked for various days that month. I was happy to see that fares were quite reasonable in the range of $200 – $250 most of the time. Great!

Then I started clicking on some of the dates when the trip was most likely to happen, and things got more interesting.  For one date I saw American Airlines with a non-stop flight from Houston to JFK for $215 round trip.  It didn’t shock me that they were under-cutting United by a little since it is a pretty new route and they are competing in a United hub, but it turns out they weren’t under-cutting by a little…they were blowing them out of the water!

For the privilege of sticking to “my” airline, utilizing my elite status benefits, and earning more miles toward re-qualifying for elite status, I would need to shell out over $1,400 for a non-stop flight to New York.  Only 6.5 times what American was charging!  To be fair, if I was willing to take a connection and increase my travel time as a result, I could book with United for just $450 (over double with AA was charging).

I understand that business is business and they are going to charge what they think the customer will be willing to pay, and I actually would pay a little extra to stick with United because that makes sense for my overall travel plan.  I just wonder which customers are really paying $1400+ instead of $215 to stay loyal to a particular airline?  In this case there is no question that the lower fares trump my loyalty and elite status benefits.  If I end up booking the trip on a day where American is substantial cheaper, you can bet I will happily be sitting on their shiny silver planes with a smile on my face.

This is a good reminder (that hopefully none of us need) to not perform searches on just one airline’s website.  Do searches on a site like ITA or Hipmunk that shows fares for many different airlines.

What do you do when booking airfare?  Always book with whoever is the cheapest, or do you give preference to particular airlines?  If so, how much of a price difference is enough for you to ditch your preferences and go with the lower fare?

I had never heard of Score Big before today, so I spent a few minutes playing on their website.  It seems to sort of work like Priceline’s “Name Your Own Price”, but with sporting and event tickets instead of with hotels or flights.  As an example, for an upcoming Houston Astros game I went through part of the process for putting in a bid of $20 for tickets in a certain section of the stadium.  I was warned that my bid might be too low and that I would not be able to re-bid for 24 hours if my bid was not accepted (have they seen the Astros?).  Again, this is very similar to how Priceline operates.

The selection of tickets for various events was somewhat limited, but that seems to be something they are working on.  I did find a few options to redeem United miles for tickets, but those selections were even more limited than the ones for sale with cash.  Since I don’t know the lowest price that a ticket would sell due to the bidding style process with cash, I can’t say for sure how good or bad the miles redemption options are, but they didn’t seem terrible in the limited examples I looked at.  I would have to spend more time comparing the mileage redemption rates to actual selling prices of tickets outside of this site to say for sure whether or not it is a good deal, but it was better than I expected at first glance.

If you are interested, here is a little bit more about Score Big taken from their own website:

Around 40% of live event tickets go unsold every year – from the “best” seats to the most affordable – even for events you think are “sold out”. That’s a lot of empty seats! And the ticket industry can’t offer big discounts on some seats and not others in a way everyone sees. So to get those seats filled they give them to ScoreBig, which allows us to pass on those huge savings directly to you!

In exchange for great tickets at great prices (with no fees and free delivery), at ScoreBig, you do things a little differently. For instance, we don’t tell you what to pay, you decide…how much you save is up to you. And by choosing a seating area rather than an exact seat, you’re giving the ticket providers the flexibility they need to give you great deals.

I am all for new ways to earn and redeem miles, so I will absolutely try to use this site at least once before 9/30 to get the 1,000 mile bonus (assuming the price for tickets is competitive).  I’ll let you know how that process goes after I actually use it to make a purchase.  If any of you have used this site, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

• Hyatt 48 Hour Sale: Through 11:59PM tonight (5/15) you can get up to 20% off at participating Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, Park Hyatt and Andaz properties in the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean via their current 48 hour sale.  This sale is valid for travel between Friday May 24, 2013 and Tuesday August 27, 2013, and as always, is non-refundable.  You can head to Hack my Trip for a list of all the participating properties.  I love these sales when I have a reservation coming up that I know is going to happen, but it pays to compare the discounted rate to other discounts you may have access to such as AAA.

• American Express Business Gold Rewards Card 75,000 point offer:  Last week the internet darn near caught fire with the extremely temporary 75K Amex Business Gold Rewards card offer that came with just $5,000 in spending over three months.  Even my mom got in on that one, and just got her approval yesterday (via email without having to call in).  That offer died in less than 24 hours, but now another short term opportunity to get in on 75,000 Amex points is back, though this time with a $10,000 spending requirement within four months.  We have seen this offer every month or two this year, but it is a very solid offer if you can meet the hefty spending requirement.  You must apply by May 17th (Friday) to get the 75K on this go ’round.
• Southwest is extending their promo for double points and double tier credits for travel through June 15th:  This promo was originally scheduled to end today, but now you have another month to bring in the double points.  You do need to register for this promotion and you can get more details from Deals We Like.
• Southwest also has some promos coming for double points for those traveling to/from Wichita and Atlanta, and Houston to Boston or LaGuradia.  The Houston routes will give double points from June 16, 2013 – August 31, 2013.  The details for the Wichita and Atlanta promos aren’t yet totally visible on the Southwest promos site.  Head to Points, Miles, and Martinis for more info on this promo.

• Today is the last day to book Marriott Hotels before the most recent round of category changes go into effect.  These changes going into effect tomorrow include over a 1/3 of the hotels going up in category, and a 9th category being added.  Many of us have certificates for category 1-4 or 1-5 hotels from previous MegaBonus promotions, so it especially pays to see if any hotels you are interested in will be moving up out of that range.  One Mile at a Time offers some additional info on these changes.

There you go, you are now (mostly) caught up on the happenings of the day in less time than it took to drink a cup of coffee (unless of course your are shot-gunning it). 

Based on the emails and comments that I have received, it seems that many of you are in that same situation.  So, what is there to be done about the “homeless in Russia” situation?  I’ll say up-front that there is not a perfect answer at this time, but here are a few suggestions.

• Be patient.  I know that sounds crazy given we are talking about the Olympics, Russia, needing a visa, etc.  But honestly the very best advice I can give is to just be patient.  It is extremely likely that as we get closer to this fall that the hotels will be able to release the rooms that weren’t utilized by the IOC or via package sales and you will be able to reserve a decent room at a decent price.  In fact there are many hotels that should be finished with construction toward this end of this year – including a Haytt!  This “be patient” strategy is the one I am using myself.  I’m even hopeful I will be able to secure a room (again) on points.
• Read some of the Sochi threads on Tripadvisor.  If you want to read what others in your situation are doing and learning, I highly recommend heading to the Sochi Forum on TripAdvisor.  I suspect this will continue to be a good resource as hotel rooms (hopefully) become more available later this year.
• Request modest accommodations now.  If you really want to book now for the peace of mind, you can make a request for some rooms now via this site…though admittedly most shown aren’t my first choice.  It also seems that you are just making requests and may or may not be able to actually book.  That said, I have heard a story or two about folks who have booked without having to give a credit card.  That could be super handy back-up plan if you can find a deal like that.
• Book a ticket + lodging package.  If you have deep pockets and want to get everything situated right now, you can book a package that includes hotel accommodations, event tickets, plus other perks right now via the official CoSport.com website.  The ones I briefly looked at were in the $7,000 – $9,000 range for three days.  Ouch!  My pockets aren’t that deep, and my anxiety isn’t nearly high enough for that to appeal to me, but it might for some.

I’ll periodically continue to post about the process of planning a trip to the 2014 Winter Olympics, and would love to hear how it is going for those of you who are also planning to head to Sochi!

According to the Hard Rock Chicago’s site:

Medela, the number one choice of hospitals and mothers, has partnered with Hard Rock Hotel Chicago to provide hospital grade Symphony breastpumps and breastfeeding Accessory Starter Sets, which include: Quick Clean^TM Micro Steam^TM Bags, Quick Clean Wipes, Pump and Save^TM Bags and Disposable Bra Pads.  In addition, the Nursing Mothers Amenity Program also features convenient in-room amenities such as microwaves, mini-refrigerators, ice packs for transportation and mini cooler bags.

The Nursing Mothers Amenity Program costs $30, with proceeds directly benefiting local families with children in Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago through The Jackson Chance Foundation.

The hotel’s concierge staff is also trained with the know-how to source additional nursing-specific requests such as FedExing expressed milk.

I have stayed at the Hard Rock Chicago before (on a super cheap Hotwire rate) and had a very good stay.  The fact that the hotel is making this available makes me like them even more.  For whatever reason nursing and/or pumping still has a bit of a ridiculous stigma here in the US, so the fact that a somewhat trendy and sexy hotel like Hard Rock Chicago is making this available is especially cool.  I can only hope that other hotels will follow suit in meeting the needs of traveling moms and families.

What do you guys think – super helpful or unnecessary?

PS.  If you are a nursing mom who wants additional tips about traveling without your kiddo, head to Road Warriorette as she has recently written a few posts on this topic!