Priority Club is offering 300 points for downloading their toolbar. But in practice you only have to enter your account information, at which point it instantly deposits 300 points into your account, then giving you the option to download the toolbar. So even if you don’t want to download the toolbar, this is an easy way to pick up 300 Priority Club points.

(Tip of the hat to Frugal Travel Guy)

Last week I stayed at the InterContinental Los Angeles Century City for two nights. I needed to be in the area and the revenue rate was $279 per night, so I instead opted to burn 40,000 Priority Club points per night. Not the most amazing bargain, but I’d rather part with 80,000 Priority Club points than $600+.

This particular InterContinental used to be a Park Hyatt, and was rebranded a few years back. The outside is fairly grand, both in terms of color and the architecture of the building, compared to the rest of the area, which is fairly sterile.

Hotel entrance

Hotel exterior

Hotel exterior

I arrived around 6PM and was promptly checked in by a friendly front desk agent who greeted me by name, explained I had been upgraded to a junior suite, and explained the rest of the Royal Ambassador benefits at this hotel. I was thankful that they honored all Royal Ambassador benefits despite me being on an award stay, which they’re not required to do by the terms and conditions. The other benefits are the usual complimentary minibar beverages, free pay per view movie, and this property also offers Royal Ambassadors complimentary internet access.

I was directed to the elevators, where I went to my room on the 9th floor.

Lobby

My junior suite consisted of a small living room with a couch, a couple of chairs, and a desk, leading out to the balcony. There was a flat screen TV as well.

Living room

Living room

The minibar was well stocked, with a large bottle of Evian water and all kinds of sodas, juices, and booze.

Minibar

The welcome gift on the living room table consisted of a couple of bottles of Fiji water (which were replenished on the second day) and a fruit plate.

Welcome amenity

The bedroom was quite small, though the bed was very comfortable. On the side of the bed was a door to yet another balcony, boasting great views of Century City.

Bedroom

Balcony

Balcony

Balcony

The bathroom was quite large, with a full shower and tub. I appreciated the simplicity of the shower controls, as hotel showers have just gotten too complicated for me nowadays.

Sink

Tub

Shower

Toilet

The hotel also has a pool and fitness center. The pool is quite large with some nice cabanas, though it doesn’t have any sort of views, other than over a parking lot. The fitness center had very modern equipment but felt a bit dated due to the weird hardwood floors.

Gym

Gym

Pool

As I mentioned earlier, the hotel is in Century City, an area filled with studios. The area as such is quite sterile, without much to do in the immediate area, at least not within walking distance. There is the very nice Westfield Mall Century City, which is maybe a ten minute walk. It has some really nice shops, a movie theater, and all kinds of dining options (including Pinkberry!). It was really interesting to see the crowd there on a weekday over lunch, as almost everyone was dressed up and clearly working in the area.

Highlight of any trip to LA!

Overall I had a great stay. All the employees I encountered were friendly, including the concierge. Unfortunately this hotel doesn’t have a club lounge, which is kind of a downer. Having free drinks from the minibar as a Royal Ambassador slightly makes up for that, though. If I were in the area I’d definitely stay here again, assuming the rate is reasonable.

It’s time for a reader photo. Thanks to Glenn for sending in this one.

Correct Answer: Seoul Olympic Park, South Korea
Winner: Matt

If you’d like your photo featured, please email it to me at onemileatatime@hotmail.com, along with the correct answer.

While I’m not a Southwest customer, there’s no airline I have more respect for than them. They’re just customer friendly. Justified or not, customers love Southwest. There’s many things they do right, and then there’s some things they get credit for that I just can’t understand, like people uniformly claiming they have the lowest fares.

Anyway, they’re always known for being the customer friendly airline, so when they make a change that isn’t pro-customer, it’s shocking. And even though it’s not all that significant, it kind of is because it’s Southwest making the change.

What am I talking about? Starting August 1, they’re making huge changes to their “drink coupon” (coupons for free alcoholic beverages) policy. In the past they’ve accepted coupons regardless of when they expire, even years past their expiry date.

Well, they’re making three key changes. First, starting August 1, coupons past their expiration date will no longer be accepted. That’s fair enough, though less than a week advance notice isn’t very much lead time.

The second change they’re making is that coupons with an expiration date will now expire on August 31, 2011. So they’re adding an expiration date to something that doesn’t have an expiration date. Really? Gotta make sure those 50 cent minis don’t turn the company unprofitable, I guess.

The most foolish change of all, in my opinion, is that Business Select coupons will be valid for the day of travel only. As a Business Select customer you get two onboard “perks” — a free drink and early boarding. But let’s think about this for a second. The average passenger on a “Business Select” fare is probably leaving early in the morning, heading to the office for the day, and flying back a day or two later. They can’t really drink on the outbound flight if they’re headed to the office, but now they can’t even save that drink coupon and use it the next day on their return flight to get two drinks.

Southwest flyers in this FlyerTalk thread sure aren’t happy about the change. And while it’s not all that big of a deal, I don’t get why they’d make this change. Southwest is the no fees, no restrictions, no asterisks airline. This change is everything they don’t stand for, and it’s all for something so minor. Fine, don’t accept drink coupons that have expired, but add an expiration date to the ones that don’t have an expiration date and alienate your highest revenue customers? Not smart…

Hurry up if you want to get in on this. To celebrate 100,000 followers on Twitter, United is offering $100 each way fares for travel between Hawaii and Los Angeles. It’s good for travel between September 7 and October 30 and has some minimum stay requirements.

Incredible deal, so if you can get in on this, book right now!