Hotels: Cool vs Comfort

The problem with uber cool hotels is that beyond the surface they really aren't functional for many everyday travelers. While my full review of the Hyatt Andaz Napa will be forthcoming this post will serve as a mere observation of my first 24 hrs. as a guest at this property.
This would be the second time an Andaz property has disappointed me.  I had been looking forward to my stay at the Andaz Napa as the highlight of my wine country trip and now I can't wait to get to a more standard amenity orientated hotel like the Westin Verasa.   I had used  my suite upgrade from my diamond status for this paid stay.  After a let down occurred at the Andaz West Hollywood I triple checked this reservation because it was for four adults and I knew going in this the hotel wasn't conducive to having rooms accommodate more than 2 people.  I was prepared to book two paid rooms and use two suite upgrades but the hotel assured me they could accommodate my party.

Off to Napa, CA

I'm off on another points related trip of sorts: Napa, CA.  Tomorrow I depart on a United revenue ticket from IAD to SFO.  I'll earn 4,838 much needed  United miles for my South African adventure.  My round trip ticket was $250 due to the fact that my travel companion (not Diva Ridge this time) had a coupon allowing a companion to fly free so we split the cost of 1 RT between us.  Couple this with the fact that the Weston Verasa  is comping us a 2 bedroom suite for two nights due to a major incident during my stay last year and already the $$$ saved topples $1500.  In addition, we'll move to the Hyatt Andaz Napa  for two nights on a revenue stay but as a Diamond member I'll be using one of my free suite upgrades for this stay and along with free Wi-FI comes breakfast (translation: more dollars to spend on wine tasting), then finally we cap the trip off with 1 night using 38K Club Carlson points at he Radisson San Francisco Airport Bay Front before taking our direct flight home.  I'll be reviewing all these properties in later posts. I hope to also review the Hong Kong Flower Lounge Restaurant  and a few wine tasting rooms so keep checking back.

A New Player Joins the Ranks

It didn't take long, not even two months before Diva's call came with somewhat of a sincere tone to it  "I want to know if you will walk me through how you do this points thing, I want to try it for myself" Many will recall Diva Ridge (her porn star name,devised to protect her real identity) accompanied me to Thailand, which was nothing short of first class all the way.  I had opened her eyes to what was possible for an investment of time rather than money when it pertains to travel and now she wanted to strike out on her own.  I told her I would help, hold her hand along the way but she had to follow my advice, change the way she thinks about spending and above all, she had to trust me.  She agreed and we started by reviewing what she was hoping to accomplish travel wise then we reviewed her spending.

Everyday shopping can earn multitudes of points

What do you do when the credit card bonuses have been met and its six months before another round of applications can be submitted to earn points: go shopping.  I know, I said that earning these travel points would not have a person spend more than their means and I'm standing by that statement.  What I mean when I say go shopping is think about the way you shop.  Sure it's great to spend $1000 on normal everyday expenses in a 3 months time span and earn 50,000 points but you can't sustain your travel based on credit card bonuses alone.

College students can play the points game

In my last post I mentioned helping my son with his spend.  Today, I’d like to detail how I got him to the point where he earned a premium credit card.  My family look at me with raised brow with the way I spend and set up reward accounts for all. They've come to accept it more as the kookier things mom does then the actual benefit of what I do brings forth. 

My son used to get annoyed with me because “junk” email was taking up his inbox.  The junk email he was referring too were monthly statements from various travel partners, Delta, Club Carlson, Hyatt that I set up on his behalf so he could earn points.  Let me rephrase that so I could earn points for him. 

Manufactured spend

I recently wrote about acquiring 2 more credit cards and the finessing I had to do with Chase in order to not be denied on my applications because I carry 6 active Chase cards (see post here).  The two cards I received require a total of $3000 in spends in 3 months, this is a relatively low spend for the amount of points.  The United Mileage Plus Explorer card came with a 55K bonus after a $1000 spend and the British Airways Visa 50K Avios points with a $2000 spend.

To Buy Points or Not to Buy, that is the question

This South African trip has me stuck.  I need to secure air tickets before US Air does anything with their pending merger to American Airlines because one of the sweet spots in their award chart happens to be South Africa and I hope to take advantage of that before it goes away for good.  To get to South Africa via a US Air Star Alliance partner I need 70K dividend miles RT for each economy seat or 110,00K RT for each business class seat.  The business option has a lie flat seat and being this will be the 6th longest flight in existence a lie flat seat might be enough reason to fly business class.  Problem is I only have 156K US Airways dividend miles points.  I need three seats total.  156K points are good for 2 RT economy seats with some points to spare.  One business class and one economy seat  are 180K dividend miles currently leaving me with a 24K shortage.  There in lies the problem.  I can't determine which option to utilize.  Ultimately, I would love 3 business class seats but given that I hope to ticket the seats next month I won't be acquiring enough miles with all my tricks for three buiness class seats  (330K dividend miles) so one of us  is flying economy and they may be riding with a partner if I can't figure a path to follow.  I also have 63K United miles (another Star Alliance partner) but have a 17K point shortage for a RT economy seat booked thru United (they require 80K for a RT to South Africa).  It all has to boil down to my ROI (return on investment).   Economy seats for the time period I'm considering are going run $1900 each and the business class seat about $6300, thats about $10,100 in airfare and I'd be paying a little less than 10% of that to purchase the points needed to make up the shortages.  BUT, if I go for 2 business class seats and 1 economy seat I'd be getting $14,500 worth of airfare for about an 12% investment.  It's all a little overwhelming as both United and US Air have bonus points promotions running right now to go along with points purchases.  So for the next few hours I'll be caught up in this triangle of which seating type to select.  I just wanted to share with my readers some of what is involved in the thought process behind acquiring ticketed award seats.  There are many more options available to me but for various reasons my choices have been narrowed to Start Alliance partners and by a full accounting of the various points I have on hand.  Stay tuned as the decision will need to be made soon.
  

Blogtember: A September blog challenge

"If you could take three months off from your current life and do anything in the world, what would you do?"  As part of this self imposed blog writing gig, I read other blogs for ideas, inspiration, challenges and general interest. A friend was telling me about this "Blobtember" Challenge  posted by "story of my life" blog where every day for the month of September a new question/topic will be raised and bloggers rise to the challenge of writing about the chosen topic...said friend thought today's question related to my travel blogging which did peak my interest. As I was updating my blog last night a side bar of this very topic started to overwhelm me, it's wasn't the stress of where will I go next but how will I get the time off from work to go?  I work a regular 40 hr a week job with pretty generous vacation and holiday leave but still with must do trips like visit family, take kids to college etc., there really isn't much left for the world according to me to visit.  I have another California trip coming up and I will have blown all my leave for the rest of 2013. I actually have to make up a day because of this last trip. I know, I know, such problems to have.  So today's "Blogtember" question isn't going to be answered by a destination reveal, it's going to be pondered on with how can I really take three months off?  I could try family leave, that's 3 months, or disability but both are cheating the system, I could try maternity leave (lord, no) or I could just come here every day and work not for the sheer enjoyment of my job but for the leave I earn.  I will continue to drop hints to my bosses that prove I do not need to be in the office daily and could easily do this work from a laptop in Bali, Seychelles, Bahamas, Slovenia or wherever my stash of travel points take me but somehow they just aren't buying it. I can't even get them to understand how I do all this travel for little to nothing out of pocket which is why I write the blog I do.  So for now, until such a challenge can become reality I'll continue to give my career the 100% it deserves until 4:30 pm each day but come 4:31 pm my life truly begins living.           

City Review: Phuket

This is my last post from my two week trip to Asia on points travel. Phuket always had been my final destination, I just chose to terminate in Hong Kong and make my way to Phuket through various means for which you can read about here, here and here.  As I have mentioned in my review of the Radisson Blu Cape Panwa, Phuket is a very large island about 30 miles long and 13 miles wide. That fact becomes apparent when you chose to stay in the quietness of Cape Panwa and wish to visit other portions of the island.

Hotel Review: Hyatt Andaz West Hollywood

The Hyatt Andaz West Hollywood is a Category 4 property requiring 15K points per night.  If you are a Hyatt card holder you receive an annual certificate after paying the $75 card renewal fee for 1 free night good at any Hyatt Category 1-4 property.  This hotel qualifies for use of that certificate. While paying an annual fee to carry a credit card may seem like a waste this is where you can work that fee to your advantage because standard rooms generally rate out at $265 per night and higher, a savings of  $190 against a revenue stay.
This famous hotel know affectionately as Riot Hotel was ruled by the rock and rollers of the 60's and 70's The Doors, The Who,Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, just to name a few.  It's convenient Sunset Strip location puts the hotel within close proximity to the Whisky A GoGo, The Viper Room, the Rainbow Bar & Grill among other heavy hitters that define the rock era of excess.  The rooms have been updated and the famous balconies have been glassed in to provide a larger interior space or to prevent current up and coming rock star from thowing TV's off the balconies to mimick the antics of Keith Richards when he stayed at the hotel. There is no front desk, staff walk around with satchels containing iPads for checking in. You're seated on sofa throughout the lobby area offered complimentary wine, coffee, water while the staff review your stay portfolio.  Our room was on the 5th floor directly overlooking Sunset Blvd.  The view was fantastic and pure iconic Hollywood.  Inside while the bathrooms are small they are quite functional and covered floor to ceiling in marble.

Once a place where rock icons hurled tv's to the street below has now been encased in safety glass and sofas offering remarkable strip views day and night

The open concept restaurant RH (which stand for Riot House paying tribute to the hotels storied past) served a wonderful menu selection or buffet for breakfast. While not only is the kitchen open guests can see ingredients used for their meals through glass refrigerator doors.  The first morning we selected from the menu: french toast and a breakfast panini. If breakfast is not included with your room, the fee is extraordinarily pricey, approximately $50 per person. As a Diamond member, breakfast for me and up to 3 guests was included. In the evening the restaurant was often crowded with lengthy waits for a seat, many times the reason for this has to do with word on the street that a celebrity or band may be in residence at the hotel.  One evening after a long, hot day of seeing the sights we saw several dozen teenage girls on the walk directly outside the hotel as we approached the main entrance we were stopped by security and asked to state our business, I said I was a guest and was required to show my room card.  Turned out rumor had it that the boy band One Direction either was staying here or had band members staying there.  I wouldn't have known even if they were there but activity over the next few nights was heavy with paparazzi and screaming teenage girls.   

The hotel had a rooftop pool.  While one side overlooked the strip the other clearly gave view of some Hollywood Hills residences.  The parking lot was housed on the backside as well.  The nightly parking fee was $35 if parking your rental car for the duration of the stay.    

My stay overall was as expected for the area.  The room was comfortable and quiet even while I was located directly across from the elevator.  The neon lights from the strip were never a problem as room darkening drapes blocked all light.  The location was fantastic especially for a walker (so many sites, shops within walking distance), the staff friendly and the food good.  While I could appreciate the storied past, my teenager could not, although she did very much enjoy being able to walk pass the screaming teenagers envious of her stay in the hotel.  I am a die hard Hyatt fan but I will criticize/complain if a situation warrants.  I will return to this property since my teen liked Hollywood enough to ask if we could come back next year.  I do feel the property is properly rated at a Category 4 and I most likely will be using my annual free night stay here again but before we return I will make sure my child knows who Led Zeppelin is and how they basically ran this hotel in its heyday.        

The Must Read Travel Delvaluation Post

In the wee hours of Aug 28 it was notice by someone booking an award flight that American Airlines would impose a fuel surcharges on award tickets, a few calls later and American was confirming the news with prepared statements.  Fuel surcharges are two words travel points hobbyists want to avoid. If your going to pay a fuel surcharge on an award ticket you might as well book a revenue ticket because fuel surcharges suck the life out of an award. The travel bloggers were in a tizzy for several stressful hours as the news that came out of American Airlines was all but detrimental to those who travel on points.

Anatomy of a Trip to LA - Last Installment: In Town Transportation

This is the final post in a mini series about the Anatomy of my trip to LA the other two post can be viewed here and here.  This final post details how ignoring opportunities for free points can cost you in the long run. I was flying myself and my daughter to Los Angeles thanks to my acquisition of the Southwest companion pass which for me is valid through 12/31/13.  The hotel was being paid for with my free night stay bonus given as a perk for the $75 annual renewal fee for the Chase Hyatt Visa and the remaining two nights were paid with points I acquired through various means and my use of Vanilla reloads to pay my mortgage and acquire additional Ultimate Rewards points.  The only thing remaining was transportation once we arrived at the destination.

Kok Chang Safari Elephant Ride

 I had three main reason for coming to Thailand: first, to ride in Cathay Pacific's 1st class cabin from JFK to Hong Kong detailed here, second, to ride an elephant and third because I wish to visit all 7 continents before 60.  This post is about Rainbow, at 2 1/2 tons she was kind and gentle and loved to be scratched behind the ears.

Hotel Review:Radisson Blu Phuket

I chose this property for my stay on Phuket because I was swimming in an overabundance of Club Carlson points.  To help unburden my points cache I was looking forward to 4 nights at Radisson Blue Plaza Resort Panwa Beach.  For the most part I would agree with many of the comments posted on Trip Advisor about the property.  It is far from the beaches of Kata and Patong for which Phuket is known and the cabs are anywhere from $15 to $20 each way to go to the other side of the island.  Just as a side note, while it may not look big on a map Phuket is a very large island and that becomes apparent when you happen to be on the opposite side of it trying to get back to Cape Panwa (where the Radisson is located).  I liked the seclusion but had I the opportunity to do this over again I would have stayed 2 nights at the Radisson and 2 nights at a property near Kata beach.

Pleading my case with Chase

When I apply for fresh credit cards in order to acquire the bonus points associated with my cards of choice I usually apply for more than one on the same day, at the same time, which helps keep the hard pull inquiries down on my credit report so as not to impact the credit score more than 5 points.  Every time you apply for credit a hard inquiry is done and too many hard inquiries in a short amount of time have a negative impact on a credit score.

Bus to Phuket

One of the most stressful parts of this trip was all the extra planning which had to occur because I decided to terminate the flight to Asia in Hong Kong rather than my final destination of Phuket.  Simply put it meant that once we deplaned in Hong Kong we were on our own to get to the point where the departing plane back to the US would be.  I previously described the plane trip from Hong Kong to Bangkok here and the private drive to Hua Hin here but we still had an 8 hour ride to get from Hua Hin to Phuket.  Our options included driving back to Bangkok and taking a plane, hiring a private driver, driving ourselves or taking a bus.  We opted to review the last two: driving or public bus.

3 days in Hua Hin

Let me start by saying I loved Hua Hin.  Previously, I described my stay at the Hyatt Regency Hua Hin posted here which I'm sure contribuited to my likeability of my surroundings but while we didn't partaking in much activity other than beach walks and night markets I found peace and total relaxation here.  Diva and I were exhausted from the long days in the big cities and this was the perfect place to lay low.
We did venture out to the night market in town, there are several: one more tourist oriented; one geared toward the locals, we of course headed to where the locals go.  The Hyatt had a shuttle that would drop you off at the various markets then you could either take a taxi or tuk tuk (open air trucks/golf carts).  Many guide books steer travelers aways from tuk tuks but we had great luck with them and actually preferred them over taxis.

Hotel Review: Hyatt Regency Hua Hin

I was a hectic time in Bangkok and now came the time to relax.  Hua Hin has a 5 mile long beach about a 3 hour drive south of Bangkok located on the Gulf of Thailand.  It was discovered in the 1920's by King Rama VII and today houses the official royal residence of the sitting King.  Our stay here would be for 3 nights with the Hyatt Regency Hua Hin, a Category 4 property.  This 5 star 204 room hotel located on 12 beachfront acres was meticulously landscaped and private.  In one word the property was magnificent.  Upon check-in were were ushered to the Regency Club check-in desk and provided a beautiful room.  Everything here spoke of lush gardens and greenery.  Once we arrived at our room we found a great bottle of wine, a decadent chocolate cake and some local fruits as our welcoming gift.

Bangkok as I saw it: A pictorial

I'm finishing my cities (Hong Kong and Bangkok) portion of this trip blog today. So I'm going on a  rant with this post.  These two cities are like oil and water.  Hong Kong clean, Bangkok dirty.  Hong Kong wealthy, Bangkok dirt poor.  Hong Kong rife with fascination for the Western lifestyle but not our traditions, while Bangkok is just trying to survive a Western influx of tourism.

Damnoen Saduak Floating Market

We left Bangkok early morning.  A private driver was hired for the 3 hr trip to Hua Hin.  The city part of the vacation was over and now it was time to head to the beaches.  En route to Hua Hin we would be stopping at the famous Damnoen Saduak floating market about 2 hours outside of Bangkok.  Basically, its a bunch of canals in a jungle setting with people living densely along both sides of the narrow waterways.

Hotel Review:Park Plaza

There are currently three Club Carlson properties in Bangkok, the 4th a Radisson Blu is being readied for a February 2014 delivery.  The new property was within walking distance from the Park Plaza, I did cruise by the construction but, I did not see any of the other Club Carlson Bangkok properties.
Contemporary, quiet and centrally located can best describe our small hotel.

Bangkok's Royal Palace

After 12 straight hours of sleep I was ready for Bangkok or so I thought.  We did the first thing we could think to do in a third world country, find Starbucks.  Today, we were riding the metro, taking a water taxi, visiting the Royal palace, Wat Pho (largest reclining Buddha) and Chinatown with a little bit of this and that thrown in.

Trip Report : Introduction to Bangkok

Arrival in Bangkok was without issue.  Again, I had no transportation from airport to hotel set up but we decided to take a cab rather than navigate yet another metro system where we knew English would not be spoken.  We paid for a cab (about a $14 fare) to the hotel which was located in Sukhumvit, a  very well respected part of the city.  I made sure I had the driver use the meter rather than a flat rate which is how the drivers like to charge.  Being that it was early we had only a few traffic issues, Bangkok is known for horrendous traffic conditions.

Typical Bangkok intersection

Service Report: Uber

Trip report: Uber

I wrote about the car service Uber  (read previous post here) and how to easily acquire $45 in credits to try out their service.  I put my credits to use on my recent trip to West Hollywood.  We arrived at LAX and at the last minute I decided not to rent a car.  So without any transportation I tried Uber, within 10 minutes I was sitting in a very nicely appointed current model black sedan with blacked out windows (its LA after all) enroute from LAX to West Hollywood.  The driver had bottled water ready for us, stowed our bags and we were off.  He was pleasant, sharply dressed (a suit and tie) and within an hour we pulled up to the hotel, no money was exchanged, no tip; it was inclusive for the rate.  The  ride was superb and I am so glad I had that $45 credit to use.  My out of pocket expense was $18.  Shortly after my arrival at the hotel I received an email receipt and a request to rate the driver.  It was the easiest, most unstressful airport pick up and so vey LA.

Cathay Pacific Economy Class Review

What?  Did I just write the word "economy"?  Deciding to extend my stop over in Hong Kong meant that we had to pay for our own flight from Hong Kong to Bangkok.  There are a bevy of carriers that make the three hour flight each day and I chose Cathay because while most people pay for flights and pick a carrier based on the ticket price, I use points to determine which carrier I fly.

Playing Tourist in LA

This post comes to you from West Hollywood, CA  I'm out here for a quick trip playing tourist with my daughter.  I've been trying to keep on top of the posts and I most certainly will be providing a trip report of my stay at the Hyatt Andaz, West Hollywood in the near future.  But for now a few pics of celebrity homes will have to suffice.

Prince's house in Malibu

Matt Damon's house in Pacific Palisades

Bill Cosby's house in Pacific Palisades

Trip Report: Last Tid Bits from Hong Kong

A ride on the star ferry from Hong Kong Island to Kowloon peninsula should not be missed.  For an amount totaling less than $2HKD or .26 cents US you get a spetacular water view of the harbour.  For an extra special ride catch the ferry right before the 8pm laser light show that takes place on the promoninade, the ferry captain will stop in the middle of the harbour to allow passengers to take photos or have an extra few minutes for taking in the sights.  While I did not ride the ferry at night I did see the evening ferry stop from my post at Ozone Bar 118 floors above the harbour.

Hong Kong: Night Market

Everywhere we went in Asia some sort of market activity was popping up.  Hong Kong proved no exception and it would be our first exposure to the market culture and a memorable one at that.  Let's be frank...call it what you will to get visitors to attend but I referred to them as "shit shops"  After our visit to Ozone (read post here)  we headed over to to the Temple Street night market.  Starting at 5pm a busy street transforms into a place where vendors hawk their wares, everything from t-shirts to jade to fruits/vegetables to any kind of street food one could imagine.  We were so excited to explore the colorful marketplace before us.

Trip Report: Ritz Carlton Ozone Bar

Hong Kong is know for its architecture especially when it comes to skyscrapers so it would not be a complete visit without a stop to what currently ranks as one of the highest bars in the world, it occupies the 118Th floor of the ICC (International Commerce Commission ) building completed in 2010.  Ozone as it is more appropriately known is part of the Ritz Carlton properties and the views from this bar are spectacular especially if you arrive in time to watch the lights from surrounding buildings illuminate the evening sky.

Hotel Review: Hyatt Regency Sha Tin

As I mentioned in yesterday's post there are three Hyatt properties in Hong Kong.  In planning the trip several factors went into selecting what property I would chose for my stay.  Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Peninsula are very densely populated; basically they are located at the heart of Hong Kong proper, Sha Tin is out in a more relaxing mountainous setting just a 30 minute metro ride away.

Hong Kong: Victoria Peak and IFC Building

I have to admit that while I spend an exorbitant amount of time trying to defray my out of pocket expenses on exotic vacations I spend very little time deciding what I want to do when I get to the destination.  Same held true for Hong Kong.  My final destination was Phuket, Thailand and I could have had a decent layover in Hong Kong before catching a business class flight to Phuket but I decided I wanted to see Hong Kong so I booked three days at a Hyatt Regency to take it all in.

Cathay Pacific Flight to Hong Kong

It arrived, the announcement I had waited for, the culmination of many months acquiring points and understanding how to best utilize them, finally, first class passengers were called to board. Not only did I have priority boarding I had my own lane, my own jet walk, my own entrance onto the plane,  I did't even have to board with the masses.  I arrived to my suite, yes suite, not seat.  Suite 1A and Diva Ridge my travel companion occupied suite 2A.  Our first class cabin had only 6 suites; our two are marked with an arrow.

Trip Report: Just getting on the plane

I'm back!  Having survived two weeks in Asia with nothing more than a few bugs bites and an angry Hong Kong mafia (more on that in another post) it's good to be home.  Trouble with being home is that there is so much catching up to do and the demands of providing new content on the blog coupled with jet lag from a 12 hour time difference make it a challenge.  These travel bloggers I follow who provide content while away have must have ghost writers as I found it very difficult to post while I was away but then again I don't do this as my life 24/7 so with that said hope you'll forgive the hiatus and keep engaged as I relive the experiences of this long planned trip.

Asia Eve

In less than 15 hrs I'll be on my way to Hong Kong, Bangkok, Hua Hin and Phuket.  There isn't a frenzy of activity surrounding me as everything is booked, packed and ready to go.  Flights checked, boarding passes issued and hotels confirmed.  Today is not about last minute this and that for the Asia trip, but that is not to say I haven't been swamped with things to do.  I have been very busy with acquiring future travel benefits for myself, things I may or may not need depending upon where my travels take me.

Working Hyatt Experiment - Updated Again

Turns out my experiment detailed here worked after all.  In a previous post I explained how I was hoping to take advantage of two Hyatt promotions at once based on a timing technicality.  I reported that my experiment did not work in my favor, turns out that was WRONG.  The charges I initially reviewed were "pending" when I wrote about the results of my experiment, now the charges are finalized and the purchased points with bonus have been deposited to my Hyatt.  This means I effectively purchased Hyatt points offering a point purchase bonus that was ending on June 30 and will receive credit towards an additional bonus for a required spend that wasn't to begin until July 1 simply by waiting until a few minutes before midnight on June 30. Nice.  

The Year of the Devaluation

2013 will certainly go on the records books as the year of the devaluation.  Every company is jumping on board with this trend to devalue their loyalty points.  The latest is Hertz.  I am a Gold Plus Rewards Hertz member and have enough reward points for 2 free days of rentals, trouble is that will change come October when the points needed for a free day rental will increase by 10-15%.  Hertz sent notice out to me on July 2nd announcing the program change.  I have to give them credit for letting their loyalty program members know ahead of time because many companies try to hide their devaluations and one does not find out until they try to book an award.  I'm not happy about it but I planned to use my reward points prior to the devaluation anyway.
Devaluations come as part of this travel points hobby,  thats why everyone warns not to hoard points, earn them and use them if you want the most value.  The devaluations just make the hunt all the more challenging.  The thirst for inexpensive travel wont die just the means of acquiring ways to achieve it.

Do You Uber?

Uber  is the new startup company based in San Francisco making a mobile application able to connect passengers with drivers of luxury vehicles for hire.  Its more expensive than a cab but less expensive than a private car service. Anytime  a new service is introduced the company needs to get the word out and usually offers fantastic deals to get you on board.  Same holds true for Uber.

Working Hyatt Experiment Result

In my post detailed here I write about trying to work two Hyatt promotions to my advantage.  One promotion was ending on June 30 the other beginning on July 1.  The promotion ending June 30 was a buying points with bonus special and the promotion beginning July 1 was a spend promo with 5K points bonus for spending $3K in 3 months.  It wasn't the holy grail of trying to work the system to my advantage, but it still FAILED.

Napa 2012

I'm still playing with the construction of this site.  Having said that you'll notice the recent addition of a Trip Reports header, I plan to post  comment and pics from my trips and link to those pages. This is my attempt to do just that...

Diamonds ARE a girls best friend...

Actually I am talking about, Hyatt Diamond status.  You are all getting a taste of  how using your good credit can help you realize the dream of travelling the world, but what if you could up the ante just a bit more?  I fall into the category of "get me to my destination and have a decent place for me to sleep and I'm happy" but others need their status fix.  We all have experienced the unexpected thrill of a hotel room upgrade or a free drink coupon, but what if you could have the red carpet rolled out for you for an upcoming trip?  My first taste of  the benefits of status came during my stay at the Hyatt Vendome in Paris in April, 2012.

Working Hyatt

I'm trying to work Hyatt to my advantage for my upcoming West Hollywood stay.  In my post about the upcoming California trip detailed here I say how my Hyatt stay is not 100% pre-booked since two of the intended three nights reserved are paid for with reward points while the third night is currently reserved as a paid stay at a rate of $265.  When I reserved the room I had no intention of paying $265 for my stay, I just wanted to hold the room in my name.

Thinking beyond what's on the surface

In a previous post I touched on the "how to" of acquiring a Southwest Companion Pass.  Briefly: the need to apply for 2 Chase Southwest credit cards (1 personal, 1 business) at the current 50K bonus per card offer got you 100K points closer to the goal of 110K needed for the pass.  Today, we put in real terms how you can easily acquire the remaining 8K. You only need 8K because 2K will be used as part of your spend to be awarded the 100K bonus points for getting both cards.

The Fine Print

We've all seen it and most likely ignored it, its the fine print that instills fear. Anything 'bad" is written small, so small in fact that either very young eyes or magnifiers must be used to heed the warnings.  I've encountered some fine print that is most likely going to have me ill all weekend.  With only about three weeks until departure for my Asia Adventure its time to start taking one of the oral vaccines I was prescribed.

50,000 Point Southwest credit card now available!

In my post about the Southwest Companion pass detailed here. I talk about the need for acquiring two Southwest credit cards to accumulate 100K points toward the required 110K needed to be awarded the companion pass.  At the time of the post I advised readers not to sign up for the cards since the sign on bonus was only 25K per card.  That has now changed!  The offer has been bumped up to 50K points for each of the four cards offered, two personal and two business. The link to the personal card is available simply by clicking the Southwest ad appearing on this blog (look in the margin to your right).

The ease of Ultimate Rewards

This is part II of my mini series on the Anatomy of a trip to LA where I detail how I use my points knowlegde to book a trip for two for only $268.  Today we will look more closely at Ultimate rewards points.  Many Chase products come with points known as Ultimate Rewards, you earn these UR's as they are called by using your Chase branded credit cards for your everyday purchases or by signing up for new Chase branded credit cards offering large sign up bonuses.  Ultimate rewards can be used to buy gift cards or travel through a Chase maintained website or the points can be transferred to one of their valuable travel partners shown here...

Daily Getaway Time

For us travel points groupies June means Daily Getaways.  Every year in the May/June time frame Daily Getaways are revealed for about 4 weeks.  Daily Getaways are offered in conjunction with the US Travel Association and advertising support from American Express. At a pre-selected time the offer goes "live" and folks try for one of the deals over the internet.

If you use an American Express card to pay for your purchase you receive an extra 10% off  the already discounted price, the catch is you are competing with an unknown quantity of travel junkies trying for the same very limited number of packages.  As this promotion gains more and more followers actually acquiring the daily offer is a feat within itself.  I have scored some of these deals in the past.

Southwest Airlines Companion Pass

I believe the single greatest reward in this travel points game is the acquisition of the Southwest Companion Pass.  When we are talking about Southwest Airlines you fall into one of two places, love it or hate it.  However even the naysayers can’t deny the benefit of having a companion travel along with them for free.  There are many different companion products offered by various airlines but Southwest’s version is simply the best.  To acquire the card you need to accumulate 110,000 qualifying points or 100 one way flight segments.  I’m not even going to address the flight segment aspect because unless Southwest is your regular carrier and you fly them with regular frequency you’ll spend a lifetime acquiring the required number of segments to obtain the pass.  However, in a matter of months you can have the companion pass without ever having flown on a Southwest flight.

Anatomy of a Trip to L.A.

This past week, I have been firming up my California trip scheduled for early August. I’ll be taking the daughter to Hollywood (her request, although she doesn't actually know she is going yet).  The trip will occur shortly after my return from Thailand so I am curious how my mental and physical state will be with two long haul trips in such close proximity to one another. It will be equally painful to fly in coach to California as I still will be reeling in the afterglow of first class pampering received from my return flight on Cathay Pacific.  I know, poor me.

This Hollywood trip will include 2 round trip,direct flights on Southwest, 3 nights at the popular Hyatt Andaz, West Hollywood  and a Hertz rental car for the duration.  Total cost of trip for two so far: $288.  I expect this price to go down as departure draws near.  In the next few upcoming posts I plan to detail this trip thru a mini series of posts to explain the logistics.

A Little Fame Never Hurt

An impromptu television appearance capped my early morning drive to the beach on the Friday of Memorial weekend. I was getting an early start (read 4 AM) to beat the colossal traffic jam certain to occur in a few hours.  I basically rolled out of bed and jumped in the car.  I made great time.  Once over the bay bridge I decided to stop for gas, its now 5AM and I swear no one was around, I'm fumbling with the gas pump when out of nowhere comes super perky TV anchor and camera man wanting to ask me about my "get on the road early drive to the beach strategy", before I could digest what was happening, it was lights, camera action....   

Thanks, Dad

I have been patiently waiting for two months for my father to receive an email.  Let me explain, I dragged my father’s good credit into my quest for points.  He likes local travel here and there so I “pay” him with hotel stays.  He’s not interested in flying to exotic locales, or even flying to Florida does not happen to be on his wish list of travel destinations.  He likes getting in his car and driving to whatever festival or seminar interests him at the time.  Like everyone of us reading this post he has recurring expenses and if I can direct those required monthly spends to earn a maximum number of points that eventually will transfer to me “why not?”.  Of course it doesn’t hurt to add “don’t you want your grandkids to have this travel opportunity?”  When US Airways was running their sign-up for the Barclays US Airways MasterCard minus the annual fee, I had him apply. 

With my Asia trip all mapped out and the points turned into ticketed travel my thoughts turn to the next upcoming destination, South Africa.  I already have enough hotel points to stay 15 nights but I’m short about 90K on the airline miles.  All my efforts have now been concentrated on how to quickly acquire those miles without additional expense.  I already own two Barclay’s US MasterCard’s and I am using those cards for all my expenses but still needed dad’s help.  He signed up for the card, was approved and instructed, by me, to put one small charge (as in a cup of coffee) on the card.  After the purchase was complete I had him put the card in a drawer and told him not to touch it for anything.  He continued using his Club Carlson card for his everyday purchases.  Two months to the day after that one charge was complete I asked my dad to check his inbox for an email from Barclays and sure enough it was there…..

15,000 bonus miles are waiting for you Dear xxxx, You can already earn miles for every purchase with your new US Airways Dividend Miles® MasterCard®. And with this special offer, your card is now more rewarding than ever. Earn 15,000 bonus miles when you spend over $750 in new purchases each month in May, June and July.¹ Getting away is easier than you think. Every purchase gets you closer to getting away. Filling up your gas tank. Dining out. Booking your next vacation. Even monthly expenses, like cell phone and utility bills, will earn miles when you pay with your card. Best of all, for a limited time, all these new purchases can also add up to 15,000 bonus miles! Start racking up the miles! Just use your card every time you make a purchase to take advantage of this great offer. Remember, you need to spend over $750 in new purchases each month from May through July to qualify. You'll be redeeming your bonus miles for award travel in no time at all!

Soon as he read it to me I told him to dig out the card and start using it and if he had any problem meeting the monthly minimum spend to call me and I’d help him out.  So how did I did I know to expect the email?  The information has been reported in several blogs and I decided to try it out with him and it worked.  He’ll retire the Club Carlson card for the next 3 months to concentrate his spends for acquiring the 15K bonus, after all isn't that what dad's with good credit are for?