The Plaza, Darling...

I know it's not the hotel legend it once was but it still is met with a raised brow to some when mentioning it as my destination for an overnight stay for today's trip to New York City.  The iconic 5th Avenue at Central Park South hotel is now a Fairmont managed property.    I love Fairmont hotels.  I've stayed at their Washington, D.C. and Maui properties previously and loved both.  

I'm at the Plaza tonight for one night, for free, of course.  Had I booked the room using the flexible stay rate the price quote was for $725. I also could have utilized the full pre-payment rate of $616.  I stayed at the Plaza in August of 2015 for 1 night as a rewards benefit for being a Chase Fairmont credit card holder.  The card has since been discontinued (January 2017).  I canceled my card in April of 2016 and have two free nights I have to use at any Fairmont property in the world.  Since I live on the east coast I take advantage of a once or twice yearly visit to NYC.  I'm a bit of a foodie, so most of my visits involve eating. 

I earned this $700+ stay because I charged $12,000 to my Chase Fairmont Card in one year.  I charge everything to a credit card.  I don't make charges I wouldn't normally make and I don't carry a balance.  This $12K charge was a no brainer and done in one swipe.  My mother was having her basement refinished and I offered to pay using my card, then she could pay me when the bill came due and for that I earned a $725 dollar room at the Plaza.  It's that easy.  It's called making the most from spending money.  Many financial blogs chastise those who use credit cards mostly because people are not disciplined but when you use credit cards to your advantage and not the advantage of the issuing bank you can enjoy similar perks.

It's been a while...

I self suspended my contribution to this blog for reason resulting from the unexpected death of my dad.  That death resulted in some life changes and a year long travel postponement.  Its been  3 1/2 years since that time and things are significantly more settled.  I now feel the urge to share what I have learned.

Originally,  when I decided on the name for this blog I wanted it to best reflect who I am.  A dictionary definition states sundry as "made up of different things" and that is exactly me.  I was never able to define myself into one role, one type and this blog will be a showcase of why this is true. When I first started writing the blog it  was meant to provide knowledge of my travel experiences using credit card and reward program points rather than cash.  That still will be a major focus of content but I will also expand to cover financial, retirement, home ownership, mid life challenges and experiences. I'm going to do my best to post frequently but if there is nothing to post I won't force a topic. I hope you will find value in my entries and I hope you will follow along for a great ride.

        

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.