Building an Arsenal of Hotel Points

Posted on December 10, 2011 by wpengine

I’m getting pretty excited as I check out my Starwood Preferred Guest Statement these days.

As you can see I’ve reached about 55,000 SPG points. I got 30,000 from the short time promotion that American Express did on their Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card, with an additional $15,000 in spending that I had to do to get the thing. That put me up to 45,000. I also scored the TD Ameritrade Starwood Bonus for depositing 25,000 into a TD Ameritrade account.

Using the SPG points in Charleston, SC was awesome! Booking it was easy, check in was easy, and they treated me like a king! They gave us free breakfast in the morning one day and were very friendly. I didn’t even pay the lame 20% tax it seems like everyone has to pay when you stay in a hotel somewhere.

As soon as my 9 months minimum are up with the TD Ameritrade deal I’m going to open a new account under my wife’s name so I can get her 20,000 more Starpoints. This amount of points will give me enough so I can Exploit My Credit Cards to Explore Europe.

My wife also got the SPG Amex with the 30,000 Starpoints bonus and her minimum spending was only $4500. We easily cleared that bar and built her account to almost 35,000 Starpoints. Between the both of us we are at about 90,000 Starpoints. That is building an arsenal, and I can’t wait to use them up.

Club Carlson

About a month ago I blogged about the Club Carlson offer of what they called the Radission Big Night Giveaway. It offered you 50,000 Club Carlson Points if you stayed one night in a Radisson Hotel by the end of the year.  It just so happens that Salt Lake City has two Radisson hotels and that is a perfect distance from me to have a little weekend getaway.

We are still basking in our Capital One card that did the “Match My Miles” promotion.  We still have about 1600 in spending however we want to spend it.  Luckily we can get these two nights for free, and then bask in 100,000 Club Carlson points while staying for free as a result of the Capital One card.

I booked a night in the Radisson Airport Hotel for Friday night, and my wife booked the same hotel for one night on Saturday night.  This means that we will hopefully keep the same room, but we will be allowed to both earn 50,000 points from the above mentioned promotion.

I just clicked on the link and it didn’t say if the offer was still valid.  I would at least register for the promotion, then call Club Carlson to see if they still offer it to you.  If so, book a room and then wait for the opportunity to use the points.

Keep in mind that they expire if you don’t use or gain any new points for 2 years.  No problem, that gives me a reason to burn them up in a trip!!

Summary

So with a couple of small promotions and an couple of hours worth of work I’ve probably scored about $1000 in benefits.  I can’t wait to use the arsenal and keep building.

Enhanced by Zemanta
Posted in Hotels | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Eight Great Bridges Around the World

Posted on December 4, 2011 by Brad Christensen

The very idea of a bridge is a metaphor for the progress of humankind.  It is our very nature to deny the impossible – to make impassible passible.  We chose these eight amazing bridges as travel destinations for you to add to your lists.  If you’ve been to one, please comment and share your story.

Bridge of the Immortals -Huangshan Mountains, China

Envision isolated granite peaks, spotted with gnarled, ancient trees and shrouded in mist. Now add a carefully crafted stone arch spanning the gap to connect tunnels through the two grey shafts of rock. Aptly named.  Here’s a visitor’s impression.

London Bridge – Lake Havasu, AZ

No, strangely enough, that’s not a typo.  You’ll recall the old childhood song… but would you believe that they dismantled the thing and reassembled it in Lake Havasu, Arizona?

In 1971, Robert McCulloch, proprietor of the planned community of Lake Havasu, purchased, shipped and reassembled the the bridge which once spanned the River Thames in London.

Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge – Northern Ireland

Perhaps it’s a bridge, essentially, “to-nowhere.”  It’s not like this bridge has been used to march troops, or enabled commerce,  It’s not the most historic bridge there is, but beauty it does have.  Who wouldn’t want to picnic atop the grassy mounds of this rocky outcropping?

 

Las Lajas Cathedral – Nariño, Colombia

Could it be possible that this bridge could also eventually end up on a WorldWanderlusting “Eight Great Cathedrals Around the World” post?  Yes, very likely. Whether you look at it as a bridge, or a cathedral, or both, one thing’s for sure is that it is absolutely amazing.

Tower Bridge – London, UK

I know it’s not a picture that properly features the Tower Bridge, but since it is one that I’ve actually visited, I had to use this one.  Right nearby is the Tower of London, where you can see the Crown Jewels of England, and give yourself a sense for what London once was.  The Tower Bridge is an architectural masterpiece of its time in addition to being the scene of the climax of the recent Sherlock Holmes movie, which I enjoyed thoroughly.

Royal Gorge Bridge – Carson City, Colorado

Back to the US, here’s a place I need to get to on my motorcycle. I’m trying to chart a course that will take us close enough to sneak a peek at this baby.


 

Ponte Vecchio – Italy

Europe’s already been well-represented, but we’re going to the well again with this gorgeous segmented arch bridge across the Arno River. It is beautifully illuminated at night, and occupied by numerous little shops… you’d never know you were on a bridge.

Keshwa Chaca Grass Suspension Bridge – Huinchiri, Peru

You absolutely must check out this amazing story on the grass bridges of the Inca people. Very few of these remain for the obvious reason that they are in constant need of repair. The most noteworthy is the Keshwa Chaca in southern Peru, which has existed, in some form or another, for at least 500 years.

I’m not sure about you, but I just added at least four or five must-sees to my list. Now, if you’re wondering how you can make your way to one of these places, read about how we’re using credit card rewards to take advantage of free travel offers.

Nothing pains us more at WorldWanderlusting.com, than hearing “I’d love to travel, I just can’t afford it.”  We write about inexpensive ways for people to get to places they had only dreamed of.  Follow us on Facebook or check out these other great posts:

Wanderlust with us.

 

Posted in Eight Great | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

Travel Pic Quiz

Posted on December 4, 2011 by Brad Christensen

We’re posing in front of two very distinctive Pitons.  Where are they?

Thanks for wanderlusting!

 

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Skymall: Spend $500, Get 25k Skymiles

Posted on December 1, 2011 by Brad Christensen

I’ll give the same disclaimer I always give; If you weren’t going to spend it in the first place, don’t spend it just to get the miles.

Nonetheless, this is a deal which is hard to pass up.  25k Skymiles will get you pretty much anywhere in the US, or well on your way to somewhere else.  I went to Honduras for 35k in October.

It only applies to the first 1,000 people who make their $500 purchase on www.skymall.com/25000.

I think it may have just gone live, so by the time you read this, maybe it will be too late, but we thought we ought to pass it along.

Thanks for wanderlusting with us!

 

Posted in Delta | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

American Airlines’ Bankruptcy AAdvantage Miles

Posted on November 29, 2011 by wpengine

Let’s be honest, this wasn’t a huge surprise.  American Airlines is the third largest airliner in the world.  The other two that are larger and some that have been smaller all have been through this process before.  Here is an excerpt from the letter that was sent out from American Airlines’ AAdvantage program.

I look at the financial situation of American Airlines and I see that their two biggest problems are the unions who have such high demands on the company as far as labor costs, and the recent increases in fuel charges as their concerns.

The AAdvantage program is actually a pretty good moneymaker for American.  They are able to sell their miles to lots of companies like Citi, which gives them working capital.

Should I Use My Miles Up?

I’ve still got an arsenal of AAdvantage Miles and I am not too worried.  (For one I didn’t pay for them) I plan on booking a trip soon so I can get some of them used up.  I don’t see them going down the tube as much as I potentially see them getting devalued.

Let’s face it, they are the best airline to use when booking flights to Northern South America, Central America, and Europe.  All of the other airliners have devalued their miles, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they do it here too.  I think that you should try to book a trip, or gift the miles, but I would be really surprised if they completely disappeared.

Keep in mind that the largest holder of AAdvantage miles is probably Citi.  They have been partners for years and I don’t think that AA would try to leave Citi in the dust.

Why not start accruing miles with another carrier today?

United, Delta, Continental, and US Airways all have good cards.  You can see most of them on the sidebar.

Chase Ultimate Rewards is another great way to accrue miles.

 

 

Posted in American Airlines, Citi | Leave a comment

Using Chase Ultimate Rewards

Posted on November 27, 2011 by Brad Christensen

I just applied for the Chase Bold Ink charge card, raking in another 50k Ultimate Rewards points, which, like all of the points and miles in my Awardwallet, I’m anxious to put to work in the form of some wonderful adventure.

I got on www.ultimaterewards.com to start wanderlusting about where they might take me and just played with a few ideas.  My first thought was to use the points to book flights for our cruise in March.  The way I see it, using the Ulitmate Rewards points to book travel directly offers some significant advantages:

  • Each point is essentially worth 1.25 cents – 50k points equate to roughly $625 in value.
  • By using the points to book travel directly, they can be used with any airline at any time.  Thus, if you’re having a hard time working out FF mile travel, these come in handy.
  • You’ll also accrue miles through the program of the airline you use.  This acts as a double bonus because using your 50k points could equate to as much as another 10k miles – all of which also count towards status.

I took a screenshot just to show how it works.  They neatly calculate the value of your points as you search your options.  You can use the Farecompare Flyertalk fares tool to really start to play with your options.   At the moment, my 50k Ultimate Rewards points could take me to all of these locations with points to spare and earn me 11k more miles while I’m at it.  I’m particularly intrigued by the flight to Venice, which is the launching point for our Starwood Preferred Guest Exploring Europe Itinerary.

Transferring your Ultimate Rewards

There are many other ways to use the Chase Ultimate Rewards Points, including transferring them to other programs. Currently you can transfer the Ultimate Rewards to:

  • Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards
  • United Airlines Mileage Plus
  • Marriott Rewards
  • Hyatt
  • British Airways Avios
  • Priority Club
  • Korean Airways
  • Amtrak

These can all be transferred at the rate of 1:1 to each of these programs.  This is advantageous because when booking your trip with points you can transfer the exact amount of points needed for that vacation, and the rest can stay in your Ultimate Rewards account until you are ready for your next trip.

Posted in Chase | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Travel Quiz

Posted on November 27, 2011 by wpengine

This photo was taken on a trip earlier this year. Who can name the stadium, and team from this picture?

Thanks for Wanderlusting with us.

Get your Experian credit score FREE on a monthly basis with Credit Sesame.

Posted in Travel Quiz | Tagged , | 2 Comments