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In this step-by-step guide, we’ll show you how quick and easy it is to use your American Express Membership Rewards Points, convert them into Air France Flying Blue Miles and then make a booking on Air France.
Transferring your AMEX Membership Rewards Points to Air France KLM Flying Blue1. Head to the Membership Rewards website –> Use Points –> Airlines
2. Scroll down to Air France KLM Flying Blue –> Transfer Points
3. Make sure to link your Flying Blue account to AMEX if you haven’t already done so. If you don’t have a Flying Blue account, head to the Air France website and create one. You should have [...]
54 Hours in New York
We took a short, weekend-getaway-style trip to New York.
When I say short, I genuinely mean it. Total time gone was 54 hours: 27 hours spent in the city and 27 hours spent on a train going to/from.
TRIP PLANNING:
I had been checking the cheapest/best way to get from Charleston, SC to New York off and on for the past week. Flights were around $450-500 Round Trip with one stop (in Atlanta or Charlotte), or $600+ for the non-stop into Newark or LaGuardia! A lot more than I wanted to spend. Even the trusty Spirit Air flight from Myrtle Beach into LaGuardia was close to $400 round-trip; couple that with the fact that the 6:30pm flight on [...]
In an interesting conflict of interest, I received an upgrade for which I had mixed feelings of “this is awesome, finally!” and “damnit Delta, why are you trying screw me?!” Delta (generally) has a policy of either upgrading all parties in a reservation or none. For example, if you’re a Gold Medallion traveling with a no-status “civilian,” the weakest link in the reservation will decide your position on the upgrade list. Examples:
Diamond + Silver = All considered Silver Silver + no-status = Very last in line Diamond + Gold + Silver = All considered SilverEasy enough, right? Rule of thumb: Delta uses a “weakest link” scenario when it comes to [...]
Hyatt has just announced a promo – not sure if it’s targeted or if everyone can opt in:
The Deal
For every 1 night, you’ll get 2,000 Hyatt points, up to a max of 8,000 (4 nights worth).
How to Get It
The more I research it, it does look like this is a targeted offer since I got an email saying “You are registered to earn 2,000 bonus points for each of your next four eligible stays….” So I would recommend emailing goldpassport@hyatt.com, reference the offer and ask if you can participate. Wait on confirmation (and please report back with your results!) Book at least 1 night at Hyatt hotels between now and September [...]The Priority Club PointBreaks list has been updated through August 31, 2013! Below is a list of all of the hotels that IGH/PriorityClub Rewards is offering for just 5,000 pts a night. Don’t forget that you can buy 5,000 points for just $35 which basically allows you to book any of the rooms below for just $35/night:
Check our tutorial on how to book rooms for just $35 / night
When you’re ready to book: Click here to go to the PointsBreaks site (the new IHG site)
Good values that I’m seeing:
Holiday Inn Resort Vanuatu, usually $300+/night Any of the Intercontinentals on the list (Saigon, Guatemala, San Jose)Don’t miss out on Marriott’s awesome promo “Marriott Rewards Unexpected Bonus 2013”:
The Deal
For every two stays, you’ll get one free night in a Category 1 – 5 hotel (improvement over normal Category 4 maximum). You can earn a max of 2 free nights, so just 4 hotel stays will get you there.
How to Get It
Register here: Marriott Rewards Promo Center by July 31, 2013 Book at least 2 stays at Marriotts between now and September 2, 2013 A free night certificate will post to your account within 1 – 2 business days of the 2nd stayDon’t forget:
The deal requires 2 paid “stays” for a free [...]1503 17th St NW Washington, DC
I came across Sushi Taro when staying in the Dupont Circle area of Washington, D.C. on a recent business trip. It happened to be closest sushi restaurant in the area, so it only helped that it had pretty good reviews on Urbanspoon.
As I walked up the flight of stairs off 17th street to the second floor dining room, the hostess seemed surprised that I didn’t have reservations and they only had seating at the bar.
Settling in, I found that they have an extensive list of beers that aren’t typically available at your neighborhood sushi restaurant including Coedo Brewery, Echigo Brewing Company, Yo-Ho Brewing [...]
Credit card signup bonuses are a big part of travelling for free using miles and points — probably the biggest part.
So, what do you do when you pull the trigger and register for that awesome signup bonus just to find that next week (or month) an even better bonus is offered? Luckily, you can often get the credit card issuer to match your offer.
Here’s how I got Chase to give me an extra 20k Ultimate Rewards Points.
The signup bonus for Chase’s Ink Bold and Ink Plus cards have been 50k each for the past few months, however, they made an announcement that for this week only the signup bonus would be increased to 60k each. Feeling like I missed [...]
Room: Very narrow, slim rooms. Carpet is dated, tattered at edges. Low ceilings, looks like dated style hotel.
Hotel Lobby/Common Areas: Free parking. Lobby area is nice, very open-feeling. Lobby and common areas just went through multi-million dollar renovation. They’re going for the inside-but-feels-outside style. Running water fountain adds to the “outdoor” feeling. Some rooms overlook [...]
Here’s our second installment in the Ultimate Honeymoon series and another easy pick: French Polynesia.
Way out there in the middle of the Pacific
French Polynesia might be the most desired pick for a honeymoon or romantic getaway:
These names speak for themselves: Bora Bora, Tahiti, Moorea, Papeete. It boasts the world-renown, over-the-water bungalows that more and more resorts are now copying. Gallery of images from the web: #gallery-1 { margin: auto; } #gallery-1 .gallery-item { float: [...]
