Sections
On a recent visit to Paris, we wanted to splurge for a night and found some pretty superb value in using Hyatt points. Because I had no hotel points, I knew I wanted to transfer points from either Chase or AMEX– check this guide on the best value hotel in Paris using points in either of those programs: Paris, France: Best Hotels for Free Using Points. This was my first time transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards points to a hotel partner and, in fact, my first ever stay at a Hyatt.
Booking/Check-in
We booked about 2 months out for 22,000 Hyatt Gold Passport Points transferred from Chase at a 1:1 ratio. Since then, however, this property has gone up [...]
Having recently acquired the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, I knew that Hyatt was a 1:1 ratio transfer partner. The bad thing about the nice hotels in Paris is that they’re expensive in Euros, which means they’re outrageously expensive after making the conversion to USD. While shopping for a way to spend at least one night in a luxury hotel, I had totally ruled out paying $1000+. The only other option is to use points, specifically hotel programs that I could transfer AMEX or Chase points to…
These choices will assuredly put a dent in the travel budget
The goal: Find the [...]
Basilica Cistern – Yerebatan Sarayı – “Sunken Palace”, or Yerebatan Sarnıcı – “Sunken Cistern” Address: Very close to the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque in the old city of Istanbul. Alemdar Mh., Şeftali Sk No: 6, Fatih, Turkey Price: 10 TL (~$4.50 USD) – a bargain, totally worth the admission price. Hours: Daily. April-October: 9am – 6:30pm; November-March: 9am – 5:30pm
After touring the Hagia Sophia (click for post) with the other 6 billion people that morning, we headed just across the way to the Basilica Cistern. When we saw the crowds there, too, we were so over crowds and ready to walk around the city that [...]
Nantes was our second stop on our trip to France and also the reason we were there in the first place: Jeffrey’s little sister was studying there for the semester. After spending a few days in Bordeaux (see our walking tour of Bordeaux here), we took the SNCF INTERCITÉS train up to Nantes to spend a few days exploring the city and visiting his sister.
Nantes is the region of Brittany’s largest town and another large port, with a population of half a million people. Nantes, though, felt way different than southern Bordeaux. In Bordeaux, it had been sunny and warm. Our entire stay in Nantes was filled with rainy days and the damp cold that comes with it. Maybe we [...]
Price: 25 TL (~$11.50 USD). It is also an included attraction with the “Museum Pass İstanbul” (cost of 85 TL). Hours: Closed on Mondays! Open from 9am – 7pm during summer season and 9am to 5pm in the winter.
Our very first stop in Istanbul (after eating extra-tasty Turkish food, of course) was the Hagia Sophia, a prime example of Byzantine architecture. After sleeping off jet lag, we headed to the museum/church/mosque first thing in the morning. Luckily, the line wasn’t too long because it was early, but I’d suggest planning to spend a little while in line.
The Hagia Sophia is right in [...]
Our journey started off in Charleston-CHS on a small United Airlines commuter flight to Washington-IAD. We couldn’t have been more thrilled that the seat-back magazine, Hemispheres, featured article that was titled, “Three Perfect Days in Istanbul”–off to a good start!
…it must be a sign
We made it to Dulles from our connecting flight with about 3 hrs to kill before takeoff. I had a few United Club passes that I wanted to use before they expired, but we wanted to stay in Terminal B. Unfortunately, you’re out of luck when it comes to United Clubs in Terminal B.
