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As I wrote about here (How-to: Book US Airways Flights With British Airways Avios), US Airways officially joined the Oneworld Alliance a few months ago. Joining the ranks of American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, LAN, etc., US Airways is now eligible for bookings with Avios. This opens up lots of opportunities for maximizing short, non-stop flights out of US Airways’ hub cities: Charlotte-CLT, Philadelphia-PHL, Phoenix-PHX and Washington-Reagan-DCA.
First in this series was Charlotte, North Carolina-CLT, then Philadelphia-PHL and now we’ll look at Washington, D.C. It turns out that the Washington-Reagan hub has the fewest international [...]
Check out a video of a time-lapse we shot on our balcony. The video covers ~15 hours of day overlooking the Charleston Harbor. Photos were taken at 30 second intervals.
We made a very last minute, overnight trip to Philadelphia a few weeks ago and needed a place to stay. We were looking for a place in the heart of the city (within walking distance to everything) and decided on Le Méridien Philadelphia.
BOOKING
I made a booking the day before check-in after planning our last minute trip to Philadelphia. When I looked on Monday, literally every hotel in the city was sold out. Nothing at Starwood, Hyatt or Marriott. Worried that our only option was going to be the airport hotels, I kept checking back a few times a day. By Tuesday, some availability opened up at a Hyatt property and I jumped on it using 12,000 Hyatt GP points. [...]
As I wrote about here (How-to: Book US Airways Flights With British Airways Avios), US Airways officially joined the Oneworld Alliance about a month ago. Joining the ranks of American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, LAN etc…, US Airways is now eligible for bookings with Avios. This opens up lots of opportunities for maximizing short, non-stop flights out of US Airways’ hub cities: Charlotte-CLT, Philadelphia-PHL, Phoenix-PHX and Washington-Reagan-DCA.
First in this series was Charlotte, North Carolina-CLT, and now we have flights out of Philadelphia-PHL. There are easily 60+ million people that can reach Philadelphia International Airport in less [...]
Hyatt Midtown Atlanta – Hyatt Category 3 125 10th St NE, Atlanta, GA 30309 Award Redemption: 12,000 pts or 6,000 pts + $75 Normal rate: Varies b/t $179-$239 average around $219 + tax Hyatt Gold Passport Points return: 1.7 cents points – 2.7 cent/point = below average – average return
Booking/Check-inI booked a Standard King room about a week out using a corporate rate. The rate was appx 40% less than the standard daily rate at the time. In addition to the favorable rate, Hyatt was running a promo which gives 1,500 bonus points for Atlanta stays using the “ATL15” promo code. I think this promo has since expired.
We arrived at [...]
As a big thank you to all of our readers, we’re hosting a giveaway! We started this thing off a little over a year ago and have come a long way since then. From averaging around 500 visitors/month to now 10,000+ visitors/month, we’re very grateful for your continued support and daily viewing!!
We’re giving away a gift certificate for a free 1-night stay at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel & Suites Charleston – Historic District. …Because who doesn’t want to come to Charleston?! “Everybody Loves Charleston: Voted USA’s No. 1 City For Third Consecutive Year” by Condé Nast Traveler, so come on down and explore the [...]
W Hoboken Hotel – Starwood Category 5 225 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030 Award Redemption: 12,000 pts or 6,000 pts +$110 (very limited Cash & Points availability) Normal rate: Around $269-350 avg, ranging from $224 – $414 Starpoints return: 1.88 – 3.45 cents/point – Average to REALLY GOOD
Booking/Check-inI had a last minute-ish stay required in New York and it happened to be on opening day of the United Nation General Assembly in Manhattan. As a result, all hotels were fully booked in New York, so the best I could do was Hoboken, New Jersey. I booked a “Cozy Room: King Bed,” and, despite the busy week, I was able to get a pretty good rate. On my [...]
As I wrote about here (How-to: Book US Airways Flights With British Airways Avios), US Airways officially joined the Oneworld Alliance about a month ago. Joining the ranks of American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, LAN etc…, US Airways is now eligible for bookings with Avios. This opens up lots of opportunities for maximizing short, non-stop flights out of US Airways’ hub cities: Charlotte-CLT, Philadelphia-PHL, Phoenix-PHX and Washington-Reagan-DCA.
First in this series is Charlotte, North Carolina-CLT. From my research, appx 30 million people live within a 5-hour drive of the city, making it relatively easy for them to drive and take take [...]
479B King American $$$$ – Plan on dropping some cash here Part of Indigo Restaurant Group: Includes Oak Steakhouse, O-Ku, & The Cocktail Club
The Macintosh is one of Charleston’s highest-rated restaurants on Urbanspoon. Coming in with a 90% rating, you’d expect the food to be good.
The good news is: you’ll be right. It may very well get my vote for the best dinner in Charleston. At the very least, it’s secured a top-three rank. And, in 2012, it earned a nomination from Bon Appetit magazine as one of the 50 Best New Restaurants in America.
Located on Upper King, the big glass doors showcase the inside [...]
