Weekend Blitz

Back in June 2013, Hyatt and MGM announced a partnership that extends reciprocal benefits to the members of each other’s loyalty programs. In practice, this means that Hyatt Gold Passport Members will earn Hyatt points in addition to M life points aka “tier credits” when staying at any of the 12 MGM properties in Las Vegas. Similarly, MGM M life members will be able to earn M “tier credits” when staying at any Hyatt property worldwide.

The new partnership also rolled out the following status matching scheme, where members can receive reciprocal benefits:

Hyatt Reciprocity Chart:

Our first flight of the trip was Delta flight # 1543 from Charleston-CHS to Atlanta-ATL; Delta Gold Medallion status doesn’t often get me too much, but in this case it did get me an upgrade on the short, 41 minute flight. The only issue is that McCown, for some reason, wasn’t grouped with me for the upgrade pool so I ran over to the gate counter and tried my best to get an additional upgrade. We almost had one of these situations on our hands: Damnit Delta, why are you trying screw me?!

The gate agent was nice enough to add McCown to the list…here’s a note we had jotted down mid-flight:

Well, off to a good start. When leaving Charleston, we both [...]

As reported here on Flyertalk, you can book fares from select Pennsylvania airports to Bali, Indonesia for around $532 roundtrip, all-in.

The Deal

Southwest has just announced its Winter 2014/2015 sale with fares starting at $49 during December 2014 and Jan/Feb 2015.

The Deal

Southwest’s big seasonal 3-day sale, now through Thursday Oct 16, allows booking tiers of many flights at either $49, $99, $129, or $149. The sale allows travel dates between December 3-17, 2014 and January 6 though February 11, 2015 — however, Fridays and Sundays are excluded.

With the exception of San Juan, Puerto Rico-SJU, its international/caribbean destinations are largely excluded from this sale.

How to Get It

149 Wentworth French/American $$$$- Fine dining experience How to save $: Best bet is to go during restaurant week but even that will put you at $85+ a person after wine, tax and tip!

Eager to jump on Restaurant Week early, we made reservations at Circa 1886—a restaurant we’ve always wanted to try.

Deriving its name from the construction of the Wentworth Mansion that it shares a property with, the restaurant is housed in a great historic building with lots of character.

The first thing I noticed is that Circa 1886 is much more formal than I imagined. Plenty of men were wearing blazers and ties, but you’d be fine in nice slacks and a button-down [...]

One day on our honeymoon, we were caught in the rain for hours. No big deal, but, the very next morning, we had to board an international flight. Put two and two together and… my favorite flats never made it home.

I realized that travel shoes were important — especially ones that could get wet. And, with the beginning of the fall season, I’ve been on the market for a good pair of waterproof flats. Ideally, they’ll look like normal flats — but just won’t get ruined if I get caught in the rain.

I’ve found two pairs that fit the bill, both with good reviews. I’d wear both of these flats in rain or shine, so they’re easy [...]

We booked our trip to Chile and Argentina using Delta SkyMiles which worked out fine for the flights to/from the US but making the best use of our miles intra-Argentina required some research.

We’ll start with a quick recap from our post on booking the itinerary (Delta SkyMiles to Argentina: How to book Aerolineas Argentinas Award Space). If you want to get from the U.S. to Argentina (and you’re using Delta SkyMiles, KLM/Air France Flying Blue points or other SkyTeam currency), you’ll have the following choices for the long-haul flights: