News and notes from around the interweb: Which Hotel Loyalty Program is Best and Why? My piece over at Conde’ Nast Traveler. Younger business travelers are more likely to splurge with their company’s money than they would with their own. Older workers are much less likely to do so. (HT: uggboy on Milepoint) Several months ago I put together a primer on American Express financial reviews. Dan’s Deals what sorts of activities he sees as flags for banks generally to cause them to take a closer look at your accounts. Wandering Aramean says that United is now allowing only three connections (four flights) on one-way awards between the US and Australia/New Zealand and no longer just between the US and Asia via Europe. A United website glitch was letting people book award tickets without miles…
About Gary Leff
Marriott Visa $100 Statement Credit Offer Ends October 16th
There’s a limited-time offer through October 16th only for the Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card that gives you: 40,000 points after spending $1000 within 3 months A $100 statement credit after first purchase 1 free night at a Category 1-4 hotel upon approval In other words, that’s basically a couple of free nights for the card after $1000 spend and an extra $100 in your pocket. It’s a card you make money on because the annual fee is $0 the first year. (The fee is $85 thereafter, and the card offers a free night each year after cardmember anniversary valid in a category 1-5 hotel.) The card also comes with no foreign transaction fees, and 15 night credits towards elite status on approval and then again each year after cardmember anniversary. Though this offer with…
Last Day to Get Up to 50,000 US Airways Miles at 1.1 Cents Each via Share Miles
US Airways is offering a 100% bonus on shared miles (miles transferred between accounts) — an outstanding offer that expires tonight. You can earn up to 50,000 bonus miles with the offer, which should appear instantly with the transfer. Share miles bonus For a limited time, when you share miles, the recipient will get a 100% bonus – up to 50,000 miles. Just share your miles by October 15, 2013. Share 10,000 miles, give 20,000 miles Share 30,000 miles, give 60,000 miles Share 50,000 miles, give 100,000 miles Transfers are available in 1000 mile increments, and each 1000 miles transferred — up to 50,000 — earns a corresponding 1000 mile bonus transferred into the recipient’s account. The cost for this is “$0.01 per mile plus a processing fee of $30 and a tax recovery charge…
30% Bonus on Transfers from American Express to Virgin Atlantic
The U.S. American Express Membership Rewards program is offering a 30% bonus on transfers to Virgin Atlantic through November 30. One of the popular uses for Virgin miles in the past was converting to Hilton at one-to-two, 50,000 Virgin miles would yield 100,000 Hilton points. But since the March 28th Hilton devaluation that doesn’t appeal nearly as much. A 100,000 point HHonors balance to me is now just two nights at the Embassy Suites Portland instead of the Conrad Koh Samui. Still, it’s better even normally to transfer American Express points to Virgin to Hilton than it is to transfer straight to Hilton. This bonus makes it better still. Just like British Airways, award travel entails paying fuel surcharge on itineraries where a paid ticket would also — although they’ve reduced fuel surcharges on economy…
20% Bonus on Transfers from American Express to British Airways
The U.S. American Express Membership Rewards program is offering a 20% bonus on transfers to British Airways through the end of the year. To understand the opportunities and limitations of the British Airways program, see Unlocking the Value of British Airways Points. In the past, American Express offered offered a 50% transfer bonus and a 40% transfer bonus. They’ve also done 35% (this year, even!) and 30%. So this is hardly one of the best deals they’ve offered. Nonetheless, transfer bonuses this year have been relatively sparse compared to recent years. And having a transfer bonus is a whole lot better than not having a transfer bonus. But this bonus doesn’t seem like a once in a lifetime opportunity that will get me to proactively transfer points to British Airways without a specific use for…
Kogiya is Northern Virginia’s Best Korean Barbecue
Kogiya is without a doubt the very best Korean barbecue restaurant in Northern Virginia, an area with many Korean options. (HT: TCEDG) I went at 4pm on a Sunday, and only a couple of tables were taken. By 5pm every table was occupied, and minutes later a line formed. This place has gotten popular, and it’s too good and too small. Go early, or (I imagine) go very late. They’re open 10:30am to 2:00am. Supposedly you can call ahead for seating, and they’ll also call you when it’s your turn to be seated. The restaurant is in suburban Annandale. It’s in a place where rents are low, you can get good value and experiment in offering things that wouldn’t work in downtown DC. The interior is stainless steel industrial. Rent is low, service is friendly…
How to Use Points for Holiday Travel
Over at Conde’ Nast Traveler, I outline some tips for how to think about using points for holiday travel. Airlines want to make seats available at the ‘saver’ award level that they aren’t going to be able to sell for cash. But during peak holiday periods flights fill up, there aren’t many seats that will ultimately go out unsold. And booking much in advance, airlines don’t really know yet which flights those are going to be (there’s a chance that any given flight may sell out). So they’re very conservative in making award seats available. That makes getting award seats to go visit family domestically really tough during the holidays. I gave an interview on WTOP radio yesterday where I explained that’s why I often travel internationally during the holidays. Business travel is down, so…
50% Off 2-Day Sale on W Hotel Beds and Bedding (Lowest Prices in Years)
The W Hotel Store is running a 50% off sale on beds and sheets with promo code CD3M7. I purchased a W Hotels bed in March 2007 using a 40% off code, so back before the May 2010 price increase on beds. My cost then was about what’s being offered with this sale. There are still rare occasion when 40% off discounts that pop up. But 35% is the usual discount that comes along every few months. I haven’t seen an offer at this price in over three years. I’ve found mine to have been a good purchase. I chose the ‘plush top’ rather than pillow top mattress, and added a feather bed. It’s lasted wonderfully, though I’ve since changed out the feather bed. (There are reports that the pillow top version won’t last as…
Southwest Offering Double Points Through November 21
Southwest is offering double points for travel booked and flown by November 21. Registration required. That means you will receive 12 bonus points per dollar spent on Business Select® Fares, 10 bonus points per dollar spent on Anytime Fares, and six bonus points per dollar spent on Wanna Get Away® Fares, in addition to the standard flight points you normally receive for each Fare. In September there were some targeted bonuses floating around. And this isn’t the first time this year that Southwest has run double points. Although it’s less costly for them to offer this time around since they’re devaluing the points. (HT: Frugal Travel Lawyer) You can join the 30,000+ people who see these deals and analysis every day — sign up to receive posts by email (just one e-mail per day) or…
A Free Double Dipping Points Tool: How to Take Advantage of Plink Rewards
I buy lots of gift cards at my neighborhood Staples store. Some of those cards are sold at face value meaning that a $50 Starbucks gift card costs me $50. This rewards program is a way to make money on those gift cards, in addition to earning points for the purchases. And it’s a way to reduce the cost of the fees for buying Visa and MasterCard gift cards. What’s more, making online purchases from stores like Sears will earn credits towards miles or gift cards that are stackable with the other miles and points and discounts you can use there. I hadn’t even heard about Plink until Frequent Miler blogged about it, and it took several times seeing online mentions before I focused on it. But it’s free and easy and takes just a…
