Marriott’s Deceptive Resort Fee Game: How Points Stays Hide the Truth

Dec 11 2023

Marriott doesn’t appear to be complying with its legal settlement on resort fees. Depending on the property, they still show up as part of taxes which is deceptive. And while Marriott now supposedly lets you include resort fees as part of the total price shown on its website at first display, they are doing this only for paid rates and not for award nights (where they are even more deceptive).

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My Unconventional Journey From DC To Staten Island With Amtrak’s Sleeper Car

Dec 11 2023

I was heading to DC for work and planned to meet my wife and daughter in New York. Our plan changed a bit, and instead of meeting downtown I needed to heat out to Staten Island (gosh, I hadn’t been there since late 2018 or early 2019). So my plan to arrive at New York LaGuardia at 5 p.m. on a 7,000 mile award wasn’t looking so good. Maybe it would take just an hour to get over to Staten Island, but it could easily take two.

So I checked on Amtrak to Metropark in New Jersey. The 2:15 p.m. would get me in at the perfect time to cruise up to dinner at 6 p.m. if everything was on time.

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Hyatt Regency The Churchill: Unveiling the Value of Points in London

Dec 10 2023

I had no real complaints about the property, though things were quite confused at check-in over the fold out couch versus rollaway bed in our suite and getting additional coffee from staff in the restaurant after first being seated took some doing. I’d definitely return given the overall elite value proposition here on points versus prevailing rates.

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