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Boom. Chase Sapphire Preferred Bonus 50,000 Points, Best Offer in 4 Years

Nov 16 2015

My single favorite card for earning valuable rewards points has just gotten better with an offer of 50,000 points as a signup bonus. These points transfer to a variety of airline miles and hotel points.

There was a brief targeted test of 50,000 points with a higher annual fee two years ago. But otherwise we haven’t seen an offer like this for the card since March 2012.

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Time to Start Gnashing Teeth: Marriott is Buying Starwood

Nov 16 2015

Three Chinese firms were supposedly seeking government permission to make a bid to buy Starwood Hotels. Hyatt was rumored to be the lead bidder. There had earlier been speculation about a Starwood-IHG (or Wyndham) merger. Wyndham hired away enough Starwood talent that it’s recently been referred to as Wynwood.

Starwood’s CEO, whom I interviewed on stage earlier this year, made clear he expected to sell by the end of the year. And it looks like he made good on that promise.

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Buy as Many as 200,000 American Miles for 2 Cents Apiece Through November 30

Nov 15 2015

Through November 30 American is selling miles for as little as 2 cent apiece. That’s cheaper than they usually sell miles.

On average I value American miles at 1.7 cents.

They’re worth more if they put you over the top for a specific award. And they’re worth more if you redeem them for something you’d be willing to pay full or close to full price for otherwise.

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Man Earns 2 Billion American Express Points. Yes, That’s Billion.

Nov 11 2015

The same Chinese man who bought a ceramic cup at auction last year and paid with his American Express card earning 422 million points is back at it again.

Billionaire art collector Liu Yiqian paid $170.4 million for Amedeo Modigliani’s “Nu Couche” at auction on Monday. With his American Express card. He uses a Hong Kong-based card than earns 1.5 points per Hong Kong dollar spent.

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Do AAdvantage Program Changes Matter? It’s the Unknown Shoes to Drop that Should Worry

Nov 07 2015

We now know much of the changes that American AAdvantage will implement right away (to earning status during 2016 for the 2017 program year) and in a year (to mileage-earning for flights). But there are still areas where we can expect changes and American hasn’t told us what to expect. How they handle those issues will determine the value of the AAdvantage program more than the changes that have already leaked.

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Review: Park Hyatt New York, Suite Upgrade and Diamond Room Service Breakfast

Nov 06 2015

When the Park Hyatt New York first opened it was very difficult to get an award night there. The hotel wasn’t completely finished, and the unfinished portion included some of the 12% of rooms that would be considered ‘standard’ and thus eligible for redemptions.

Six months ago it became possible to redeem Hyatt Gold Passport points there regularly.

I finally got to visit, and I was blown away.

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American Airlines Launching Tokyo Haneda Service, Flights Start Selling Sunday, Here’s What You Need to Know

Nov 04 2015

American — after getting the DOT to take slots away from Delta — is finally publishing its schedule for Los Angeles – Tokyo Haneda flights. They’ll begin selling seats this Sunday for service which starts in February.

Here’s what you need to know about the new service, about which Delta has recently lodged new complaints with the Department of Transportation… and what you need to know about booking Japan awards through American AAdvantage.

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