United flights now from 3K miles each way, making for cheaper Excursionist Perks
Over the past several months, I have paid very little attention to domestic award pricing. I just haven't had any interest in flying domestically during the pandemic. I still get airfare email alerts and...
Where Marriott Suite Night Awards don’t work
Thanks to Marriott's overlapping early 2021 promotions, I expect that many readers will soon have access to Marriott's Choice Benefits. One benefit you can choose is a set of 5 Suite Night Awards. These...
Where Hyatt Suite Upgrade Awards don’t work
In my recent post about my perfect Hyatt mattress run, I mentioned paying more to secure a beachfront room. In response, a reader asked why I didn't use a Hyatt Suite Upgrade Award for...
No such thing as a free upgrade
On this week's episode of Frequent Miler on the Air, Greg and I discuss the impending challenge(s) I face thanks to him Passing the GUC. This will either turn out to be an amazing...
Passing the GUC: Greg gives global upgrades to Nick… with a catch
Alright Nick. You asked for it and here it is: Two Global Upgrade Certificates (GUCs) just for you. But there's a catch. You have to take me with you.
Clowns to the left of me!
Jokers...
Now live: Spirit goes revenue-based, makes elite status easier with new Free Spirit program
UPDATE 1/21/201: Spirit's new Free Spirit loyalty program is now live. Details can be found on Spirit's website here. We will soon follow up with analyses of the program and its new credit cards,...
Bank account bonus goals for 2021
Last year, I put a renewed focus on bank account bonuses. In my case, that was both a function of spending more time at home than I had in the past decade and also...
The perfect Hyatt mattress run
The perfect mattress run isn't a mattress run at all. A mattress run is where you book a hotel stay solely to earn elite status and/or hotel points even though you have no plans...
Searching for value in Hyatt Night In awards
The other day, a reader commented on our "Year of the mattress run" podcast episode / week in review post to say:
Naturally, this made me ask myself, "What is Hyatt's Night In promotion?", which...
Marriott mattress running: Valuable elite status for nearly 2 years
Marriott is offering several overlapping promotions which, when taken together, can make mattress running worthwhile. A mattress run involves checking into a hotel for the purpose of earning elite status or other rewards even...
The year of the mattress run: Hyatt or Marriott? (and more)
Mattress running has been on everyone's mind lately. While Hyatt has previously dominated that type of talk, this week Marriott made us bring them to top of mind. Earning 2021 Marriott Bonvoy Elite status...
Saving stacks without stacking: My experience buying a Best Buy open box laptop
Last week, I wrote a post titled, "A day in the life of a serial stacker". The gist of the post is that I've been looking to buy a new laptop (out of necessity...
The year of the mattress run: top-tier status in 6 programs in 48 nights
In a bizarre state of irony, 2021 is shaping up to be the year of the mattress run. Hyatt kicked things off with their ludicrously easy path to top-tier Hyatt Globalist status. Really, they kicked...
Marriott’s elite benefits guarantee is back
During the pandemic, Marriott had previously suspended their elite benefits guarantee, but as of today (January 11, 2021), the guarantees are back! Here is the message from Marriott:
We are reinstating the elite guarantee compensation...
