Hyatt Alila Marea Beach Resort Encinitas. Bottom Line Review.
After falling in love with the Alila Ventana Big Sur, I was excited to try out another of the three Alila hotels in the U.S. (the third is Alila Napa Valley). Alila Marea is...
Transferable points programs graded A to F
Separately, I tackled the question of which program offers the best transfer partners; and on our podcast, Nick and I discussed more broadly which program was best overall (there are other important factors besides...
A new transferable currency hierarchy (on Nick’s mind)
Before this week, I think that most points and miles enthusiasts would have easily placed Amex Membership Rewards points and Chase Ultimate Rewards points indisputably at the top of the transferable currency world (we...
A second look at Radisson – did it actually get much better?
Yesterday, we reported on the unveiling of the new Radisson Hotels Americas program and award chart. My first reaction upon reading the details and skimming the award chart was downright negative (See: Bad news:...
Ritz Carlton Dove Mountain Tucson. Bottom Line Review.
Ritz Carlton Dove Mountain is a small full-service resort nestled in the mountains northwest of Tucson, Arizona. I booked our stay with a 7-night Marriott category 6 travel package certificate, bought years ago when...
Capital One “Miles” no longer make me mad (on my mind)
Big news today from Capital One! As Nick detailed earlier today, Capital One "miles" now transfer 1 to 1 to several airline and hotel programs. They've also added a few new transfer partners including...
Capital One ups their game, adds Turkish and some 1:1 partners, airport lounges
After all these years, it turns out mom and dad were right all along.
Despite my advice, my parents have long insisted that they only needed a single Capital One credit card that earns 2...
New IHG Sweet Spot: Dynamic Pricing + 4th Night Free For Huge Savings
Update 4/18/21: Seeing as IHG has been playing games with dynamic pricing recently (see this post and this subsequent update), I thought it'd be worth resurfacing this post which shows how to take advantage...
The revised Platinum card coming soon (like it or not)
Are you ready to pay $695 a year to hold a shiny credit card? Are other issuers going to follow suit? What is the deal with this incredible annual fee creep on the ultra-premium...
Nick cancelled a Turkish award ticket to Hawaii today; here’s how it went
I was so excited last fall when I found three saver business class seats on the nonstop United flight from Newark to Honolulu -- and on a (convenient) Sunday morning! I was quick to get it...
Surviving the car rental apocalypse by stepping outside the box
A few weeks ago, we published a post highlighting what is being dubbed by some as a car rental apocalypse. Over the past few months, we have seen more and more reports from travelers...
Almost exciting: Sonesta Travel Pass
Sonesta International Hotels Corporation has been expanding faster than . Last year's appetizers included 99 IHG hotels and 122 Marriott hotels. Their main course: 980 Red Lion Hotels.
While it doesn't appear that Sonesta has...
Mulling over easy Star Alliance Gold status: Is it worth it?
On last weekend's Frequent Miler on the Air, Greg and I talked about the offer from Singapore KrisFlyer to earn easy Star Alliance Gold status during our "Mattress running the numbers" segment. We previously...
100K Offers here, there, and everywhere
Just a few years ago, the audacity of a 100K offer was enough to propel the Chase Sapphire Reserve into the mainstream media. Today, eye-popping 100K offers are here, there and everywhere: are they...
