Arches, Bryce, Grand Canyon, Zion, and more via trains, planes, and automobiles
Here it is. Our fantastic trip west to visit four national parks and the Hoover Dam…
Amtrak Wolverine to Chicago
Nine of us (across two families) began our trip west in business class on Amtrak’s Wolverine...
Necker Island: 557,000 miles in the bag, 180,000 miles on the way, and my...
My Virgin Atlantic account currently shows a balance of over 557,000 miles. With most programs, I’d be pretty happy about that. In this case, though, the total is less than half needed for a...
$37.50 for peace of mind and 10,000 points
My wife just received a 10K bonus point offer from Barclaycard for her Wyndham card. All she has to do is spend $500 per month for three months:
This is not nearly as good as...
IHG signup bonus no longer counting towards status
A few weeks ago, after publishing “How to find the best IHG signup offer: 80K points plus $50,” a number of readers contacted me to let me know that the points they had earned...
IHG Spire: Ideas for nabbing the new 25K Choice benefit without staying in hotels.
UPDATE: It appears that points from credit card signup bonuses no longer count as elite qualifying. As a result, a number of items in this post are no longer relevant.
IHG finally named their new...
How to find the best IHG signup offer: 80K points plus $50
Chase’s IHG credit card is probably my favorite card to have, but not to use. Most cards are good for some people, but not for others. The IHG card, in my opinion, is a...
FTU Advanced returns to the west coast: Newport Beach Dec 4-6 2015
A new FTU Advanced session will be held December 4th through the 6th, 2015 in Newport Beach, California. FTU Advanced is for those who already know the basic tricks for earning points & miles...
The best 4th Night Free finds
Last week I challenged readers to beat my best 4th Night finds. The idea was to find hotels and dates in which the 4th night of a stay was astronomically more expensive than the...
Crazy 4th Night Free deals, and the $100 e-gift card challenge
The Citi Prestige card’s 4th Night Free hotel benefit always struck me as kind of crazy. When you use this benefit to book a four night stay, you get reimbursed for the entire price...
Is it time to do the SPG Platinum challenge?
In addition to collecting large quantities of points & miles, I enjoy finding shortcuts for obtaining and keeping elite status. Over the course of the past three years, or so, I’ve used shortcuts to...
You DON’T have to pay with your Prestige card for 4th Night Free (but...
UPDATE 6/15/2016: Recent evidence suggests that people do, at least sometimes, check to make sure that charges are placed on your Prestige card before credits are awarded. I recommend always paying for 4th Night...
You DO have to pay with your Prestige card for 4th Night Free. Here’s...
UPDATE 6/26/2015 3PM EST: Please see my new results here: You DON’T have to pay with your Prestige card for 4th Night Free.
Among its many other perks, the Citi Prestige card has an interesting...
100% bonus on purchased IHG points. Is it worth it?
Through June 30th, 2015, IHG is offering a 100% bonus on purchased points. You can purchase up to 60,000 points, which will result in 120,000 points after the 100% bonus. Is it worth it?
IHG...
Amex business cards increasingly trump personal cards
The latest changes to the American Express SPG cards (as reported here, by Doctor of Credit) have me thinking about the way Amex handles the differences between their personal and business cards. Most of...
