Tips: from restaurants to Choice points and what to do when someone tries to scam you

From tipping at an airport restaurant to some good tips on using Wyndham and Choice points, read on for today’s Frequent Miler week in review around the web, where we recap some good reads from around the ‘net.

Should You Tip When Visiting Priority Pass Restaurants?

With the addition of sit-down restaurants to Priority Pass comes potential for confusion: should you tip? Lucky at One Mile at a Time tackles an important point for those who visit these new options with their Priority Passes.

Some of the Wyndham “Experience” Auctions Are Such a Good Use of Points, Really

I’ve been on vacation this past week and saw this email come through but hadn’t yet had the chance to check it out. Angelina at Angelina Travels covers some really interesting Wyndham auctions that look like a solid value. I spent last weekend in a 9-bedroom 6-bathroom house in Norfolk, England courtesy of my Wydnham points based on a promotion from earlier in the year. Between that promotion and this one, I’m convinced to start exercising my Wyndham Rewards card to build up some more points for some of the random opportunities that might pop up.

Napa Winery Inn – a solid redemption of 30,000 Choice points

Dan at Points with a Crew made a nice find with this Choice redemption in Napa Valley. I am a big believer in diversification for situations like this. Earlier this week, I also used some Choice points purchased from Daily Getaways for an overpriced airport stay earlier this week. I find Choice points particularly valuable for these types of stays where cash rates just aren’t reasonable — especially considering how reasonably we’ve been able to buy them the past few years. I’ll be keeping an eye out next spring for the chance to restock my balance — and if I ever succeed in getting a reservation at the French Laundry at a time that works, I’ll keep this place in mind.

Choice Privileges reward rates increased in Europe

And while we’re talking about Choice Privileges, Ric Garrido at Loyalty Traveler covers seasonal award pricing changes with Choice. I was not previously aware of seasonal changes on Chase award nights. I’m glad that Nordic Choice hotels seem to be immune from such changes as I spent a night at the Clarion Hotel & Congress Oslo airport this week and between the cost of transport to/from the airport and the cost of a simple meal in its restaurant, I’m glad to have at least gotten a great deal on the room rate and free breakfast thanks to points! Still, Choice hotels can be a great value in Europe — just be sure to keep an eye on these seasonal rates.

What to do when an Ebay buyer tries to scam you

I have been very fortunate overall on eBay over the years. I used to sell a lot of phones back when unlocks were cheap & easy, blacklisting wasn’t a thing, and Cowboom was still in business — and I’m thankful that I’ve been as lucky as I have been. I have definitely shifted my focus away from high-risk items, but every time I ship something out I know that there is risk. This post from Miles Per Day gives some excellent advice about what to do should you think you’re getting scammed. While the advice seems obvious, I’ll freely admit that I wouldn’t have thought to go about it the same way Vinh did — but now I will should I find myself in his shoes.

That’s it for this week around the web — check back soon for this week’s last chance deals.

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