Part 2 – Hilton Elara Timeshare in Las Vegas (Perks and Presentation)
Time for my timeshare. Let the fun begin. Vacation Experience Reception, here I come!
The timeshare agent was very friendly and showed me around some of the rooms on the 65th floor. Great views from up there. Now we sat down and talked numbers. lots of numbers. Anyone with an MBA in statistics will probably understand what is going on. Good luck to everyone else (myself included).
Part 1 – Hilton Elara Timeshare in Las Vegas (Trip Report and Pics)
2 weekends ago, was at the Elara, a Hilton Grand Vacation property, in Las Vegas. And you can too.
It all started a few months ago when I was on the phone with a “HHelpful Hilton HHonors” representative. Towards the end of the call, she asked if I was interested in hearing about an exciting offer from Hilton and said I would earn 500 Hilton HHonors points just for listening. 500 points for listening? Now that is my kind of deal.
After the agent transferred me to a member of Hilton’s timeshare division, I learned about the Hilton Elara in Las Vegas. There was a special deal for 3 days, 2 nights plus:
All for the price of $222.88 (after tax) billed to my Citi Hilton HHonors Reserve Credit Card.
PSA: Chase Ink Card Annual Spending Limit
A few readers have asked me some good questions, so I thought I would answer them for everyone. Since I am sure most of you have at least one Chase Ink Business Credit Card, you are probably aware of the $50,000 annual spending limit for 5x categories (office supply stores and on cellular phone, landline, internet and cable services).
The terms of the card state that your spending limits apply annually and Chase defined annual as:
“Annually” means the year beginning with your enrollment date through the first statement after the anniversary of your enrollment date, and each twelve billing cycles thereafter.) There is no maximum number of points that can be earned on net purchases earning 1 base point, or the additional 1 point on chase.com/ultimaterewards bookings.”
So to clarify, you have 12 months (12 billing periods) before your annual spending limit is reset. $50,000 / 12 months = $4,167 per month at 5x categories and 2x categories. If you have a Chase Ink Cash or Ink Classic, $25,000 / 12 months = $2,083 per month at 5x categories and 2x categories.
Southwest Airlines Offers Gate-To-Gate WiFi Access on their Planes
This afternoon I was at an APEX (airline passenger experience) conference and an executive from Southwest Airlines was speaking about their newly introduced (today) gate-to-gate WiFi. That means that as soon as you board the plane, you will have internet access for the entire duration of the flight. Here is an email I just received as well:
Internet access is $8 per day (not per flight) – which is great if you have more than 1 flight on Southwest per day. There are currently 13 live television channels and a few recorded television channels. The executive said that NFL RedZone was a premium channel (sounds like it will cost money to watch) and they are working on adding more channels to their portal.
Not mentioned in the online announcement, Southwest will also introduce a $2 internet plan which is for passengers who only want to “text” through iMessage (iOS) or other Android apps (WhatsApp). This could be a cool feature if you feel like texting the entire flight. It is all done over the internet so you will not incur any data or texting fees from your carrier.
I asked the executive about the Dish Network content and she said that content was not provided by Dish Network, they are only a sponsor (advertising only). I also suggested that Southwest modify their boarding system to allow people to board earlier so they can use the internet longer. I will see if that idea every comes out.
That’s it from Southwest. Good changes for passengers. If you have any comments, please leave a comment below.
Some Other Non App-O-Rama Credit Card News
I had my dad apply for the Bank of America Alaska Airlines credit card last week. Well the card hasn’t arrived yet, but the miles did. 30,000 Alaska Airlines miles on credit card approval! I love this offer so much, I took advantage of it in my recent App-O-Rama.
This morning I received an email from American Express alerting me that me $20 Walmart statement credit had posted to my account. Read my original post $20 off Walmart (American Express Offer) and 2,500 American Airlines Miles.
I bought a $200 Visa Gift Card and a $50 Southwest Gift Card. Total with shipping and processing came to $256.88 – $20 = $236.88. Profit of $13.12 plus 257 SPG points. Continue reading