Author Archives: Grant

About Grant

Grant is an expert in frequent flyer miles, hotel loyalty points, credit card rewards, and cash back deals. He also has a pretty cool travel blog. Find him on Twitter @travelwithgrant.

a close-up of a search box

Make Cash Back Monitor Even Better – What Feature is Missing? (Giveaway for $50 in Amazon eGift Cards)

Update: Comments are now closed.  I will go through all the comments and pick the top 5 suggestions.  I will email the winners and send them each a $10 Amazon egift card.  Thank you to everyone who participated in the giveaway.

Good morning again, I am writing this post on-board my Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle to Oakland.  You may not recognize the gentleman standing next to me in the below photo, but I can almost guarantee that you have heard of his website and used his service.  His name is Yansong and he is the creator and operator of Cash Back Monitor – the online shopping portal comparison tool.  He is a very smart (well dressed) guy who knows the ins and outs of the online shopping portal world.  We have become good friends over the years due to always running into each other at various travel conferences around the country.

In an unrelated note, I ran a contest a few weeks ago asking readers to tell me what features were missing from Award Wallet.  I sent the post to my friends at Award Wallet and they really appreciated the feedback from readers.  I believe they are working on a few new features that readers recommended.  I asked Yansong if he would be open to doing the same thing with Cash Back Monitor and he agreed.

Yansong Cash Back Monitor FTU Advanced Seattle

Continue reading →

a black and white logo

PSA: Don’t use a Third Party Card in the Hotel Key Card Wall Slot (or Decline Housekeeping)

Posted on by . 31 Replies

Good morning everyone, greetings from the Alaska Airlines Lounge in SeaTac airport (no Centurion Studio on this trip). I had a great time meeting blog readers at the FTU Advanced Seattle travel conference and look forward to seeing you again soon at the upcoming FTU Advanced Minneapolis, Chicago Seminars, or a TWG meetup.

For the recent FTU Advanced Seattle, I stayed at the Four Points by Sheraton Seattle Airport South. The hotel has your typical key card wall slot to turn on the electricity and heat/AC for the room. Fun fact: pretty much any plastic card will work in the wall slot, including credit cards, debit cards, other hotel key cards, and my Priority Pass card. I read about this trick online a few years ago and heard a few stories that housekeeping will sometimes take the card from the wall slot after cleaning your room. That’s exactly what happened to me yesterday.

Four Points Key Card Wall Slot

Continue reading →

a logo for a university

Travel with Grant will be at FTU Advanced Seattle this Weekend – Say Hello!

Posted on by . 4 Replies

Good morning everyone, happy Friday.  I will be flying up to Seattle this weekend to attend FTU (Frequent Traveler University) Advanced, a travel conference where some of your favorite travel bloggers will be presenting.  If you see me at the event (I’m not hard to spot, just look for the gray Travel with Grant shirt), feel free to stop and chat with me.  I am not presenting and I’ve heard most of the presenters many times, so I am mainly there to talk to fellow travel bloggers, readers, and catch up with old friends.

FTU Advanced Seattle

Continue reading →

a red and white logo

ExpressVPN lets you Browse the Internet Securely & Anonymously + Free 30 Day Trial (Desktop/Laptop/Mobile App)

Posted on by . 26 Replies

Good morning everyone, happy Presidents Day!  I am writing this post from beautiful, sunny Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and I hope you have the day off as well to explore the world.  When I travel, staying connected is always a huge priority to me, so finding free, reliable Wifi is important.  Unfortunately, public Wifi in hotels, restaurants, and public spaces is fraught with danger.  You never know who is connected to the Wifi network and if they are intercepting your data and personal information.

Several months ago, my friend Stefan at Rapid Travel Chai recommended ExpressVPN (referral link). VPN stands for Virtual Private Network and it is a service that encrypts all of your incoming and outgoing data.  I have used ExpressVPN at home, on the road, and on my iPhone for the last 3 months and have nothing but good things to say about the service.  Here are the highlights of the service that I cut and pasted from their website:

  • Videos from anywhere – Watch the content you want from anywhere on Earth at blazing fast speeds.
  • Online privacy – Encrypt your internet traffic and hide your IP address from hackers and spies.
  • Unblock websites – Access any website or app without censorship.
  • Easy-to-use VPN service for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Routers, and Linux – Setup is easy, whether you’re using a computer, tablet, or smartphone. Our user-friendly apps let you secure your connection and unblock websites in one click. Just sign up, install, and connect.
  • Ultra secure and ultra fast – Our network is SSL secured with 256-bit encryption, and we’re constantly optimizing our network to provide unlimited bandwidth and speed, so you can stream your favorite movies and TV shows in high definition. ExpressVPN runs seamlessly in the background so you can use the internet without interruptions.
  • 5-star customer support – Our world-class support team is at your service. We offer round-the-clock customer support by live chat and email. Get instant help from a knowledgeable support agent when you use our live chat feature.
  • 145+ VPN locations… and counting! – You can choose from 145 cities in 94 countries. With unlimited speeds and unlimited server switches, you can connect from anywhere in the world.
  • 30-day money-back guarantee – We’re confident that you’ll be happy with our product and services. We also want you to be confident in your purchase, which is why we have a hassle-free 30-day money-back guarantee.

Here are screenshots of the ExpressVPN software running on my laptop (left side shows not connected and right side shows connected to VPN):

Continue reading →

a blue fish with yellow and red text

My Upcoming Long Presidents Day Weekend in Cabo San Lucas (+ your Restaurant & Activity Recommendations)

Posted on by . 9 Replies

Good morning everyone, I am heading down to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico tomorrow for a long Presidents Day Weekend.  A few months ago, I wrote Redeem Virgin Atlantic Miles for Virgin America Award Flights (Complete Route Network from SFO).  In that post, I showed how it was possible (at the time) to redeem Virgin Atlantic miles for travel on Virgin America (this partnership is no longer possible since Alaska Airlines is acquiring Virgin America).  Long story short, I redeemed 25,000 Virgin Atlantic miles for a round trip Virgin America flight from SFO to SJD (Cabo).  This will be my second trip to Cabo and I wrote about my first trip in these posts:

During my first visit, I stayed at the beautiful Hilton Los Cabos Beach & Golf Resort and loved the property.  Here is a view from my room that overlooked the pool and beach.

Hilton Cabo View2

Continue reading →