Author Archives: Shelli

About Shelli

Shelli Stein is a health and fitness entrepreneur who travels the world in search of culture, food, and fun! Besides contributing to Travel with Grant, you can find her at Joy in Movement.

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Hotel Del Coronado Status Update: 1 Month After Joining the Hilton Family

Have you been wondering how the Hotel Del Coronado is doing now that rooms can be booked using Hilton Honors Points? Here’s the latest update! I’ve been curious about The Del as it’s been just over a month since rooms were bookable using Hilton Honors Points. So I stopped in yesterday to talk with the front office / guest services folks who I spoke with earlier in the summer.

I appreciated their time and honesty. They said the first couple of weeks were rough. Procedures were confusing and the lines at check-in were really long. They put out a small Hilton Honors sign on the side of the check-in desk, but Hilton members weren’t sure if they were supposed to go to a separate line, or cut in line to the front, or what. Of course, no one likes to be the one to cut in line when others in line don’t know what’s going on.

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Hotel del Coronado view from the beach.
Image source: http://curiocollection3.hilton.com/en/hotels/california/hotel-del-coronado-curio-collection-by-hilton-SANQQQQ/index.html

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Will My Carry-On Bag Fit? Master Chart of 150+ Airlines Carry-On Luggage Weight & Dimension Restrictions

Airline policies often baffle me. The carry-on luggage restrictions are mind-boggling, to say the least. There are no standards and each airline sets their own rules. I was reminded of this a few weeks ago. I was in a mall and walked by a House of Samsonite store. Inside the store were signs showing luggage dimensions and weights for a few airlines. I found the signs helpful, but also realized they were obviously incomplete for those of us who travel a lot and use a broad variety of airlines.

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Maximizing Miles with Stopovers, Open Jaws & Off-Peak Awards

When turning your frequent flyer miles into award tickets for flights, there are many things to think about. After all, you’re worked hard to earn those miles, so who wouldn’t want to get the best value for them. And in the beginning, when you’re first becoming a miles and points enthusiast, there’s a lot to learn about maximizing value when you use your miles. Here are three concepts to understand for getting the maximum value from your miles:

1. You have to understand what’s possible with stopovers. Some people won’t book an award ticket without using the stopover option, when it’s available. In essence, utilizing stopovers means you’ll see more places for fewer miles.

2. Then there’s the concept of open jaws. An open jaw is when you fly into one city and fly back from another city, rather than flying in and out of the same city on your award ticket. Similar to stopovers, an open jaw ticket will let you see more cities for the same amount of miles. Another popular reason to use an open jaw is to avoid fuel surcharges on your award ticket. As an example, this is commonly done when flying to Europe. Flying out of London means paying high taxes, so people often fly into London and out of another European city to avoid paying the high London departure taxes/fees. Continue reading

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Keep, Convert or Close the Barclays American Airlines AAdvantage Aviator MasterCard?

I’ve made a resolution! From now on, when a credit card I currently have comes up for renewal, I really want to consider more deeply than I have in the past, whether or not to keep the credit card. I’m determined to look more closely at the annual fees I pay to keep the credit card and the benefits I receive. And whether I’m actually using those benefits… maybe that’s the most important question of all.

Since I made this resolution, the first credit card to come up for renewal is my Barclays American Airlines AAdvantage Aviator MasterCard. Like many of you, I got this credit card because I had the Barclays US Airways World MasterCard, which became the Aviator credit card when American Airlines bought US Airways. The yearly fee for the Aviator credit card is $89. My first action was to actually read the Reward Summary on my statement and really understand the potential of this credit card, whether or not I actually put much spend on this card. Continue reading

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Reminder: Grandparents’ Day is Sunday, September 10, 2017

Happy Grandparents’ Day… almost! September 10 is your special day. If you’re one of the 70 million Americans with grandchildren, don’t forget to celebrate and take advantage of the many special offers. In some cities, you’ll find discounted admission to the local zoo, museums, and more. And if you want to go on a trip with your grandchildren, Amtrak offers senior discounts AND you can take up to 50% off kids’ tickets, too.

Do you have any special plans for Grandparents’ Day? Do you know of any other discounts that I haven’t mentioned? Let us know in the comments below.