Category Archives: Hotels + Points

a blue sign with white text

Visiting Vancouver, British Columbia? Here’s What You Need To Know!

Posted on by . 5 Replies

There are some places that are wonderful to visit any time of year, and they become an even more spectacular destination during the summer months. With the high travel season upon us, one of my favorite cities has been on my mind. I’ve been to British Columbia during all different times of the year. In Vancouver, I’ve slogged through slush and snow during December, and ventured out at midnight in freezing weather to see the New Year’s Eve fireworks. I’ve walked through Stanley Park in the most gorgeous October weather when the trees were in full fall foliage colors. And I’ve had the Grouse Grind hike on Grouse Mountain totally kick my butt as I finished it with mud all over my clothes, yet with a smile on my face. Vancouver is an amazing destination any time of year! With summer upon us and many travelers heading up to British Columbia, I wanted to bring together all the blog posts I’ve written about Vancouver so you’ll have an easy time using them when you’re planning a visit.

a seaplane on a dock in front of a city

Seaplane in Vancouver Harbor

Continue reading →

a close-up of a logo

How to Combine Citi Thank You Points Accounts (Spoiler: Just Call Citi)

Posted on by . 6 Replies

Good morning everyone.  Long story short, I have a Citi Premier Credit Card and 3 Citi AT&T Access More Credit Cards (I’m trying to spend $10,000 on each credit card every year to get the bonus 10,000 Citi Thank You Points every year).  I only applied directly for one of these Citi AT&T Access More Credit Cards (thanks for the $650 AT&T phone credit) and converted my old Citi Forward Credit Card and Citi Prestige Credit Card into additional Citi AT&T Access More Credit Cards.

But somehow one of my Citi AT&T Access More Credit Cards had a separate Citi Thank You Points account.  Why is this a problem?  Citi AT&T Access More Credit Cards do not have the same transfer partners as my Citi Premier Credit Card.  I will show you what I mean below.  In this post, I will show you why it is better to have all of your Thank You Point earning credit cards linked to the same Citi Thank You Points account and show you how easy it is to combine your accounts (spoiler: just call Citi).

To demonstrate why having 2 Citi Thank You Points accounts is not better than 1, I clicked the blue Select button at the top of the page that only had 1,480 Citi Thank You Points.

a screenshot of a computer

Continue reading →

green text on a white background

AMEX Cash Back & Membership Rewards Changes: SPG Transfers, Extended Warranties & More

Posted on by . 13 Replies

Good morning everyone, I hope you all had a great weekend.  Over the weekend, I reviewed my recent American Express credit card statements and spotted some major and minor changes to the terms.  A few months ago, I wrote about other changes: AMEX Membership Rewards Changes: No Points for Cash Equivalents (Gift Cards) & Person-to-Person Payments (Venmo).  Usually, whenever American Express makes a change to their program, it usually benefits American Express more than their cardholders.

In this month’s updates, there are some major and minor changes.  I reviewed the changes to my American Express Blue Cash Everyday Credit Card and there are some changes that affect cash back credit cards.  I also reviewed the changes to my American Express EveryDay Credit Card that earns Membership Rewards Points, and there are some changes there too.  Lastly, some changes affect all types of credit cards.  There is a lot to cover, so I will try to bold the most important stuff.

  • American Express will look at your credit report and may use the info for marketing purposes, to evaluate your account, and more.
  • American Express (and their affiliates and partners) may contact you at any phone number or email address to service your account or collect past due amounts.
  • American Express will specify when and how frequent you can use the Plan It feature.

a close-up of a document

Continue reading →

a blue sign with white text

World of Hyatt: Improved Elite Benefits and Summer Promo News!

Posted on by . Leave a reply

When Hyatt sends good new our way, my ears perk up. As the official Hyatt fangirl around TWG, there’s one promotion and one piece of good news to share with you today.  Hyatt heard that members wanted more opportunities to be rewarded for their loyalty. Well of course we do! For a while now, World of Hyatt has been providing more exclusive promotions and special offers that help care for members when they travel. As part of this continued momentum, World of Hyatt is launching a new loyalty promotion that will help members’ travel add up to even more.

Here’s Hyatt’s latest promotion!

Starting June 1, 2018, you can earn 2,500 bonus Hyatt points after every five qualifying nights at Grand Hyatt and Hyatt Regency hotels, with a checkout date of August 31, 2018. There is no limit to the number of bonus Hyatt points you can earn, and bonus Hyatt points are redeemable at any Hyatt hotel worldwide, including participating MGM resort destinations in Las Vegas as well as Miraval and Oasis locations. Just register here by July 15, 2018. You’ll receive your bonus points within 3 weeks after you complete a 5-night stay. Remember, there is no limit to the number of bonus points you can earn. And eligible paid stays and award nights will count towards this promotion. But only stays with a checkout date on or before August 31, 2018, qualify for the deal.

a screenshot of a website Continue reading →

a blue text with white background

Fun in America’s Finest City… Any Time of Year!

Posted on by . 2 Replies

The change of seasons is certainly one way to mark time. Many would say here in America’s Finest City AKA San Diego, the seasons are subtle and there isn’t much change of seasons. I’ve heard people label the seasons in funny ways such as “it’s either drink beer indoors or drink beer at the beach season”. We do get our June gloom, and in the summer when the AriZonies escape the heat, tourism does seem to pick up. In the month of January I’ve had people ask me, “Is the weather like this all the time?” And recently when some friends from Buenos Aires were in town and I was showing them around, they couldn’t get enough of the fresh air and sunshine. Continue reading →