Category Archives: Hotels + Points

a close-up of a logo

Holiday Inn Resort Los Cabos – Spoiler Alert – Don’t Waste Your Time

I received an email several weeks ago about 20,000 points per night redemptions at the Holiday Inn Resort Los Cabos All Inclusive. I began thinking of the great weather, the sun, the beach, and booked 6 nights. Unfortunately, the rest of this trip report is the failures I experienced until I finally decided I had enough and left for the Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos.  Prior to my arrival, I was in contact with a manager by email, and he let me know I was entitled to an upgrade due to my IHG Platinum Elite Status (I was not expecting this), and for $45 / night additional, I could again upgrade to an ocean view room with a terrace and hammock. I upgraded as the limited photos available showed what I thought was a nice room.

CHECK-IN

Upon arrival, the check-in process was the first problem; we were told to go do “something” for an hour while our room was cleaned. This was odd since we arrived around 1:30pm and the manager was aware of my arrival time. We went to the one restaurant on property that was open and had a good meal. After an hour had passed, we returned to the lobby to find complete chaos. There was a line from the desk half way through the lobby, and only some of the computers were staffed for check-in. It appeared there may have been internet or connection problems because nobody was moving it seemed. I was given a key to my room and thought I had dodged a bullet – I didn’t have to wait in that line. My hopes were short lived as I tried to get in my room and the key didn’t work, the dreaded red light. I returned to the lobby and the same faces were standing in line, not on the beach or enjoying their free alcohol. I asked an employee what was going on and was told to come back in 45 minutes. I asked to see a manager.  A manager arrived about 5 minutes later and had keys to our room, and we were finally starting to settle in.

a sidewalk with palm trees and a sign Continue reading

a hammock on a beach

Buy Miles/Points Promos Ending May 31 to June 7: American, Frontier, Spirit, Southwest, Choice, Hilton, IHG & SPG

Good afternoon everyone.  I recently updated my Buy Miles/Points Page and I wanted to let everyone know that there are several buy miles/points promos ending in the next few days (May 31 through June 7).  If you are short on miles and points for your next award, now might be the best time to buy some miles and points.  Here are the deals, sorted by the end date of the promo:

If you need any other miles and points, check out the Buy Miles/Points Page.  If you have any questions, please leave a comment below.  Have a great day everyone!

a close up of stamps

The Versatile World of the Packing Cube

Strangely enough, at least strangely to me, is that not everyone uses or is a fan of packing cubes. And I think more often than not most of us would say we love traveling but packing……..not so much. People seem to either pack in a rush close in to departure, or they pack a little at a time perhaps over the course of a few days.

I’m a devoted diehard packing cube user. When like me you’re a packing cube fan and you travel with people who don’t use them, a lot of interesting conversations develop. Mostly the conversations focus on why they don’t use them, why they can’t find what they’re looking for, and how on earth are we going to get that suitcase closed with the messiness and overflow of items. My favorite way to approach this is to make a joke and tell them they are “lacking cubes” when they need packing cubes! Continue reading

a black and white logo

Purchase Hilton Honors Points – 100% Bonus (Expires June 7)

What’s the best way to earn hotel loyalty points? There are as many answers to that question as there are hotel chains! So when people ask me that question, here’s how I answer. The four most popular answers would likely be: stay at a hotel, spend on a credit card that’s affiliated with the hotel chain, get a credit card with an oversized bonus of hotel points when you meet the minimum spend, and if and when the need arises, buy hotel points on sale and use them to get super value from an award night stay.

Maybe because summertime is around the corner and the high travel season is upon us, it seems like right now Hilton Honors is upping their game both in credit card increased bonuses, and by putting their Hilton Honors points on sale. Continue reading

a black and white logo

Which American Express Hilton Credit Card is Right for You?

Back in January, Hilton began teaming up with American Express to offer co-branded credit cards. This replaced Hilton’s card agreement with Citibank. The Citi Hilton cards converted to American Express cards. I’m sure by now we’ve all updated our information with any merchants we use for recurring automatic payments. And I’ve mentioned before that now these cards feature no foreign transaction fees.

Many Hilton loyalists were excited by this transition from Citibank to American Express because it increased the Hilton co-branded offerings, which equated to more opportunities to earn Hilton points.
Change, even good change, can lead to confusion, and recently a reader asked me what the different benefits were on the four co-branded Hilton American Express cards. Good question! Continue reading