Category Archives: Hotels + Points

a close-up of a logo

Confession: I Used the Wrong IHG Free Night Certificate (Just Issued vs. Almost Expired), But IHG Helped Me Out

Good afternoon everyone, I hope you had a great weekend.  I am not a juggler, but I do a pretty good job juggling free night certificates and not letting them expire… until last week.  My first clue that something was wrong was when I received this email from AwardWallet alerting me to the fact that one of my IHG Free Night Certificates was going to expire on July 27.  At first, I thought it was a glitch with AwardWallet or IHG since I just booked a stay using my IHG Free Night Certificate back on June 29 for a Crowne Plaza hotel on July 17.  After thinking it over, I decided to take a closer to see what was going on…

a screenshot of a email

Continue reading

a close-up of a logo

4 Buy Miles / Points Promos Ending Soon: Avianca (140%), IHG (100%), United (100%) & Virgin Atlantic (60%)

Good afternoon everyone, happy Friday!  I was working on my Buy Miles & Points Page and found 4 offers that end in the next week.  Always check the math to make sure that buying miles & points makes sense for you.  Do not buy miles & points speculatively unless you have a use in mind.  With that said, here are 4 offers that end soon.

Up first, Avianca Airlines is offering up to a 140% bonus, depending on the number of Avianca Airlines LifeMiles you purchase. This offer expires today – July 28.

a blue card with white text

Continue reading

a close up of a credit card

How to Book Hotel with Citi Premier Credit Card $100 Hotel Credit & Citi ThankYou Points

Good morning everyone, I hope your week is going well.  3 weeks ago, my wife and I decided to book a last minute trip to Europe this summer with stops in Prague (PRG), Copenhagen (CPH), and Amsterdam (AMS).  When I was researching hotels in Prague, I heard many good things about Old Town Prague and wanted to stay there. There were several chain and independent hotels to choose from, so I checked TripAdvisor to see which hotels were highly rated. That is how I stumbled onto the Century Old Town Prague – MGallery Hotel Collection.  It has great reviews, is in a great location, comes with free breakfast and wifi, and the price was right.

Continue reading

a red text on a white background

4 Buy Miles / Points Promos Ending Soon: Air Canada (50%), United Airlines (50%), Choice Hotels (30%) & Southwest (40%)

Good afternoon everyone, I hope your Father’s Day Weekend is going well.  I was working on my Buy Miles & Points Page and found 4 offers that end in the next week.  Always check the math to make sure that buying miles & points makes sense for you.  Do not buy miles & points speculatively unless you have a use in mind.  With that said, here are 4 offers that end soon.

Up first, Air Canada is offering up to a 50% discount, depending on the number of Air Canada Aeroplan Miles you purchase. This offer expires today – June 17.

Continue reading

a blue and white logo

Goodbye Better Balance Rewards, Hello Bank of America Unlimited Cash Rewards MasterCard and Visa Credit Cards (Card Art Images)

Good afternoon everyone, I hope your week is going well.  A few weeks ago, I wrote about the Targeted: $200 Bonus for Bank of America Better Balance Rewards Credit Cards Converting to Unlimited Cash Rewards.  Last week, I wrote How to Redeem Bank of America Unlimited Cash Rewards Credit Card $200 Bonus for Statement Credit. I thought that I would do one more post about my beloved Better Balance Rewards (BBR) credit cards before I put them through the shredder.  I didn’t realize until now, but on the back side of the BBR credit cards, it says “Cardholder Since” with a 15 on the MasterCard and a 17 on Visa.  I will assume Bank of America means 2015 and 2017, since I haven’t had these cards since I was 15 years old or 17 years old.

I did some rough math and calculated that I have had these credit cards for about 60 quarters total from the time I received them / converted to them and now.  Since I have a linked Bank of America checking account, I received a $30 quarterly bonus each quarter when I pay my bill in full and on time.  60 quarters x $30 = $1,800 in cash back.  Now I understand why Bank of America had to kill these cards, they were probably losing hundreds of thousands of dollars per year without generating much income.  RIP BBR credit cards, you will be missed.

Continue reading