Category Archives: Hotels + Points

a blue and red credit card

How I Messed up the $20 Dining Credit on my AMEX Hilton Aspire

Good morning everyone, I hope your week is going well.  One of the current card benefits of the American Express Hilton Honors Aspire Credit Card is the $20 monthly dining credit.  Unfortunately I ran into an issue using this card benefit in April on 2 restaurant purchases (In N Out Burger and Panera Bread).  As you can see, I never received the $20 dining credit for my April purchases, but I did receive the credit automatically in May, June, and July.  Based on my transactions, the $20 dining credit posts ~3 days after the restaurant charge posts to your account.  I contacted AMEX on May 1 and again on July 13 to check on the status of the dining credit and received conflicting answers.  Here is what I was told and what I learned…

a screenshot of a credit card

Continue reading

a black text on a white background

PSA: Track Existing Marriott Reservations & Rebook When Points Price Drops (or Switch to a Free Night Certificate)

Good afternoon everyone, I hope you had a great weekend.  Long story short, I had a 1 night reservation at a Marriott property that was charging 60,000 Marriott Points / night.  A few days ago, I checked the current rate of the property and the price dropped from 60,000 Marriott Points / night to only 50,000 Marriott Points / night.  I was able to rebook the reservation and use one of my 50K Free Night Certificates and received a refund of 60,000 Marriott Points back into my account.  In this post, I wanted to remind you to keep checking existing reservations to see if the rate drops and show you how to rebook the reservation when that happens.

Continue reading

a logo for a university

Last Day to Register! FTU Virtual Seminar on Saturday June 26 ($25) or Free with Online Annual Membership

Good afternoon everyone, happy Friday!  If you have no plans tomorrow (Saturday, June 26), I highly recommend attending the FTU Virtual Seminar (tickets available for $25) or free if you have the FTU Online Annual Membership.  The seminar starts on Saturday at 8am PT / 11am ET.  I have attended all of the FTU Virtual Seminars over the last several months and they are always well done, educational, and entertaining – and I am sure this seminar will be no exception!  Here is the schedule and lineup of speakers.

If you register for the seminar on Saturday, but are unable to watch the live stream, you can access the recording of the seminar and watch later on.  This is also a great way to re-watch your favorite presentations and catch any details that you originally missed.

a screenshot of a video conference

Continue reading

a blue text on a white background

7 Buy Miles / Points Promos Ending Soon: JetBlue (30%), Alaska (50%), Choice (30%), Hyatt (30%), Frontier (125%), United (85%) & Wyndham (35%)

Good afternoon everyone, I hope your week is going well.  I was working on my Buy Miles & Points Page and found 7 offers that end in June.  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 7 offers that end soon.  Up first, JetBlue is offering up to a 30% discount, depending on the number of JetBlue TrueBlue Points you purchase.  This offer expires today – June 22.

a screenshot of a website

Continue reading

a logo for a university

Attend FTU Virtual Seminar on Saturday June 26 ($25) or Free with Online Annual Membership

Good afternoon everyone.  If you have no plans this coming Saturday (June 26), I highly recommend attending the FTU Virtual Seminar (tickets available for $25) or free if you have the FTU Online Annual Membership.  The seminar starts on Saturday at 8am PT / 11am ET.  I have attended all of the FTU Virtual Seminars over the last several months and they are always well done, educational, and entertaining – and I am sure this seminar will be no exception!  Here is the schedule and lineup of speakers.

If you register for the seminar on Saturday, but are unable to watch the live stream, you can access the recording of the seminar and watch later on.  This is also a great way to re-watch your favorite presentations and catch any details that you originally missed.

a screenshot of a video conference

Continue reading