Category Archives: Trip Reports

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Planes, Trains, and More Planes: Hacking Our Way to Europe for the Holidays

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Buenos dias everyone!

My partner and I just embarked on a bit of a ridiculous trip for the holidays. This trip started out from a mistake rate for a club room at the Hyatt Regency Paris Etoile – I booked 3 nights at a rate of 3,000 points + €18; normally a standard room award goes for 15,000 points, and the club upgrade is 3,000 points in addition to the standard room rate. About a month ago, well after the hotel decided to honor the reservations, we decided we actually wanted to go – neither of us have ever been to Paris before.

View from the Hyatt Paris Etoile. Photo from hyatt.com

View from the Hyatt Paris Etoile. Photo from hyatt.com.

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New Writer Q&A with Tonei

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Good morning everyone, I hope your Sunday is going well so far.  Here is the second Q&A post with my new writer Tonei.  If you missed the first Q&A with Whitney, I recommend checking that out too.  It seems like I have known Tonei for a long time, even though we only met last year.  We tend to have similar travel styles and approaches to travel hacking.  I always enjoy listening to Tonei’s travel stories, adventures, and misadventures.  Tonei is very resilient when things go wrong and tries to put a positive spin on things, just like I do.  Eric, myself, Dawn, and Tonei (pictured below) are co-organizers of the ever expanding SF Travel Hackers Meetup group (1,300 members and constantly growing).  Without further ado, take it away Tonei…

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Bay Area Travel Hackers co-organizers in our unofficial uniforms. (Tonei is on the far right)

  • Name:  Tonei Glavinic
  • Location:  Mexico City, Mexico
  • Preferred Airline or Alliance:  Alaska Airlines + its Global Partners
  • Preferred Hotel:  I love Starwood properties, but usually end up staying at IHG hotels since they have such great promotions.

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Iceland & What I Wish I Had Known Before Going – Part 1

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I went to Iceland last month for a long weekend with my friend Stephanie.  We flew WOW air from Boston and I used Citi ThankYou points to get myself from Charlotte to Boston in order to rack up a few more EQMs.  For each new country that I visit I make sure to pickup a lonely planet book for that country and I do a decent amount of research & planning ahead of time.  Lucky for me I had a friend (shout out to Evan) that had just visited Iceland 1 month before my trip so I was able to pick his brain on a few things during my planning.  Despite that, I’d say that I probably should have done a bit more research because I have a list of Things I Wish I Had Known before going to Iceland.  I’d like to share that list with you in hopes that your trip goes a tad smoother than mine did. Continue reading →

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Reminder: SF Travel Hackers Meetup Tonight (7pm on 12/14)

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Good morning everyone, I just wanted to remind everyone that the SF Travel Hackers Meetup Group has their December meetup tonight.  I believe the RSVP period has closed and no more space is available.  There will be a trivia quiz to test how much of a travel hacker you really are; raffle prizes of amenity kits, lounge passes, and airline upgrades; and hopefully some snacks/drinks provided (we will probably go out for drinks afterwards as well).

  • When: Wednesday, December 14 @ 7-9pm
  • Where: WeWork Mid-Market, 995 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94103 (Google Map)

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If you have any questions, please leave a comment below.  Have a great day everyone!

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New Writer Q&A with Whitney

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Good morning everyone, I hope your Wednesday is going well so far.  I am in the process of adding a few extra writers to my blog (read A “Quick” Blog Update: New Writers = More Content for more info).  I wanted to introduce my writers so you can learn a little about their background and travel style.  I met Whitney a few years ago at an FTU (Frequent Traveler University – travel conference) and we have stayed in touch ever since.  You may have met her at a travel conference too, if you frequent those events.  She even wrote a guest post for me last October called Hacking the US Airways First Class Upgrade List (Until the AA/US Merger).  Whitney used to work for a big bank that issues travel rewards credit cards and she lives on the East Coast, so I am looking forward to reading some of her upcoming posts and seeing pictures of some of her cool trips.  Take it away, Whitney…

  • Name: Whitney Bruce
  • Location: Charlotte, NC
  • Preferred Airline or Alliance: American / OneWorld
  • Preferred Hotel: it was Hyatt, now that they’ve devalued their loyalty program I’m a free agent
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Maho Beach, St. Maarten – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maho_Beach

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