Category Archives: Trip Reports

a close up of stamps

I’m Back from Hawaii and a Preview of Upcoming Blog Posts

Posted on by . Leave a reply

Good morning everyone, I hope your week is going well.  I just returned home from a relaxing trip to Hawaii with Laura for our 2 year wedding anniversary.  We spent 4 nights on the Big Island in Kona at the Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa using 4 50K Free Night Certificates and then 6 nights on Kauai; 4 nights in Princeville and 2 nights in Poipu at 2 different Vacasa vacation rentals that cost 13,500 Wyndham Rewards Points per night (thanks to the 10% discount for Barclays Wyndham Rewards Earner Business Credit Card holders).

a pool with palm trees and a sunset

Sunset view overlooking the pool and ocean at the Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort and Spa

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)

Posted on by . 6 Replies

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

Posted on by . Leave a reply

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 logo for a university

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

Posted on by . Leave a reply

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 →

a black and orange road with white lines

AutoSlash Saved Me Another $500 on 2 Rental Car Reservations

Posted on by . 10 Replies

Good afternoon everyone, I hope you all had a great Father’s Day Weekend.  2 weeks ago, I wrote AutoSlash Already Saved Me $400 on 2 Rental Car Reservations.  Over the weekend, AutoSlash found even cheaper rates for my 2 upcoming Hawaii car rentals for Lihue and Kona, saving me an extra $500 (actually $536.52 total).  I was talking about AutoSlash over the weekend at a family gathering and did not run out of good things to say about the service, and here is why…

For my first rental in Lihue, here is the timeline of events:

  • 5/27 – Initially booked an Enterprise rental for $1,018.59
  • 5/28 – AutoSlash found me a cheaper Alamo rental for $899.95 (savings of $118.64)
  • 6/20 – AutoSlash found me a cheaper Hertz rental for $397.87 (savings of $502.08)

I almost missed the email since it came in late at 9:51pm, but as soon as I saw the email, I immediately clicked the link to book my new rental.

a screenshot of a car rental

Continue reading →