Category Archives: Trip Reports

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My Underwhelming Experience with MaxMyPoint, Awayz & StayWithPoints Hotel Award Alerts

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Good evening everyone, I hope you all had a great Mother’s Day Weekend.  Last week, I wrote about my Summer plans to Europe, including stops in Dublin, Helsinki, and Stockholm.  We are starting in Dublin and wanted to stay 4 nights at the Hyatt Centric The Liberties Dublin.  The Hyatt Centric is centrally located and costs 18,000 Hyatt Points per night.  Unfortunately, there was a small issue… the 4th night of our stay was completely sold out on points and cash.

We booked the first 3 nights of the stay using a combination of Laura’s Hyatt Free Night Certificate and 36,000 Hyatt Points for the next 2 nights. I then set up hotel alerts for the last night of our stay in the hope that award availability would open up before our trip.  Here is my underwhelming experience with MaxMyPoint, Awayz & StayWithPoints hotel award alerts.

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Image source: https://www.hyatt.com/hyatt-centric/dubct-hyatt-centric-the-liberties-dublin/gallery

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My Scandinavian Summer: Helsinki & Stockholm Recommendations Needed

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Good afternoon everyone, I hope your weekend is going well.  A few days ago, I wrote Comparing Alaska Airlines, British Airways & Qatar Airways Award Prices for 2 Finnair Flights (DUB-HEL & HEL-ARN).  At the end of that post, I hinted that I needed some recommendations for things to see and do in Helsinki, Finland and Stockholm, Sweden.  That is where this post comes in.  I have never been to either city and wanted to reach out to my readers to see if they had any recommendations.  Here is what I have in mind, but I am open to your suggestions as well.  Thank you!

Helsinki, Finland for 2 Days in the Summer

Laura and I love going on canal tours (we did 4 river / canal tours last summer in Prague, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, and Giethoorn, which is about an hour outside Amsterdam).  I was excited when I came across the Helsinki Canal Cruise on Viator.  I love booking activities on Viator because you can often get 10-15% cash back by going through an online shopping portal and most activities have the “Reserve Now & Pay Later” feature where you can cancel for free up to 24 hours in advance.  Viator also occasionally has card linked offers like AMEX Offers, Chase Offers, and Citi Merchant Deals, so I am hoping one of those deals pops up before my trip.

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Travel with Grant Turned 11 Years Old Today!

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Good morning everyone, I hope your week is going well.  I have an exciting announcement: Travel with Grant just turned 11 years old today!  Yup, I started this blog on May 1, 2013 and I can’t believe I’ve had a travel blog for 11 years (I really can’t believe I have done anything for 11 years, let alone blogging).  I am very grateful for all the amazing friends I have met through the miles and points hobby and all the incredible memories I have made along the way.  I appreciate my readers for reading, asking inciteful comments, and sharing helpful tips on my blog posts.  Let’s keep it up for another 11 years, shall we?

If you have a moment, please answer this poll question.  Thank you.

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My Experience Cancelling 2 International Business Class Awards: Avianca LifeMiles & Singapore Airlines

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Good afternoon everyone, I hope your weekend is going well.  A few weeks ago, I had to cancel a few international business class awards due to a scheduling conflict, so I wanted to share the various cancellation processes, timelines, and fees involved.  If you find yourself in a similar situation, you will know what to expect from the process.  In this post, I will cover my experience cancelling award tickets with Avianca LifeMiles and Singapore Airlines.  You can read about my experience cancelling award tickets with Delta, Korean Air, and Air France / KLM.

90,000 Avianca LifeMiles for Air India Business Class (SFO-DEL): San Francisco, CA -> Delhi, India

I tried to cancel the award ticket on the Avianca LifeMiles website on April 2, but couldn’t find a cancellation page, so I called the LifeMiles customer service number (1-866-919-0081).  The rep informed me that there was a $200 cancellation fee.  Once that fee was paid, the 90,000 Avianca LifeMiles would be refunded within 72 hours and the taxes/fees would be refunded within 30 days.  Instead of paying with a credit card over the phone, Avianca sent me a link to pay with the subject line “Payment Instructions for your order” from the email address do-not-reply@worldpay.com.  I clicked the link and paid the $200 cancellation fee.

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Listen to Grant on the Miles to Memories Podcast (Again)

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Good afternoon everyone, I hope your week is going well.  A few days ago, I had the pleasure of being a guest / co-host on the Miles to Memories Podcast.  I spoke with Shawn Coomer (MtM Founder) while Joe Cheung took the day/night off. This was my second time on the Miles to Memories podcast (first time was back on September 24, 2020).  We talked about many different topics, ranging from the JPMorgan Chase Ritz Carlton Credit Card and accompanying Priority Pass membership; closing my American Express Business Platinum Card; upcoming Summer trip to Dublin, Helsinki, and Stockholm; and more.

You can listen and subscribe to the podcast here.  Please let me know what you think of the podcast episode by leaving a comment below.  Lastly, if you want to hear more of my lovely voice, check out my Podcasts & Interviews page.  Have a great day everyone.

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