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Pilot Program Announced: BART Riders to SFO get Access to Priority TSA Security Lines

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Good afternoon everyone.  I just received an email from BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) about a new pilot program that was just announced for BART passengers traveling to San Francisco International Airport (SFO).  According to the announcement, passengers who take BART to SFO will have access to priority TSA security lines.  This is kind of a goldilocks line between general TSA security lines and TSA PreCheck lines.  I believe the screening process is the same as general TSA security, but with a shorter line.  Since I have TSA PreCheck, I would probably never go through the priority TSA security line, but this is good news for passengers who do not have TSA PreCheck or are heading to SFO for an international flight.

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4 Buy Miles/Points Promos Ending Soon: Alaska (40%), Etihad (15%), American (42,500) & Choice (25%)

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Good afternoon everyone.  I was working on my Buy Miles & Points Page and found a few offers ending soon.  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 this week.  Up first, Alaska Airlines is offering up to a 40% bonus, depending on the number of Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Miles you purchase.  This offer expires on October 31.

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Earn Double Alaska Airlines Miles on SFO-TLV El Al Israel Airlines Flights (Travel 10/15 – 6/30/20)

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Good afternoon everyone.  I just received an email from Alaska Airlines regarding a promo with El Al Israel Airlines.  If you are flying El Al Israel Airlines from San Francisco (SFO) to Tel Aviv, Israel (TLV), you can earn double Alaska Airlines miles when you add your Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan number to the reservation.  But, you must register for the promo first before registration ends on December 15 and travel by June 30, 2020.

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My Failed Experiment to Cut the Comcast Xfinity Cable Cord

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Good morning everyone.  My wife and I have Comcast Xfinity internet and cable TV at home and I was considering cutting the cord to save money on our cable TV subscription.  I don’t really watch live TV (news or sports), but I do love watching recorded TV shows from our DVR (mostly reality TV and sitcoms).  I have the Comcast Xfinity Stream app on my iPhone and love that I can download any show from our DVR onto the app (also works great on our iPad).  I can watch TV shows on my commute to work (on the train and ferry) and when I travel on a plane.  Having the shows pre-downloaded vs. streaming to my iPhone is really important to me since I do not have unlimited 4G/5G data, WiFi on my commute and on planes is slow, and some spots have no cell or WiFi signal at all.

In my experiment, I tried to replace Comcast Xfinity cable TV with Sling TV, Hulu, and CBS All Access.  My experiment did not go as smoothly as I had hoped, but I will show you what I learned from these 3 streaming services and apps (and their shortcomings, from my perspective).

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Hotel Review: Sweet Upgrade to the Presidential Suite at Historic San Diego Courtyard Marriott

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Good afternoon everyone.  After our short Alaska Airlines flight from Santa Rosa / Sonoma County to San Diego, we took an Uber to the Courtyard San Diego Downtown Hotel.  I picked this hotel because the “hotel is in the former San Diego Trust and Savings Bank building, and the old vault has been converted into a one-of-a-kind meeting space that your colleagues will be talking about for years to come.”  I love staying in old, historic, charming hotels, like my Amazing Stay at DoubleTree Arctic Club Hotel in Seattle (Historic Building Built in 1917).

This hotel costs 35,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points per night, so I used my Free Night Certificate from the Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card to book the first night and then I used 35,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points for the second night.  Somehow, I received 5 free Suite Night Upgrades in my Marriott Bonvoy account (probably from combining my SPG & Marriott Rewards accounts and from having several Marriott credit cards with elite nights stacking).  I decided to use my last 2 Suite Night Upgrades at this hotel because they were going to expire on December 31, 2019, and I don’t have any other Marriott stays booked or planned for the rest of the year.  This turned out to be a great use of my Suite Night Upgrades…

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