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My IHG Hotel Strategy: Points, Free Night Certificates & Multiple Rebookings

Good afternoon everyone.  Last week, Laura and I were in New York City for her Spring Break.  I had 2 IHG Free Night Certificates (40K capped FNC from my old Chase IHG Select Credit Card and a 40K uncapped FNC from my Chase IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card) that were expiring soon that I wanted to use.  We were staying for 4 nights, so I could have used the IHG 4th Night Free Benefit, but I wanted to use up those 2 IHG FNCs instead.  We decided to stay at the Crowne Plaza Times Square because the hotel is 1-2 blocks away from Times Square, surrounded by many musical theaters, very close to many subway lines (including the subway that goes from Manhattan to JFK (via the Jamaica Station), and walking distance to Central Park / Cruise Terminal / Rockefeller Center, etc.

I didn’t take screenshots during the booking process, but here is the booking strategy I used which I will explain below.  To get started, I searched for 4 nights to ensure that there was availability every night using points.  I clicked the Select Hotel button to view more details.

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How to Enroll US Bank Altitude Reserve & Business Altitude Connect Credit Cards in Free Priority Pass Membership

Good afternoon everyone, I hope your week is going well.  Last week, we learned that the Chase Sapphire Reserve & JPMorgan Ritz Carlton Priority Pass memberships will lose restaurant access on July 1, 2024.  Luckily, Frequent Miler’s recent podcast episode listed a few credit cards that will still offer Priority Pass restaurant access after July 1.  Also luckily, I already have 2 of those credit cards: US Bank Altitude Reserve (8 visits) and the US Bank Business Altitude Connect (4 visits).  In this post, I will show you how to enroll in Priority Pass for these 2 credit cards.

For the US Bank Altitude Reserve, you need to go to this specific enrollment link: www.prioritypass.com/usbankaltitudereserve.  The terms say:

Congratulations! As a valued U.S. Bank Altitude® Reserve Visa Infinite® cardholder, you are eligible for a complimentary membership of Priority Pass, with eight free visits a year. Once you enroll you will have access to more than 1,500+ participating airport lounges and experiences worldwide. Get started today by entering your 16-digit U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve card number. If you have already enrolled, please login to access the member website.

Enter your 16 digit credit card number, enter the captcha code, and click the Submit button.

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5 Buy Miles / Points Promos Ending Soon: Avianca (165%), JetBlue (90%), Virgin Atlantic (70%), Marriott Hotels (35%) & Southwest Airlines (50%)

Good afternoon everyone, I hope your week is going well.  I was working on my Buy Miles & Points Page and found 5 offers that end 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 5 offers that end soon.

Up first, Avianca Airlines is offering up to a 165% bonus, depending on the number of Avianca Airlines LifeMiles you purchase.   This offer expires today – March 26.

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3 Buy Miles / Points Promos Ending Soon: Spirit Airlines (40%), Hilton (100%) & Alaska Airlines (70%)

Good afternoon everyone, happy Friday!  I was working on my Buy Miles & Points Page and found 3 offers that end in the next week.  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 3 offers that end soon.

Up first, Spirit Airlines is offering up to a 40% discount, depending on the number of Spirit Airlines Free Spirit Miles you purchase.  This offer expires today – March 8.

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Quirky US Bank Cash Plus Credit Card Rewards Activity (Different Amounts Before & After Statement Closes)

Good evening everyone.  I spend a lot of time with my credit cards and banking apps (probably more time than most normal people should), but I wanted to share a quirk I noticed with the US Bank Cash+ Credit Card.  I love this credit card so much (I have 2 of them), because of the ability to select 2 different 5% cash back categories each quarter, and you can select the same 2 categories each quarter.

The 2 categories that I have picked lately are Home Utilities (which covers water, gas, electricity, trash, etc.) and TV / Internet / Streaming Services (which covers all the well known and niche streaming services I have tried).  Now, this is where the quirkiness comes in…

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