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Westin Denver Airport Review: Go from Gate to Hotel Room in 25 Minutes (or Less)

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Good morning everyone, happy Friday.  Last week, my girlfriend and I had a late night flight into Denver International Airport (DEN).  Due to a slight delay, we landed after midnight.  If you’ve ever flown into DEN, you know the airport is in the middle of nowhere, with no hotels closeby.  That was true until recently when the Westin Denver Airport hotel opened.  Nightly rates were $300+, so I opted to use 12,000 SPG.  Thankfully, the hotel is attached to the main terminal, so I was able to get from the gate to our room in 25 minutes.

According to the DEN Airport website, the Westin Denver International Airport has 519 guest rooms, 35 suites, and was “designed to resemble a bird in flight—its curved roof mimicking the concave shape of Jeppesen Terminal’s white peaked roof.”  Underneath the hotel, is the RTD train that connects DEN airport to Denver’s Union Station.  The one-way trip takes 40 minutes, costs $9 per person and runs pretty frequently.  In this post, I will share how to get to the hotel from the various terminals and show photos of our room.  Enjoy!

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Image source: https://www.starwoodhotels.com/westin/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=3685

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Get Matched to the New Chase IHG Rewards Premier 100,000 Point Sign Up Bonus

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Good afternoon everyone.  Doctor of Credit wrote an article this morning about a great sign up bonus on the Chase IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card.  By using this link, you can get 100,000 IHG points after spending $3,000 in 3 months + $50 statement credit after first purchase.  Last week, I signed up for the Chase IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card during my Mini July App-O-Rama, but the sign up bonus was only 80,000 IHG points after spending $2,000 in 3 months + $50 statement credit after first purchase.  The only difference between these 2 offers is the extra $1,000 in minimum spending to get an extra 20,000 IHG points, that is basically 20x IHG points / $ on the last $1,000 in spending.  I like that earning rate.

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6 Easy Ways to Save on Hotel Bookings

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Are you interested in the easiest ways to save on hotel bookings? Here’s another question for you. Hotels or airfare: which do you spend more of your money on? I’m much more concerned about saving money on hotels than I am about saving on air travel. Most, if not all, of my long haul flights are booked on award miles. This means that this year, as has been the case for many years now, I spent way more on hotels than I did on airline tickets. And I also spent way more time in hotels than in the air! Most years I spend over 80 nights in just Hyatt properties alone. When I add in the other hotel nights in other properties, well that’s a lot of money. No matter how many nights YOU spend in hotels, finding some way to save on hotel spending would be nice, don’t you think? Continue reading →

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Hotel Review: Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos All-Inclusive Resort

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I had intended to review another property in Cabo, but due to the problems, I left after one day and booked my remaining 5 days at the Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos.

This property was great and I really had no problems during my stay. The stay cost me 20,000 Hyatt points per night, so 100,000 points total for the stay. Since this property is an all-inclusive, they usually charge more for the room depending on the number of occupants; single occupancy is the cheapest. This makes sense as they are essentially paying for the food and drink of all occupants. I was surprised that the 20,000 points per night was the same for 1 or 2 occupants, but the cash price was not. For only 7.3 million Hyatt points, you could live here for a year, all-inclusive. Well, you would have to find someone to do your laundry as that’s not included, but everything else is!

a large hotel with a pool on the beach

Image source: https://www.hyatt.com/en-US/hotel/mexico/hyatt-ziva-los-cabos/sjdif

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SPG Amex Cards: Important Updates!

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Updates to both the personal and business Starwood Preferred credit cards from American Express went into effect on August 1. The one-time Starpoints conversion in SPG loyalty member accounts and the updates to Elite status will occur along with the broader Marriott loyalty program updates on August 18.

On August 1, the following updates were made to SPG Amex Cards:

How You Earn Points with Your Card

When you use your card you can earn:

  • 6X points for each dollar of eligible purchases at participating SPG and Marriott Rewards hotels
  • 2X points on all other eligible purchases
  • 4X points for each dollar of eligible purchases at U.S. restaurants, at U.S. gas stations, on U.S. wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers, and on U.S. purchases for shipping. (this update only applies to The Starwood Preferred Guest Business Credit Card from American Express) Continue reading →