Tag Archives: Citi Bank

(Hotel Review) Hilton Vienna and Executive Lounge (Great Breakfast and Appetizers)

Hilton Vienna Hotel Sign

(Hotel Review) Hilton Vienna and Executive Lounge (Great Breakfast and Appetizers)

Good morning/evening from Vienna, Austria!  I am finally glad to be here since these 2 nights are my 2 free weekend nights from my Citi Hilton HHonors Reserve credit card.  I got the 2 certificates last year and they were going to expire in a few weeks.  I’m not staying at some high end tropical beach-front paradise hotel (Vienna is quite the opposite), but a free night is a free night. Here is what each night would have cost.

The Hilton HHonors Points rates are very good.  The Hilton HHonors Points + Money rate results in 1.325 cents per point and the 40,000 Hilton HHonors Points rate results in 0.7 cents per point.

The twin room with city facing windows would result in even higher cent per point returns.  Ideally, I would have used the Points + Money rate, but these certificates were going to expire, so you gotta do what you gotta do.  I’m not a very good planner, obviously. Hilton Vienna Nightly Price HH Points

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(Hotel Review) Hilton Bayfront San Francisco Airport and Executive Lounge

Hilton SFO Home Page Image

(Hotel Review) Hilton Bayfront San Francisco Airport and Executive Lounge

Good evening everyone, happy Friday from the elite lounge at the Hilton Bayfront San Francisco Airport Hotel.  (I am on the top floor, waving, can you see me?)  Ok, I am not a fan of hotel reviews for basic hotels, but I am trying to get in a flow for my upcoming trip to Europe (SFO to AMS tomorrow morning).

I want everyone to lower their expectations before going any farther.  There is nothing special about my room and I apologize for the bad lighting of the iPhone pics.

Hilton SFO Bed

What’s on my Mind? CES in Las Vegas, Napa Valley, San Francisco, ABC Gift Cards, 2 Free Movie Screenings, SWA Customer Service, Club Carlson Forex Fees, Citi Dividend, and Staples Easy Rebate Headaches

SF Bridge Sunglasses

If you look closely, you can see a naked guy in the background, hey it is San Francisco!

What’s on my Mind? CES in Las Vegas, Napa Valley, San Francisco, ABC Gift Cards, 2 Free Movie Screenings, SWA Customer Service, Club Carlson Forex Fees, Citi Dividend, and Staples Easy Rebate Headaches

Good evening everyone!  Sorry I have been so quite over the last few days.  I’ve been unbelievably busy with CES, SF, and Ebay.  Here is what is on my mind right now:

1 – Cool things at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) at the Las Vegas Convention Center

Cool iRoad from Toyota:

Cool Audi laser show:

Singapore Airlines in the Panasonic Avionics booth (lovely flight attendants too):  Continue reading →

My Travel Predictions (Both Good and Bad) for 2014

2014 New Years

My Travel Predictions (Both Good and Bad) for 2014

Happy holidays everyone!  As 2014 quickly approaches, I wanted to share my predictions for 2014, regarding airlines, hotels, and credit card rewards.  Feel free to agree, disagree, or share your own comments below.

Airlines:

  • British Airways – I think the 4,500 and 7,500 (maybe even 10,000) Avios award prices will go away or the entire award chart will be revamped.  The current prices are just too good.
  • Alaska Airlines and Delta Airlines – since there has been a lot of fighting over routes to/from SEA and SLC, I think Alaska will no longer allow you to earn or redeem miles with Delta.
  • American Airlines and US Airways – after the merger, we will see some new “enhancements” (aka devaluations) to the new award chart.  Maybe off-peak awards will be changed or removed.
  • Southwest Airlines and AirTran – hopefully the merger goes through smoothly and quickly.  I look forward to using Southwest Rapid Reward Points for flights to Hawaii, Mexico City, and other tropical destinations south of the border.  I also think the 50,000 Southwest Rapid Reward sign up bonus will no longer count for companion pass status, it is just too easy to get Companion Pass.
  • Hawaiian Airlines – merge with another airline, maybe JetBlue or Alaska Airlines.
  • Lufthansa  – revamp their award chart after everyone signs up for their credit card.
  • Virgin Atlantic – miles will be transferable 1:1 with Virgin America and Virgin Australia.

Hotels:

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Make $252 in January with your Citi Dividend Platinum Select Credit Card

This is an updated version of my previous post (thanks for feedback guys!)
Citi Dividend Platinum CC

Make $252 in January with your Citi Dividend Platinum Select Credit Card

My new Citi Dividend Platinum Select credit card will come in handy in January.  For that quarter, I will get 5% cash back at Macy’s, Drug Stores, and Fitness Clubs.  Unlike the Discover It and Chase Freedom credit cards, there is no quarterly spending cap (like the first $1,500 spent per quarter).

5 Cash Back Citi Dividend

The last time I checked (10 minutes ago), CVS Pharmacy’s were classified as Drug Stores.

CVS Drug Store

By my calculations, if you buy 12 Vanilla Reload Cards at CVS, you will max out the $300 annual cash back limit for your card.  Subtracting the activation fees of $47.40 (12 x $3.95 = $47.40), you make a net profit of $252.  Not too shabby for a no annual fee card.

# VRC Amount Act. Fee  Total Charge  5% Cash Back Cash Back – Act. Fee
1 $500.00 $3.95 $503.95 $25.20 $21.25
2 $500.00 $3.95 $503.95 $25.20 $21.25
3 $500.00 $3.95 $503.95 $25.20 $21.25
4 $500.00 $3.95 $503.95 $25.20 $21.25
5 $500.00 $3.95 $503.95 $25.20 $21.25
6 $500.00 $3.95 $503.95 $25.20 $21.25
7 $500.00 $3.95 $503.95 $25.20 $21.25
8 $500.00 $3.95 $503.95 $25.20 $21.25
9 $500.00 $3.95 $503.95 $25.20 $21.25
10 $500.00 $3.95 $503.95 $25.20 $21.25
11 $500.00 $3.95 $503.95 $25.20 $21.25
12 $452.60 $3.95 $456.55 $22.83 $18.88
        $300.00 $252.60

To learn more about the benefits of rotating cash back category credit cards, please check out this page.  If you have any questions, please leave a comment below.