Tag Archives: Free Stuff

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Get 3 Months Free with Backblaze Cloud-Based Backup (Ends January 13)

Updated 12pm PT on 1/9: Get 2018 off to a great start! Only four days left to get in on this offer. I like knowing my data is safely and securely backed-up, and Backblaze is the cloud-based system I use.


Maybe you can help me understand something I just don’t get, though I think there really is no answer that would make good sense to me. You see, I’m obsessive about backing up my computer! When I hear about the numbers of people who don’t use an automated backup solution, those statistics baffle me. Especially if you’re someone who travels. Last I read, less than 10% of computer owners use automated backup services on a regular basis.

And while I certainly can understand the confusion that sets in and leads to not being able to make a choice when you look at the automated backup solutions, at some point, you have to settle on one choice. I use Backblaze, and am very glad to recommend them to anyone who asks. I’m thrilled that they are offering a great bonus so you can get on the Backblaze bandwagon! Here’s the deal: you’ll get your trial month free and then if you purchase the monthly or yearly plan, you’ll get 3 bonus months of cloud-based backup as well. That’s four months free. I’ll get 3 months bonus as well when you use my refer-a-friend link!

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How Quickly Do Citi Prestige 4th Night Free Credits Post?

One of the questions I get most often about the Citi Prestige Credit Card and how the 4th night free benefit works is about how long it takes for that 4th night free credit to post to my credit card account. It used to take a long time! And the only way I knew it posted was to check my account statement. But along with speeding up the process for sending confirmations when I book hotel nights, Citi has also gotten better and quicker about communicating when the 4th night credits will post.

My stay was on September 27 and the email below came on October 9.  According to the email, the credit will post within 10 days. I’d say that’s pretty fast and way better than it used to be.

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If you’re a 4th night free enthusiast like I am, how much did you save on your Citi Prestige 4th Night Free stays this past year?

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Priority Pass Restaurant Review: The Pasta House & Schlafly Beer at St. Louis Airport (STL)

I’ve been traveling internationally for the past couple of months while Priority Pass was busy adding restaurants to their lounge network, but I finally had a chance to visit one of their new partner restaurants on my way back to Colorado after the holidays! Flights were much cheaper flying through St. Louis than directly from Detroit to Denver, and with a three hour layover, I was pretty confident that I would have enough time to visit The Pasta House and Schlafly Beer at St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL) even with a winter flight delay.

For those with a Priority Pass card, included with a number of premium credit cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve, a visit to partner lounges is free and restaurants offer up to $56 off your meal and drinks (if you bring a guest; solo travelers only get $28 off).

Since this was my first Priority Pass restaurant visit, I don’t have much to compare it to other than Priority Pass lounges, and let me tell you – I would rather go to a restaurant any day! My boyfriend and I were both able to order off of a fairly large list of food options and he got red wine while I drank a local brew. Between the two of us, we ordered a salad and pasta. Neither were anything to write home about, but were better than most domestic U.S. lounge offerings I’ve seen.

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Shelli’s Top 10 Most Popular Posts of 2017

This past week, the travel blogosphere was abuzz with all kinds of stats from 2017. Bloggers wrote about miles traveled, best/worst flights and elite statuses renewed. Grant kept it simple and took a look at his popular posts of the previous year. The jet lag I’m working through does present me with some quiet early morning hours, so why not pull up my most popular posts of the year, since I do have a year’s worth of posts to consider! There were some surprises. I’ve been enjoying Vancouver since their World’s Fair in 1986. That’s a long time to have a love affair! I see from my posts that a lot of other people want to enjoy Vancouver as well. It’s also good to see that readers are interested in a variety of airline and lounge information. You never know what will be popular, though from both my list and Grant’s list, I’d say TWG readers are a practical, strategic bunch who expect insights and information they can put to good use!

Date Title Pageviews
5/28/2017 See, Eat & Drink: The Perfect Long Weekend in Vancouver, Canada 5,106
2/1/2017 PSA: Renew your TSA PreCheck, Global Entry, NEXUS or SENTRI Membership Early 3,857
9/29/2017 Southwest Refundable Ticket Changes: Refundable No More 3,278
6/1/2017 A Pleasant Surprise at the Priority Pass Lounge in Rome (FCO) 3,154
6/28/2017 How are you Feeling about American Express Centurion Lounges these Days? 3,007
6/21/2017 PSA: Southwest Airlines Travel Funds can Only be Used by the Passenger Named on the Ticket 2,995
12/5/2017 Hawaiian Airlines Announced New Routes from the West Coast 2,047
2/16/2017 5 Ways to Keep American Airlines Frequent Flyer Miles from Expiring (Without Getting on a Plane) 1,820
12/5/2017 13 Hacks for your Southwest Airlines Flights 1,807
6/8/2017 My Simple Currency Exchange Rate Philosophy 1,801

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My Top 10 Most Popular Posts from 2017 & Top 10 Posts Ever Written

Good afternoon from rainy San Francisco.  My girlfriend said I should write a blog post highlighting the top 10 most popular posts from 2017 and then look at the top 10 posts even written, so I decided to log into Google Analytics and see which posts were the most popular.  I looked at data from January 1, 2017 through December 31, 2017 and here are the top 10 posts written in 2017.  I am always surprised by which posts are the most popular.  Some of the posts I thought would do very well weren’t very popular and some of the posts that I wrote quickly and didn’t think much of turned out to be very popular.  Funny how that worked out.

Date Title Pageviews
7/11/2017 Send Money to Friends (or Other Bank Accounts) Instantly with Zelle (Formerly Chase QuickPay / clearXchange) 13,864
3/27/2017 How to Redeem your World of Hyatt Free Anniversary Night Certificate 8,529
6/17/2017 PayPal Adding Faster Withdrawal Option (with a 25 Cent Fee) & Accepting Venmo Payments (Effective July 27, 2017) 6,646
1/30/2017 Fast Track to Southwest Airlines A-List Elite Status (Keep with 3 Round Trips before April 30) 6,520
4/23/2017 Join Robinhood & Receive a Free Random Share of Stock Worth up to $150 (+ Free Shares for Referrals) 6,244
6/4/2017 American Express Car Rental Loss & Damage Insurance Coverage Changes (Effective September 1, 2017) 5,595
5/19/2017 My 4 Favorite Airfare Deal Websites: The Flight Deal, Fare Deal Alert, Exit Fares & GTFO Flights 5,535
5/28/2017 See, Eat & Drink: The Perfect Long Weekend in Vancouver, Canada 5,106
7/26/2017 Walmart.com Orders Instantly Cancelled? Try Walmart’s Online Chat 4,825
5/28/2017 Great First Experience Calling American Express Platinum Concierge for Restaurant Reservations 3,864

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