Tag Archives: Hilton Hotels

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My Outrageous 2017 Travel Predictions + Reader Ideas Needed

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Good morning everyone, I’m sorry for the delay, but I have been diligently thinking about my 2017 travel predictions.  I am going to channel my inner Nostradamus to come up with some outrageous travel predictions for 2017.  Doctor of Credit has a good resource for all other 2017 travel predictions.

Disclaimer: I have made some travel predictions in previous years and I am more often wrong than right, but that losing streak has not dampered my prediction spirit.  To see how bad I am at making predictions, please read A Look Back at my 2016 Predictions (Airlines, Hotels, Credit Cards & MS).  I consider myself an optimistic pessimist (I prepare for the worst, but hope for the best), so these travel predictions will sound depressing.

Airlines

  • Southwest seems bent on making the Companion Pass very difficult to get unless you fly Southwest every week.  I believe credit card signup bonuses will no longer count toward the Companion Pass and Southwest might kill the whole concept of the Companion Pass entirely or switch to a certificate program similar to the Alaska Airlines companion fare or Virgin America companion ticket.
  • Other airline credit cards will adopt the Alaska Airlines companion fare (you pay full price and your companion pays up to $120) or the Virgin America companion ticket (you pay full price and your companion pays full price minus $150).

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Suggestions for My Upcoming Solo Trip to Spain

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Good morning everyone.  Happy New Year’s Day!  I just got back from 10 glorious days in my south Florida hometown and now I’m having a difficult time re-adjusting to the chilly Charlotte weather.  In a little over 1 week, I’m heading to Barcelona, Spain for a week and I was hoping to get some suggestions from you beautiful people on what I should do while I’m there.  It will be my first visit to Spain and my first solo trip internationally.

Air:  A few months ago, I snagged a roundtrip ticket on TAP Portugal for $300 via Priceline.  Spain has always been high on my wish list and I figured $300 was probably as good as it gets for roundtrip fare.  I’ll be on a redeye from JFK to Lisbon, Portugal and then a 2 hour 45 minute layover around lunchtime before continuing on to Barcelona just in time for dinner.  I’m assuming 2 hours and 45 minutes isn’t enough time to leave the Lisbon airport even if it’s just for lunch…right?  I used Citi Thank You points to get my flight from Charlotte to JFK.

Hotel:  I’m staying at the Alexandra Barcelona by DoubleTree for the first 2 nights and then was thinking I could take a train or get a cheap flight on Vueling to Nice, France for a side trip.  The last 2/3 nights I’m staying at the Hilton Diagonal Mar Barcelona.  I still have Hilton Diamond status so I’m hoping I can get decent room upgrades on my stay. Continue reading →

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Iceland & What I Wish I Had Known Before Going – Part 2

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I went to Iceland last month for a long weekend with my friend Stephanie.  We flew WOW Air from Boston and I used Citi Thank You Points to get myself from Charlotte to Boston in order to rack up a few more EQMs.  For each new country that I visit I make sure to pickup a lonely planet book for that country and I do a decent amount of research & planning ahead of time.  Lucky for me I had a friend (shout out to Evan) that had just visited Iceland 1 month before my trip so I was able to pick his brain on a few things during my planning.  Despite that, I’d say that I probably should have done a bit more research because I have a list of Things I Wish I Had Known before going to Iceland.  I’d like to share that list with you in hopes that your trip goes a tad smoother than mine did.

Note: this is a continuation of Part 1.

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Iceland & What I Wish I Had Known Before Going – Part 1

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I went to Iceland last month for a long weekend with my friend Stephanie.  We flew WOW air from Boston and I used Citi ThankYou points to get myself from Charlotte to Boston in order to rack up a few more EQMs.  For each new country that I visit I make sure to pickup a lonely planet book for that country and I do a decent amount of research & planning ahead of time.  Lucky for me I had a friend (shout out to Evan) that had just visited Iceland 1 month before my trip so I was able to pick his brain on a few things during my planning.  Despite that, I’d say that I probably should have done a bit more research because I have a list of Things I Wish I Had Known before going to Iceland.  I’d like to share that list with you in hopes that your trip goes a tad smoother than mine did. Continue reading →

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How to Profit from 2 Timeshare Presentations in Hawaii

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Full disclosure: I have only been to 3 timeshare presentations in my life (Hilton Elara in Las Vegas, Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas in Maui, and Hilton Waikoloa Village in Kona), so I am no timeshare expert.  I am not married, so I go to the presentations by myself.  I have never gone to a presentation outside the US, but I have heard nightmare stories about timeshare presentations in Mexico lasting hours.  Proceed at your own risk!

Good morning everyone, greetings from my local Peet’s Coffee at the SF Ferry Building.  Between the pushy salespeople (usually a small sales team), lengthy presentations, and overpriced fees, timeshares get a bad rap in the travel community.  But, if you can sit through the presentation and leave without buying a timeshare, the sales presentation can be worth your time.  To illustrate this point, I want to tell you about my 2 timeshare presentations in Hawaii last week.

The first presentation was at the Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas in Maui, Hawaii, where I was staying thanks to the targeted vacation package offer I received a few months back.  I wrote about the offer details here, but to recap, I received 6 days / 5 nights in a villa studio, 5,000 SPG points, and a 6 day Avis car rental for $798.  I value 5,000 SPG points at $100, the Avis car rental at $150, so that means the stay in the studio villa cost about ~$550 for 5 nights in Maui.  That’s a great deal if you ask me.  The property is very nice, I loved the $5 Mai Tais during happy hour (4-6pm and 8:30-10pm) and the pools were great.  Valet parking is only $12/day or $10/day for self parking.

5000-spg-points-westin-vacation-package Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villas

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