Tag Archives: Hotels

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PSA: IHG Points Sharing / Transferring Between Accounts IS NOT Instant (Mine Took 2 Days)

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Good afternoon everyone, happy Friday!  Last weekend, I needed to book a last minute IHG hotel stay that cost 47,000 IHG Points.  Laura had a 40K Free Night Certificate and 3,000 IHG Points in her account.  Since we are both IHG Business Rewards Members (free membership), I decided the *easiest* and *quickest* option would be to transfer 4,000 IHG Points from my account to her account.  I submitted the points transfer request and planned on booking the hotel stay right away.  Unfortunately, IHG had other plans.  After submitting the request, the confirmation message said “Your order has been received and will be processed in the next 72 hours.”  72 hours?!  I was planning on checking into the hotel tomorrow afternoon…

Long story short, instead of transferring valuable Chase Ultimate Rewards Points or Bilt Rewards Points to Laura’s IHG account, she bought 5,000 IHG Points since IHG was running a 100% bonus on IHG Points.  In case you are wondering, the IHG Points sharing / transfer took about 2 days (~46 hours to be precise).

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2024 Airline & Hotel Buy Miles/Points Promos: Insights & Trends Uncovered with ChatGPT

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Good evening everyone, I hope your week is going well.  Last year, I wrote 24 posts about buying miles and points, so I decided to take a look back at all the airline and hotel promotions to see what kind of insights I could find.  I entered all the data in the table and then asked ChatGPT to provide some analysis and deeper insights into the promotions.

These insights can be helpful if you are wondering if a specific airline or hotel promotion is toward the higher end of the promotion spectrum.  Here are the insights:

    • Air Canada: Discounts: 30% & Bonuses: 75%-100%
    • Air France / KLM: Discounts: 40%-50% & Bonuses: 70%
    • Alaska Airlines: Bonuses: 50%-70%
    • Avianca Airlines: Bonuses: 160%-165%
    • Choice Hotels: Discounts: 25%-30% & Bonuses: 30%-50%
    • Etihad: Bonuses: 25%-30%
    • Hawaiian Airlines: Bonuses: 50%-100%
    • Hilton Hotels: Bonuses: 100%
    • Hyatt Hotels: Bonuses: 20%-25%
    • IHG Hotels: Bonuses: 60%-100%
    • JetBlue: Bonuses: 90%-130%
    • Leading Hotels of the World: Bonuses: 60%-100%
    • Marriott Hotels: Bonuses: 35%-45%
    • Southwest Airlines: Discounts: 35%-50%
    • Spirit Airlines: Discounts: 40% & Bonuses: 60%
    • United Airlines: Discounts: 30%-50% & Bonuses: 90%-100%
    • Virgin Atlantic: Bonuses: 60%-70%
    • Wyndham Hotels: Discounts: 25%-45% & Bonuses: 35%-60%

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My 2024 Travel Recap: Elite Statuses, Flights & Hotel Nights

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Good afternoon everyone, I hope your week is going well.  I thought it would be cool to share the hotel and airline elite statuses I earned (and matched to) in 2024 along with the number of flights I flew and the number of nights I stayed in hotels.  Fun fact: I might be the only travel blogger without Hyatt Globalist Elite Status (I actually don’t have any Hyatt status).  Read on to learn more interesting facts about my 2024 travel recap.

2024 Flights & Airline Elite Statuses

  • Alaska Airlines is the only airline status that I earned (and care about).  I took 14 flights and earned 13,658 elite miles.  I also earned 8,000 elite miles from spending $20,000 on my Bank of America Alaska Airlines Credit Card.  I am looking forward to earning Alaska Airlines MVP Elite Status in 2025 with several Companion Fare flights and awards booked with Alaska Airlines miles.
  • SFO is my nearest international airport, but I only flew United Airlines 3x last year.
  • Before the end of 2024, I status matched to Hawaiian Airlines Pualani Gold (allows better seat assignments on Hawaiian Airlines) and Southwest Airlines A List, but I don’t have any Southwest Airlines flights planned in 2025 since all my favorite routes were moved from SFO to OAK.
Loyalty Program Status Status from Credit Card Notes Flights
Alaska Airlines MVP – 13,658 Elite Miles from flying + 8,000 Elite Miles from credit card spend 14
Delta Airlines – – 3 trips: SFO-ATL-DAB, DAB-ATL-SFO, and MIA-JFK 5
United Airlines – – 3 trips: SFO-SNA, SNA-SFO, and SFO-DEN 3
Air France / KLM – – 1 Business Class Award: ARN-AMS-LAX 2
Avelo Airlines – – 2 trips: STS-BOI and BOI-STS 2
Finnair – – 2 trips: DUB-HEL and HEL-ARN 2
Aer Lingus – – 1 Business Class Award: DEN-DUB 1
JetBlue – – 1 trip: SFO-FLL 1
Hawaiian Airlines Pualani Gold – Status matched from Alaska Airlines MVP Elite Status (Dec 2024) 0
Southwest Airlines A List – Status matched from Alaska Airlines MVP Elite Status (Dec 2024) 0
Total Flights:  30

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Marriott Vacation Club Shadow Ridge Timeshare Vacation Package: $249 for 4 Nights + 15,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points (Targeted)

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Good afternoon everyone, I hope your weekend is going well.  Today, I received a targeted timeshare vacation package offer via mail for the Marriott Shadow Ridge in Palm Desert, CA (near Palm Springs).  The cost is $249 for a 4 night / 5 day stay, plus you have your choice of 15,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points or a $75 Marriott gift card.  If you value 15,000 Marriott points at $150, that brings the cost down to $100 for 4 nights or $25 / night.  You need to attend a 90 minute timeshare sales presentation, but that seems like a pretty good deal.  I have experience with timeshare sales presentations and they are not too bad.  I will go through the booking process to show you what it is like, what is included, and how much it costs.

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Image source: https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/ctdsr-marriotts-shadow-ridge-i-the-villages/overview/

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8 Buy Miles / Points Promos Ending Soon: Avianca (160%), JetBlue (130%), Hilton (100%), Southwest (50%), Wyndham (45%), United (30%), Air Canada (30%), & Hyatt (25%)

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Good morning everyone, I hope you had a great weekend. I was working on my Buy Miles & Points Page and found 8 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 8 offers that end soon.

Up first, Avianca Airlines is offering up to a 160% bonus, depending on the number of Avianca Airlines LifeMiles you purchase. This offer expires on December 31.

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