Tag Archives: Hyatt Hotels

San Francisco Weekend Trip – Part 1: Cable Car Ride and Hyatt Fisherman’s Wharf Hotel Review

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San Francisco Weekend Trip – Part 1: Cable Car Ride and Hyatt Fisherman’s Wharf Hotel Review

Good evening everyone, this is a short trip report from my short weekend trip to San Francisco with my parents.  If you like pictures of cable cars and inside hotel rooms, this post is for you.  In part 2, I will share some of the other activities I did in San Francisco.  First off, I’ve wanted to ride a cable car for as long as I knew what a cable car was.  I finally got the chance to take a ride from the Powell Street BART Station down to Taylor Street, which is a few blocks from the Hyatt Fisherman’s Wharf.  Taking the BART from SFO to Powell Street took about 30 minutes and cost $8.65 per person, each way.  The cable car ride lasted about 20 minutes and cost $6 per person, each way.

Cable Car Route Powell Street to Fisherman's Wharf

When you exit the Powell Street BART Station, you will see a big wooden turntable where the cable cars turn around.  Line up behind everyone else and wait for your turn to ride.  We waited about 25 minutes, but the time went by quickly since there were many street performers entertaining us nearby.  You buy your ticket when you board, $6 cash, no credit cards.

SF Cable Car Turntable1

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Grand Hyatt at Baha Mar in the Bahamas (Category 4) and Holiday Inn Express Solvang (Into the Nights Promo Drama)

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Grand Hyatt at Baha Mar in the Bahamas (Category 4) and Holiday Inn Express Solvang (Into the Nights Promo Drama)

I received an email yesterday afternoon from Hyatt and noticed a new Grand Hyatt at Baha Mar hotel opening in the Bahamas.  It looks like a very nice hotel/resort (hotel link).

Grand Hyatt Bahamas

Clicking through, it appears to be a category 4 hotel, requiring only 15,000 Hyatt Points per night.  The best part of this, is that if you have a Chase Hyatt Credit Card, you get a free night certificate every year you pay the annual fee good for any category 1-4 Hyatt hotel in the world.  This new hotel/resort qualifies!  Reservations cannot be made until June 2015.

Hyatt Points Reservation

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Southwest Airlines Companion Pass – Part 2: Hyatt and Chase Ultimate Reward Points Game Plan

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Southwest Airlines Companion Pass – Part 2: Hyatt and Chase Ultimate Reward Points Game Plan

Before reading Part 2, please read Part 1.  As a refresher, to get a Southwest Airlines Companion Pass, you need to earn 110,000 Southwest Airlines miles in a calendar year.  Southwest Airlines has a handy page to track your current Companion Pass status (link).  As of today (October 23, 2014), I need to earn 41,522 more Southwest Airlines miles to obtain a Southwest Airlines Companion Pass good through the rest of 2014 and all of 2015.

Grant Thomas Current Companion Pass Status

Last year, I converted 50,000 Hyatt points into 30,000 Southwest Airlines miles.  I plan to do the same thing this year (image is from last year).

New Hyatt Account Balance

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Southwest Airlines Companion Pass – Part 1: Obtaining the Companion Pass the Hard Way

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Southwest Airlines Companion Pass – Part 1: Obtaining the Companion Pass the Hard Way

Every travel blog out there will tell you how awesome the Southwest Airlines Companion Pass is and how easy it is to get.  Here is the Cliff Notes / Spark Notes version:

  • Apply for 2 Chase Southwest Airlines Credit Cards between October 1 and December 31.
  • Don’t spend a penny on the cards during any statements periods that close in 2014.
  • Spend $2,000+ during the statement periods that close in 2015.
  • Collect 52,000 Southwest Airlines miles x 2 = 104,000 miles.
  • Get the remaining 6,000 miles from Hyatt, Marriott, or other points transfers.
  • Travel for “free” with a companion for all of 2015 and all of 2016.

If that sounds like something you want to do, please consider signing up for a Chase Southwest Airlines Credit Card through one of my credit card referral links.

However, this post is not about the easy way to get the Southwest Airlines Companion Pass.  This post is about the hard way to achieve the Southwest Airlines Companion Pass.  Let’s say your name is Grant and you find yourself somewhere between no Companion Pass and a Companion Pass for 2015.

Let’s assume you got the Chase Southwest Airlines Premier Credit Card last year and the Chase Southwest Airlines Plus Credit Card earlier this year.  Let’s also assume you cannot get a Chase Southwest Airlines Business Credit Card since you just got a Chase Ink Plus Business Credit.  Lastly, let’s assume you are 41,522 Southwest Airlines miles away from qualifying for the Companion Pass next year.  What do you do?  To view your current Southwest Airlines Companion Pass status, please log into your Southwest Airlines account first and then click this link (you may want to bookmark this link as well).

Grant Thomas Current Companion Pass Status

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Random News: Chase Fraud Warnings, 2 Admirals Club Passes from Citi, Happy Birthday from Chime, Fandango BOGO with US Bank FlexPerks, and Several AMEX Offers

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Random News: Chase Fraud Warnings, 2 Admirals Club Passes from Citi, Happy Birthday from Chime, Fandango BOGO with US Bank FlexPerks, and Several AMEX Offers

Good morning everyone, it is a very busy morning.  Alibaba (BABA) IPO opens today, lots of attention in the financial markets.  All the attention is overshadowing Apple’s iPhone 6/Plus debut.  My iPhone 6 should be arriving any minute now from FedEx.  I am catching a flight this afternoon to Las Vegas to attend Boarding Area’s Conference (BACon).  With that said, here are some random news from the past week…

Here is an email you never want to get – an email from Chase asking if you made the following purchases.  I didn’t make these purchases, uh oh.  I clicked the big red NO button and called Chase to ask for a new card.

Chase Fraud Email

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