Tag Archives: IHG Hotels

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Reviewing my Embarrassingly Wrong 2020 Travel Predictions

Good morning everyone, I hope you all had a great weekend and a Merry Christmas (if you celebrated the holiday).  Since 2020 is almost over (thank goodness!), let’s review My Wildly Ambitious 2020 Airline, Hotel & Credit Card Predictions.  To be honest, I totally forgot that I wrote this post and I haven’t looked at it since it was published on December 30, 2019.  Here is what I wrote last year for my predictions and my thoughts on each prediction (correct in green and wrong in red):

My 2020 Airline Predictions

  • Alaska, American, Delta, or United will introduce a “Cash and Miles” payment option for award tickets. Clarification: This is not to be confused with Delta’s “Pay with Points” option where you get 1 CPP for each Delta SkyMiles for paid flights. I’m thinking more along the lines of the way British Airways and Avianca do it for award tickets.  No?  I haven’t booked any airline tickets in 9+ months, but I don’t think this prediction came true.
  • Allegiant Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Spirit Airlines, and Sun Country will announce a merger, but I’m not sure who will merge with who.  No, there were no airline mergers in 2020 among these airlines, but I expect to see some mergers of domestic and international airlines next year.

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10 Things I’m Thankful for in 2020

Good morning everyone, Merry Christmas Eve!  As 2020 winds to a close, I wanted to share 10 things I am thankful for this year.  I hope you can relate to some of these things and have other things you are thankful for as well.  If you want, please share what you are thankful for in the comments.  Without further ado, here is what I am thankful for in 2020:

Laura

It goes without saying, but I am very thankful for my wife, Laura.  She has been my constant stay at home companion and has made this year special.  I don’t know what I would do without her.  I’ve enjoyed watching TV shows, Hallmark movies, BBQing and making dinner, baking cookies, going for walks around our neighborhood, helping me with puzzles, and much more.  I am also very proud that she finished her Masters Degree this year.  She is incredible and I love her so much. Continue reading

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125K Chase IHG Premier Credit Card Sign Up Bonus Posts 2 Days After Other Points

Good morning everyone.  Last month, Laura applied for the Chase IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card and was approved around July 10 (after her application was reviewed by Chase).  The sign up bonus was for 125,000 IHG Points after spending $3,000 in 3 months.  Laura’s credit card statement closed a few days ago and I saw on her statement that the 125,000 “New Cardmember Bonus” Points were listed.  I then checked her IHG account balance but did not see the 125,000 IHG Points.  I was a little nervous and confused, but 2 days later, the 125,000 IHG Points posted to her account.  Phew!

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3 New Chase Offers: Alaska Airlines (10%), IHG Hotels (10%) & Gaylord Hotels (15%)

Good morning everyone, I hope your weekend is off to a great start.  I was checking my Chase account this morning and spotted 3 new Chase Offers.  I looked at my Chase account yesterday (July 31), but they were not there, so I’m guessing these offers started for everyone today (August 1).  Lucky for me, these 3 travel offers all showed up on my Chase Sapphire Reserve Credit Card, but this is also my most used Chase credit card.  Your mileage may vary, but I had 3 great travel offers:

  • Alaska Airlines: 10% cash back (minimum purchase of $50, maximum cash back of $31)
  • IHG Hotels: 10% cash back (minimum purchase of $100, maximum cash back of $31)
  • Gaylord Hotels: 15% cash back (minimum purchase of $100, maximum cash back of $63)

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My 1 Year Wedding Anniversary Trip to Carmel, Monterey, and Big Sur

Good afternoon everyone, I hope your week is going well.  Yesterday (July 27) was my 1 year wedding anniversary – what a crazy year it has been!  If you are unfamiliar with our love story, please read Quick Update Regarding the Old 150x British Airways Avios & Match.com Promo.  Long story short, I joined Match.com because British Airways was running a huge promo and offering thousands of British Airways Avios.  In the end, I didn’t get the Avios, but I did get the girl and we got married in Sonoma, CA on July 27, 2019.  Last weekend, we drove down to Carmel / Monterey / Big Sur for our anniversary.  Here is where we stayed and ate during our trip…

a man and woman in wedding attire standing in front of a trolley

Grant & Laura’s Wedding Day – July 27, 2019

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