Tag Archives: Marriott Hotels

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Miles & Points Mantra #1: “Use Hotel Free Night Certificates ASAP”

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Good afternoon everyone, I hope your week is going well. I’m kicking off a new series on the blog called Miles & Points Mantra, where I’ll be sharing the personal “rules” I follow when it comes to using airline miles, hotel points, credit card rewards, and all things travel.  I try to follow these rules 100% of the time, but I have been known to break the rules from time to time.  Whether you’re brand new to travel hacking or a seasoned pro, I’d love to hear if you agree or disagree with these “rules.”  I have a long list of mantras to share, but if you have one you swear by (or want me to cover), please share it in the comments section below.  Let’s get started…

Miles & Points Mantra #1: “Use Hotel Free Night Certificates ASAP”

If you are just starting out and only have 1 or 2 hotel Free Night Certificates (FNCs), it might not be too difficult to remember to use them before they expire.  Fortunately / unfortunately, between Laura and myself, we have earned / received 15 FNCs in the last 12 months from various credit card sign up bonuses, paying renewal annual fees on our hotel credit cards, and from completing a Hyatt Brand Explorer challenge.  15 FNCs means we have to spend at least 15 nights in hotels throughout the year in 4 different hotel brands (Hilton, Hyatt. IHG, and Marriott) within certain categories and point limitations.  The only way I can manage these FNCs is in a spreadsheet.

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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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My Overly Ambitious 2025 Airline, Hotel & Credit Card Predictions

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Good morning everyone, happy Sunday!  Not to be deterred by my abysmal 2024 results (How Right (& Wrong) were my 2024 Airline, Hotel & Credit Card Predictions?), 2025 is a fresh year and the year all most some a few of my predictions will come true.  Without further ado, here are my predictions for 2025:

My 2025 Airline Predictions:

  • Alaska Airlines or Southwest Airlines will bring back their “convert travel funds to airline miles” feature.
  • Alaska Airlines will let you use the Companion Fare to book Hawaiian Airlines flights.
  • American Airlines will return as a Citi ThankYou Points transfer partner.
  • British Airways will lower their partner redemption prices for American Airlines and Alaska Airlines.
  • Delta will increase the annual fee on their credit cards and increase the Delta SkyMiles discount to 20%-25%.
  • JetBlue will allow you to redeem points on a new partner airline (besides Etihad Airways, Hawaiian Airlines and Qatar Airways).
  • Southwest Airlines will do a status match once they start selling seat assignments.
  • United Airlines will bring back their “family pooling” feature.

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How Right (& Wrong) were my 2024 Airline, Hotel & Credit Card Predictions?

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Good morning everyone, happy Friday!  I know it is a few days before the end of the year, so technically, all of these predictions could come true, but I am going to call it now.  At the beginning of the year, I wrote My Overly Ambitious 2024 Airline, Hotel & Credit Card Predictions.  The original predictions are in black, correct predictions are in green, and incorrect predictions are in red.  Without further ado, here are the results of my predictions for 2024:

My 2024 Airline Predictions

  • Alaska Airlines or Southwest Airlines will introduce a “family pooling” benefit for miles or travel credit. – Technically, Alaska Airlines doesn’t allow “family pooling”, but it is possible (right now) to move miles into a single account.  If someone in your family has a Barclays Hawaiian Airlines Credit Card, you can transfer Hawaiian Airlines Miles between accounts for free and move those miles to and from your Alaska Airlines account for free.  Read this post for step by step instructions.
  • American Airlines will allow Web Special awards to be changed online (currently, they can only be cancelled). – Nope, you cannot make changes to American Airlines Web Special awards.
  • British Airways will add another airline (besides Finnair) to the Avios family. – Nope, Qatar and Finnair were the most recent additions to the Avios family.
  • Delta will change their 15% SkyMiles discount for Delta credit cards holders. – Nope, the 15% discount for credit card holders hasn’t changed.
  • United will allow you to combine multiple travel bank funds and future flight credits for the same reservation. – Nope, it is not possible to combine travel bank funds and future flight credits for a single United Airlines reservation.

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