Tag Archives: Marriott Hotels

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Trip Report: London Marriott Hotel Maida Vale

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After leaving Paris (read Trip Report: Holiday Inn Gare de l’Est, Paris and Trip Report: Hyatt Regency Paris Étoile), we headed to London as our next stop on our big winter trip.  We spent 3 nights at the London Marriott Hotel Maida Vale, a Category 7 hotel which I booked using 105,000 Marriott Rewards points (I transferred 35,000 points from my Starwood Preferred Guest account).

London Marriott Hotel Maida Vale. Photo from marriott.com

London Marriott Hotel Maida Vale. Photo from marriott.com

Location: The hotel is located in Northwest London, a short walk from the Kilburn Park Underground and Kilburn High Road Overground stations and about a 20-30 minute trip to central London via bus or train. It’s not far from Regents Park, the London Zoo, and Paddington Station. Continue reading →

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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).

Continue reading →

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Planes, Trains, and More Planes: Hacking Our Way to Europe for the Holidays

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Buenos dias everyone!

My partner and I just embarked on a bit of a ridiculous trip for the holidays. This trip started out from a mistake rate for a club room at the Hyatt Regency Paris Etoile – I booked 3 nights at a rate of 3,000 points + €18; normally a standard room award goes for 15,000 points, and the club upgrade is 3,000 points in addition to the standard room rate. About a month ago, well after the hotel decided to honor the reservations, we decided we actually wanted to go – neither of us have ever been to Paris before.

View from the Hyatt Paris Etoile. Photo from hyatt.com

View from the Hyatt Paris Etoile. Photo from hyatt.com.

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A Travel Hacker Wish List for Santa (Reader Ideas Needed)

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Good afternoon everyone, here is the filler post of the weekend. Enjoy!

Usually this time of year, we look back at the predictions we made at the end of 2015 or early 2016 and see how many things we got right and how many things we got wrong. It is usually a little depressing to look back and see how much has changed (for the worse) over the last 12 months. I wanted to put a positive spin on the predictions this year and turn it into a Christmas wish list for Santa. If Santa had the power to make travel hacker lives better, what would you wish for?

Grant’s wish list (in no particular order):

  • I want Chase to create a “no 5/24 rule day” so everyone can be approved for the Chase credit card they really want (I have my eye on the Chase Sapphire Reserve Credit Card).
  • I want the JPMorgan Chase Ritz Carlton Credit Card to change the $300 travel credit (incidentals only) to match the Chase Sapphire Reserve Credit Card $300 travel credit (paid airfare and hotels).

wish-list-clipart Continue reading →

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All Travel AMEX Offers: Renaissance, Westin, Red Lion, Aerolineas Argentinas & 8 More

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Good morning everyone, I hope your week is off to a great start.  I wanted to give a big shout out to everyone who was able to make the Mountain View meetup this past Saturday.  I arrived at In N Out around 11:40am and left around 4:15pm.  What a long day of talking and sharing tips and tricks – thank you everyone!  Now, let’s get back to the deals.  American Express has loaded several new AMEX Offers, specifically into the travel category.  For easy access, log into your AMEX account, go down to the AMEX Offers section and click the Travel button to view all travel related AMEX Offers.

All Travel AMEX Offers

Here are the 4 best offers I spoted in my account:

  • Renaissance Hotels: $40 off $200
  • Westin Hotels & Resorts: $50 off $250
  • RLHC (Red Lion Hotel Chain) Family of Brands: 40% off your stay
  • Aerolineas Argentinas: $100 off $500

Continue reading →