Tag Archives: Marriott Hotels

Chase Launches Marriott Rewards Premier Visa Signature Business Credit Card

Posted on May 3, 2014 by Grant. 17 Replies

(Hat Tip to Nigel for the email)

First off, I certainly like the design of the card, looks very regal and fancy. Here are the main points that most of you probably care about:

50,000 Marriott Rewards points after your spend $1,000 in the first 3 months
1 Free Night Certificate (category 1-4) after account approval
1 Free Night Certificate (category 1-5) every year you pay the annual fee
$99 annual fee, waived for the first year
5x on all Marriott purchases
2x on all purchases at office supply stores, restaurants, car rental agencies, airline tickets purchased directly from the airline, cellular phone, landline, Internet, and cable TV services (Chase Ink Bold/Plus categories, hmm…)
1x on all other purchases
Cardholders receive 15 Elite credits every year = automatic Marriott Silver Elite Status
Earn one additional Elite credit for every $3,000 spent (see elite tiers here)

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Has anyone been to Hamburg or Copenhagen lately?

Has anyone been to Hamburg or Copenhagen lately?

Happy Friday everyone! P.S. Don’t forget that today is the first Friday of April = Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card 3x at Restaurants. But not so fast, if you have your Chase Freedom Credit Card, you will get 5x (5% cash back) on all restaurants this quarter (from now through June 30).

Anyways, tomorrow night I am flying LAX to London (Virgin Atlantic) and from London to Hamburg (Germany Wings) for a travel conference next week. I will have 3-4 days in Hamburg and wanted to get your opinion on things to do.

So far, my top choices include: Continue reading →

My 2014 Resolution: Travel Somewhere Every Month!

My 2014 Resolution: Travel Somewhere Every Month!

Good morning 2014! I hope you all had a fun and safe New Years Eve, from wherever you are. It’s January 1st and time to make your New Year’s resolution. This should be something fun and exciting, not something boring like losing weight or cleaning out the garage. Which is why (for the second year in a row), I have decided my 2014 New Years Resolution is to travel somewhere every month. Here is how I did in 2013:

January – 2 weeks in Europe (Amsterdam, Dusseldorf, Paris, Munich, Cologne, and Brussels).
February – Albuquerque, New Mexico for 4 days by myself, such a strange city.
March – Honolulu for a week (First Class via IcelandAir/Alaska Airlines deal) for my brother’s Spring Break (you’re welcome Davis!).
April – Delaware to visit a friend and drove to FTU DC / Tyson’s Corner.
May – nothing :(, well, I started Travel with Grant on May 1.
June – nothing :(
July – Vancouver and Whistler for 2 weeks with my parents and brother.
August – nothing :(
September – FTU Tampa for the weekend with my friend Jim.
October – Galápagos Islands for a week with Jim (great deal from Miami for $380 round trip).
November – Las Vegas Hilton Timeshare for the weekend and Carmel / Monterrey Bay for Thanksgiving week.
December – Does driving to Six Flags Magic Mountain count? I got a season pass!

This photo should sum up my travel for 2013. Any questions?

What is your New Years resolution for 2014?

My Travel Predictions (Both Good and Bad) for 2014

My Travel Predictions (Both Good and Bad) for 2014

Happy holidays everyone! As 2014 quickly approaches, I wanted to share my predictions for 2014, regarding airlines, hotels, and credit card rewards. Feel free to agree, disagree, or share your own comments below.

Airlines:

British Airways – I think the 4,500 and 7,500 (maybe even 10,000) Avios award prices will go away or the entire award chart will be revamped. The current prices are just too good.
Alaska Airlines and Delta Airlines – since there has been a lot of fighting over routes to/from SEA and SLC, I think Alaska will no longer allow you to earn or redeem miles with Delta.
American Airlines and US Airways – after the merger, we will see some new “enhancements” (aka devaluations) to the new award chart. Maybe off-peak awards will be changed or removed.
Southwest Airlines and AirTran – hopefully the merger goes through smoothly and quickly. I look forward to using Southwest Rapid Reward Points for flights to Hawaii, Mexico City, and other tropical destinations south of the border. I also think the 50,000 Southwest Rapid Reward sign up bonus will no longer count for companion pass status, it is just too easy to get Companion Pass.
Hawaiian Airlines – merge with another airline, maybe JetBlue or Alaska Airlines.
Lufthansa – revamp their award chart after everyone signs up for their credit card.
Virgin Atlantic – miles will be transferable 1:1 with Virgin America and Virgin Australia.

Hotels:

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Travel with Grant at CES Las Vegas (January 9-10) and FTU in Seattle (April 25-27)

Travel with Grant at CES Las Vegas (January 9-10) and FTU in Seattle (April 25-27)

Good evening everyone, sorry for missing so many days of blogging, I’ve been very busy with work lately and went to see Anchorman 2 last night and got home late. Now that I finally have a few minutes to blog, here’s whats new.

I will be at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas on Thursday and Friday (January 9-10) – will anyone else be there? It is my first time and I have always wanted to go, so I am really excited.

Secondly, it’s time for another FTU (Frequent Traveler University) aka travel-blogging conference. If you read the big blogs on Boarding Area, Million Mile Secrets, The Points Guy, etc and want to meet the bloggers in person, this is the event for you.

Ticket Options:

Tickets to the event, held Friday-Sunday April 25-27 at the Seattle Airport Marriott are $100 and include alcoholic drinks on Friday night, as well as lunch on Saturday and Sunday. You can purchase tickets here (tickets will sell out quickly since only ~400 tickets will be available).