Tag Archives: Travel

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Is Overtourism Ruining Countries?

Is overtourism ruining countries? It’s an interesting question that some countries, particularly Japan, are facing right now. I actually had no idea tourism in Japan was booming. My own relationship with Japan started some 30 years ago. I went there multiple times to attend a Japanese art and culture program. Back then when I traveled outside of the major Japanese cities, many Japanese people had never seen an American before. Continue reading

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Westin Desert Willow Villas Palm Desert Vacation Package ($389 for 5 Days / 4 Nights + $75 AMEX GC)

Good afternoon everyone – happy Friday!  I must be the king of getting timeshare vacation package offers, since I just got another offer.  The Westin Desert Villas in Palm Desert, CA has a timeshare vacation package for $389 that includes 5 days / 4 nights in a one bedroom villa plus a $75 American Express Gift Card.  This offer is supposed to be only for recipients of the invitation letter, but you can try calling 800-326-2481 or emailing westinexclusive@westinvacations.com to see if you are eligible.  Just tell them your friend got this offer and you are interested in the offer too.  Here are some photos from the property:

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How To Get Free American Airlines Miles from AwardWallet

Do you use AwardWallet? of course you do! But did you know that if you have an AwardWallet account you can earn American Airlines miles for free? Well not exactly free, because it will take a minute of your time. But it’s as close to free as can be. This is the perfect way to either top up your American miles quickly, or extend the expiration of your AAdvantage account. Continue reading

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I Need Restaurant / Activity Recommendations for Santa Cruz

Good afternoon everyone.  This coming Monday is Columbus Day and I am taking my girlfriend to Santa Cruz for the long weekend.  I’ve been to Santa Cruz a handful of times, but not in the last couple of years, and not with my girlfriend. I did some research on hotel options in Santa Cruz, but there are not a ton of great options.  There are a handful of Marriott properties charging 35K Marriott points / night, but I decided to stay at the Hyatt Place Santa Cruz instead. Paid rates are $300+ as of today (they were a little cheaper a week ago), but the points rate is a bargain, by comparison.

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Got Citi Thank You Points? Here’s How to Book Flights!

Turns out I’ve accumulated a rather large stash of Citi Thank You Points, and have recently decided to start spending them on flights. I don’t put much spend on my Citi Prestige Credit Card EXCEPT for using the card at hotels for the 4th night free hotel benefit. Since I’ve been using that perk for a few years now, I was pleasantly surprised when I logged into my Citi Thank You account and saw my accumulated total of Citi Thank You Points.

Citi Thank You Points are earned through credit cards issued by Citibank and can be redeemed for a variety of rewards. I’ve looked at using points at hotels, but I’ve decided that redeeming them for flights makes more sense. This meant I had to learn to use the site to book flights. When I learn something new, I like to share it with you all too, so this post focuses on redeeming Citi Thank You Points for flights.

I consider Citi Thank You Points to be almost the same as cash. I say almost because, on some occasions, tickets might cost slightly less on sites like Kayak, Expedia, or Travelocity. It’s always good to check the other OTAs to compare prices. And remember, using your Citi Thank You Points does earn you frequent flyer miles for the tickets you book, so I’ll show you below how to filter for specific airlines.

How much are Citi Thank You Points worth?

The value of Citi Thank You Points toward flights depends on which Citi credit cards you have:

  • Citi Thank You Credit Card & Citi Thank You Preferred Credit Card: 1 cent per point
  • Citi Thank You Premier Credit Card: 1.25 cents per point
  • Citi Prestige Credit Card: 1.25 cents per point

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