Hyatt’s Mobile App Goes “Ooops.”

On Thursday I wrote about a stackable Hyatt bonus — 1000 extra Gold Passport points per stay booked through a Hyatt mobile channel, which can be earned on top of the current 50,000 point promotion. Several readers identified problems completing a reservation with the new Hyatt app. SkiCo asked if I would reach out to […]

The post Hyatt’s Mobile App Goes “Ooops.” appeared first on View from the Wing.

from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2014/10/05/hyatts-mobile-app-goes-ooops/

Marriott: We Stick It To You For Your Own Good!

On Friday, Scott Mayerowitz reported on Marriott’s big settlement with the FCC over blocking guests use of their own wifi. The Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center wants its exhibitors to pay $250 to $1000 each to the hotel’s wifi. So they didn’t want folks to be able to bring their own, and they used […]

The post Marriott: We Stick It To You For Your Own Good! appeared first on View from the Wing.

from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2014/10/05/marriott-stick-good/

Do You Know These Six Awesome Uses Of Ultimate Rewards?

Chase currently has a very limited time offer on the Ink Plus® Business Credit Card, whereby you can get 70,000 Ultimate Rewards points after spending $5,000 within three months. The card has a $95 annual fee, which isn’t waived for the first year. While the 50,000 point offer on the card usually has the annual fee waived the first year, it’s absolutely worth paying $95 for an additional 20,000 Ultimate Rewards points.

The Chase Ink Plus has great benefits in general, and also offers the ability to earn 5x points per $1 on the first $50,000 spent at office supply stores and on cable, internet, TV, and cell phones, along with 2x points per $1 on the first $50,000 at gas stations and hotel accommodations, and 1 point per $1 on everything else.

If you were to maximize the bonus categories, you'd theoretically have 95,000 Ultimate Rewards points to work with (and that's not even counting any you might be earning with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Chase Freedom®, or Ink Cash® Business Card).

So what are some of the amazing things you can do with 95,000 Ultimate Rewards points?

The post Do You Know These Six Awesome Uses Of Ultimate Rewards? appeared first on One Mile at a Time.

from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2014/10/05/know-six-awesome-uses-ultimate-rewards/

GoPro life vs. real life

I give Mike Fry a lot of credit for putting together a video that people can actually relate to.



from Matador Network » Matador Network http://matadornetwork.com/life/people-really-use-gopro-cameras/

Review: Hyatt Regency Hong Kong, Tsim Sha Tsui

While I've been to Hong Kong a bunch of times and have tried out many different hotels (including the Ritz Carlton Hong Kong, Conrad Hong Kong, Hyatt Regency Hong Kong Sha Tin, InterContinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong, InterContinental Hong Kong, Marriott SkyCity Hong Kong), I hadn't yet stayed at the Hyatt Regency Tsim Sha Tsui.

While the Grand Hyatt is probably objectively better, it's also exponentially more expensive. The Hyatt Regency paid rate was quite reasonable for my dates, at ~$200USD per night. It’s a Category 4 Gold Passport property, making a free night redemption 15,000 points per night. That’s actually a pretty good deal since rates at this hotel can often be $350+ per night, but given the good rate I got, it didn’t seem worthwhile.

Even Points + Cash would have cost 7,500 Gold Passport points plus $100 per night, so wasn’t as good of a deal to me as the paid rate.

Anyway, upon landing we took a taxi to the hotel. In Hong Kong, generally if I'm traveling with someone I'll take a taxi, while if I'm traveling alone I'll take the Airport Express. That's because two tickets on the Airport Express are roughly the same cost as a taxi, and they don't require a transfer at Kowloon station.

The post Review: Hyatt Regency Hong Kong, Tsim Sha Tsui appeared first on One Mile at a Time.

from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2014/10/05/review-hyatt-regency-hong-kong-tsim-sha-tsui/

Concrete Actionable Advice, American Puts Me Between a Rock and a Hard Place, and Vodka that Makes Popov Taste Good

News and notes from around the interweb: Mommy Points is launching a series of helpful e-books that show you how to use miles for cost-effective trips to attainable destinations. I’ve had the chance to preview the Hawaii e-book and it’s filled with concrete, actionable tips to help you travel well and inexpensively. Are US Airways […]

The post Concrete Actionable Advice, American Puts Me Between a Rock and a Hard Place, and Vodka that Makes Popov Taste Good appeared first on View from the Wing.

from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2014/10/05/concrete-actionable-advice-american-puts-rock-hard-place-vodka-makes-popov-taste-good/

Refurbished American 777-200 Now Flying

American is in the process of refreshing their longhaul fleet. That started with the introduction of their 777-300ERs, which feature a new first and business class product. That was followed by them introducing a new business class product on their 767-300s, which were badly in need of a refresh.

And now they're finally refreshing their 777-200s:

-- In April American revealed the new business class seats they'd have on their 777-200s

-- In June American confirmed the first destination for the refreshed 777-200s would be Santiago

-- In September we saw the first real pictures of the new 777-200 business class product, given that the first aircraft had been reconfigured

The post Refurbished American 777-200 Now Flying appeared first on One Mile at a Time.

from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2014/10/05/refurbished-american-777-200-now-flying/

Loyalty Programs Should Be Loyal

I recently saw Delta Points sharing a Delta Skymiles ad, which I’ve seen around over the past couple of years and have a copy of. It’s especially ironic. They lay down a belief about what a frequent flyer should do. The ad came out around 2012, if memory serves. I’m not sure how well they […]

The post Loyalty Programs Should Be Loyal appeared first on View from the Wing.

from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2014/10/05/loyalty-programs-loyal-program-changes-mind/

Plane Spotting on Maho Beach, St. Martin

from Everything Everywhere Travel Blog http://everything-everywhere.com/2014/10/04/plane-spotting-maho-beach-st-martin/

Asiana A380 First Class Los Angeles To Seoul

Hello from Seoul! As I mentioned on Friday, I just flew from Los Angeles to Seoul Incheon on the Asiana A380. It’s the last A380 presently in commercial service that I’ve yet to fly, so I was excited to check it out (I've already reviewed the A380 first class products offered by Air France, British Airways, China Southern, Emirates, Korean Air, Lufthansa, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, and Thai Airways).

I should start by saying that I’ve long been a huge fan of Asiana. I’ve flown them in first class on their 777 and 747, and while their hard product has always been lacking, the soft product was among the best in the sky, on par with ANA, Cathay Pacific, Singapore, etc.

On the A380 the first class cabin consists of a total of 12 seats, spread across three rows in a 1-2-1 configuration.

The post Asiana A380 First Class Los Angeles To Seoul appeared first on One Mile at a Time.

from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2014/10/05/asiana-a380-first-class-los-angeles-seoul/

Sapphire Preferred or Arrival Plus for General Spending?

TPG reader Kenny emailed me to ask: “I have both the Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Barclaycard Arrival Plus. I’ve already met the minimum spending requirements to get the bonuses. For all of my travel and dining, I use Sapphire Preferred on top of the Chase Freedom bonus categories. For all my other spending, where […]



from The Points Guy http://thepointsguy.com/2014/10/sapphire-preferred-or-arrival-plus-for-general-spending/

Can I Separate a Two-Night Hotel Stay to Earn Elite Credit?

TPG reader Junaid asked me on Facebook: “I recently signed up for the Marriott Rewards Premier credit card, and was curious about an upcoming two-night hotel stay. Can I book each of the two nights separately and get credit for two different stays with Marriott in order to earn elite status? Basically I’d reserve one […]



from The Points Guy http://thepointsguy.com/2014/10/can-i-separate-a-two-night-hotel-stay-to-earn-elite-credit/

How to Be a Travel Hero: How to Handle Yourself When Flight Schedules Melt Down

After several tough travel weeks for the nation’s air transport system, Joe Brancatelli runs a column on tactics for dealing with air travel meltdowns. He suggests: Assume the worst will happen Don’t check your bags Avoid regional airlines Have access to airport lounges Get yourself an airport hotel He’s got more suggestions, so read the […]

The post How to Be a Travel Hero: How to Handle Yourself When Flight Schedules Melt Down appeared first on View from the Wing.

from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2014/10/05/travel-hero-handle-flight-schedules-melt/

Bonus On Purchased Avios — Should You Buy?

Through October 31, 2014, British Airways is offering up to a 20% bonus on the purchase of Executive Club Avios. They're offering a 20% bonus when you purchase at least 2,000 Avios. You can purchase at most 27,000 Avios through this promotion, which is the annual limit per account per calendar year.

If you max out the promotion you can purchase a total of 32,400 Avios for $768, which is a total of ~2.37 cents per Avios.

That’s definitely not a rate at which I’d speculatively stock up on Avios, though the thing about Avios is that with certain redemption patterns they can be among the most valuable points currencies out there. I've explained how useful Avios can be for shorthaul awards, given that they start at just 4,500 Avios one-way for flights of under 650 miles.

The post Bonus On Purchased Avios — Should You Buy? appeared first on One Mile at a Time.

from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2014/10/05/bonus-purchased-avios-buy/

Reader Success Story: A Babymoon in Portland for $89.10

Over the years, we’ve had many readers share their success stories with us. Folks for whom traveling domestically once a year was a luxury are now traveling the world with just a few credit card sign-up bonuses. And the best part? They are sharing their stories with us and others who benefit from knowing that […]



from Frugal Travel Guy http://www.frugaltravelguy.com/2014/10/reader-success-story-a-babymoon-in-portland-for-89-10.html