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Via Deals we Like, Southwest if extending the double points offer for booking paid flights AND traveling on those flights up to June 15, 2013. You can register for the promotion via this page on the Southwest website.
Double Points on Southwest
Posted in Aeroplan, American Airlines, Southwest, United Airlines
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dhammer53 wrote in to say that you can buy Southwest points for 2.5 cents per point and asked if this is a good deal if you have the Southwest Companion Pass.
Is it Worth it to Buy Southwest Points?
Buying points usually is not a great deal unless you’re topping-up for an award or if you’ve done the math to see if buying points is cheaper than paying cash for a ticket.
But perhaps it could be different if you’ve got the Southwest Companion Pass? Continue reading
Posted in Southwest
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Loyalty Lobby reports that Club Carlson has a 10,000 points bonus for each stay of 2 or more consecutive nights, from May 13, 2013 to July 21, 2013. Registration is required before the stay, and can be done here.
Club Carlson Two Nights 10,000 Points Promotion
Per the Terms and Conditions, the rate booked must be eligible for earning points, so reservations made through third-party sites like Priceline or Orbitz may not be eligible.
Club Carlson is the hotel loyalty program for Country Inns and Suites, Radisson, Radisson Blu, Park Inn by Radisson, and Park Plaza, so points you earn can be redeemed at any of these hotels.
Deals We Like highlights a boatload carload of current rental promotions for Avis, Budget, Enterprise, and Hertz. Continue reading
Posted in American Express, Avis, British Airways, Budget, Credit Cards, Enterprise, Rental Cars, Starwood (SPG)
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Southwest extended their schedule and you can book flights up to January 5, 2014.
Christmas in Michigan!
There is no penalty for cancelling a Southwest flight made with points (the points go back to your account when you cancel), so it doesn’t hurt to book your fall & holiday trips before you firm up your plans. You can always cancel and rebook your ticket for no fee if the number of points required for the award drops since you booked the ticket or if your plans change. Continue reading
Posted in Airlines, Hyatt, Southwest, Travel Tips
[Disclosure: Emily and I get a commission to the 50,000 Mile Lufthansa card. You don't have to use our links, but we're very grateful to all the readers who use our link!]
There’s a lot of questions on the best link to use for the 50,000 mile Barclays card. Having years of, umm, experience 
with credit cards, here’s what I can very confidently say:
If you apply using my affiliate link, you will get 50,000 miles after spending $5,000 within 3 months regardless of whether you get approved for the Premier World OR Platinum MasterCard version.
50,000 Lufthansa Miles
The terms and conditions are very clear about this and say (under Welcome Bonus): Continue reading
[Disclosure: Emily and I get a commission to the 50,000 Mile Lufthansa card, the Arrival card, and the Starwood personal and business cards. You don't have to use our links, but we're very grateful to all the readers who use our link!]
Barclays increased the sign-up bonus from 20,000 miles to 50,000 miles with the Lufthansa Miles and More card. The $79 annual fee is NOT waived in the first year. But $79 for 2 domestic coach trips seems worth it to me.
50,000 Lufthansa Miles
Lufthansa is a German airline, but is a member of the Star Alliance. This means that you can redeem Lufthansa miles for flights on other Star Alliance airlines, including United & US Air in the US. Continue reading
Posted in Barclays, Lufthansa, Lufthansa, United Airlines, US Air
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1. Fewer Miles with BankDirect Checking Accounts
I’ve written previously about earning American Airlines miles with a checking account with BankDirect. You earn 100 miles (per month) for every $1,000 in your account, up to $200,000 in your account. For every $1,000 above $200,000 you would earn 25 American Airlines miles per month.
This meant that a deposit of $200,000 would earn 240,000 American Airlines miles in a year!
That said there is monthly service fee of $12, but it is well worth it for folks (note: I’m not an investment advisor, so consult yours!) with large deposits of liquid cash who leave the money in other bank accounts. That’s because you don’t pay tax on the miles (but you do pay tax on interest earned at other banks) and also because the American Airlines miles are worth more than the small amounts of interest which banks pay.
Posted in American Airlines, Marriott, US Air
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It has been very clear for about the last 3 years that the US airlines’ (think American Airlines, United, US Air, and Delta) generosity with their frequent flyer programs will have to change (and become less generous). I’m pretty sure that US frequent flyer programs will be quite different in the next 3 to 5 years if not sooner.
I’m not the only one predicting this change. Miles and points guru, Steve Belkin, has been saying this for a long time (often to an unreceptive audience at miles and points conferences).
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles Panel
Posted in Airline Award Booking, Airlines
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Dan’s Deals reports that Hyatt has added two new French hotels which can be booked using points, the Hotel du Louvre, in Paris, and the Grand Hyatt Cannes Hotel Martinez overlooking the Mediterranean.
Paris Hotel du Louvre
Grand Hyatt Cannes Hotel Martinez
In addition, the Concorde Lafayette, Paris and Palais de la Mediterranee, Nice will soon be added to this list. Continue reading
Posted in American Airlines, British Airways, Hyatt, Priority Club
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Over Spring Break in March, Emily and I visited Maui in Hawaii. This was our first time to Hawaii so we were very excited! We spent only $570 dollars for a trip which has a retail cost of $8,731 for some Big Travel with Small Money!
Of course we wouldn’t pay the retail price ourselves, which is why we collect miles and points.
Can’t Wait to Go Back!
I always thought that I’d “save” Hawaii for when I retire because it would be relatively easy to visit and explore later in life. But one of the most common reader questions is “How do I get to Hawaii?”
And almost everyone who has visited Hawaii wants to go back (if that isn’t a ringing endorsement, what is?) so we decided to go! As luck would have it, I fell sick the first 2 or 3 days, but still had a wonderful time. Continue reading
I have earned and redeemed millions of airline miles and hotel points to travel the world for free. Now I'm blogging to help more people do the same! Find out more.
