Category Archives: Marriott

News You Can Use – Fewer Miles with Bank Direct, 100% US Air Share or Buy Miles Bonus & Marriott Promotion

Posted on May 3, 2013 by | 17 Comments

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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.

BankDirect Mileage Checking

BankDirect Mileage Checking

Continue reading →

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Posted in American Airlines, Marriott, US Air

News You Can Use – 1,000 Free Marriott Rewards Points, Chicago Cubs Suites and More…

Posted on April 9, 2013 by | 9 Comments

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1.   1,000 Free Marriott Points for Your Baseball Stories

According to NotiFlyer, Marriott is giving away points for submitting stories of your baseball memories. 

Submit your baseball memories and stories to Marriott’s Rewards Insiders Forum, between now and April 14th, and you will earn 500 Marriott Rewards points per story, up to a maximum of 1,000 points in honor of the movie 42.

The terms say that stories have to be at least 50 words and not longer then 1,000 words.

Marriott 42

2.   4x JetBlue TrueBlue Points Continue reading →

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Posted in Hilton HHonors, Jet Blue, Marriott, Starwood (SPG)

News You Can Use – Marriott Award Increases & Alaska Airlines Redemptions on Iceland Air to Stop

Posted on February 14, 2013 by | 5 Comments

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1.   Marriott Award Increases

Loyalty Lobby has a detailed analysis of increases in Marriott hotel award chart and points out that 36% of Marriott hotels will require more points to redeem for a free night and that only 1% of hotels will require fewer points!  However, you can make bookings up to May 16, 2013 (~ 3 months away) at the old rate.

If you have a Chase Marriott credit card, you get a free night each year which can be used in any category 1 to 5 Marriott hotel.  But, according to Loyalty Lobby, 190 hotels are increasing from category 5 to 6 which means fewer hotels to use those free nights. Continue reading →

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Posted in Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Marriott, Uncategorized, VIrgin America

News You Can Use – Barclays NFL $400 Cash Back & 20,000 Points Virgin America, Citi American Airlines 50,000 Miles + $150 Statement Credit, 70,000 Point Marriott, & Accor Platinum Status

Posted on February 3, 2013 by | 57 Comments

 [Disclosure:  Emily and I don't earn a commission for links to the $400 cash back Barclays NFL card.  The links to the Virgin America, Citi American Airlines & Marriott offers are better than the ones which earn us a commission.]

1.   $400 Cash Back Barclays NFL Card.   Thanks to Million Mile Secrets reader dhammer53 for tweeting me a link to Fat Wallet which discusses a $400 Cash Back Barclays NFL card after spending $2,500 within 3 months.

A Fat Wallet member also posted links to get the $400 statement credit after spending $1,000 within 3 months, but it is unclear if Barclays (unlike the other banks) will honor an expired offer/link.  I didn’t see any mention of an offer expiry date in the links for spending $1,000 within 3 months.

We do know that Barclays currently honors the US Air card targeted to Chairman’s Preferred members even if you’re not a Chairman’s Preferred member.

The card doesn’t have an annual fee and you can redeem 40,000 points for $400 in statement credits.  However, only  transactions above $25 qualify for statement credits. Continue reading →

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Posted in Accor, American Airlines, Barclays, Best Western, Chase, Club Carlson, Hilton HHonors, Hyatt, Marriott, VIrgin America

How to Keep your Hotel Points from Expiring Without Staying in a Hotel!

Posted on January 30, 2013 by | 11 Comments

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Hotel Points expiration

I’ve written about how to keep your airline miles from expiring without flying.  Here’s how to keep your hotel points from expiring without staying in a hotel!  Points expire in most US based airline program after 12 to 24 months of no earning or redemption activity.

Some programs like Choice and Wyndham hotels expire after 2 and 4 years and there is nothing you can do to extend the expiration, so you might as well use them before they expire.

Award Wallet is a good tool to track your miles and points balances and expiration dates.

Hotel
Expiration Policy
Choice Hotels On December 31st, 2 years after you earned the points.
Club Carlson24 months of not earning or spending points
Hilton 12 months of not earning or spending points
Hyatt Gold12 months of not earning or spending points
Marriott24 months of not earning points
Priority ClubPoints Never Expire
Starwood Hotels12 months of not earning or spending points
WyndhamPoints expire after 4 years and you can't do anything to extend them beyond 4 years.

However, they will expire sooner (in 18 months)of not earning or spending points

But it is really, really easy to keep your hotel points active WITHOUT staying in the hotel!

Sometimes, all you need to do is to make an award booking and cancel it later, for free!  This will generate redemption activity when you make the award and earning activity when you cancel the award and reset the point expiration clock.  But be sure to check the cancellation policy when you book!

You can easily extend the expiration by buying something cheap or making a $1 donation from the airline’s online shopping mall, or using a credit card to keep your points active!

1.   Choice hotels International

hotel points expiration

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Posted in Choice Privileges, Club Carlson, Hilton HHonors, Hyatt, Marriott, Priority Club, Starwood (SPG), Wyndham

How to Get a $75 Statement Credit for the Chase Marriott Premier Credit Card

Posted on January 19, 2013 by | 23 Comments

[Disclosure:  The Chase Marriott credit card with the $75 statement credit in this post is better than my referral link to the Chase Marriott Premier credit card which doesn't offer the $75 statement credit.]

My affiliate link to the Chase Marriott Premier card offers 50,000 Marriott points after spending $1,000 within 3 months & 1 free night in a category 1 to 4 Marriott hotel after approval.

But I want to share a potentially better offer to the Chase Marriott Premier card, which also gets you a $75 statement credit!

Chase Marriott Premier 2

Chase Marriott Premier With $75 Statement Credit

Thanks to Million Mile Secrets reader Dennis for sharing this!  As always, I updated the Hotel Credit Card tab with a link to this post so that you only find the best credit card offers on Million Mile Secrets regardless of whether or not they earn me a commission. Continue reading →

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Posted in Chase, Marriott

Which Credit Cards Do NOT Charge a Foreign Transaction Fee?

Posted on January 10, 2013 by | 54 Comments

[Disclosure:  Emily and I get a referral for all cards in the post except for the Southwest Premier, Chase Priority Club, Chase Fairmont, Chase United Club, Citi Thank You Premier (better than my affiliate link), Citi American Airlines Executive, and the American Express Mercedes-Benz Platinum]

No Foreign Transaction Fee CArds

Readers often ask which credit cards do not charge the 1% to 3% foreign transaction fee for using the card for transactions in foreign currency.  Most credit cards will charge you a fee for purchases in a foreign currency.

So I’ve made a new page on the Travel Credit Cards tab for No Foreign Transaction Fee cards!

No-Foreign-Transaction-Fee-Cards

No Foreign Transaction Fee Tab!

The cards listed on that page do NOT charge a foreign transaction fee if you use them for transactions in foreign currencies.

My favorite no-foreign transaction fee card is the Chase Sapphire Preferred which offers double points for travel (airfare, hotel, car rental, parking etc.) and dining.  And you almost certainly are spending most of your money on travel and dining when you’re on vacation! Continue reading →

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Posted in American Airlines, American Express, British Airways, Business Credit Cards, Chase, Citibank, Credit Cards, Delta Skymiles, Foreign Transaction Fees, Foreign Transaction Fees, Hilton HHonors, Hyatt, Marriott, Priority Club, Ritz-Carlton, Southwest, Uncategorized, United Airlines

Some Airline & Hotel Gift Card Purchases Count Towards Chase Freedom 5X Bonus

Posted on November 13, 2012 by | 39 Comments

[Emily and I get a referral for links to the Chase Freedom Visa, Chase Freedom MasterCard & Chase Sapphire Preferred, but not for the Chase Ink Bold & the Chase Ink Plus as of the post publication. We're always very grateful to readers who apply using our link!]

I love the Chase Freedom Visa and Chase Freedom MasterCard because it makes it really easy to earn 5 times the number of Ultimate Rewards points (up to $1,500 or 7,500 points a quarter) for purchases which Emily and I would make in any case.

The Chase Freedom is a fee-free card, so it is a good Chase card to keep for a long time.  Keeping a card for a long time helps increase your credit score and builds a history with Chase which often has the best offers.

5X Points With Certain Airline & Hotel Gift Cards With Chase Freedom

Continue reading →

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Posted in American Airlines, Chase, Credit Cards, Hyatt, Marriott

Better Chase Marriott Credit Card Links & a Potential 70,000 Point Offer?

Posted on October 20, 2012 by | 24 Comments

[Disclosure:  This post shows you how to get an extra $75 and save $1,000 in minimum spending by NOT using my referral links for the Chase Marriott credit cards.]

My affiliate link, which earns me a commission, is for a 50,000 point Marriott Premier credit card after spending $1,000 within 3 months. 

However, there is a much better offer for 50,000 Marriott points AND a $75 statement credit after your 1st purchase.  So you get $75 for free and don’t have to meet the $1,000 minimum spending requirement!

Marriott 50000

Offer With No Minimum Spending & $75 Statement Credit

I’ve listed the better offer on the Hotel Credit Cards tab for months, so that you find only the best credit card offers on Million Mile Secrets. Continue reading →

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Posted in Chase, Marriott

News You Can Use – 50% to 100% off Marriott Hotels, 5,000 United Miles for United Credit Card Holders, 1,000 Free Hilton Points, 2,500 US Air Miles, & Free MegaDo Seats

Posted on October 7, 2012 by | 14 Comments

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 1.   50% to 100% off Marriott Hotels.   Travel By Points brilliantly explains how you can stack 5 different Marriott hotel promotions to end up with 50% to 100% off Marriott hotel stays!

You can even ask for a Marriott Gold or Platinum elite status challenge and earn Gold status after 6 stays and Platinum status after 9 stays.  The status will be valid up to February 2014.

 2.   5,000 United Miles for United Credit Card Holders.  Mommy Points and Million Mile Secrets reader Jake report that you can earn an extra 5,000 United miles if you’ve spent $1,000 on your United credit card between August 1, 2012 & October 31, 2012. Continue reading →

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Posted in Hilton HHonors, Marriott, Southwest, United Airlines, US Air