I got excited when one of my old AA vouchers seemed to apply towards a revenue ticket. I was given this voucher a while ago. It expired without me having the chance to use it. I plugged it into the payment option just to see if by chance it still works. To my surprise, the reservation system seemed to think it covered the cost of the ticket! Could … [Read more...]
Annual Fee Waived: Avianca Vuela Card ($149)
Just a quick note to share that Banco Popular waived the $149 annual fee on my Avianca Vuela card. I wasn't going to pay a hefty 2nd annual fee, so called to cancel the card for real. I was firm that I wanted to cancel. Agent transferred me to another agent, to whom I reiterated my unwavering intent to cancel. They offered the annual fee waiver with no … [Read more...]
OFO (bike sharing) refunded my deposit
I never finished my draft article about my love for dockless bike sharing in Asia. I found them very convenient for getting around in big cities. One of the prevalent platforms was OFO, or Little Yellow as it was called in Chinese. I actually signed up in Hong Kong using my US credit card and used it subsequently in the US. I did use it in China also, it … [Read more...]
The few sweet spots that escaped Wyndham massacre
The Wyndham category changes have gone into effect. As expected, it's a massive devaluation. Most of my hotels of interest have doubled to 30k per night, including: Wyndham Boston Beacon Hill TRYP Times Square and a dozen other NYC hotels Mills House in Charleston, SC Wyndham Santa Monica Pier ... Just to name a few. These were previously … [Read more...]
IHG Rewards Variable Pricing – Started?
Last month we learned IHG Rewards will be introducing variable pricing this year. Since then I haven't heard any new development. However, while looking at some hotels in NYC today, I saw variable pricing depending on the date. This is what I see for Apr 5-6: And this is what I see for Jul 2-3: As you can see, 2 of the hotels, … [Read more...]
Chase IHG Free Night: Still WAY more availability than Reward nights at Intercontinental Thaslasso
In a previous post, I posted the revelation that the uncapped anniversary free night from the Chase IHG card finds a lot more availability at Intercontinental Bora Bora Thalasso than reward/points. At the time, that property was reliably releasing 1 standard room (Emerald Overwater Bungalow) per night ~50 weeks out. They no longer do that, but they still release … [Read more...]
Amex Airline Credits (May) Trigger Even if You Select Airline After Purchase
It's January 1, which means a new calendar year of airline/travel credits from Amex Platinum, Citi Prestige, etc. I just want to share an interesting experience from December when I was using up my new Hilton Aspire card's $250 airline credit for 2018 (this is my referral link for the 150k, highest ever, offer). I'm using my Aspire card's free weekend night at Grand Wailea … [Read more...]
2018 Year in Reflection
Sorry for the lack of posts recently. I had significantly less time for this hobby after moving to San Diego, between working more hours and enjoying the sunshine. But here I am, reflecting on what this interesting has been for me! Travel took a backseat If you know me, you know I'm in this hobby for the travel. Last year, 2017, was probably my best year of travel to … [Read more...]