Increased SPG Card Sign-Up Bonus!

Posted on February 17, 2017 by 2btravel

Starwood Preferred Group (SPG) Starpoints are among the most flexible currencies on the market, which is why both Ben of One Mile At A Time and Brian, The Points Guy, value them at over 2 cents apiece.  About once a year they offer an increased sign-up bonus and that time is now!

In addition to using these points at SPG hotels, they can be transferred to over two dozen airlines at a 1:1 ratio – and if you transfer 20K points at a time they’ll tack on a bonus 5K points!  Other airlines are available at less favorable ratios.

SPG points can also be transferred to Marriott at a 1:3 ratio (1 SPG = 3 Marriott) and used either for stays at Marriott hotels or transfer them to other airlines.

Here are the airlines where you can transfer points at a 1:1 ratio:
spg-1-to-1-partners
Here are the other airlines:
spg-other-partners
The Air New Zealand transfer rate is a horrific 65 SPG points = 1 Air New Zealand Airpoint so you want to make that a transfer of last resort. GOL Smiles and United MileagePlus both transfer at a rate of 2 SPG points = 1 frequent flyer mile.  Might do in a pinch but again, you’d try to avoid it.  Since LATAM uses kilometers for their currency the transfer rate is 1 SPG point = 1.5 LATAM Pass mile.

If you choose to transfer your points to Marriott, they are best used at Marriott properties but they can be transferred to airlines as well.  However the airline transfers are usually at a terrible transfer rate so I do not recommend this method.

The normal sign-up bonus for this card is 25K points but if you are approved by April 5th and meet the minimum spend, here’s what you can earn:

25,000 bonus Starpoints after using the new Card to make $3,000 in purchases within the first 3 months and an extra 10,000 bonus Starpoints after making an additional $2,000 in purchases within the first 6 months.

That’s a maximum of 35K Starpoints which is the biggest bonus ever for this card.  Note that those “first 3 months” and “first 6 months” are dated from the date of approval, NOT the day you activate the card.

The card has no foreign transaction fees and the annual fee of $95 is waived for the first year.

There are business and personal versions of this card though I can only refer you for the personal card.  If you allow me to refer you and are approved, I will receive a 5,000 point bonus for doing so.  Just drop me an email at 2btraveling@gmail.com.  All I need is your first name and an email address!

Categories: American Express, Credit Cards, SPG Amex | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

US Bank Cash+ Q2 Category Selections and Reminder

Posted on February 17, 2017 by 2btravel

The US Bank Cash+ card has rotating bonus categories each quarter.  You can choose two categories from a large list to earn 5% cash back and from a list of three categories to earn 2% cash back.  All other purchases will earn 1% cash back.  The nice part about it is that you get to select the categories that will help you most!  You may now make your selections for the second quarter of 2017 by visiting the selection site.  Here are the categories for the second quarter of 2017:

2017-02-17-us-bank-q2-categories

As a reminder, effective today, February 17, 2017, you can no longer earn 5% cash back for charity contributions if that was one of the categories you selected for the first quarter.  As I mentioned last month, this is the main reason I got this card and I’m really disappointed US Bank is dropping this category.  I’ll keep the card because it’s free and because I can get 5% back for my gym membership but otherwise I’d let it go.  Hopefully they’ll change their mind at some point in the future.

Categories: Cash Plus, Credit Cards, US Bank | Tags: | Leave a comment

Lodging Review: Hyatt Place DFW

Posted on January 23, 2017 by 2btravel

I hadn’t planned on spending the night in Dallas.  But after the delays in flying out of Aspen, I arrived at DFW too late to make a connection to Memphis, so I had no choice.  While on the plane waiting for boarding to complete in Aspen, I used the Hyatt app to book a room near the airport.

Photo from Hyatt.com

Photo from Hyatt.com

I had spent a night at the Hyatt Regency DFW in October 2015.  I thought about booking a room at the Grand Hyatt since it’s connected to the terminal.  But since I knew I’d be paying for this stay out of pocket I opted for the Hyatt Place DFW.  It’s a fairly new property, having been open just less than a year.

In general, I love Hyatt Places because I love their consistency.  I know I’ll get a large room with a separate seating area, good wi-fi, an airport shuttle and free breakfast – things I value highly.  This hotel was no exception.

My flight landed in Terminal B and I called the hotel from baggage claim.  Their shuttle picks ups at either end of the terminal so I scooted down to the B1 end of the terminal where I found two others waiting as well.  The shuttle arrived in less than 10 minutes, which was great since I’d already had a long day.  Fortunately ours was the last pickup before heading towards the hotel.

On arrival, I was able to go directly to the check-in desk since I only had two small backpacks.  Fortunately I’d planned for the possibility I might get stuck getting out of Aspen and one backpack contained clean clothes and personal grooming items.  Yay, me!

At the front desk I was greeted by Mary, a grandmotherly-type who called me “hon” and welcomed me “home” after noting my Platinum status.  Normally being called “hon” is not on my list of favorite things but after my long day, being welcomed “home” made me feel like I really was home. Continue reading →

Categories: Hotel, Hyatt, Lodging Review, North America, Texas, United States | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Flying Into/Out Of ASE – Aspen, Colorado

Posted on January 20, 2017 by 2btravel

The tiny Aspen airport is so convenient.  It was just over 8 miles from the Top of the Village condos in Snowmass where my group stayed on our recent trip.  It’s only 3.5 miles from downtown Aspen. So, so convenient.

aspen-airport-logo

Of course there’s a catch. Continue reading →

Categories: Advice | Tags: | Leave a comment

AA Introduces Basic Economy Fares

Posted on January 18, 2017 by 2btravel

2017-01-18-aa-basic-economy

Today American Airlines presented the details of its new basic economy fares.  Following the leads of Delta and United, this cheaper fare will come with a number of restrictions – though travelers will be able to decide for themselves what the better choice is.

These fares will be for seats in the Main Cabin (aka Economy) and the standard free snacks, soft drinks and inflight entertainment will still apply.  But there are a number of items not included:

  • Only one bag may be carried on and it must fit under the seat (no access to overhead bins)
  • If you try to bring on a bag that does not fit under the seat, there will be a $25 fee to check it in addition to the standard checked bag fee
  • Seats will be assigned at check-in
  • If you want to select a specific seat you may do so within 48 hours of departure but there will be a fee
  • Basic Economy fares are not eligible for upgrades
  • Travelers on Basic Economy fares may not change their ticket (even for a fee) or get a refund
  • Basic Economy will be the last group to board

There are some exceptions if you’re an elite member of the AAdvantage program or if you hold a co-branded AAdvantage credit card:

  • You may have a carry on that fits under the seat as well as one in the overhead bin
  • You’ll retain any priority or preferred boarding privileges
  • You will still receive at least one free checked bag per the terms of your elite status or credit card

There are further restrictions on the number of Elite Qualifying Dollars/Miles/Segments earned on these type of fares.

Basic Economy Fares will go on sale in late February on specific routes.

I’ve been analyzing how this will affect me personally.  I don’t have elite status with American but I do hold two of their co-branded credit cards.  So I don’t have to worry about boarding last or not being able to use the overhead bins.  The real difference is seat selection.  For me, I think it will depend on my destination. I think that for a single-leg (each way) flight this might work for me.  I’m specifically thinking of flights to Chicago that are serviced by a regional jet.  These seats are in a 2×2 configuration so there’s no worry of a middle seat.  If I’m not making a connection it doesn’t matter whether or not I’m in the back of the plane.  Even if I have a relatively short flight, a middle seat is not the end of the world.  But for longer or multi-leg flights I suspect I’ll be paying more to sit where I want.

Categories: American Airlines | Tags: | Leave a comment

Lodging Review: Top of the Village Condos – Snowmass, CO

Posted on January 18, 2017 by 2btravel

 

The Gatehouse, home of the front desk, pool and hot tubs

The Gatehouse, home of the front desk, pool and hot tubs

I stayed here for almost a week with my ski club. TOV has lots of good things going for it but could use a refresh.

There are four buildings: Leaf, Slope, Trails, Summit. Each building is slopeside (ski-in with a small hike to ski-out) and each condo has a slope view.  Our group utilized both 2BR and 3BR condos. I am not sure if there are larger or smaller units.  Each unit is independently owned, so furnishings and decorations are up to the owner. As you might expect, some units have been refreshed more recently than others.  Each unit has its own wi-fi router though I was surprised at how my signal sometimes dropped when I was in a bedroom with the door closed.

Each building has only one (slow) elevator and sometimes it seemed to get stuck.  As we were on the second floor we’d walk up on those occasions, but at altitude that’s a lot more difficult than it looks!
Continue reading →

Categories: Colorado, Condos, Lodging Review, North America, Snowmass, United States | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

Lodging Review: The Stonebridge Inn, Snowmass, CO

Posted on January 16, 2017 by 2btravel

stonebridge-inn-signI didn’t set out to stay at the Stonebridge Inn.  When I learned my ski club was doing a trip the first week of January the timing worked out well for me.  The catch was that it wasn’t on our normal Saturday-Saturday schedule since the first Saturday would have been New Year’s Eve and no doubt quite expensive.  So we were running a Monday-Sunday trip.  I noticed that there was an IHG property in the area and thought that would be a good use of the free night certificate that comes with the Chase IHG MasterCard each year.  So I booked myself a flight to get to Snowmass a day early and used the free night certificate.  Unfortunately a couple of months later I was notified that by January the property would no longer be under the IHG umbrella so my reservation was cancelled and the certificate was restored to my account.  Not wanting to part with number of SPG points required, I was able to get a room at the Stonebridge Inn for one night.  I paid with my Chase Sapphire Reserve and the $200 annual travel credit covered the majority of the room charge.

My flight arrived just after noon so it was no surprise that my room was not ready.  But the friendly counter folks kept watch over my luggage while I walked up to Snowmass Village for some lunch and shopping.  They gave me a call less than an hour later to let me know my room was ready.

stonebridge-inn-exterior
Continue reading →

Categories: Colorado, Hotel, Lodging Review, North America, United States | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

US Bank Cash+ Category Changes

Posted on January 15, 2017 by 2btravel

US Bank has a couple of credit cards that I’ve found useful.  I’d had their Club Carlson Visa and I got good value from Club Carlson points in Turkey a couple of years ago but since then the card had sat idle in my drawer.  Last year I changed to the Cash+ card.

us-bank-cash-plus
Each quarter the US Bank Cash+ Card allows you to select the cash-back categories that best fit your needs.  There are three categories that are 2% cash back each quarter and you can select which categories you’d like for 5% cash back from a list.  While the 2%/5% categories max out at $1500 in purchases each quarter, you can get unlimited cash back at 1% for all purchases after the $1500 or for any unbonused categories.

When I recently downloaded my latest statement I noted this wording under the Important Messages heading:

Effective February 15, 2017 a new 5% Cash+ Category will be available: Ground Transportation featuring merchants such as Uber and Amtrak®.  Also effective February 15, 2017, the 5% Charity Category will no longer be available.

While that’s great for folks who use Uber and Amtrak, it defeats the main purpose I had for getting the card, namely charitable donations.  I’ve been blessed with a good income and like to give back and this was a real incentive to do so.

It’s a shame that US Bank is removing this category so I’ll be sure to bump up my giving for this quarter so it is completed before February 17.  I find the timing of this odd as it’s smack in the middle of the quarter, instead of waiting until quarter-end. We’ll have to see how they handle the selection of a new 5% category for those of us who’ll be losing this one

Does this category change negatively impact you?

Categories: Cash Plus, Credit Cards, US Bank | Tags: | Leave a comment

2016 In Travel

Posted on December 31, 2016 by 2btravel

It’s time to take a look back at the travel I’ve done this year.  As usual I had a couple of ski trips and one multi-week trip overseas with a couple of long weekends too.  First, the visual of my domestic travel:

2016-12-31-domestic-travel

It’s hard to tell on the map because I hit up the same airports several times but here’s how it worked out:

January

A trip to one of my favorite places, Big Sky, Montana.  As usual, finding award seats was a challenge.  Add in the fact I had a friend traveling from Memphis with me and another friend in Nashville who wanted to use miles and we decided it was cheaper to take an extra day off work and leave on a Friday rather than buy a ticket to fly on Saturday with the rest of the ski club.  Splitting a hotel room made that an obvious choice for us.  With American Airlines flying into Bozeman for the first time this ski season, I’m hoping that in the future there will be more award space available than on the Delta flights.

Routing: MEM-DTW-MSP-BZN-MSP-MEM

February

My second ski trip was to Vail, Colorado.  I had no problem finding award space on the flight to Denver, which meant I could easily meet up with my ski club there.  However their return flight was in the late afternoon and the only DEN-MEM flights with award space were in the morning.  So I either had to pay for my own transportation back to Memphis or fly back from the Vail/Eagle County airport (EGE). Even though I had to book ground transportation from our condo to EGE, it was much cheaper than shuttling two hours back to Denver.

Routing: MEM-DEN // EGE-DFW-MEM

April

I took a long weeked to visit friends.  One lives in Chicago and the other in Milwaukee. So I flew into Chicago and spent a night there before we drove up to Milwaukee for the rest of the weekend.

Routing: MEM-ORD // MKE-ORD-MEM

August

Another weekend trip out to Denver and my first-ever summertime visit to Vail.  I’d originally purchased a MEM-DFW-DEN ticket for Friday night but my flight got cancelled. To get me to Denver as early as possible the next morning I was re-routed via … Charlotte.  I didn’t love getting up so early to catch that flight but I did get into Denver on time so for that I’m thankful.  A non-stop on Frontier proved to be the cheapest route home.

Routing: MEM-CLT-DEN-MEM

October

My longest trip of the year was a cruise on the Danube River.  I hope to start posting about it soon.  I flew to Chicago to meet up with my trip roommate and from there we flew to Prague via Brussels.  After a couple of days there we took a bus, a train and a taxi to Nuremberg, Germany, where we began our cruise,  and floated to Budapest, Hungary.  On the return trip I had visions of using my Miles & More miles to stop at Lufthansa’s First Class Terminal in Frankfurt but no award space ever opened up.

Routing: MEM-ORD-BRU-PRG // BUD-FRA-ORD-MEM

2016-12-31-international-travel

Not the most glamorous of travel destinations but I’d never been to any of the European cities that I visited and it was good to go back to some places that feel like home by now.

Next year will bring more new destinations in the form of a trip to Asia as well as going back to some familiar ski resorts.

Where will 2017 take you?

Categories: Year in Review | Tags: | Leave a comment

Earn 2x Starpoints in Early 2017

Posted on December 17, 2016 by 2btravel

Earn 2x Starpoints on your first three stays at ANY hotel in the SPG program from January 16 through April 15, 2017.

2016-12-17-spg-double-take
Once you register you’ll get a special offer tailored just to you.

2016-12-17-spg-registration
As you can see, mine was to earn an additional 10,000 Starpoints.  This would be a fantastic offer if I had planned paid stays for the first few months of 2017.  Unfortunately I doubt I’ll be able to take advantage of this offer.

What was your special offer?

Categories: Hotel, Hotel Promos, Starwood | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

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