TRAVELBANDITS

Airline Alliances - An Introduction

2012-11-09T09:23:00.001-08:00

It's good to remind oneself about the benefits and worth of Airline Alliances - Frugaltravelguy wrote a great intro to this, plus he gave an example that's very fitting, since Patrick is Austrian - looking for a flight from the US to Vienna, Austria! :) - see below.

From the FrugalTravelGuy:

Airline alliances can be one of the best ways to maximize that value of flying. Whether it’s getting lounge access or earning your preferred miles while flying an international carrier, alliances can help you to get more out of all of your flying. Over the next several weeks we’ll cover the basics of alliances so that you can better understand how to take advantage of them.First off, there are three major alliances: Star Alliance, SkyTeam, and oneworld. United and US Airways are both part of Star Alliance, Delta is part of SkyTeam, and American is part of the Oneworld Alliance.Even though other airlines such as Alaska, Hawaiian, and jetBlue aren’t part of the three major alliances doesn’t mean that they don’t have partners. Each of those airlines have made individual partnerships with various airlines that act similarly to these alliances. Whenever you fly an airline, make sure to check its partnerships because it may be part of an alliance where you have an account or it may have a private partnership with an airline that you have an account with.For instance, Alaska is not part of one of the major alliances, but it has several key partnerships that make it an excellent and extremely flexible program. Alaska partners with both Delta and American as well as several international carriers such as Air France, LAN, Cathay Pacific, and British Airways. Virgin Atlantic, which may be joining an alliance soon, is partners with several U.S. based airlines such as Virgin America, Hawaiian Air, and US Air.One of the biggest benefits, in my opinion, of a frequent flyer program is the ability to earn and redeem miles are “partner” airlines. Often, these airlines are part of an alliance whereby you can fly on other airlines within the alliance, but still receive the benefits of your preferred airline. Alliances can be especially useful if you’re an elite member of an airline. Flying on that alliance will generally get you many of the benefits that you’re used to on your preferred airline such as free checked bags. Also, don’t forget that you can credit miles to any airline with the alliance. That means that if you’re flying British Airways from London to New York, you can credit those miles to American if that’s your airline of choice. This can be especially useful if you often find yourself flying international routes on various international carriers. Yes, fly British Airways, but get credit on American; just enter in your AA number when you make your reservation or at the ticket counter.As an example of what an alliance can offer travelers, we can do a mock booking of a flight from New York (NYC) to Vienna, Austria (VIE) using United miles. The first thing to do is enter in the information on United’s site:United doesn’t have any flights into Austria, meaning you wouldn’t be able to use United miles to fly to Vienna without an alliance. Fortunately, United is part of the Star Alliance and some of their partners fly to Vienna. As you can see on the booking screen, there’s a non-stop flight on Austrian Air as well as several connecting flights on Lufthansa and Swiss Air:This is just one example of how useful alliances can be to travelers: they can open up parts of the world that we may never be able to see without them. Keep in mind that not all websites are equal and that United’s website generally does one of the best jobs of displaying award availability across all of their partners.Alliances can be very important when choosing which airline to focus your domestic flying on. Many of our dream vacations included international destinations that are very hard or even impossible to get to if we could only fly on the domestic airlines. You’ll also find that business class on an International airline will be as nice if not better than some first class experiences you’ll get with that domestic airline (even on the same route!)

Save 20% on select Saver Awards to Europe by UNITED

2012-11-07T12:20:00.002-08:00

Great deal if you feel like a trip to Europe is in the stars for you! If you have followed my mileage collecting advice you should have plenty of United Mileage Plus miles to use for this offer! If not, too bad because this one looks like a great deal for using United Mileage Plus miles.

Book by November 15. Travel between January 15 and March 13, 2013.

Here's the LINK

Free 1000 Priority Points

2012-08-31T16:47:00.001-07:00

Follow this link and answer a few questions to get 1000 Priority Club Points!!

1,000 Priority Rewards points

Trip Report - Austria/Poland and EURO 2012

2012-08-08T12:07:00.000-07:00

Our trip to visit family, enjoy some down time from everyday stress and to see the Euro 2012 opening game in Warsaw was spirited, fun and delicious. The emphasis here must be on delicious because more often than not, we ended up eating our way through places we visited. Our travels today are as much about seeing great places and enjoying excellent company as they are about experiencing local specialties. From the cakes at traditional cafes, to drinking chocolate at Wedel, obwazanki, through the ice cream and gelato, and onto unbelievable baked goods (nowhere in the US do pastries or breads like that exist), not to mention delicious, hearty meals we brought back quite a lot; in excess body weight that is.

The trip entailed flying into Vienna and spending five days there. If you are in town and have done most of the usual tourist things, do check out the Zentral Friedhof (large cemetery in a park-like setting). Also, as always get your fill of traditional cafes. We visited a number of them including the Hotel Sacher one, Café Imperial, Oberlaa and Heiner. All were good but keep in mind that Café Imperial is more of an experience than a place to enjoy a wide selection of cakes. If you are on a tour to find out who has the tastiest Sacher Torte, don’t look further than Demel. We skipped Demel this time as we wanted to try Sacher but Demel clearly wins the longstanding Sacher Torte war. We also took in an interesting opera in the Museums Quarter, more eclectic and interesting in the stage design, less enchanting however in the actual singing part. Since we had more time on our hands we saw an exibit at the Seccession Museum and the Vienna City Museum. The exhibits at the Seccession were different, both cool and comical. The downside of the city museum is that it mainly caters to German speakers so if you are not with a guide or do not have a German speaker who can translate in your party, you might as well skip it.

In Poland we explored the Collegium Maius (original site of Jagiellonian Univeristy established in 1364). Aside from a courtyard which you can check out fee-free, there are tours that take you inside the library, professors’ congress room, lodgings and lecture rooms that served from the 14^th through the 19^th centuries. Outside Krakow we went to Pieskowa Skala, a castle and fortress in the low hills. Both proved to be engaging. The English tour we got at the Collegium really provided a nice snapshot of what life was like at universities in times past.

Visiting Poland during the beginning of the Euro Cup was not in the least unpleasant. The game we attended was exceptionally well organized, from the parking, to public transport etc. Many soccer fan tourists were visiting Poland and Ukraine but there was little to complain about in terms of everyday crowds. The take away from all of this, if you have only been to Austria so far, do venture more east. Poland has a really great place to explore, from its historical gems, to natural beauty, great food (stay away from touristy places and go with local recommendations) and a culture that loves guests.

1000+ points for filling out quick quizzes from Priority Club

2012-06-14T14:22:00.000-07:00

This worked for me nicely. Some of these quizzes I had filled out earlier but I still got 1100 points in the end. It will only take a few minutes - open the quizzes in separate tabs and fill them out quickly that way.
Remember - 5000 points gets you a free Pointsbreaks room in a variety of places around the world! :)

From the PointsGuy:

Priority Club has a fun little promotion going on at the moment where you can rack up to 1,500 Priority Club points by taking 3 different quizzes. The only thing is, you have to take each one of them 3 times to get all the points, but you can do it in two minutes, so you might as well take advantage of the free points.

Quiz 3 earns you 300 points each time you take it for a total of 900 points.

Below you’ll find the links to the three quizzes. Links #1-2 in each lead to the same quiz in English, though they are counted separately because one is for the US and one is for Great Britain. The third link is in Japanese, so be sure to have one of the English quizzes open so you can put in the exact same corresponding answers.
Here are the links and the answers for you (which I don’t feel bad about posting since they’re entirely obvious, and you can find them online):
Quiz 1
Each of these is worth 100 points for a total of 300
Version 1
Version 2
Version 3
Answers
-All of the above
-A free night you can redeem online anywhere
-All of the above and more

One version of each quiz is in Japanese, but the answers are still the same.

Quiz 2
Each of these is worth 100 points for a total of 300
Version 1
Version 2
Version 3
Answers
-15
-All of the above
-Silver
Quiz 3
Each of these is worth 300 points each for a total of 900 points
Version 1
Version 2
Version 3
Answers
-All of the above and more
-All of the above
-All of the above and more
-Over 4,300
-50 nights or 60,000 points (this is the curveball)
And here are the three additional quizzes for a total of 500 more points. Note: they’re in Chinese, so I’ve included the answers below. Hat tip: TPG reader Kevin.
Quiz 1 This one is for 100 points.
Answers
4
1
3
Quiz 2 This one is for 100 points
Answers
3
4
2
Quiz 3 This one is for 300 points.
Answers
4
4
4
4
3

Shortcuts to Airline Award Lists

2012-05-24T12:15:00.003-07:00

From PointsGuy:

Air Canada (Star Alliance)
Air Canada and Star Alliance Award Chart
Star Alliance Upgrade Chart
Partner list
Notes: Air Canada allows “around the world” routing, which means you can travel to Asia via Europe (and stop while in Europe). See Around The World rewards. Also, most awards increased on July 15, 2011.
Air France/KLM (SkyTeam Alliance)
FlyingBlue/Partner Award Calculator
Air France Upgrade Awards
SkyTeam Upgrades
List of Partners
Notes: FlyingBlue runs Promo Awards, that can be great values at 50% less miles needed. Air France is a transfer partner of American Express.
Alaska Airlines
Alaska Award Chart
Partner Award Chart
Alaska Upgrades
List of Partners
Note: Alaska is partners with both American and Delta.
American (Oneworld Alliance) 
American Award Chart
American Upgrade Chart
Oneworld and Partner Award Chart
Distance based Oneworld multi partner Award Chart
Oneworld Upgrade Chart  
List of partners
Notes: Amounts shown are for one-way flights. Only American awards (and now Hawaii, Alaska and BA awards) can be booked online – you must call to book partner awards, though I recommend using the Qantas search engine to find Oneworld availability.
ANA (Star Alliance)
ANA Award Chart
ANA International Award Chart
ANA Partners and Award Chart
British Airways (Oneworld Alliance)
British Airways Avios Calculator 
Oneworld and Partner Award Chart
List of partners: Oneworld & Other
Notes: British Airways is a transfer partner of both American Express Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards. I did a series on maximizing British Airways Avios including Master FAQ Post on British Airways 100,000 Mile Offer, Spotlight on Taxes and Fees, Distance-Based Awards, Travel Together Companion Ticket, Household Accounts, Using Avios to Upgrade Paid Tickets.
Cathay Pacific (Oneworld Alliance)
Cathay and Partners Award and Upgrade Chart
List of partners is available underneath the partner award chart.
Delta (SkyTeam Alliance)
Delta and SkyTeam/Partner Award Chart
Upgrade Awards
List of Partners
Notes: One-way awards are the same price as roundtrip. Delta has three tiers and the online award engine is pretty much broken. See also : Maximizing Stopovers, Open Jaws and Transfers on Delta, Delta.com Quirks and How to Work Around Them, Airfrance.us Now Shows Delta Awards, 10 Tips on Using Delta SkyMiles. Delta is a transfer partner of American Express.
Emirates
Flight and Upgrade Calculator
List of partners
Etihad
Mileage Calculator
Partner Airlines
Note: Etihad is a partner with American Airlines.
Frontier
Award Chart
Note: Frontier is a transfer partner of American Express.
Hawaiian Airlines
Hawaiian Airlines Award Chart
Partner List
Note: Hawaiian Airlines is not in an alliance, but it is partners with airlines including ANA, Delta, Virgin Atlantic and Korean Air.
JetBlue
No award charts, points are a fixed value – around 1 cent per point. More info.
Note: JetBlue is a transfer partner of American Express.
Korean Air (SkyTeam)
Korean Air Award Chart
Korean Air SkyTeam and Partner Award Chart
Partner List
Note: Korean Air is a partner of Chase Ultimate Rewards.
Qantas (Oneworld Alliance)
Qantas and Partner Classic Flights Points Calculator/Chart
Upgrade Chart
Partner list
Singapore (Star Alliance)
Singapore Award Chart
Partner Award Chart
Singapore Upgrade Chart
Star Alliance Upgrade Chart
Partner list
Note: Singapore is an American Express Membership Rewards transfer partner.
Southwest
No award charts – points have fixed values. $1 towards flights is between 60 and 120 points. More info.
United (Star Alliance) 
United Interactive Award and Upgrade Map
United Award Chart/Upgrade Chart
Star Alliance Award Chart/Upgrade Chart
Star Alliance Upgrade Awards after June 15, 2011  List of partners
Notes: United.com is getting better at showing awards, but I still recommend using the ANA tool to find more thorough Star Alliance availability.
US Airways (Star Alliance) 
US Airways Award Chart 
Star Alliance/Partner Award Chart
US Airways Upgrade Chart
Star Alliance Upgrade Chart Partner list
Notes: USairways.com is bad at showing partner awards. All SaverPass awards. I also recommend using the ANA tool for thorough Star Alliance availability.
Virgin America 
Fixed value points – see more information. Points are usually worth 1.6-2.1 cents towards airfare.
Note: Virgin America is a partner of American Express Membership Rewards.
Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic Award Calculator
Virgin Atlantic Upgrades
Partner List
Note: Virgin Atlantic is a partner of American Express Membership Rewards, but it may make sense to transfer to ANA because they may have lower point thresholds and/or fees.

Mother's Day - Make her happy & earn some miles! :)

2012-05-08T10:25:00.002-07:00

Mother's Day is coming up - there are plenty of online flower purchase deals. Nothing like sending mom some flowers and earning a few miles for it as well : It's a true win-win! :) Delta has the best deal at the moment - see below for the rest.

Flowers
Delta: 35 miles per dollar with 1-800-FLOWERS
American: 30 miles per dollar with FTD.com
United: 30 miles per dollar with FTD.com
US Airways: 25 miles per dollar with Teleflora
25% Off with an Amex card with FTD.com (I don’t believe this can be stacked with other mileage earning)
20% Off with a Visa card with FTD.com (I don’t believe this can be stacked with other mileage earning)

Amazon Local Deal - Virgina America $25 credit for $10 spent!!

2012-05-03T09:18:00.004-07:00

Amazon Local deal - LINK
$25 to Spend Towards a Virgin America Round-Trip Flight Taken by June 13
Spend $10 - get $25 Virgin America credit!
Great airline and a great deal!

Accor Hotel Group/Le Club Accorhotels - Instant PLATINUM status

2012-04-09T11:27:00.000-07:00

From "View from the Wing":

Platinum status targeted to certain Citibank World Mastercard customers in the U.A.E. but usable by anyone, create your account with instant platinum status here. If the link says session expired, just hit reload.

Benefits of Platinum status are:

Double your points on each stay
Dedicated customer service team
In Sofitel*, Pullman and MGallery hotels:
- Complimentary drink and welcome gift
- Upgrade **
- Late check-out up to 16:00**
- Guaranteed room availability (when you book at least three days prior to arrival)
In Sofitel Thalassa Sea and Spa hotels:
- One Thalassa Sea and Spa Institute beauty product and treatment
In Adagio hotels:
- Welcome gift for stays of 10 nights or more
- Late check-out**

NYC & Ft. Lauderdale from San Francisco, $220-$240 (R/T, incl. Tax)

2012-03-07T12:45:00.001-08:00

This sale has been going on for a while but it seems that there are still plenty of seats available. If you are flexible this could be a very cheap way to experience the hustle and bustle of NYC or relax on the beach in Forth Lauderdale.

Plenty of April and May dates still available!!

THIS IS A STEAL - flying across the country for less than $300 is very rare!

Here's the LINK where you can check the calendar and book your pretty cheap getaway!

Now you just have to decide whether to pack your flip-flops and suncreen or your comfy walking shoes and coat! :)

250 Priority Club Points for answering a few questions....

2012-03-02T09:41:00.000-08:00

Priority Club has a new survey out and you can get 250 free points by completing it. It's very quick and easy. Remember, you do 20 of these surveys throughout the year, as they become available, that's enough for a night at a PointsBreak Hotel (5000 points/night)! :)

Virgin America: 20% off Flights Through Feb 19 or April 15 - June 15 with Visa Card

2012-02-23T09:12:00.000-08:00

Virgin America is offering 20% off Your Next Flight with your Visa Card when you follow the instructions below. Thanks lucyl
Note: Travel must occur between now and Feb 29 or April 15 - June 15. Blackout dates are Feb 17, Feb 20, May 25, and May 28. Please refer to Terms & Conditions for more information

Click here
Fill in the form and click on "Get Your Code"
You will receive your 20% off code in email
Click here and enter the details of your trip.
Apply your promo code above, click the "Search" button, and use any Visa card for payment.

When Airlines screw up & how to benefit from it!

2012-02-21T10:34:00.006-08:00

Everyone traveling by airplane has experienced at least 1 screw-up by an airline at some point. Whether it be the lost, delayed or damaged luggage, non-working seat/audio/video or simply landing in a completely different destination than planned. Sure it's frustrating and traveling would be a much smoother cruise without these occasional turbulences.

Nevertheless, these unfortunate events can end up paying for your next trip or at least for a new wardrobe. :)
I won't go into too much detail concerning lost/delayed or damaged luggage since most travelers are aware of the particular rules in place. Obviously, when the luggage is damaged,delayed or lost, travelers will head to the baggage claim office of the offending airline - there you will be informed of your options:

DAMAGE

If your suitcase arrives smashed or torn, the airline will usually pay for repairs. In recent years, damage has gotten a new meaning at many airlines - ripped off wheels or zippers are usual wear & tear and may not actually be fixed by the airline. Puncture holes and large rips (away from the seams!!!) are normally handled right away and you walk out of the baggage office with a new luggage. If it can't be fixed, they will negotiate a settlement to pay you its depreciated value and don't expect a major payoff for this. The same holds true for belongings packed inside. Obviously it is extremely unwise to travel with fine crystal or other delicate objects, however you still need to complain and negotiate. If you don't ask, you won't get anything. Remember that flying with Airline partners means that you need to complain in their offices at the baggage claim (e.g. flight booked on United.com but flying Austrian Airlines to Vienna - claim any damage at the Austrian Airlines counter at the Vienna Airport). We have found that international partner carriers are much more helpful and even exchange your bag for high-quality brands (Samsonite, Delsey) compared to US carriers (cheap Made in China bags which are likely to be damaged again sooner rather than later). So, be aware of your choice of claim location!

DELAYED BAGGAGE

If your bags don't come off the conveyor belt, report this to the airline before you leave the airport. Insist that they fill out a form and give you a copy, even if they say the bag will be in on the next flight. If the form doesn't contain the name of the person who filled it out, ask for it. Get an appropriate phone number for following up (not the Reservations number). Don't assume that the airline will deliver the bag without charge when it is found; ask them about this. Most carriers set guidelines for their airport employees that allow them to disburse some money at the airport for emergency purchases. The amount depends on whether or not you're away from home and how long it takes to track down your bags and return them to you. If the airline does not provide you a cash advance, it may still reimburse you later for the purchase of necessities. Of course one man's necessities are another man's luxury items so you better ask what purchases will be most likely to be reimbursed, plus KEEP THE RECEIPTS! At a minimum you will score some brand new underwear. You could claim that you need a suit since you have a business meeting that evening - go shop, at a minimum they will need to reimburse you for part of the value.

If you can't resolve the claim with the airline's airport staff, keep a record of the names of the employees with whom you dealt, and hold on to all travel documents (always a good idea!) and receipts for any money you spent in connection with the mishandling. (It's okay to surrender your baggage claim tags to the airline when you fill out a form at the airport, as long as you get a copy of the form and it notes that you gave up the tags.) Call or write the airline's consumer office when you get home. It might take some time to resolve something like this but it's well worth the effort in the end, especially since you might end up with a nice, free addition to your wardrobe.

LOST LUGGAGE

Once your bag is declared officially lost, you will have to submit a claim. This usually means you have to fill out a second, more detailed form. Check on this; failure to complete the second form when required could delay your claim. Missing the deadline for filing it could invalidate your claim altogether. The airline will usually refer your claim form to a central office, and the negotiations between you and the airline will begin. If your flight was a connection involving two carriers, the final carrier is normally the one responsible for processing your claim even if it appears that the first airline lost the bag. Airlines don't automatically pay the full amount of every claim they receive. First, they will use the information on your form to estimate the value of your lost belongings. Like insurance companies, airlines consider the depreciated value of your possessions, not their original price or the replacement costs. Don't go claiming Versace or Gucci items excessively because Airlines will smell that kind of fraud from miles away.

They often ask for sales receipts and other documentation to back up claims, especially if a large amount of money is involved. If you don't keep extensive records, you can expect to dicker with the airline over the value of your goods. Generally, it takes an airline anywhere from six weeks to three months to pay you for your lost luggage. When they tender a settlement, they may offer you the option of free tickets on future flights in a higher amount than the cash payment. Ask about all restrictions on these tickets, such as "blackout" periods and how far before departure you are permitted to make a reservation.

This leads us to the much more lucrative area of Airline screw-up benefits:

Courtesy/Appreciation Rewards/eCertificates = FREE MONEY

On our recent outing to Buenos Aires - we landed in Rio due to a "volcanic ash cloud" in Argentinean air space. This detour cost us 1 1/2 days in B.A. but on the upside we got free lodging and a free ride through the Brazilian countryside and into the mountains east of Rio. Obviously we would have preferred to stay in downtown Rio but oh well, it was better than sleeping in the lounge, which most other passengers had to do since they didn't have a Brazilian Visa or foreign passports like us.

Now, quite unexpected at our arrival in Buenos Aires - Nadia and I were each handed an eCertificate worth $400 for future travel with United Airlines. We thought that was more than great since the delay did not mess up our itineary too much and $400 could come in quite handy down the road.
Of course, one has to read the fine print VERY carefully. The eCertificate is only valid for travel in the continental US (plus Puerto Rico/US Virgin Islands) & Canada and only on United/Continental flights. Now, coming from a major United hub (San Francisco) we knew we would be able to easily use these certificates. Others may have a bit more trouble of course. In addition, the eCertificate was valid for 1 year since issue so from Nov 2011 to Nov 2012. That kinda forced our hands to plan quickly.

Now, do you only get these eCertificates if you end up in the wrong South American city? The answer is NO! You can get these for a whole host of issues with your flight. The most frequent perhaps may be the non-working audio in your seat, or your personal video screen being broken. A LOT of people do not complain about this to the flight attendants, especially on short flights, thus, the damage goes unnoticed by the airline for quite some time. If you complain about the video/audio and they are unable to fix it (sometimes rebooting the whole plane, just so you can watch an old TV rerun) they SHOULD give you a eCertificate for the missing entertainment value. You paid good money for your seat and flight, which includes the entertainment as well. The eCertificate or little appreciation card you get varies widely in value. Maybe it's $50, perhaps $200 on long-haul flights. Either way, COMPLAIN to the flight attendant, if she brushes you off, ask for her supervisor (Chief Purser, Inflight Service Manager, Cabin Service Manager, etc...) and take it up with him/her. They should give you something for your troubles. I would suggest having this conversation in the galley instead of in your seat - makes for a better, even negotiation environment.

I have been guilty myself of not complaining about video/audio problems on short flights but that was because I was ignorant about these eCertificates & appreciation $s. With airlines charging fees for practically everything right now, it's time for consumers to expect a perfect product & service starting with getting your undamaged luggage at the end of a flight, arriving at the correct destination and being able to enjoy the audio/video entertainment.

So on your next flight remember to keep all this in mind. You will benefit from the knowledge that you are entitled to compensation for a multitude of possible airline screw-ups. ASK of it and you MAY receive. Nothing is for sure but the pay-offs can be quite nice & rewarding.

THE TRAVELBANDITS PLAN OF ACTION

Quebec City

As for us - we used our $400 certificates to purchase 2 tickets to Burlington, VT, normally $477 each, for a total of $154 ($77 each). Not bad at all. It was between that trip or Alaska but we decided we need a lot more time for Alaska to take in the many sites and natural wonders up there.

We will rent a car and head straight for Montreal and then Quebec City. Bonjour Quebec! With plenty of hotel points in our accounts from recent lucrative sign-up bonuses (Marriott 70000pts after first use for example) we will be staying for free in downtown Montreal & Quebec City as well. Thus, thanks to United's decision to chicken out and land in Rio instead (we are being fair, other airlines like Lufthansa, Air France, American Airlines, etc...landed AFTER our estimated arrival time in Buenos Aires) we are able to experience French Canada in the height of summer for practically free! Merci United!!

Airline eCertificates are a steal !!

From the Pointsguy: Do you have to have a business to get a business credit card??

2012-02-12T14:57:00.000-08:00

This is a great write-up about the one thing everyone always asks us about - how come we got so many miles from business credit card sign-up bonuses when we don't have any business. Our "Consulting" services have been in "business" for a long time now and we thought the write-up below (Pointsguy) is a great way to explain this phenomenon! Enjoy!

“Do you have to have a ‘business’ to qualify for a business credit card?”

Technically, yes. However, each credit card company has a different threshold for what information they require for someone to get a business card. Most are very flexible, but Citi is generally the hardest – when I got the American Airlines Business card, I had to provide proof of my business, including government EIN and business checking account information (which I luckily had as a small business owner).
Many small businesses start out as simple DBAs (Doing Business As) which simply denotes a business name used by a person or entity that is different from the person’s or entity’s true name. So if you start a small Ebay business and want to keep those finances separate from your personal expenses, it would be conceivable that you’d want a business credit card. In this case, you can just provide your social security number when asked for EIN and usually that suffices.
You should understand that you will get a hard inquiry on your personal credit score when you get a business card because most business credit lines are personally guaranteed. However, once approved they will sit on your business credit report, which is separate from your personal, so utilization and other factors shouldn’t affect your personal credit score. Business credit cards are also different from personal in that the purchase protection and insurance is generally less generous than with personal cards.

There are many lucrative business credit card offers and you can usually get one personal and one business card per credit card company. For example, several TPG readers have gotten approved for both the 50,000 point Sapphire Preferred and 50,000 point Ink Bold cards on the same day. 100,000 Ultimate rewards points, if transferred smartly, can get you a roundtrip business class trip from US to Europe on United, $1,666 in Southwest flights or even up to 22 one-way short-haul American Airlines flights with British Airways Avios points. When applying for both a personal and business card on the same day, make sure you can meet the spend requirements of both cards, which in the case of the Sapphire Preferred/Ink Bold combo, you’d be looking at $8,000 within 3 months. Both annual fees are waived for the first year.

Some of the top business card deals:
50,000 points for the Chase Ink Bold after $5,000 in spend within the first 3 months. $95 annual fee, waived for the first year.
50,000 points for the Chase Southwest Business card after first use. $99 annual fee.
50,000 miles for the Citi AAdvantage Business card after first use. $75 annual fee, waived for the first year.
30,000 miles for the American Express Delta Business Gold card after first use.
25,000 points for the American Express Business Platinum after $5,000 in spend within first 3 months. $450 annual fee.
25,000 points for the American Express Starwood business card after $5,000 in spend within 6 months. $65 annual fee, waived for the first year.
25,000 points for the Chase Ink Cash after $5,000 in spend within 3 months. No annual fee. They can’t be transferred to Ultimate Rewards airline/hotel partners, but can be used on any airfare
25,000 miles for the Barclay’s US Airways business card after first use. Plus up to 10,000 additional miles for balance transfers. $75 annual fee.

Argentina Trip Report

2011-12-26T10:52:00.000-08:00

Our first ever excursion to South America went relatively well, depending on how much stock you put into the flight aspects of any trip. Before we left I was very optimistic about every feature of what we planned and only worried about my foot injury getting in the way of the usual intensive itineraries that Patrick and I assemble. Our departure date snuck up on us and before we knew it we were waiting for our flight in the United lounge at SFO, even scoring Economy Plus seats at check-in. All seemed on track until we arrived at Dulles for our layover and encountered the first airline problem, one hour delay. We thought nothing of it and boarded our Buenos Aires bound flight with plenty of confidence still. That all changed when about 4 hours before landing in Buenos Aires we noticed that the travel route map no longer showed a clear line to Buenos Aires but rather a line to Rio, as in Brazil.

We were perplexed but figured that since there had been no announcement by the captain, we would be arriving in Argentina eventually a few hours later. Unfortunately, shortly thereafter we learned that the volcanic ash hanging over Buenos Aires (blown in from a Chilean volcano spewing ash for months now) forbids United to land there and instead we would be landing in Rio.

The news was far from satisfactory as I was already exceptionally tired (the trip to Argentina is longer than Europe when coming from the West Coast) and not feeling all that well. Nevertheless, after 11 hours of flight we landed in unanticipated Rio de Janeiro and soon after landing learned that we would not be able to fly out to Buenos Aires until the next day, oh yes and there were no available hotels so all the people onboard would enjoy the comforts of an airport Executive lounge instead. Needless to say we were not impressed and so for the next two hours we tried to see about getting a flight out on a different airline, trying to find a hotel in Rio that was not atrociously expensive and figuring out what a night in the lounge may be like since some folks were already snoring loudly at 2pm.

Hotel "St. Moritz" in the Rio Mountains

An announcement came at last informing passengers that nationals of countries that do not require a visa to enter Brazil or those who have a visa already in their passport would be allowed to leave the lounge and spend the night at a hotel arranged for by United. This was a great time to be carrying an EU passport as my hubby was and also to be a national of two nations (as in my case), one which is not the US. We collected ourselves and entered Brazil with about 40 other people, heading to a hotel high up in the mountains above Rio. The trip was supposed to take 40 minutes however after about 3 hours we drove up to an Alpine cabin (Hotel St. Moritz) in the middle of the jungle. Everyone was a tad surprised as the only thing throwing off the Euro-mountain scene were tropical bird sounds, intense humidity and intensely green vegetation. The hotel was rustic but decent food was served and bed with clean sheets beats an uncomfortable couch in an airport lounge. The next day we were picked up and taken back to Rio International for a flight to Buenos Aires at last.

Some Buenos Aires Attractions

We had already lost 1.5 days in Buenos Aires so right after arriving at our hotel in Microcentro we set out to explore the city by night. We headed for Florida street where the first meal we had was delicious gelato, an appetizer before a meat-centered dinner. We checked out the Plaza de Mayo and then walked to Puerto Madero where we ate at a fixed-price restaurant, La Bistecca, at 11pm no less. The late dinners in Argentina fit our tight schedule well but eating that late is an adjustment. The next day, before leaving for El Calafate we explored La Boca with famous Caminito and La Bombonera stadium. We also threw in San Telmo, a lovely neighborhood with homes of yesteryear’s aristocrats.

Arriving at Aeroparque for our Patagonia flight on Aerolineas Argentinas was a little shocking as the flight time had been moved up, the line for check-in was long and while using a self-check in machine we learned that our ticket was not valid for the flight we were booked on. After some trepidation, being relegated to a “special” line along with 10 other passengers, discussion with airline reps about what the problems at hand were (reasons included allowed weight limits for the aircraft that needed overriding by an airline supervisor, to an air traffic controller strike), we eventually got on the flight we were meant to be on. This would not be the first time that Aerolineas Argentinas would make our life a tad difficult. Nevertheless, we arrived in El Calafate safely, checked into Las Dunas (a lovely hosteria outside of the town center, right on the shores of Lago Argentino) and enjoyed a steak and Patagonian lamb dinner to die for before retiring for the night. The next day an excursion to the Perito Moreno Glacier awaited us, complete with glacier trekking.

Perito Moreno Glacier

The glacier turned out to be a spectacular trip, complete with a scenic drive to the park, a rainy/windy boat ride, an incredible trek on the white-blue glacier and time on the overlook balconies where we saw chunks of the ice mass crash into frigid waters. An excursion like this would likely prove difficult for anyone who would have a hard time hiking up and down hills, but if health permits this trip is not to be missed. Hielo y Aventura does a really nice job of challenging you physically a bit, teaching you a thing or two about glaciers and rewarding you at the end with some alfajores and cold whiskey (ice courtesy of the glacier that surrounds you).

After a physically trying day we learned that Aerolineas Argentinas would again complicate things for us by making it seem like the flight we were booked on, once again was cancelled. They even hung up on both our helpful hotel clerk and Patrick when we tried to confirm with the Aerolinas Argentinas telephone customer service. We were lucky to have the staff of a local Aerolineas office (which was packed with tons of other less than happy passengers when we arrived early on Saturday morning to deal with the matter) solve our ticket dilemma. Still we are not quite sure what was wrong entirely but after 30 solid minutes at the counter, the agent furiously typing, head shaking, discussion with her colleagues and worried looks she finally issued 2 boarding passes for the flight we were to be on anyway based on our previous reservations. We got on the flight, but again only after a slow, long line for check-in, little information about things like the need to pay a local tourist tax (last minute since boarding had started while we were still in line with other passengers and a change of arrival airport in Buenos Aires (EZE instead of AEP).

Once again only having an evening in the capital we headed for Torre de los Ingleses and a HUGE steak dinner at a somewhat touristy restaurant recommended by the concierge at our hotel. Good advice for eating out in Argentina’s restaurants: under-order as the portions are huge no matter what you get. After we finished our dinner we proved once again that we live in a truly small world these days by running into visitors from the San Francisco area in a convenient store. The next morning we were off to Iguazu Falls up north, this time though on a LAN flight. Everything went according to plan, and even though Argentinian airports are somewhat unorganized when it comes to boarding protocol we had a pleasant flight.

Iguazu Falls

Once Iguazu we headed for our hotel located inside the Park, where we spent the rest of the day walking around and admiring the Falls (there is a total of 275 actual falls). Our first glimpse was Garganta del Diablo, a momentous sight to behold, and be soaked by. Between the heat, humidity and mist from the Falls you will not be able to stay dry for long. Other interesting things to see included coatis (raccoon like mammals that roam the park in great numbers), monkeys high up in trees, beautiful birds and loads of colorful butterflies. The rest of our two day excursion was spent visiting the Brazilian side of the Falls, admiring them from above in a helicopter tour and a visit to the Parque Das Aves to see some amazing birds. No trip would be complete of course without me injuring myself in some way so to add to my foot problem I slipped on a wet floor and caused my already sore neck to painfully lock in place. When Patrick and I travel we don’t mess around so everything we planned still unfolded but required pain meds to get me through. What added to our pleasant trip was the fact that our cab driver from the airport, Ramon, ended up taking us around the rest of the area, to and from Brazil.

Toucan in Parque das Aves - Brazil

Returning to Buenos Aires for one last time we set out to explore Palermo where we got caught in a summer thunderstorm. At that point we had already covered a lot of ground from the zoo to the neighborhood so we spent the rest of the evening taking the subway and taxis to cut down on the walking in Recoleta. Our last full day was spent visiting Café Tortoni, Manzana de las Luces and shopping in a very non-tourist, off the grid neighborhood on Gurruchaga Street (up from where Palermo is). We benefited from knowing where to go not only through careful research on our own but also through familial connections with folks who are Buenos Aires natives (Portenos). No trip to Argentina would be complete without a leather purchase and so I scored a bright green purse as a souvenir.

The last part of our trip which requires reporting is our departure from Ezeiza, again an aiport nightmare, which clearly followed us throughout this entire journey. With plenty of time to go before our flight we were told at check-in that we better hurry up because the line for security is over an hour long. Sure enough the line snaked all the way down an escalator (airport designer likely did not plan for so many people in one line), with people nervously checking their watches and monitors for their flight’s boarding and departure times. Basically, many people began to cut in line with the help of airline agents as boarding times approached, causing mayhem as the agents would disappear once through the first boarding pass check. This was probably the first time in our lives that the threat of a mob where people get trampled loomed.

By cutting in line we ticked off many people, clapping and yelling ensued as one measly security guard looked on, hoping to control hundreds of people. Between the long line outside, only two screening machines being open, not enough passport control people and additional checks for those traveling on flight to the US (total of 5 separate security checks) we had a hard time believing we would make our flight. Airlines agents also did not prove helpful as some said that airlines wait for folks like us in these situations and others just shook their head, oh yes and advice given by one agent amounted to telling people in the passport line to run (not walk) to their gate once their passport was checked. We made it on our flight, left with a delay because we were waiting for all those people who were still stuck in line but arrived home in one piece, exhausted after 10 days of hard-core travels, but certainly enriched by the experience.

Virgin America Sale....

2011-11-08T15:24:00.000-08:00

I just got an interesting little email - if you are flexible and feeling like a little getaway, Virgin America has an excellent sale to lots of cities from SFO. To receive these special updates, sign-up for Travelzoo newsletters.

As a Travelzoo VIP, you are receiving this Newsflash email
before other subscribers.

SAN FRANCISCO--NOVEMBER 08, 2011-- For the next 96 hours,
Virgin America is reducing nationwide fares from San
Francisco to as low as $39 each way -- the lowest we've seen
from the airline for winter travel.

These fares are available Mondays-Thursdays and Saturdays,
Nov. 24 - Feb. 15.

One-way nonstop fares include:

- Los Angeles ... $39
- Las Vegas ... $39
- San Diego ... $39
- Seattle ... $69
- Dallas ... $99
- Chicago ... $99
- Palm Springs ... $99 (begins Dec. 15)
- Boston ... $129
- Washington, D.C. ... $129
- Fort Lauderdale ... $129
- Orlando ... $139
- New York ... $139

From FrugalTravelGuy - Deals of the Day

2011-10-06T11:41:00.001-07:00

Delta is offering 1,000 (2,000 for cardholders) miles for giving $50 to the United Way. Offer is limited to the first 5000 people so I would make sure you’re one of those before giving (if you’re just in it for the miles, that is).

Deals We Like discusses how to get Triple Southwest points (1800 WN points per Hyatt stay) instead of Hyatt points.

View From the Wing has a way to earn 2500 free US Airways miles and a hit in the Grand Slam! All you have to do is sign up for a ShareBuilder Account!

Earn 250 Delta MQMs for every two-night stay at Hilton. This can be used in addition to their Q4 promotion.

Enter to win up to $1 million at Chase Freedom’s Facebook page.

National Car is also running a Facebook contest that is giving away up to 350,000 airline miles, plus Emerald Club Executive Elite Status for one year.

Southwest is giving away up to 3 Million Points or 100 weekly points

Free and Instant Accor A-Club Platinum Status

2011-10-06T11:39:00.000-07:00

Via Milepoint, Accor is offering instant Platinum status just for enrolling (with this HSBC promo).

Platinum status generally requires 60 nights (or 25,000 points earned) and comes with a 100% points bonus and then at Sofitel, Pullman, and MGallery hotels: room upgrades that the rules say you specifically have to ask for, 4pm late checkout, guaranteed availability, and a welcome drink and gift.

So not a bad deal and more importantly - it's FREE!

Current Mileage/Point Status

2011-08-18T10:35:00.000-07:00

It's always nice to have a general accounting of mileage/point balances. I used awardwallet.com for all my miles/points tracking and highly recommend it!

Patrick:

American - 87K
British Airways - 120K
Continental - 48K
Delta - 17K
Hawaiian - 122K
LAN - 27K

United - 121K
US Airways - 35K
Virgin America - 6K

Hilton - 40K
Starwood - 41K
Holiday Inn - 60K
Radisson - 53K

Obviously I will need to boost both my Delta and Virgina America accounts in the next few months. I am comfortable with both the AA and United situation and especially happy about my Hawaiian account balance - all courtesy of repeated sign-up bonus gravy from BofA and Bank of Hawaii Visa cards.
Hotel points could be better but 41K Starwood points will pay for a lot of cash+point hotels in the future.
Radisson 53K was all the points we earned during our stay in the Bahamas. We will probably use it in Europe since the awards in the US are heavily overvalued.

Nadia:

American - 6K
British Airways - 109K
Continental - 24K
Delta - 51K
Hawaiian - 47K
United - 36K

Virgin America - 2K

Hilton - 61K
Starwood - 2K
Holiday Inn - 21K

It is obvious that Nadia is not as active as me in the mileage/point collecting through credit card sign up bonuses. However, she has a healthy account balance in both Delta and Hilton accounts and decent balances in the major airlines. We just signed her up for two personal Citi AA cards which should give her a total of 150K miles after minimum spend requirements are fulfilled.

All in all, not bad and we are still young so the collecting will continue unabated. Once I have established a continuous level of 100K+ in most of the current airline accounts we will start adding more airlines to the mix.

Starwood Preferred Guest - Cash and Points - A Guide

2011-08-18T10:21:00.000-07:00

From FrugalTravelguy - Rookie Shannon

This is the best write-up about the excellent Starwood Cash&Points program I have seen and we have been a continuous user of this, especially in Europe, where top-notch hotels can be reserved for as little as $60/night and a few thousand SPG points. It's a very nice deal.

Shannon (FrugalTravelGuy.com):

A great way to maximize SPG points and save big on hotel rooms is to utilize SPG's cash-and-points offer. They allow you to redeem hotel nights using a combination of Starpoints and cash, which in many cases, turns out to be a pretty good value.

Cash and Points Guide: This is just a "guide" they provide and it is not all-inclusive. You must search for your destination and dates individually to confirm availability and to see if the deals really work out for you. Blackout dates do apply to some cash and points redemptions. The hotel list offers only a few examples since there are many, many more hotels in each category. I just wanted to give you a general idea of the hotels that fall under each category.

Note to all: "Guest will not receive Starpoints or airline miles for their reservations; therefore, a Cash and Points stay does not qualify as an eligible stay toward earning elite level or toward any promotions requiring nights or stays." (Taken directly from www.spg.com.)

Category 1 Hotels (offer valid for Asia Pacific, U.S., and Canadian hotels only) -- 1200 Starpoints + $25 per night.

Hotel Examples:

Four Points by Sheraton: Lexington KY , Detroit Metro MI, Charlotte NC, Pittsburgh Airport PA, Manasses Battlefield VA

Category 2 Hotels (offer valid for Asia pacific,U.S. and Canadian hotels only) -- 1600 Starpoints + $30 per night.

Hotel Examples:

Four Points by Sheraton - Sacramento Int. Airport CA, Ventura Harbor Resort CA, Cocoa Beach FLA, Orlando Studio City FLA, Boston Logan Airport MASS, Niagara Falls NY, Portland East OR, Houston Airport.

Aloft: Phoenix Airport, Ontario-Rancho Cucamonga CA, Baltimore-Washington Intl Airport, Chapel Hill NC, Chesapeake VA, Green Bay WI

Westin: Dallas Fort-Worth Airport TX, Atlanta Airport GA

Category 3 Hotels -- 2800 Starpoints + $45

Hotel Examples:

Sheraton: Brussels Belgium, Zagreb Croatia, Frankfurt and Munich Germany, Athlone Ireland, Bari, Florence, Catania, Malpensa, Padova and Rome Italy, Warsaw Poland, Canary Islands Spain.

Westin: Zagreb Croatia.

Le Meridien: St Julians Hotel and Spa Malta (great for me to find out as my grandparents are from Malta and I still have a ton of family there!), Dresden Germany.

Value of Points Example: Rome Italy, Category 3, Check in 10/17/2011. Check Out 10/21/2011. Cash-and-Points was available for the Sheraton Roma Hotel and Conference Center at 2800 Starpoints + $45 U.S. Dollars. The standard rate was 252 EUROS per night, At our current exchange rate of 1.44 EUR to the US dollar, that's $362 per night! I think 2800 Starpoints and $45 US dollars is a much better deal. When you subtract the $45 per night from the $362 per night fee, it leaves you with $317. Divide that by the total number of Starpoints required per night -- in this case 2800 -- and each Starpoint is worth approx 11 cents. That is great when the purchasing value from SPG is around 2 cents per point.

Category 4 -- 4000 Starpoints + $60.

Hotel Examples:

Westin: The Westin Grand, Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt Germany; Dublin Ireland; Dragonara Resort St. Julians Malta; Valencia Spain

Le Meridien:Vienna Austria, Brussels Belgium, Lav Split Croatia, Park Hotel Frankfurt Germany, Le Royal Hamburg Germany, Rimini Italy, Warsaw Poland, Penina Golf and Resort Portimao Portugal, Istambul Etiler Turkey (starting Nov. 14, 2011).

Sheraton: Four Points Milan Italy, Rhodes Greece, Lisboa Hotel and Spa Portugal, La Caleta Resort and Spa Costa Adeje Tenerife Canary Islands Spain, Stockholm Hotel Sweden.

Value of Points Example, Europe: I searched for a room in Brussels, Belgium, checking in on 5/16/2012 and checking out on 5/19/2012. Cash-and-Points was available for a Category 3 and Category 4 hotel. The Category 4 Sheraton Brussels Hotel deal was 4000 Starpoints and $60 dollars per night; 10,000 Starpoints or 199 Euros per night ($285.5 US). The exchange is as follows: Using 10000 Starpoints per night, each point would be valued at 0.028 of a dollar or about 3 cents. Using cash-and-points, subtracting the $60 US and dividing the remainder by the 4000 points used leaves each Starpoint at a value of 0.056 of a dollar or about 6 cents. The Category 3 available was the Four Points By Sheraton at 2800 Starpoints and $45 US per night; 7000 Starpoints or 135 Euros( $194.4 US) per night. Starpoints alone: The value would be 0.027 of a dollar or about 3 cents per point. Using cash-and-points as indicated above: The value of each Starpoint was 5 cents.

Category 5 -- 4800 Starpoints + $90

Hotel Examples:

Westin: Resort and Spa Whistler, British Columbia, Sydney Australia, Shanghai China, Sendai Japan, Costa Navarino Greece, Grand Cayman, Princeville Kauai, Kaanapali Maui, Times Square NYC.
Le Meridien: Le Parker Meridien Palm Springs CA, Tahiti French Polynesia, Limassol Cyprus, Nice and Paris France, Barcelona Spain.

Sheraton: Waikiki Honolulu Hawaii, Maui Resort and Spa, Koloa Kauai, Tribeca NYC, Queensland Australia, Hong Kong China, Grand Tokyo Bay Hotel Japan, Rio De Janiero Brazil, Milan Italy, Amsterdam Airport Netherlands.

Value of Points Example, The Element New York Times Square West: Checking in on 3/6/12 and checking out on3/9/12, the standard room rate is $390 US dollars per night. Using 100% points, it was 12,000 points per night, each point valued at 3 cents. Using the cash-and-points option of 4800 Starpoints and $90 US, each Starpoint was valued at 0.62 of a dollar or 6 cents.

Category 6 -- 8000 Starpoints + $150 US per night.

Hotel Examples:

Prince de Galles Paris France, Vedema Resort Santorini Greece, Hotel Danieli Venice Italy, Le Meridien Beach Plaza Monte Carlo Monoco, Le Meridien Picadilly London England.

Value of Points Example, The Hotel Grand in Bretagne Athens, Greece: Checking in on 2/1/2012 and checking out on 2/7/2012, the standard room rate was 245 Euros or $352.8 US per night. Using points alone, the redemption rate is 20,000 Starpoints per night valuing your points at 0.017 of a dollar or just under 2 cents each. Cash-and-points was 8000 Starpoints and $150 US per night, valuing your points at 0.025 of a dollar or 2.5 cents each.

As you can see, Cash and Points can be a great way to maximize the value of your Starpoints redemption. Category 3 and 4 hotels in Europe seem to offer the greatest value. Have fun planning your next vacation using Cash and Points!

HEAR - HEAR!
Get in on the action by applying for a Starwood American Express Card
For a limited time you can get 30000 points (10K at first use, 20K after spending $4500 in 3 months)

Application Link HERE

500 Free Points for Accepting Text Messages From Priority Club

2011-08-18T10:09:00.000-07:00

Via Points Addict, if you’re willing to accept Priority Club marketing messages via text there’s 500 free points for doing so. It’s a Visa promotion, you have to register a Visa card with your signup.

You Should Go to Grand Bahama if…..

2011-08-18T10:07:00.000-07:00

We spent a wonderful week in Grand Bahama, at the Raddison Our Lucaya resort in the late spring. While we had a nice relaxing time, something that two itinerary wielding individuals usually don’t do, there are things that we would like to warn other travelers about.

Grand Bahama is a sole destination for a small percentage of travelers, almost everyone else visits the island on a cruise. The combination of this along with the recent economic downturn means that Grand Bahama lacks some of the luxuries typically associated with a tropical hot spot. The small number of restaurants outside of the Lucaya Marketplace was further diminished by global economic woes in recent years. In addition, entertainment options are also scant. Unless you plan to visit some shops during very specific opening times in Freeport, the city itself has nothing to offer. We lucked out by visiting when the annual Junkanoo celebration (which historically took place only around Christmas time) was taking place and this parade was in Freeport. Keep in mind that the International Market that many un-updated guidebooks write extensively about is nothing spectacular, and today largely features dodgy restaurants and a few shops.

With that in mind you may be asking yourself why go at all? The answer is that crowd-free, deserted beaches and poolsides are something extraordinary. Additionally, the value of relaxing in a place that isn’t crawling with screaming tourists and forceful souvenir peddling shopkeepers is simply unmatched. And while those who are foodies will find the options somewhat lacking, there is still plenty to eat without worrying about getting ill like in numerous other tropical destinations. So if you want to be wowed by white, powder sand, deserted beaches and simply hunger for simple relaxation with a book and drink then Grand Bahama is a brilliant choice. For Southerners and East Coast dwellers it is basically the same distance as Florida (Grand Bahama is the closest island to the Sunshine State). We returned from our 7 day vacation rested, refreshed and content.

While there do checkout the dolphin experience, rent a car to explore beaches off the beaten path => drive east on the Great Bahama Highway, turn right on some of the small, little dirt roads leading to either "For Sale" abandoned beach front properties or direct beach access that only locals know about. We discovered multiple nice beaches that way, had them completely to ourselves and found a treasure trove of sea shells, which are now gracing our dining table. Also, take advantage of various boat excursions (including snorkeling, deserted island exploration etc).

Bahamas Trip Report - brought to you by Nadia

2011-08-18T09:57:00.000-07:00

Raddisson our Lucaya Resort & Spa - Grand Bahama

A few weeks ago we returned from a very relaxing trip to Grand Bahama (stayed at Raddison our Lucaya). We had a great time, enjoyed fantastic weather and loved the soft, white sand beaches. Unfortunately, the Bahamas, and especially Grand Bahama, is undergoing a major economic downturn which takes a toll on what is offered to vacationers. The economic situation is a result of less tourists coming to the island and so unemployment is high. A large number of restaurants, stores and even hotels are closed. While the island is not in its prime, so to speak, I would still recommend going if you are looking for a truly relaxing time. The fact that there are so few people works out well for those who hate crowds or shiver at the thought of having to wake up early to get a place to sit by the pool. We greatly enjoyed the quiet atmosphere and overall beauty offered by the Caribbean. The situation in general left us less annoyed at the small number of places to eat or closed hotel facilities for example, and more feeling sorry for the people who live there and have to deal with the unpleasant circumstances. As a bottom line, if your expectations are not too high and you can get used to the laid back, island attitude about it all, Grand Bahama is still a great destination.

The hotel:

Raddison Our Lucaya was not all that we had hoped it would be. The service and attitude of hotel employees varied, from the unorganized at the front desk to more personal and sweet at restaurants, bars, towel shack and so on. Only one pool is open (and it is not the one with the Sugar Mill and cascading water), and most restaurants are closed, leaving the open ones to rotate opening days/times among. We stayed for 7 days and during that time only the weekends felt somewhat fuller, while during the week perhaps 5% of the rooms were filled. The food at the hotel (and at restaurants outside the Raddison) is also nothing to get too excited about. It is ok but certainly not a paradise for foodies. Diners with moderate expectations will also find that the food is unimaginative and simply blah, with a gem once in a while (try the Key Lime pie at Led Med). The hotel could also use a facelift as the rooms are clean but somewhat outdated. The grounds are nice but suffer from the lack of desperately needed money, cash that would allow for some extra sprucing up. The Lucaya Marketplace area where the Raddison sits is actually one of the best places to be. In the eastern part of the island you will find tiny vacation rentals that are truly secluded (as we found the one day we rented a car to explore). While the beaches there are nicer than the one outside the Radisson, there is nothing in terms of entertainment, decent dining options etc. If you really want something exceptionally low key, it would probably be a good place to check out for a few days. If you want some entertainment though and less seclusion, check into the Raddison.

Excursions/Things to do:

We really had a great time on the UNEXSO dolphin experience and on Pat and Diane’s Desert Island/Snorkeling Adventure (both highly recommended). Also if you can rent a car definitely go to the eastern part of the island. The deserted, calm-water beaches are stunning. Freeport, a short cab ride away from Lucaya Beach, also does not offer much. We went to the International Bazaar only to be really disappointed by the emptiness and mostly closed shops. On a different night we had the opportunity to take in Freeport again though when the 1st Annual Rush for Peace junkanoo parade took place. Junkanoo is a parade with costumes and music that takes places in the Bahamas (and a few other Caribbean islands) around Christmas time. Recently though Grand Bahama has started hosting one in June and since we were there we decided to take it in. It was fun to watch although took a LONG time to get started and was a bit unorganized.

Hillarious! :)

2011-05-20T11:37:00.001-07:00

Hilarious video - so true....unfortunately...so true! :)

It's raining Miles & Points

2011-05-16T11:11:00.000-07:00

Recent sign-up bonuses are out of control.....it's literally raining points & miles people!!!

A quick sample of currently available sign-up bonuses on credit cards:

60,0000pts Priority Club Chase Visa Card
50,000pts Marriott Chase Visa Card
50,000pts Chase Sapphire Visa (transferable 1:1 to British Airways, Continental, Hyatt, etc...)
50,000pts American Express Membership Reward points Gold Premier (transferable 1:1 to a variety of airlines & hotels)
35,000Miles Hawaiian Airlines VISA (Bank of Hawaii)
35,000Miles Hawaiian Airlines VISA (Bank of America)
50000 but up to 100000Miles American Airlines Citibank...

The list goes on and on and would be too long to list completely.
I am not sure if 30 to 50000 miles/points is the new normal - I doubt it. So, I suggest you quickly jump on the bandwagon because these sign-up bonuses can't last. The airlines are practically giving free tickets away.

Just today I applied and was approved for both the 60,000 Priority Club visa card & the 50,000 American Express Gold Premier card. That means lots of free hotel nights & a 50,000mile injection in a airline reward program of my choice.

I recently cancelled my Hawaiian Airlines credit cards and am thinking of going for the combined 70K Hawaiian mile offers soon.

Take advantage of these offers - it's a lot of miles & points for the taking. Unfortunately many of these cards are given out by Chase so make sure you apply for some of them at the same time (multiple browser windows!!!). I project that these offers will shrink significantly once the economy is back on its feet and consumer spending is up again.