Author: Dana

Roscoe the dog says: "Can I come too?"
FREQUENT FLYER MILES AND HOTEL POINTS PACKING TIPS AND TRICKS 

The Secret to Packing Light: One “Weird” Trick and One Huge Advantage

Dana 0 Comments

(Roscoe the dog asking, “can I come too?”)

“That’s all you have?” The crew member was clearly puzzled when I checked-in for my Boston to Bali adventure. Yes indeed. All I had was a small day pack and a larger convertible backpack: one item for under the seat and another for the overhead compartment. This was in the dawn of prehistory when hardly any airlines charged for checked bags. “And you’ll be gone how long?” Two and a half weeks. But it could have been two and a half months. Her expression grew more perplexed. “How?”

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Hawaii - Kapu means "it is forbidden"
BEGINNER CREDIT CARDS FREQUENT FLYER MILES AND HOTEL POINTS 

Top 3 Mile & Points Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

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(Kapu means “forbidden” in Hawaiian)

Nearly all of us have made regrettable points mistakes early on, and not so early on, in this hobby. Such is the case generally in life, right? “If only I knew then what I know now.” Or, “I should have known better.” Here’s a list of the top 3 frequent flyer mile and points mistakes and how to prevent them. Each could have its own post, so we’ll just hit the highlights.

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St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City. Is St. Pete pointing the way to free travel?
FREQUENT FLYER MILES AND HOTEL POINTS 

Credit Card Signup Bonuses: The Key to Free Travel. A Beginner’s Guide, Part III

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In part I and part II, we learned how credit card sign up bonuses play a significant role in traveling free (or nearly so). In this third installment, we’ll explore an action plan to get started: which credit cards should a beginner go for first? If you’re new and haven’t already, please read parts I and II. Although there may be overlapping information, we assume knowledge from those posts. Less new but things still not making sense? Follow the Roman Numerals enumerated above.

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Roving sunlight from the Oculus at Rome's Pantheon. Praise be to United Mileage Plus points for getting us there.
BEGINNER CREDIT CARDS FREQUENT FLYER MILES AND HOTEL POINTS 

Credit Card Signup Bonuses: The Key to Free Travel. A Beginner’s Guide, Part II

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In Credit Card Signup Bonuses: The Key to Free Travel. A Beginner’s Guide, Part I, we discussed:

  • Truly free travel vs. “OMG, I’m Living My Dreams!” heavily subsidized travel
  • What the frequent flyer mile points game is about
  • Who should play it and who shouldn’t
  • The 5 chief types of credit cards used in The Hobby
  • Some variations on those credit cards and how to multiply your points take
  • What to put on credit cards–not cutesy little butterfly stickers…

In this second installment, we resume our Beginner’s Journey by adding actionable credit card signup bonus travel intelligence; answering the question “How do I really get started?” We also serve up a large heaping of Things You Just Need To Know to your fine self. Let’s do this thing.

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Roscoe staying free on hotel points at the Country Inn & Suites Asheville Westgate; acting like he owns the place
FREQUENT FLYER MILES AND HOTEL POINTS HOTEL POINTS 

Hotel Points Eclipsed Cash in Asheville, NC: Club Carlson to the Rescue!

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Two prescient friends of ours booked hotels with cash a year before the total solar eclipse. Friends don’t let friends pay cash (for hotels or flights)–but we’re working on them with the hotel points thing. The prescience was, being astronomy nerds, they suspected prices would grow more outlandish as media hype intensified. Booking by phone many moons prior, a puzzled local hotel manager asked why they were making reservations so early. “The eclipse,” they responded. “Huh,” must have been the response. #RevenueManagementFail.

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St Maarten - you could get here free with credit card signup bonuses
BEGINNER CREDIT CARDS FREQUENT FLYER MILES AND HOTEL POINTS 

Credit Card Signup Bonuses: The Key to Free Travel. A Beginner’s Guide, Part I

Dana 2 Comments

“The only thing I’ve ever gotten free was 10 chicken wings,” joked a co-worker of mine. The conversation had been about another of my nearly free trips. To where I don’t recall: Hawaii, Rome, Paris, a Greek Isles cruise. Didn’t matter. What did was the notion that nearly anyone could do what I’d done: travel the world practically free through strategically planned credit card signup bonuses.

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Welcome gift from the Grant Hyatt Kauai
HILTON HOTELS HYATT IHG MARRIOTT TRAVEL HACKING 

Welcome Gifts Gallery from Hotel Room Special Requests

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As promised in blog post “Dear Hotel Manager: Email Your Way to Free Room Upgrades and Welcome Gifts“, here’s a gallery of various welcome gifts we’ve received in our travels. Undoubtedly, we’ve forgotten to photograph some of them along the way. So think of this as a Selection. Looking forward to seeing what hotels will gift us this September on our Anniversary trip to Japan; the Japanese being famous for gorgeous food presentation.

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Complimentary birthday welcome gifts from the Hilton Waikaloa Village on the Big Island of Hawaii
FREQUENT FLYER MILES AND HOTEL POINTS HOTEL POINTS HYATT TRAVEL HACKING WYNDHAM 

Hotel Room Upgrade Success Stories: 4 Video Walkthroughs

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In a previous post, we learned how to email hotel managers for free hotel room upgrades. Here, I’ll share some success stories. The point? I want to inspire you to do the same. Then you’ll have success stories of your own to share: with friends, family, colleagues, and, if you’ll have us, My Points Blog. Do so in the comments section below or reach out to us via the Contact page. No textual Deep Dives here–just plenty of eye candy sorted by year. Enjoy. Or try to. Please excuse the poor videography in advance.

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Complimentary birthday welcome gift at the Andaz Maui
HOTELS TRAVEL HACKING 

Dear Hotel Manager: Email Your Way to Free Room Upgrades and Welcome Gifts

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Gimme dat! “Say please first,” your mom always said. Mom’s right. Asking for something nicely like free room upgrades, spa access, and welcome gifts greatly increases your probability of success with a hotel manager. And as some wise person once declared: “half of life is in the asking.” Further, giving a good reason why your wish should be granted tilts the playing field in your favor.

Put these concepts into practice by writing friendly, concise, and specific emails to hotel managers and I predict Great and Wondrous Things shall be granted to you. Sometimes it’s better to receive than give. However, if you show good character, courtesy, and respect in a hotel manager email for a special room request, you’re in a sense giving kindness. And Kindness is King. From my perspective specifically, a King Corner Suite, Top Floor with lounge access. 🙂 Join me as we learn how to soft-sell our way into hotel perks typically reserved for Elites.

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Ancient road in ruins of Ostia Antica in Rome. Accessible via Metro, a good alternative for those who can't get to Pompeii. Travel hackers, of course, know these secrets.
FREQUENT FLYER MILES AND HOTEL POINTS HOTEL POINTS HOTELS TRAVEL HACKING 

Hotel Search Tools: a few of my favorite travel hacking things

Dana 0 Comments

Whiskers on kittens. Warm woolen mittens. Confess. You know the rest, right? If you don’t, you have no soul. If you do, you have no shame. But did you know about hotel search and other travel hacking tools unadvertised by TV and Film? Of course you don’t unless you’ve been in the frequent flyer miles and points Hobby. Let’s remedy that, shall we? Within, we’ll go round the travel search tool world and observe a few of my favorite ones. Fasten your seat belts. It’s going to be a bumpy night; I mean ride. 🙂

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Somewhere above the clouds in Hawaii. Either the Big Island or Maui.
AUTO RENTAL CAR RENTAL SAVING MONEY TRAVEL HACKING 

AutoSlash: Save money on car rentals while you sleep

Dana 0 Comments

“Save money on car rentals while you sleep.” If it’s not their slogan, it oughta be. Because you may have asked yourself. Self? This AutoSlash thing. Is it an Urban Dictionary definition? For example, a thug deflates one’s tires for sporting a controversial bumper sticker. “Vote Cthulu: Why settle for the lesser of two evils?” or some such. Ain’t got nothin’ to do with that folks. Nothin’. AutoSlash is the best thing since sliced skinny bagels. And no Martha, MyPointsBlog.com has no financial relationship with AutoSlash. We just enjoy raking in the savings on car rentals, yo, and believe you will too. So what is AutoSlash and how does it all work Now, seriously folks…

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