I just booked my first cruise in over a decade, and I'm really excited! You guys know how obsessed I am with planes. Well, in my pre-teens I was every bit as obsessed with cruise ships. Living in Florida, my parents would take me on a cruise once a year…
For those of you not familiar with Amex Offers, it’s a program available through most Amex cards, where different cards are eligible for different savings and bonus offers. In many cases the offers can be huge, and more than offset the annual fee on…
Gosh, this is just a horrible story. The Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong, located on the top 15 floors of Hong Kong's tallest building, is one of the best hotels in the city. Unfortunately a rather gruesome incident occurred there over the weekend. A 42 year…
It looks like Saudi Arabia is dealing with a bit of internal turmoil at the moment, as the country's crown prince has arrested princes and former ministers as part of an anti-corruption drive. While the story is still developing, as of now about 50 people…
With Marriott having taken over Starwood, I've been trying to review as many Marriott-family properties as possible, to get a sense of what we should expect when the loyalty programs are fully integrated. At this point Marriott and Starwood have 30 brands,…
For those of you not familiar with Amex Offers, it’s a program available through most Amex cards, where different cards are eligible for different savings and bonus offers. In many cases the offers can be huge, and more than offset the annual fee on…
Earlier I shared the details of Starwood's next global promotion, and last week I shard the details of Marriott's upcoming promotion. Well, I'm happy to report that registration is now available for the summer promotions of all three Marriott "family"…
Last year Chase expanded what's commonly referred to as the "5/24 rule." I've received quite a few requests from readers asking for an updated list of which cards aren't subjected to this rule, so that's what this post is about. With Chase's 5/24 policy,…
One of my favorite ever uses of Starpoints was for a stay at Al Maha, which is a Starwood Luxury Collection desert resort just a short drive from Dubai. However, the redemption wasn't cheap, even though I booked during a Starwood 35% off award sale.…
Nowadays there are quite a few premium credit cards that offer a Priority Pass membership to cardmembers. At some point that's almost a problem, as I have more Priority Pass cards than I know what to do with. ;) For those of you not familiar with Priority…
One of the trends we're increasingly seeing is the ability to earn hotel elite status through credit cards. Rather than having to put in up to 75 nights per year worth of stays in order to earn top tier status, many hotel groups are now letting you earn…
In late September the merger between Marriott and Starwood closed, and I was impressed by the speed at which they added features for members. Starting day one they added status matching between programs, as well as the ability to transfer points. The…
While I'm not thrilled about Marriott's takeover of Starwood in the long term (it reduces competition), in the short term it presents some cool opportunities. For example, it's now possible to transfer points at a fair ratio between the two programs.…
There are several premium credit cards that offer annual travel credits, most of which are in the range of $200-300, and reset each calendar year (though exact terms vary). One of the cards that offers a sizable travel credit is The Ritz-Carlton Rewards®…
The Ritz-Carlton Rewards® Credit Card has a welcome bonus of three complimentary nights at a Tier 1-4 Ritz-Carlton property after completing minimum spend. That bonus is potentially worth the equivalent of 180,000 points, given that Tier 4 properties…
There are lots of great reasons to apply for The Ritz-Carlton Rewards® Credit Card, which has a fantastic sign-up bonus of three complimentary nights at a Tier 1-4 property upon completing minimum spend. Keep in mind that this card isn't subjected to…
The Ritz-Carlton Rewards® Credit Card is one of the most compelling credit cards out there at the moment. I've written all about the individual benefits in the past, though figured I'd write a consolidated post with the eight reasons you should consider…
The Ritz-Carlton Rewards® Credit Card is offering a very lucrative sign-up bonus: -- Three complimentary nights at any Tier 1-4 Ritz-Carlton hotel after spending $5,000 within three months -- 10,000 bonus points after adding an authorized user and having…
I had a ~22 hour layover in Almaty, as I was arriving from Incheon at 4:45PM, and departing the following day to Astana at 2:30PM. Almaty doesn't have that many major hotel chains, so after carefully reviewing the options I decided to book the Ritz-Carlton…
My goal this year has been to review as many new airlines in premium cabins as possible, and I’ve found it to be immensely enjoyable. I’ve tried even more new products than I was hoping to, so several weeks back I shared an additional list of 13 more…
The Ritz-Carlton Rewards® Credit Card was recently relaunched with a very lucrative sign-up bonus: -- Three complimentary nights at any Tier 1-4 Ritz-Carlton hotel after spending $5,000 within three months -- 10,000 bonus points after adding an authorized…
