Alan

Wynn Las Vegas Review

While I had visited the casino and buffet at Wynn Las Vegas, my first stay wasn’t until I received an offer for $219/night on the weekend with a free night if I came back in 3 months. I liked the casino and buffet at Wynn Las Vegas, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to try out the hotel.  My previous stays in Vegas were usually at Mlife properties so I was excited to try a new location.

Check In: Everything from booking the rooms to check in went smooth; I checked in on a Friday night and only waited perhaps 5 minutes. My room was on the 34th floor in a Panorama room.  There was a bit of a walk from check in to the elevators; having to walk through most of the casino.  A security guard was stationed at the elevators to check to make sure guests had a room card.

Wynn Las Vegas

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Grand Hyatt Seattle Review

Last week I reviewed the Hyatt Olive 8, this week I review the other downtown Hyatt option in Seattle, the Grand Hyatt Seattle.

These two main Hyatt properties are half a block away from each other and both centrally located near the Washington State Convention Center.  The Grand Hyatt Seattle may have a slightly better location as there are multiple restaurants and a Starbucks that you can access without leaving the hotel.

Check In: I was checking in to the Grand Hyatt Seattle on a Sunday evening just after a large convention was wrapping up from the weekend.  I was impressed that the wait was less than a minute.  The front desk clerk that helped me was very professional; the usual acknowledgement of my Platinum status, notifying me of the amenities, and offering me a choice of newspapers.

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Water conservation in hotels

Often in hotel bathrooms you will find a sign reminding you of the water conservation in hotels.  Usually what they explain is that towels on the floor will be replaced while towels hung up will not.  It does make sense; at home I wash my towels once a week so fresh towels every day does seem a bit unnecessary.  I have found, however, that often even when you hang up your towels they end up getting replaced.  Plus, to be honest, when I am staying in hotels I do like the luxury of fresh linens.

I have often wondered if this was truly about the environment or the hotel’s bottom line.  Or the hotel’s image as being eco friendly.

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Hyatt Stay More Play More + Quick Qualifying Elite Trial + 20% Points Back: 3 Promotions

I enrolled in the Hyatt Stay More Play More (link) promotion back in January.  The Hyatt Stay More Play more is a promo that gives you a targeted offer based on your Hyatt Gold Passport account.  I don’t know how they decide who gets which offer, but according to FlyerTalk people are able to get offers from 2,000 points after the next stay to 65,000 points after 25 nights.   I received the highest end offer:

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Free Rental Car Status through MasterCard

A little known benefit of a credit card you may already own is free rental car status through MasterCard World Elite.  For example, my Barclaycard Arrival + MasterCard is World Elite.  If you have a MasterCard (and most people d0), check the front or the back of the card for the “World Elite” title under the logo.  Common airline credit cards that are World Elite include Hawaiian, American, and Virgin.

Once you have identified you MasterCard Elite, the easiest way to enroll is to call 1-855-802-1387 from the US.  Currently the offers are for Avis, National, and Sixt.  So what do you get with the rental car status?  Here is a handy chart that shows you the benefits:

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Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Review

Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle Review Loyal Hyatt visitors to Seattle are faced with a tough decision:  Grand Hyatt or Hyatt Olive 8.  There is also a Hyatt Place and a Hyatt House (opening May 2015); however those properties are outside the downtown core.  If you are in town for a conference … Read more

Gay Travel Discount on Alaska Airlines

While browsing Facebook I came across a sponsored post by Alaska Airlines which is rather common.  The focus, gay travel, was new.  Or at least I hadn’t seen it before.

When I clicked through the ad I found that Alaska has an entire web page on their site devoted to discounts to various LGBTQ Pride events.  The discounts are short term (I’m assuming only over the Pride weekend/event) and relatively small (7% or 10%), still a nice acknowledgement and support of the LGBTQ community.

Clearly Alaska has made promoting equality as a company a priority; they score a perfect 100 on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index.  Alaska is one of only five airlines to score a perfect 100.

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Boeing 777 Memorabilia

I was going through a bunch of my old stuff today and found some fun Boeing 777 memorabilia from the launch in 1994.  Hard to believe the 777 is almost 21 years old!

My father worked for Boeing for 40+ years and used to give me freebies that the company gave their employees.  While I have thrown away a good amount over the years, I kept a hold on to these items (probably because they were so small!)

First item is a sealed commemorative coin from the first 777 roll out on April 9, 1994.

Commemorative coin

See the rest of the Boeing 777 memorabilia below:

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Mileage Run Beijing in Business Class

I was alerted to an amazing business class fare from Washington DC to Beijing by OneMileataTime.  In the rule of travel hobbyists, I booked immediately and knew I could sort out details later.  I couldn’t pass by a mileage run in business class.

I am glad that I booked quickly because the fare was gone in less than an hour.  Read more to find out additional details.

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Daily Getaways Valuation

The US Travel Association is once again running its Daily Getaways promotion.  Beginning March 23 there will be a different offer for a limited time each day.  An interesting change this: there is NO added discount for using an Amex card.  You can find discounts on rental cars, hotels, and theme parks.  Only the first three weeks’ offers have been posted as of this post.

Likely the most popular offers will be for the hotel stays that, for the most part, come in the form of loyalty points.  Below I have created a grid that shows the cost per point for each of the hotel point offers.

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Hyatt Diamond Challenge 2015

 

Note: As of June 1, 2015, the Hyatt Diamond Challenge 2015 has been updated.  Diamond status is now good through February 2017.  Reports are also in that you can directly contact Hyatt Gold Passport at 1-800-228-3360 to enroll in the Elite Tier Offer.  Read more here.

I first signed up for Hyatt Gold Passport last summer after I learned about their relationship with Mlife.  Since I was a Gold Mlife member I received Platinum status with Hyatt’s loyalty program.  I had signed up for hotel loyalty programs before, but with the purpose of earning miles on Alaska Airlines for my stays.  In 9 months I have accrued 20,000 points with HGP through my stays at Mlife hotels in Vegas and Hyatt hotels.

The benefits of Platinum HGP status are minimal; it was devalued even more last month when all guests were given free wifi.  Reports over at Flyer Talk have some people being offered a Hyatt Diamond Challenge (also known as the Hyatt Gold Passport Elite Tier offer) with 12 nights in 60 days.  Some said the offer was targeted only to those with a high number of stays in 2014 while others said they were able to enroll in the challenge by contacting the property of their upcoming stay.

I have four booked reservations between now and June so I emailed the two properties that had an email posted on their website.

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Poo causes flight diversion

Airplane bathrooms can be disgusting.  But I had never heard of a plane diverting due to someone stinking up the lavatory until today.  If this article from the Daily Mail is to believed, this week a British Airways flight from London to Dubai had to turn back because of a terrible smell coming from the toilet.

Upon landing back in London, a politician on the flight tweeted the following:

Apparently what was supposed to be a brief delay turned into having to wait until the next day for a replacement flight.

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Car2Go vs Zipcar: Which service is right for you?

Car2Go vs Zipcar: Which service is right for you? Many millennials find themselves thinking: Car2Go vs Zipcar.  At the age of 30, after having a car since I was 16, I decided to sell my car and not purchase a new one.  I live and work in downtown Seattle.  Financially … Read more

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