A Million Points Winner, Cheap Flights And Discounted Gift Cards

The Best of the Rest is my effort to summarize all the travel/miles & points stories that interested me on a daily basis but didn’t have time to write about  in length.  Culled from over 100 blogs/authors I follow, some are passed along without comment, while I add my analysis to others.   This is your shortcut to find out what’s going on in the travel world without having to read dozens of travel blogs to get all the best info.

Here’s what I’m reading about today:

Cheap Flights of The Day: Plenty of good fares out there.  Vancouver for $400, one of my favorite cities.  Greece for under $500.  This pairs well with the consistent big intra-Greece sales that Aegean has.  And, Hawaii for under $600.

InsideFlyer Thread of The Day: 2,500 bonus points for all Hilton stays of 2 nights or more in December.

Featured image today provided by Emily Somple, mostly chosen because I was awful groggy after only getting 3 hours of sleep last night.

Despite all of the changes making it harder to find great awards, awesome deals still do happen.  Even though they’re less frequent, making sure you’re earning the right miles/points is the place to start.

Norwegian Air has filed plans to operate service between London and Oakland, CA.  They plan to operate the flight 3 times a week with a 787.  As far as low-cost carriers go, Norwegian does a pretty good job.  You can read about my recent experience on their inaugural Caribbean route.  This probably isn’t enough seats to drive down prices significantly, but it’s a nice option for folks looking to find cheaper ways to Europe.  Lots of cheap hops once you get there.

Remember that deal I told you about a few weeks ago where you could fill out index cards to earn at least 47,000 IHG rewards points for free hotel stays?  Well, it appears someone won 1 million points doing just that!  My wife still has memories of me making her fill out cards for some promo a bazillion years ago, but this is why we’re crazy enough to keep doing it.

Speaking of IHG points, they’re having a strong sale right now.  I’m not a fan of buying points unless you have a specific purpose in mind.  So, I wouldn’t buy to stock up but I would buy if you have a specific trip you’re planning for.

If you’re shopping at Sears or Kmart for the holidays, this $20 bonus on a $100 gift card is right up your alley (with an added bonus for Discover cardholders).