Brand Explorer

Hyatt Expands Brand Explorer. Earn Up To Five Free Nights

May 14, 2022By Edward Pizzarello2 Comments

When Hyatt transitioned from the Gold Passport program to World of Hyatt they added some very thoughtful benefits to the program. One of those was Brand Explorer. For every five unique brands you stayed out across Hyatt’s portfolio, you’d earn one free night certificate valid at any Category 1-4 hotel. Used wisely, these certificates are worth hundreds of dollars at the right property. And, you don’t need to be an elite Hyatt member to earn these. You just need to book directly with Hyatt. Both paid and award stays count, […]

Clarifying A Couple Of Questions About World Of Hyatt

February 10, 2018By Edward Pizzarello7 Comments

Clarifying a couple of questions about World of Hyatt, award nights counting towards elite status and Brand Explorer awards.

Check Your United Account. United Handing Out Shortcuts To Elite Status

United Airlines is depositing Premier Qualifying Points (PQPs) into elite member’s accounts, labeled “Starter PQPs” after raising elite status requirements late last year.

2022 Hotel Elite Status Recap And 2023 Goals

I recapped my airline status achievements for 2022 last week. I finally got a free moment to talk about where I ended up in regards to hotel elite status last year. The title of this post is only a little deceptive, in that at most I have one hotel status goal for 2023. But, let’s take a look back at 2022 first. You can also hear us discuss hotel elite status on a recent podcast episode. Hyatt Globalist Status This is probably the lowest night count I’ve had at Hyatt […]

TODAY ONLY: 100% Transfer Bonus To Hawaiian Airlines And Double Points On All Spending Except Rent!

I earn affiliate credit if you sign up for the Bilt Rewards Mastercard using links in this story. Today I’m emptying my Bilt Rewards account. My only regret is that I only have 130,000 Bilt Rewards points to transfer. For one day only Bilt Rewards is partnering up with Hawaiian Airlines to offer the most lucrative transfer bonus I’ve taken advantage of in years (maybe decades). Today, February 1st, all transfer from Bilt Rewards are not the normal 1:1 ratio. For every Bilt Rewards Point you transfer you’ll get two […]

Great Rent Day Promo: 100% Transfer Bonus To Hawaiian Airlines, One Day Only

I earn affiliate credit if you sign up for the Bilt Rewards Mastercard using links in this story. In 2022 Bilt Rewards introduced the concept of bonus earning on the first of each month, referred to as “Rent Day”. It started with double points on all transactions (except for rent) on the first day of the month for Bilt Rewards Mastercard holders. Now, Bilt has started announcing additional promotions for Rent Day, and this month is excellent. In fact, I’m debating draining my entire Bilt Rewards account for this one. […]

EXTREME? I Had Five Different Tickets Booked For Our Flight Home This Week

It still amazes me how much a seemingly small change during the pandemic has come to my rescue so many times. Near the beginning of the pandemic virtually all US airlines eliminated change fees. United went first, Delta and American quickly followed suit. At the time it wasn’t something that moved the needle because nobody was traveling. But, I had the sense then that this would be a big deal. One of the biggest benefit to elite status was the ability to reduce or waive some fees that airlines typically […]

I Flew Frontier, Saved $400 And Didn’t Die. My Frontier Airlines Review

Those low-cost carriers always have very appetizing fare sales. Who wouldn’t want to pay $20 to fly somewhere? But, what does $20 really buy you? I found out exactly what Frontier does (and doesn’t) offer customers on my first flight with them recently.

How To Use New Metro Silver Line To Get Between Dulles and Reagan National Airports

People talk about how bad the traffic is in places like Los Angeles with plenty of adjectives. And, it is quite bad. But, the traffic in DC is what I refer to as “stealthy bad”. It doesn’t get the same press that LA traffic does, but a trip that normally takes an hour can easily turn into a 3-hour ordeal. With visiting dignitaries, protests and construction as variables, weather can also wreak havoc on a system that consistently backs up during rush hour. For those of us that live in […]

Update: American Airlines Variable Choice Plus Pricing A Feature, Not A Bug

I have to admit, I was pretty pleased with the original announcement that American Airlines was creating bundled pricing that included change fees at a lower apparent cost. Things got a little better when American also announced they were expanding the timeframe you could request a same day change to your flight. And, then things started to get a bit screwy. It started with just one flight I couldn’t get to price right with Choice Plus as an add-on. But, then I did a bit more digging and found out […]

A Summary Of United Airlines Global Services Benefits

As travel has gotten more stressful the benefits of elite status are even more valuable. In some cases, what used to be free for everyone is now only free for those customers that fly most frequently. I value my American Airlines Executive Platinum status more highly than any status I’ve earned, including 1K service with United Airlines. However, Global Services is another matter. For those not aware, Global Services is an invitation-only status level that United bestows on their best customers. What defines a best customer? Well, United doesn’t list […]

Is Foursquare Dead?

Venture Beat doesn’t think so, and I’m not 100% sure they’re wrong. But, before I discuss the article, a little background on why someone allergic to social media like me became a Foursquare nut. A few years ago, a company called TopGuest came up with this concept where you could earn airline miles and hotel points for checking in at various places on Foursquare. I can’t say I thought it was a terribly good business model, but they convinced a bunch of hotel chains to hand out miles for this. […]