Hilton Q1 Promo - Free Night Certificate After 4 Stays or 10 Nights

Hilton is offering a free night certificate after 4 stays or 10 nights. Go to this site and register for the promotion if you are interested.

The full details are out

Register to earn a free night certificate when you complete four stays or 10 nights now through March 31, 2010 at participating hotels and resorts.

Here is a list of non-participating hotels.

Members can redeem their free night in any of our 3,400 hotels worldwide, including the Waldorf Astoria Collection. Better still, you will continue to earn HHonors base points during this time period.

Book Your Reservation By Clicking the Banner Below



Bottom Line

Top tier Hilton Honors hotel rooms are going for 50,000 points. If you can maximize this promotion with a few 4 1-night stays, you will essentially earn 12,500 bonus points per night (150,000 points / 12 nights (4 nights per week x 3 weeks)) when you earn 3 free nights. The best part is they are not restricted to category and are good for 1 year.

Terms and Conditions

Offer valid for HHonors members at participating hotels and is not transferable. You must register for the promotion at http://www.hiltonhhonors.com/PYO/Login_2010Q1.aspx?lang=EN&offer=PYO2010Q1&cid=EM,HN,ADHOC,Q1LP0110&wt.mc_id=EIEMQ1LP0110 prior to check-in. You must complete four separate stays or 10 nights between now and March 31, 2010. Ten nights need not be consecutive. Qualifying stays must be completed between now and March 31, 2010. Members must check-in and check-out during the offer period. Stays must be consumed by March 31 2010. Your free night certificate will be delivered within six weeks of completion of the required stays. Free night certificate is valid for one year after date of issuance at hotels within the Hilton Worldwide portfolio. Free night certificate applies to one night’s standard room rate and corresponding taxes and does not apply to gratuities, resort fees and incidental charges. Advance reservation required to redeem certificate and is subject to availability. Limit three free night certificates per member during promotional period, even if member stays more than 12 times or 30 nights. Offer cannot be combined with other select offers.When redeeming a certificate for an advanced reservation, or for other reservation inquires please contact Hilton Reservations and Customer Care. Hilton HHonors™ membership, earning of Points & Miles™, and redemption of points are subject to HHonors Terms and Conditions.

On The Road Today - Get Your Free Taco Bell Fresco Taco & Free Tires Plus Oil Coupon

This coupon is good for a free fresco taco from Taco Bell. Its good for 7 days from the time you download the coupon.

Its easy

Click this link, print the coupon, redeem for a free fresco taco.

If your traveling by car and need an oil change, be sure to print out this free oil change coupon from Tires Plus.

Car Rental Promotions for 2010

Back in June of 2009 we posted about the Avis / Delta promotion where you could earn 5,000 miles for every 4 day Avis rental or 2,500 miles for every 3 day Avis rental. Then we also saw the Budget 3,000 miles for every 1 day rental.

Here are my stats from the 2009 Avis / Budget Delta Promotions

27-4 day Avis rentals for (5000 x 27) = 135,000 Delta Miles
4-3 day rentals for (2500 x4) = 10,000 Delta Miles
2-1 day rentals for (3000 x 2) = 6,000 Delta Miles

Total Miles Earned in 2009 through Car Rentals = 151,000 Delta Miles

So as 2009 comes to a close we need to think of whats in store for car rental promotions in 2010. What car rental promotions are you considering for 2010?

Official Boeing 787 Flight Video

The other day I posted videos from the maiden flight of the 787.

Boeing has posted the official videos on their website. You can see them here.

I noticed that Air Seychelles is on the list of airlines that will be flying the 787. You can see the entire list in this wikipedia post.

Back in March we flew to the Seychelles on a very old 767, probably one of the oldest planes I've ever flown. Very exciting that they are getting 2 787s; as we will most likely take another trip to the Seycheles in the future.

Free Points and Miles with Priority Club & British Airways

Here are a few good opportunities for free points and miles that I've missed. Ahlay Travel has covered the two deals below.

Transfer 1000 American Express Points to British Airways and receive 5000 bonus miles.

Earn 500 free Priority Club points by taking this survey.

Hilton Q1 Promo Rumor - Free Night for every 4 Stays or 10 Nights

There is a rumor on FT that Hilton's Q1 promo is going to be; Earn 1 Free Night Certificate at any Hilton for every 4 stays or every 10 nights at participating Hilton Hotels. See the chatter in this FT thread. The word is that every Hilton Hotel has automatically opted into the promotion.

Bottom Line

This promo has potential depending on the free night certificate restrictions. Even though Hilton is planning a devaluation on January 15th, this promotion may still be worth the look. The rumor is that the new top tier will be more than the 40k Hilton points that is currently required. It may make sense to leverage the 4 stay requirement to earn multiple free night certificates (several 1 nights stays in a week), which would be a bonus of more than 10k per night.

United Premier Status Request

There are reports that the United Premier status request is working. Simply click this link and enter your United information, there is a chance you will get Premier through March 31, 2010 just for entering your information.

SPG Q1 Promo - Participating Properties

The other day SPG announced their Q1 promo, here.

If you are interested in taking advantage of this promotion, check out the list of participating properties in this link.

Interesting to note, some properties are not participating in this promotion such as the Le Parker Meridien in Palm Springs, CA.

Beoing 787 Maiden Flight

Earlier this week I posted about the 787 high speed taxi tests going well.

Here are a few videos of the Maiden flight.

Taking off



In Flight



Landing



Inside Tour 1



Inside Tour 2

New SPG Promo - Double / Triple / Quadruple Starpoints

More Nights = More Rewards promotion from SPG®. Between January 5 and April 15, 2010. This link is active, but registration begins at 9AM EST on 1/5/2010.

For now here are the details posted by William from SPG.

- Earn double Starpoints for stays of 1 or 2 nights
- Earn triple Starpoints for stays of 3 nights
- Earn quadruple Starpoints for stays of 4 nights or more

Members will earn the reward on the entire length of stay. For example, a 3 night stay earns you triple Starpoints on all 3 nights. Plus, there are no limits to the amount of Starpoints you can earn.

This promo should promote people to make longer stays rather than checking in and checking out every day.

Terms and Conditions

Member must register online at SPG.com/morerewards by March 31, 2010, Midnight Eastern Daylight Time. Member can earn bonus Starpoints with every eligible stay between January 5, 2010, and April 15, 2010, at more than 850 participating properties only. Participating properties found at SPG.com/morerewardsprops are subject to change. Bonus Starpoints® will vary by the number of consecutive nights within each eligible stay; however, there are no limits to how many Starpoints can be earned within the earning window. For eligible stays with one (1) or two (2) consecutive nights, members will earn double Starpoints for all eligible revenue credited for the entire stay. A definition of what comprises eligible spend can be found at SPG.com/t&c under section 5.3. For eligible stays with three (3) consecutive nights, members will earn triple Starpoints for all eligible revenue credited for the entire stay. For eligible stays with four (4) or more nights, members will earn quadruple Starpoints for all eligible revenue credited for the entire stay. An eligible stay is defined as one or more consecutive nights paying a qualifying rate for at least one of the nights in the same participating hotel and posts to the member's Starwood Preferred Guest® account. A description of qualifying rates can be found at SPG.com under program terms and conditions. Back-to-back stays over consecutive nights at the same property count as one (1) stay per the definition of an eligible stay. However, bonus Starpoints will be calculated based on how the stay(s) post to the member's account from the reservation(s). Double Starpoints awards a member a total of 4 Starpoints per eligible US$1 spent, triple Starpoints awards a total of 6 Starpoints per eligible US$1 spent, and quadruple Starpoints awards a total of 8 Starpoints per US$1 spent. Elite members still earn 1 extra Starpoint per eligible US$1 spent regardless of any bonusing that occurs. Bonus Starpoints earned will post to the member's account within 2 to 4 weeks after the qualifying stay posts. Any additional bonus Starpoints earned from another promotion will not be doubled, tripled or quadrupled. All promotions are subject to the Starwood Preferred Guest program terms and conditions, which are subject to change without notice and can be found at SPG.com. Offer is applicable to individual members only and is not available to groups or Starwood employees. Not responsible for omissions or typographical errors. Starwood reserves the right to discontinue this offer at any time. To update your communication preferences or learn about our privacy practices, view our Privacy Statement on SPG.com/privacy, or call 1-877-782-0071 in the U.S. and Canada or +353-21-4930474 in all other countries to access our privacy information line. Starpoints, SPG, Preferred Guest, Sheraton, Four Points, W, Aloft, The Luxury Collection, Le Méridien, Element, Westin, St. Regis and their respective logos are the trademarks of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., or its affiliates. Void where prohibited by law. © 2010 Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. All rights reserved.

CO Status Match Comes Through For A United Upgrade

A few weeks ago I posted about Continental offering Delta members a status match, and I detailed how I went about taking them up on the offer here.

This past week I had a flight to Denver, and since I was a newly minted Continental Platinum with reciprocal elite benefits with Star Alliance members, I booked a direct flight on United to DEN. I was upgraded at the gate to Economy Plus, and was assigned the bulkhead seat with ample leg room. United's economy plus has 36' of pitch vs United's economy of 31' of pitch, see here for details on seating charts at United and other airlines.

Here are a few pictures from the Trip.

Bulkhead Seat

View on Approach

View of Downtown Denver

Bottomline

If you are a Delta/NW elite member and haven't already done so, go ahead and apply for the Continental status match. You'll have Star Gold status through February 2011, and the perks are defintely worth the few minutes of your time.

Boeing's 787 First Flight as early as 12/15/09

Good news for "If it ain't Boeing, I ain't going" fans.

Boeing announced on 12/10 that the window for the first flight of the 787 could open as early as 12/15/09. On 12/12/09 Boeing completed the Dreamliner's high speed taxi test with success. The airplane reached top speed of 150 mph, and the pilot's lifted the nose gear off the runway.



The 787 widebody is the first to use composite material construction in an aircraft. It is expected to replace the aging 767 fleet since it has similar capacity, is a widebody, but also has higher fuel efficiency and longer range.

British Airways Visa Removes 100,000 Miles Signup Bonus

A few weeks ago I posted about British Airways 100,000 mile credit card sign up bonus. The deal was to good to be true, and British Airways pulled the promotion on Saturday 12/11.

If you click the sign up page you are directed to the usual offer of 30,000 mile for signing up.

Good for those of you who got in on the offer. Enjoy spending your 100,000 miles on British Airways, AA, or the other Oneworld Alliance Members.

Marriott Refer a Friend Promo

Marriott has come out with a refer a friend promo. Its a little different from SPG's referral program in that it gives bonus points instead of status.

If you are interested in being referred send me an email at theweeklyflyer at gmail.

Details

• Your friends will earn 1,000 Marriott Rewards bonus points beginning with their first paid stay, up to 5 stays. That’s 5,000 bonus points for them in addition to the base points they’ll earn.


• Stays at any participating Marriott® hotel qualify and must be made within 365 days of enrollment.

Hyatt Promo - 2500 United Miles Per Stay

Hyatt has partnered up with United to offer 2500 bonus miles (2000 bonus + 500 base) per stay. Registration is required, click here for registration.

Back in September Hyatt and United ran a similar promotion where you could earn 5,000 miles per stay. During this promotion I racked up over 130,000 United miles without even flying United.

Details

United Airlines® Mileage Plus elite members are invited to earn 2,500 miles per stay (500 base + 2,000 bonus) at any Hyatt worldwide through January 31, 2011.

Participating Hyatt brands include Park Hyatt™, Andaz™, Grand Hyatt™, Hyatt Regency™, Hyatt Place™ and Hyatt Summerfield Suites™. Earn 2,500 miles per stay

Join Hyatt Gold Passport today.
Stay at any Hyatt worldwide between November 1, 2009 and January 31, 2011.
Provide your Hyatt Gold Passport and Mileage Plus account numbers at reservation and check-in.
Request Mileage Plus miles at check-in for each of your eligible stays.

Terms and Conditions

To participate in this promotion you must join Hyatt Gold Passport via url www.goldpassport.com/unitedelites and stay between November 1, 2009 and January 31, 2011 at any Hyatt Hotel & Resort™, Hyatt Place™, Hyatt Summerfield Suites™ or Andaz™ worldwide. To receive 2,500 miles (500 base and 2,000 bonus miles) per eligible stay, you must provide both your Hyatt Gold Passport and United Airlines Mileage Plus membership account number at time of check-in, choose miles for your stay and pay an Eligible rate.

"Eligible Rate" is any hotel published room rate, including, but not limited to rates found on hyatt.com, hyattplace.com, hyattsummerfiedsuites.com, prevailing rack rate, BAR, volume, AAA and senior citizen rates, etc. "Ineligible Rates" are discounted rates, including, but not limited to, any free night stays, Internet wholesale rates (such as priceline.com, hotels.com, etc.), traditional wholesale rates (such as GOGO Worldwide Vacations, Pleasant Holidays, etc.), airline crew rates, airline employee rates, travel agency employee rates, Club at the Hyatt discount certificate stays, Hyatt employee or employee family discount rates, airline interrupted-trip vouchers or contracted rooms (a contract room is a room that has been reserved pursuant to a written and executed agreement between a hotel and a corporation, government agency or individual for a negotiated room rate in exchange for an agreed upon number of rooms to be rented for an extended period of time).

Miles will be given for one room, regardless of the number of rooms. A qualifying stay means one or more consecutive nights at any participating hotel or resort when paying an eligible rate, whether or not the guest checks out and back in during such period; award stays do not qualify.

All hotel reservations are subject to availability and must be made in advance. Allow 6 to 8 weeks for bonus miles to be posted to your account. Miles are subject to the terms and conditions of the United Airlines frequent flyer program. This promotion is subject to the complete terms and conditions of the Hyatt Gold Passport program. For complete terms and conditions of the Hyatt Gold Passport program, please visit www.goldpassport.com. Hyatt reserves the right to alter or withdraw this program at any time without notice. Hyatt Hotels & Resorts™ encompasses hotels managed, franchised or leased by subsidiaries and affiliates of Hyatt Hotels Corporation. The trademarks Hyatt™, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts™, Park Hyatt™, Andaz™, Grand Hyatt™, Hyatt Regency™, Hyatt Place™, Hyatt Summerfield Suites™, Hyatt Gold Passport™, and related marks are trademarks of Hyatt Corporation. © 2009 Hyatt Corporation. All rights reserved.

How to Use Priceline to Name Your Own Price for Hotels

Priceline's Name Your Own Price feature can be a very effective way of booking cheap travel. But if you do a few easy extra steps you’ll be able to use this feature to increase the odds of knowing what hotel you’ll win, and to decrease the cost you’ll pay. In the past I used this method to book the Lodge Renaissance Sonoma Resort and had confidence I would get that exact hotel at around $100 a night.

First you need to Select your Area Carefully

The first step is to navigate to Priceline search for hotels and view the cities by star rating category in your area for hotels. The objective here is to find a category where there are very few hotels to select from in a star rating category. By selecting a star rating category in an area with few hotels, this will help narrow down the possibilities of hotels for your winning bid.

Example: I choose Napa, California. The Napa, CA area only has 1 category 4 star hotel, the Vino Bello Resort. By using this location in Name Your Own Price I can narrow down my chances that I will get this hotel if I place a winning bid. The Resort is selling for $328 on the regular priceline hotel results page. But we can do better than that using Name Your Own Price by just a few more steps.

Next Check Biddingfortravel.com for Winning Bids

Biddingfortravel.com is the site you will want to use to check out what recent winning bids are going for in your area. Navigate to the location you found on Priceline and see what the winning bids are going for.

Example: In Napa, CA the 4 Star hotel is selling in a range of $80-$95 based on prior winning bids. That is around a $250 savings off the advertised priceline price. So based on other traveler’s experience you can narrow down your bidding range to $80-95, always start low. Keep in mind winning bids are affected by dates, and how far in advance one books. Once you win make sure you come back to this location and place your winning bid so others can benefit from your experience.

Finally Name Your (Educated) Own Price

Now that you have (1) Found a location with a limited number of hotels to choose from, and (2) know what the winning bids have been going for, place your bid using Priceline's Name Your Own Price. In my example I would start with a bid under $80 in case the previous bidders were too high. Then you will be notified whether you won or not by email. If you did not win simply wait a day, re-check Better Bidding, and re-bid within the range for that area. If you did win, drop us a line and let us know this helped, we always appreciate feedback.

Bottom Line

Priceline’s Name Your Own Price is a great feature to get great hotels at low prices. To increase your chances of scoring that hotel you want at a low price check out what other people have done over at Better Bidding.