Author Archive: TheYoosh

What’s the latest with the Marriott + SPG Merger?

As you may be aware, Marriott and Starwood Hotels merged their IT systems and points on August 18, 2018 (five days ago). This was a huge deal in the points and miles world because Starwood points were being converted into Marriott points, accounts were being merged, there was a travel package bonanza, lots of IT issues, and brand new credit…
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Fly business class one-way to Europe for 25K miles or ~$500 (March 18th deadline)

Iberia has an award ticket sale going on, where you can fly one-way from NYC/Boston/Chicago to Madrid for just 25.5K Iberia Avios in business class. You can also fly Miami to Madrid for 31.9K Avios. Economy awards are also discounted 25%, and the deal is valid for October – December 15, 2018, excluding certain dates (detailed below). This is an…
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A Beginner’s Guide to the Marriott Rewards Program (2018 Update)

1. Brief Introduction to Marriott Hotel Group Established in 1957, Marriott Hotel』s headquarters lies in Washington D.C, with over 4,000 hotels and resorts across the world. After they acquired the Starwood Hotels Group in November 2015, this number increased to over 6,000 hotels in 122 countries all over the world. This is the hotel breakdown: Marriott hotels (the top half)…
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Two Simple Ways To Earn Miles/Status From Award Bookings

Hey everyone, Just wanted to toss a quick tip out there during holiday travel season. As you probably know, when you use miles/points to book a flight ticket, you don’t earn any Elite/Premium/Status/Redeemable Miles. There used to be frequent flyer programs that would give lifetime mileage credit for award travel, but none of the big programs today do that. There are…
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The Two Secret Tricks to Maximizing RocketMiles

Hey everyone, Today I am going to talk about RocketMiles (referral link), which is a service that lets you earn various types of rewards miles for booking hotel stays. If you sign-up with our referral link, you will earn 1,000 bonus miles after completing a stay. Some of the key ones include United MileagePlus, Southwest Rapid Rewards, American Airlines AAdvantage, Alaska…
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Alaska / American partnership devalued on Jan 1, 2018 [Award chart changes]

Alaska announced a devaluation of their partnership with American a few days ago. The major changes are related to how flight credit is earned. For domestic travel, you have to fly American on an Alaska codeshare to earn Alaska miles. Similarly, you need to fly Alaska on American codeshares to earn miles/credit with American’s AAdvantage program. Elites for both programs…
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A Guide to the Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) Program

Hey all, Today I』m going to write about the Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) Program. We』ll go through the ins and outs of the program. Buckle up and enjoy the ride! 1. Overview First the basics: Starwood has 1,300+ properties across the world. They range from mid to upper tier properties and have excellent hotels. Starwood was acquired by Marriott hotels…
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