Miles and Points, Marriage Proposal

1) In case you’ve missed my previous post, the bonus on Capital One Venture Rewards card has been increased to 40,000 miles. It does pay me commission. I couldn’t decide on whether to apply for Venture card or Wells Fargo Propel. Pulled the trigger on both…and they went to pending status. Sad face. Will update on the results.

2) Last day for Daily Getaways promotion. I tried to highlight deals that appeal to a middle-class family, but you might want to take a look and see if anything strikes your fancy. Some IHG points packages from the 3rd week are still  available. Read this post on why it could be a good deal.

3) The increased offer for Lufthansa Premier Miles and More MasterCard will end on June 30th. This offer comes and goes, and will probably come back again at some point. It does pay me commission and you can read more in my “Best deals” page.

4) With Amex SPG temporarily increased bonus, I wanted to link to TPG post on one of the benefits of this program called “Nights and Flights.” For the most part, it’s of limited use to regular families, since it’s not valid on category 1 and 2 hotels. But  it’s worth knowing about and you can read more HERE

5) Get up to 2,000 Marriott points per month with social media. Seems like an easy way to pick up some free points. More info HERE (h/t Deals We Like blog)

6) Sweepstakes for a free pair of airline tickets from Silver Airways. Mostly of use to  Floridians, and I happen to be one. My cousin-in-law Jen, you are welcome! Click here to enter   (h/t Wandering Aramean blog)

7) Club Carlson will be having a sale on their points throughout next week. Could be lucrative for those who have US Bank Club Carlson Visa, since you get every second night redemption free. Go to their Facebook page HERE for the latest announcements. I recommend, you also subscribe to the blog  LoyaltyLobby for  all the news on hotel promotions.

 

Recently, I’ve seen a few bloggers tell some of their craziest travel stories. So I figured I’d get in on the action. It was the ’90s.  I was stuck in  Moscow airport en-route to the U.S. as part of a student exchange program. We couldn’t fly out  because Washington D.C. was having the worst winter storm of the century.

I didn’t have a lot of money for a hotel, so I just hung out at the airport and went to tour Moscow for one brief and glorious day. I really wanted to see Lenin, but the “mummy exhibit” was closed at the time.

At the airport,  I struck up a conversation with a guy from the Middle East. He was studying at Moscow University and seemed very smart and courteous. Well, apparently, he took a real liking to me.

After spending one day together, he said he has never met anyone like me and wanted to wait till I turned 18, so we … could get married. Yes, I was only 17 at the time! Not sure why. As you can see from my school photo, I wasn’t a “foxy” kind of gal! What’s up with that braid?

Anyway, I told him I was very flattered, but simply wasn’t ready to make such a commitment. And then I tried to avoid him as much as I could. Unfortunately, out flight was delayed once again, and I had to spend the night at the airport.

When I woke up, I saw his face right next to mine. He told me he watched me sleep all night. Wow. I was ready to get a hotel at that point! Fortunately, we were cleared to fly out in a few hours, and I bid adios to my eager companion/stalker.

If anyone has  a crazy travel story, please, share!

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