- Hilton rewards program changes, effective January 14th. Some properties, like Hilton Waikoloa Village in Hawaii will go down in price, so check the list. This is the time when most hotel programs will start tweaking their rates, so stay tuned.
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Not really a big deal to most readers of this blog, but the transfer from Ultimate Rewards to Korean Skypass program should return this month. The process is cumbersome, and mostly good for roundtrip Delta tickets (Korean partner). (h/t Milecards)
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New rewards checking account that pays up to 5.07% APY, available to everyone. There is a hard pull involved, so I won’t be participating, but it looks intriguing.
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A list of sites for booking long and short-term accommodations via The Points Guy
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I’ve written about this property before, and here is a recent trip report on Radisson Aruba. The place costs 50,000 points per night, and you get a second night free if you have a US Bank Club Carlson Signature Visa. It appears that this hotel may be re-branded in a near future, so this might be your last chance to stay there on points. BTW Southwest flies to Aruba.
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You can now book one-way award flights on Delta.
On my mind
This rant is about my husband. I did tell him that I planned to write it, and he said to go right ahead. I’ve mentioned many times how much he hates this hobby. I mean, he despises it with every fiber of his being. Any day I think he will shut this whole thing down, and he almost did a couple of times.
His argument is that this hobby is too complicated. A little background: He is an IT engineer who designs and handles extremely complex processes in a banking network. Just recently, he attended a class that had the guys from NASA in it. In other words, his momma didn’t raise no simpleton. And yet, having a new card in his wallet now and again is too complex.
I don’t ask him to keep track of bonus categories, don’t burden him with gift cards or anything like that. I just give him a new card and want him to use it for everything. That’s it. He can’t even manage to do that.
The other day he told me he planned to buy a computer part for $750 and wanted to make sure that the card in his wallet was the one I wanted him to use. I said Yes. After he put in the order, he comes to me and says :”Oops, I accidentally used a different card.”
When I got visibly annoyed, he said it was too complicated and he is done with this hobby. What is complicated? You put a hand in your pocket, take the card out of your wallet and put in freaking numbers in the online order form!
Thankfully, he came around and even called the company to change the billing info. So, we are OK… for now. And now comes the truly crazy part: I’m actually kind of glad he is that way. One nut job in a family is quite enough. Don’t you think?
Author: Leana
Leana is the founder of Miles For Family. She enjoys beach vacations and visiting her family in Europe. Originally from Belarus, Leana resides in central Florida with her husband and two children.
My husband is pretty good about using “the card”….but where he couldn’t care less is where we go! I’ve been agonizing over how/when/where to spend our ultimate reward points since there are so many options with hotel and airline points. Convert to BA Avios and fly to Maui? Use for Amtrak points and travel over the Rockies? Use for hotel near Disneyland or Universal? His only opinion when I present a possible vacation is “that sounds good, yeah, that sounds good, too.”
@Shoesinks Your dilemma is very common in this hobby! Too many points, which option to choose? Amtrak sounds like a lot of fun. I hope to do it one of these days. You can always try to go to Europe. For now, there is an option of Boston-Dublin flight for 25K Avios miles. This is a very good deal, and availability is usually excellent (some business seats for 25K one-way), great for a large family. Fly Southwest, stop in Boston for a day or two, and you would have an amazing vacation. You can connect from Dublin to most places in Europe. Email me if you want any suggestions.
My husband doesn’t get annoyed with the details, but he isn’t interested in them either. He has a “top slot” in the front of his wallet and that is where I put *the card.* He uses *the card* until I replace it with another card. I don’t bother him with bonus categories or anything either because all he can manage to do it use *the card* for his everyday spending. Truthfully, he doesn’t buy much so it doesn’t make much of a difference anyway. I handle 99% of our purchases over $20.
Holly, that’s basically how we do things as well. I put “the card” in the front of his wallet, and that’s all he has to keep track of. He still hates it. He is a creature of habit, so change is very hard. Unfortunately, he is the spender in the family, so his cooperation is vital. 🙂