This is a brief news recap from last week. For faster updates, follow Miles For Family on Twitter or check the feed on the right side of the blog.
1) I got an email from Chase about a potentially lucrative/easy promotion. Here is the screenshot:
It looks like it’s valid on all UR earning personal cards: Chase Freedom, Chase Freedom Unlimited, Chase Sapphire Reserve and Chase Sapphire Preferred. You can sign up for Chase Pay here
The easiest way to take advantage of this deal is to buy a $250 Walmart gift card. I don’t see gift card exclusion in the terms and conditions:
“During the promotional period of August 1 to August 31, 2017, you will earn a total of 10% cash back when you use Chase Pay to complete your Walmart.com purchases using your Chase Freedom® card. This means that in addition to your every day 1% base, you’ll earn an extra 9%, for a total of a maximum of 10% cash back. You’ll earn the bonus until you spend a total of $250 in Walmart.compurchases. Please note that purchases from Walmart affiliate businesses, such as samsclub.com, are excluded from this offer and will not earn bonus rewards.”
Readers, please share you data points!
2) New list of reduced AA awards for August-November 2017 You have to have a certain co-branded AAdvantage credit card in order to take advantage of this promo.
3) New IHG PointBreaks list is now live. Don’t delay booking your desired hotel and read my post on few things you should keep in mind.
4) Exchange Chase Hyatt anniversary free night for points It appears that many are able to get 10,000 Hyatt points if they can’t take advantage of free 1-4 category certificate that comes with renewal of Hyatt co-branded credit card. Obviously, this is a YMMV type situation, and will depend on what kind of Hyatt rep you get on the phone. Still, having 10,000 points is better than burning the expiring certificate needlessly at a Hyatt Place near your house. (Thanks to Will at DoC for bringing this post to my attention!)
5) Book from August 6th to August 12th and get 50% off Reward Nights at participating resorts in Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean. Valid for stays from August 7th to October 27th, 2017. Details and list of properties here The dates fall within hurricane season when kids are in school, so the discount is not at all surprising. Still, it can be a great deal for those with flexible schedule. There are some all-inclusive properties on the list, where kids stay and eat free. Also, Aruba lies outside of hurricane belt, so you will be relatively safe going to that island.
6) Earn up to 40k Marriott points per year with Marriott Social Media program by DoC. If I’m being honest, I usually skip this type of thing unless I need to top up an account for a specific award. But if you are persistent and don’t mind occasional SPAM, you can probably collect quite a few points that way.
7) Tips for visiting castles with kids This is a neat article on TravelingMom site. I can tell you, my kids absolutely loved touring castles during our recent trip to Europe. I’ll have a separate post on it at some point, but here is a sneak peek via photos:
Mir castle in Belarus, a Unesco heritage site
Chanelling inner royalty
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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.
Thanks Leana! I hadn’t heard about the exchange of the Hyatt Cert for points. I value mine at 15,000 points and fortunately, I’ve been able to maximize use out of them.
Stephanie, no problem! It’s definitely better to use it at a category 4 property, ideally a resort. But if you can’t, it’s better to just take 10,000 points rather than let it expire.