Tech & Travel Guru
Marriott has announced that as of March 5th, category 8 hotels will start charging 85,000 points per night instead of the current 60,000 points. Book now before they require 41% more points. Many hotels are also changing award categories on March 5th with a majority increasing by 1 level. You...
As mentioned back in 2016, the programs weren’t going to merge until 2018. Marriott has announced that on August 18th, 2018, the Starwood and Marriott programs will merge into a single program. All of your SPG points will convert to Marriott points at a 1:3 ratio. Just this week, Marriott...
The new St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort opened in November 2016 and I was lucky to be able to spend a few nights at the resort in early November just after their 1 year anniversary. The resort is a 45 minute seaplane ride from Male (MLE), but getting to Male will...
American Express offers many credit cards but the most elite option available to the general public without an invite is their Platinum card. It is an excellent option for the active traveler as the value of the benefits outweigh the annual fee. The current signup bonus ranges from 60,000 to...
March is always a big month with changes for the travel industry. Airlines make changes, hotel programs change, credit card changes and as always technology changes. Here are the top highlights this month! Airlines Singapore Airlines is making changes to their award chart effective March 23, 2017. They are increasing...
Today, Marriott & Starwood have officially merged. After months of negotiations and talks about the merger might fall apart, it’s officially done. As a very loyal Starwood member (100+ nights this year), I was afraid it would mean poor award redemptions but Marriott did the right thing and is offering...
I typically don’t review hotels but I love the Virgin brand that Richard Branson has created so I had to give it a try and review it! Virgin Hotels currently is only open in Chicago (opened January 2015) but plans to open future hotels in San Francisco, Nashville, New York, Dallas...
It’s been a busy year of traveling in the first 6 months of 2016. I’ve surpassed 75 nights at Starwood Hotels worldwide thus far. I received the following email after hitting 75 nights and can’t wait to earn more SPG points. I can always use more SPG points so earning...
While traveling over the past 2 weeks, there have been some major developments in the travel industry. Below are the highlights… Marriott has decided to buy Starwood Hotels and the deal will close mid-2106. This is a major negative for SPG members who have seen the program to have the best redemption...
I’ve maintained Starwood Preferred Guest Platinum status for 5 years now and have stayed over 190 nights at SPG hotels around the world. It’s the best hotel loyalty program in my opinion. The hotels and their locations are ideal for almost 100% of my travel. Starwood contains 9 brands ranging from...
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