Hello there, VT readers! I skipped the last update and I have some semi-decent excuses: deer hunting, Thanksgiving, and home remodeling. But enough excuses; there are some exciting things to report!
How I spent the 3rd weekend in November. Welcome to Minnesota.
Credit Card News
General News
There is still time to get the Chase Ink Plus business card with a 60,000 Ultimate Reward point bonus ($5k in 3 mo. spend). This card will be replaced soon with a new Ultimate Rewards earning business card from Chase. The new card is rumored to come with an 80,000 bonus. You can get the bonus on both cards, but not if you wait too long! Apparently sometime before the end of the month, you will no longer be able to get a new Ink Plus account.
Personal News
Nicoleen recently cancelled her Citi Hilton Reserve card. This was the card that got us 2 free nights at the Grand Wailea in Hawaii this last fall. The card’s $95 annual fee was due and the benefits we would get from the card for the next year wouldn’t be worth $95, so she called to cancel. According to reports on Flyertalk, there is rarely a worthwhile retention offer for this card.
Household October Points and Miles Activity
We had a decent month for earning points and miles. Here’s the breakdown:
- earned 522 airline miles
- earned 4,112 Chase Ultimate Rewards
- earned 4,082 hotel points
- earned 114 “other” points
- transferred 5,000 Ultimate Rewards to Hyatt Gold Passport points
- redeemed 15,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points for a one-night stay at Andaz Papagayo (valued at $546.92)
- redeemed 114 “other” points (Capital One cash back) for $1.14 cash
- redeemed 40,728 Citi Thank-You points for airfare worth $509.10
- redeemed 35,000 United Airlines miles for airfare worth $901.40
As you may have guessed from this activity, we have some travel news! Keep reading for the details. . .
Travel News
Big news in the travel department! Those of you who follow me on Facebook have already heard the announcement. After paying the $75 annual fee on our Chase Hyatt cards, Nicoleen and I each had a free night at any category 1-4 Hyatt in the world. However, we really had nothing in mind for these free nights. As inconvenient as it was, we decided we would have to cram in another free vacation before the next summer. This would definitely qualify as a zeroth world problem.
After only an hour of looking up flight and hotel availability, we settled on the fantastic Andaz Papagayo in Costa Rica! Besides our two free nights, we booked an additional night with points to make it a 4 day weekend. Here’s a sample of what our Valentine’s Day will look like!
A refreshing beverage at one of the Andaz Papagayo’s infinity pools. Photo courtesy of VT reader Derek, a return (free) visitor.
New ValueTactics Blog Posts
– Zeroth World Problems is a look at the kinds of “problems” using value tactics can bring you. Examples are deciding where to take your free vacation, or not having your favorite beer available in the free selection during your free airport lounge visit.
Now you’re updated. Go employ some Value Tactics!