Podcasts about bonvoy

Send us a message!What happens when one of the world's most trusted hotel brands steps into the vacation rental space?In this episode, we're joined by Jane Gavin (Senior Director of Brand Marketing & Guest Experience) and Keven Wishard (Senior Director of Global & Continent Operations) from Homes & Villas by Marriott Bonvoy.With decades of hospitality experience between them, Jane and Keven take us inside Homes & Villas by Marriott Bonvoy's bold approach to short-term rentals. One built on consistency, elevated design, professional management, and the power of one of the largest loyalty programs in the world.If you've ever wondered how Homes & Villas selects properties, enforces its standards, or attracts millions of Bonvoy members to luxury homes, this conversation will give you a whole new understanding of what it means to raise the bar in vacation rentals.Key Topics Discussed:1️⃣ Homes & Villas' unique position at the intersection of hotels and vacation rentals2️⃣ How trust, consistency, and personalization drive guest satisfaction3️⃣ What Homes & Villas' brand standards really look like for property managers4️⃣ The power of Bonvoy's 200M+ members to drive bookings5️⃣ “Curated Collections” and how Homes & Villas highlights one-of-a-kind stays6️⃣ Why professional management is non-negotiable on the platform7️⃣ How Homes & Villas is helping raise the bar for the entire STR industryConnect with Jane:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jane-gavin/ Connect with Keven:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevenwishard/ Go live with Homes & Villas by Marriott Bonvoy by August 4, 2025, and receive Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Status for one year, 36000 bonus points, and a marketing feature on a Homes & Villas marketing channel after you launch:https://partners.homes-and-villas.marriott.com/s/event-property-managers-contact-us?ev=AApod25Get a free Growth Hack Review and P&L Evaluation when you mention “Alex & Annie” during your discovery call with the Grand Welcome team:https://calendly.com/jessica-singer-grandwelcome/intro#VacationRentals #ShortTermRentals #HomesandVillasbyMarriottBonvoy, 

Ever wished you could waltz into a beachfront Ritz‑Carlton or a kid‑friendly Residence Inn and hand over points instead of a credit card? In this episode I pull back the curtain on Marriott Bonvoy—the world's largest hotel loyalty program—and explain why it's one of my go‑to platform for turning everyday spending into unforgettable stays.Tune in to learn:Why Bigger Really Is Better – With 30+ distinct brands and 8,500‑plus properties worldwide, Marriott's footprint means there's almost always a Bonvoy hotel where you want to go—whether that's an overwater villa in the Maldives or a quick road‑trip stop with the kids.Easy Ways to Earn Free Night Certificates- So many ways to earn them for amazing stays!Point Power Plays – My favorite sweet‑spot redemptions, like 50K‑point free‑night certificates at resorts that normally cost $600+.Stacking & Fast‑Tracking – How to combine welcome bonuses, transfer partners, and promos to rack up a year's worth of free nights faster than you think.Whether you're dreaming of a family Disney trip, a luxe couples' getaway, or a business‑trip upgrade, this episode will show you how Marriott Bonvoy can get you there—often for pennies on the dollar.Grab your headphones, your bucket list, and maybe a piña colada… it's time to Bonvoyage!Links: $100 Vacay ChallengeMarriott Credit Card: American Express Marriott Bonvoy Business | Travel FreelyTravel Points Academy: Travel Points Academy | Points Too Paradise

In this episode, we highlight the credit cards that are becoming "collectables", we had a heated debate about "Strawberry season", discuss changes from ANA and Alaska Airlines, and share tips for saving on your domestic flights. (01:29) - Delta Sky Club access with multiple American Express platinum cards in your name... (06:40) - Chase Sapphire Preferred 100K (Read more about this offer here) (07:58) - United Business 125K ... (08:59) - Citi Rewards+ no longer available new OR for product changes (12:05) - US Bank Smartly changes for new cardholders as of 4/14. Read about the US Bank Smartly card changes here. (18:50) - Strawberry Hotels Summer Pass 2025 (Read more about this Strawberry Hotels Summer Pass here) (25:14) - IHG increases top award rates at Intercontinental hotels to 200K+ per night (27:02) - Amex Biz Plat nerfs Dell credits (31:57) - ANA Round the World award tickets are dead as of June 24th (34:46) - More ANA news starting June 24 Read more about these ANA updates here. (38:32) - Updates from Alaska Airlines (40:29) - Tools/services to find cheapest cash rates (e.g. google flights) (42:30) - Tools/services to find cheapest award prices (e.g. points path) Read our "Which Award Search Tool is Best" post here. (44:58) - Saving miles with partner awards (49:21) - Credit card travel discounts/rebates (52:59) - Find our Amex Airline Reimbursement Fees post here. (54:46) - Companion tickets (1:03:26) - Pay w/ points through a bank travel portal (1:05:30) - Cardholder award discounts (Delta, United, JetBlue, etc.) (1:06:32) - Discounted Airline gift cards (1:07:59) - Membership discounts (1:09:36) - Change the way you book it (1:17:46) - Read more about skiplagging here. (1:18:42) - Choosing between the Amex Hilton Aspire card or the Amex Bonvoy Brilliant card: Do you think Bonvoy will listen to the negative feedback and will get better? And will Hilton get worse because they've been too generous? Visit https://frequentmiler.com/subscribe/ to get updated on in-depth points and miles content like this, and don't forget to like and follow us on social media. Music Credit – “Ocean Deep” by Annie Yoder

Get an easy $200 from Melio for making your first payment! (Affiliate link. Terms below) https://affiliates.meliopayments.com/travelonpointsteam Episode Description This week we learned that Hyatt has changed their terms to give another property an exemption from honoring elite benefits. With their exclusion list growing longer and longer is this a move in the wrong direction? Is Hyatt's growth coming at the cost of a consistent loyalty program?   In other news American Express released increased offers for two of the Marriott cards where you can get a welcome offer up to 185K. We also discuss: US Bank's way too generous 4% cashback card, Air India's poopy flight, popping champagne on an airplane, Wyndham and Discover debit rewards cards, 20K Amex pay over time offers and a hotel ice machine hack.   Episode Guide 0:00 Popping champagne on an airplane 0:51 Air India's poopy flight 2:40 Southwest gets even worse than last week 5:33 Hyatt's Globalist benefits are declining 7:16 Hyatt's growth is pressuring elite benefits 9:10 Up to 185K increased Marriott Bonvoy card offers 11:09 US Bank's insane 4% back card - Too good to be true? 13:01 Melio $200 offer - Easy spend and profit 14:17 Wyndham launches new debit rewards card 15:59 Discover's cashback debit card may be a better option 16:43 Amex 20K Pay Over Time offers return 17:47 Cool S - Hotel ice machine hack Links Popping champagne - https://x.com/InternetH0F/status/1901438364546740605 Air India - https://x.com/sjlazars/status/1899074610689384771?s=46 Hyatt elite issues - https://viewfromthewing.com/hyatt-hotels-are-ignoring-elite-perks-and-no-one-is-stopping-them/ US Bank Smartly - https://milestomemories.com/u-s-bank-rethinking-the-smartly-visa-credit-card/ Wyndham debit - https://travel-on-points.com/wyndham-debit-card/ 20K Pay Over Time - https://milestomemories.com/pay-over-time-offers-an-easy-20k-in-points/ Hotel ice hack - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/BrX-scnvl-o Enjoying the podcast? Please consider leaving us a positive review on your favorite podcast platform! You can also connect with us anytime at podcast@milestomemories.com.  You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, TuneIn, Pocket Casts, or via RSS. Don't see your favorite podcast platform? Please let us know!

Episode 111 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosted by Angie Sparks with guest Joseph Petrovic, covers key updates in the world of points and miles. They discuss a travel hack to avoid costly airline upgrades by using schedule changes instead. In industry news, Southwest has reduced reward rates, Etihad is offering up to a 40% transfer bonus until March 2025, and Singapore Airlines is celebrating 10 million KrisFlyer members with bonus miles and a 20% discount on select award flights.Angie and Joe also share recent travel and credit card updates. Angie rebooked her return flight from Croatia to avoid an overnight layover, while Joe optimized his Japan trip by securing multiple flights and award hotel stays. He also saved points by rebooking a Bonvoy stay at a lower rate. Their credit card strategies were a major focus—Angie manages 53 cards with over $8,000 in annual fees and plans to close 10 to save costs, while Joe, with 50 cards, offsets fees through tax strategies and benefits, making his collection cost-neutral.To wrap up, Joe highlights ExpertFlyer as a valuable but often overlooked tool for securing first and business class upgrades on airlines like Alaska, American, Hawaiian, and Korean. While many tools have emerged in the award travel space, ExpertFlyer still provides an edge for certain travelers. The episode offers valuable insights into maximizing award travel, staying flexible with bookings, and making the most of credit card benefits.Links to Topics DiscussedSouthwest Slashes Earn RatesHotel Program to Etihad Guest Transfer BonusSingapore Airlines Krisflyer PromosWhere to Find Us The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1. You can also email us at 101@award.travel Our next meetup will be May 16-18, 2025 in Chicago! Tickets are SOLD OUT and the waitlist is exhaused but stay tuned for news about our next meetup! Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions! Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

On this week's episode, we talk about our Capital One mistake, how Uber has tried to "Bonvoy" us, and the many ways we use our Platinum credit card credits. (01:27) - OOPS: Capital One doesn't transfer to JetBlue like we implied (02:33) - BUT...then this week Capital One announced they ARE adding JetBlue as a transfer partner, (but at horrible rates) (05:24) - Hotel transfer bonuses, yay or nay? (10:29) - Uber adding 1.5% charge to rides abroad – here's how to avoid overpaying Read more about this Uber change here. (14:37) - How we use our Amex Platinum "coupon book" credits... (15:34) - Read more about maximizing American Express credit card rebates and credits here. (16:07) - Both consumer & business cards (30:50) - Amex Platinum (consumer card) Learn more about the Amex Platinum consumer card here. (48:37) - Amex Business Platinum Card Learn more about the Amex Business Platinum Card here and read the Platinum Guide here. (58:03) - Read about the indirect Amex Platinum benefits here. (58:51) - One reader asks for advice about a Qatar Airways issue they experienced on a cash flight (for Q-Suites) where the entertainment system went out and the reimbursement offered for this problem was unsatisfactory.

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday episode of the Sunshine Travelers Podcast. If you've never heard of Travel Tuesday, think of it as the low-key sibling of Black Friday and Cyber Monday - except instead of gadgets, you can score great deals on travel and give the gift of experiences. It's the perfect excuse to start planning your next adventure without breaking the bank. In this episode we'll share a few of the savings we have discovered, but don't wait! Many of these offers end today. Jump on then now; you'll never regret giving the gift of memorable experiences plus we'll share a few tips along the way that are good anytime! Episodes we mentioned that you'll love: Episode 70 - Europe Family Trip: First-Time Tips & Traveling with Kids Episode 2 - The Galapagos Islands Some links are affiliate links. See our disclosure. Links to some of the deals we talk about in the episode: Never Overpay for a Flight Again, Get Daily Drop Pro and gets flights at up to 80% off plus now you can search for flight redemptions using your points and miles. For a limited time, get $50 off Daily Drop Pro. **Tip**Our tip is to join any flight and hotel rewards programs you think you might EVER use! You'll need those accounts to view available rooms and seats with points and accounts to transfer those points from your credit card programs. You'll want to have them ready and available when you want to use them. Aeroplan - 80% bonus when you buy points (ends Dec 11) TAP Air Portugal - direct flights from NYC to Lisbon for as low as $232 per person American Airlines - Deals to Europe $599 per person, Tokyo for as low as $689 - many more check right away Hawaiian Airlines less than $120 one way from CA to Hawaii One-way flights from NYC to London from $244 on KLM and Virgin Atlantic Booking.com 50% off when purchased by Dec 4 for dates through the end of 2025 Marriott - Until Dec 6, Bonvoy members can get 25,000 Bonvoy bonus points for any 5+ night stay on a Marriott Vacations stay Hilton is offering sales on Stays up to 50% off for various dates and various locations (40% off Hilton Los Cabos) Up to 50% savings by Dec 9 on HX Cruises trip to the Galapagos and Macchu Pichu. Come with us on a Trip of a Lifetime to the 7th Continent! Go to sunshinetravelers.com/grouptrip to sign up for more information about the trip. You will also love: 7 Tips to Make Your Holiday Travel Less Stressful Get Our Ultimate Packing Guide for Traveling Smart and Packing Light + Access to Exclusive Weekly Content here. Protect your privacy & increase your security and keep your browsing data secure and don't get locked out of websites with Express VPN - Use this link to get 4 Free Months with a Yearly Plan and 6 Free Months with a 2 year plan. Learn more about Staying Safe Online when Traveling here! Follow our travels on Facebook Follow our travels on Instagram Save our travel ideas on Pinterest See our travel videos on You Tube Follow us on X (Twitter) Connect with us on LinkedIn Music Credit Music by OYStudio from Pixabay

Waterfront locales are one of the most popular destinations for weddings for good reason. Offering up beautiful backdrops and endless things to do for your group, having a wedding on the coast is always a great idea. In this episode, our host, Jennifer Stein, is joined by Christopher Edwards, Catering Sales Manager at Delta by Marriott Virginia Beach Waterfront to talk about why a waterfront wedding might be the perfect place for you.Christopher has years of experience successfully orchestrating events ranging from intimate gatherings to large corporate galas.The two discuss ways to keep costs in check while creating the coastal wedding you've been dreaming of as well as what some of the pros and cons you should be aware of. From helpful tips on ways to save and keep your stress down, to how to plan for inclement weather and the best times of year to plan for, they cover it all.Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:Lovebird - Digital Wedding Invitations, Websites and Save-the-dates: Lovebird.comMarriott Bonvoy Weddings and Events: https://experiencemarriott.com/weddingsAbout Marriott Bonvoy Weddings and Events:At Marriott Bonvoy, we take every event “a step beyond.” Our events let you break away from the traditional toward meaningful experiences for guests. Our hotels and resorts reframe events as high-impact getaways hosted at incredible indoor and outdoor spaces, with catering menus that leave a lasting impression and local flavors inspired by the destination – while keeping sustainability in mind at each venue.Marriott Bonvoy hotel and resort teams help to reimagine the complete event experience with personalized service for seamless celebrations that spark genuine connections among guests. There are countless benefits of hosting your wedding and honeymoon at Marriott Bonvoy Hotels. Among them are room upgrades, resort credits and special promotions for your honeymoon when you plan your wedding at a Marriott Bonvoy hotel, plus earn bonus points on member-exclusive deals. Join Marriott Bonvoy to start earning, redeeming and reaping the benefits of membership.For more about Marriott Bonvoy Weddings and Events, log on to https://experiencemarriott.com/weddings or follow @marriottbonvoyMore about Destination I Do:Destination I Do was established in 2004 and has been publishing real destination weddings, helpful content about planning your wedding away (or honeymoon) and giving advice and inspiration for every couple who is dreaming of their perfect celebration away from home. To learn more about Destination I Do, log on to https://destinationido.com/ and follow us on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/destinationido/ or @destinationido on any other social media platform.

Twenty Minute Travel News has now joined the MtM Podcast feed! You can catch this show each week right here in addition to the regular MtM Travel podcast or watch both shows on Youtube!  Episode Description This week Spirit Airlines finally filed for bankruptcy following several failed merger attempts and sales. While the airline plans to stay in business, should you avoid them until the bankruptcy is settled? What does this mean for tickets, miles, etc. and if we lose Spirit what will the overall effect be on the airline industry?   In other news several new end of year card offers have dropped including increased offers for United cards and some outside the box thinking with Southwest's offers. We also discuss the Capital One Spark $750 welcome offer, how to score a 750 free and easy Bonvoy points, the craziness of blob jumping, when all of the new Chase Sapphire lounges are opening and how those gate agents trick you.   Episode Guide 0:00 When the gate agent lies to you 1:08 Spirit Airlines files bankruptcy 2:50 Should you avoid flying Spirit because of the bankruptcy 4:26 Capital One Spark Cash $750 welcome offer 6:05 New Southwest card offers - Cash back? 7:55 How banks are thinking outside of the box with their welcome offers 10:04 United's increased end of year welcome offers 11:30 The one perk that might make you want to have a United credit card 12:17 4 new Hyatt promos - Anything good? 14:03 Get 750 Marriott Bonvoy points by linking Uber 15:01 More Hawaiian/Alaska points transfer woes 16:22 Chase Sapphire Lounge opening dates for many cities announced 18:57 Blob jumping - Fun travel activity? Links Empty bins - https://x.com/jonathankennell/status/1857385339951722843 Spirit bankruptcy - https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2024/11/18/spirit-airlines-files-bankruptcy-protection.html Hyatt promos - https://travel-on-points.com/hyatt-holiday-promotions/ Marriott Uber - https://milestomemories.com/link-marriott-and-uber-accounts/ Alaska woes - https://travel-on-points.com/hawaiian-airlines-blocking-membership-rewards-transfers/ Sapphire expansion - https://milestomemories.com/chase-sapphire-lounge-by-the-club-adds-more-locations/ Blob jumping - https://www.facebook.com/watch/?mibextid=UalRPS&v=1281980536516434&rdid=FCQtpSE1wjlLwqXs Enjoying the podcast? Please consider leaving us a positive review on your favorite podcast platform! You can also connect with us anytime at podcast@milestomemories.com.  You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, TuneIn, Pocket Casts, or via RSS. Don't see your favorite podcast platform? Please let us know! Music: Rewind by Jay Someday | https://soundcloud.com/jaysomeday Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License

Welcome to another episode of TICKED OFF TUESDAY!

In this episode of Good Morning Hospitality, the team welcomes Keven Wishard, Head of Global and Continent Operations at Homes & Villas by Marriott Bonvoy. He discusses the seamless integration of hotel and vacation rental experiences, the significance of the Bonvoy loyalty program, and the evolution of partner onboarding processes. Keven also touches on Marriott's strategic growth in emerging markets and the company's efforts to maintain high standards while adapting to different international markets. Tune in for an engaging conversation filled with industry insights and personal anecdotes from the world of hospitality. — Good Morning Hospitality is part of the Hospitality.FM podcast network and a Hospitality.FM Original. If you like this podcast, then you'll also love Behind The Stays with Zach Busekrus, which comes out every Tuesday & Friday, wherever you get your podcasts! This show is structured to cover industry news in travel and hospitality and is recorded live every Monday morning at 7 a.m. PST/10 a.m. EST. So make sure you tune in during our live show on our social media channels or YouTube and join the conversation live! Thank you to all of the Hospitality.FM Partners that help make this show possible, and if you have any press you want covered during the show, fill out this form! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Good Morning Hospitality, the team welcomes Keven Wishard, Head of Global and Continent Operations at Homes & Villas by Marriott Bonvoy. He discusses the seamless integration of hotel and vacation rental experiences, the significance of the Bonvoy loyalty program, and the evolution of partner onboarding processes. Keven also touches on Marriott's strategic growth in emerging markets and the company's efforts to maintain high standards while adapting to different international markets. Tune in for an engaging conversation filled with industry insights and personal anecdotes from the world of hospitality. — Good Morning Hospitality is part of the Hospitality.FM podcast network and a Hospitality.FM Original. If you like this podcast, then you'll also love Behind The Stays with Zach Busekrus, which comes out every Tuesday & Friday, wherever you get your podcasts! This show is structured to cover industry news in travel and hospitality and is recorded live every Monday morning at 7 a.m. PST/10 a.m. EST. So make sure you tune in during our live show on our social media channels or YouTube and join the conversation live! Thank you to all of the Hospitality.FM Partners that help make this show possible, and if you have any press you want covered during the show, fill out this form! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we are chatting with Richard from the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection. . Welcome to this week's episode. . If you find value in this video and wish to help this channel, you can donate using THIS LINK. . THE LUXURY YACHT EXPERIENCE ALL-INCLUSIVE VALUE Designed to combine the luxury lifestyle of The Ritz-Carlton with the casual freedom of a yachting vacation, The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection offers itineraries at a relaxed pace. It introduces guests to the local cultures of each destination through curated immersive experiences ashore. Personalized service of the Ritz Carlton, including multiple dining experiences, 24-hour in-suite dining, specialty dining, and specialty dining in all suites. Accommodations, each with a private terrace, a unique marina-style platform, and direct access to water. . EVRIMA BY THE NUMBERS 624 Feet, 190 meters 25,400 Tons 149 Suites 298 Guests 246 Crew 1 to 1.22 Crew-to-Guest Ratio 1 to 85.2 Guest to Space . THE ALL-INCLUSIVE EXPERIENCE INCLUDED • Luxury all-suite accommodations, each with a private terrace (no inside staterooms) • Multiple dining experiences, including 24-hour in-suite dining and beverages throughout the yacht (including alcoholic beverages) • Onboard gratuities • Premium Wi-Fi throughout the yacht, supporting browsing, social media, streaming services, video calls and VPN access The Dress Code is Yacht Smart, Elevated Casual with no formal nights. We then looked at the beautiful suites. They are: .• The Owners Suite is 1091 square feet • The View Suite is up to 574 square feet • The Loft Suite is 611 square feet • The Grand Suite is 587 square feet • The Signature Suite is 429 square feet • The Terrace Suite is 300 square feet. Did you know that if you want to charter a private yacht, it would be a logical step to save some money and cruise on the Ritz Carlton Evrima? It's a better value to cruise on a 5-night trip with Ritz Carlton than it is to do a 3-day weekend in a destination like St Bart's. The Fleet Overview is: EVRIMA's Gross tonnage is 25,400 GT. The Length is 624 FT. Evrima has 149 suites. Evrima has a capacity of 298 guests with a crew of 246. She was launched in October 2022. ILMA's Gross tonnage is 46,750 GT, and its length is 790 FT. It has 224 suites, a capacity of 448 guests, and a crew of 374. She was launched in September 2024 LUMINARA's Gross tonnage is 46,750 GT, and her Length is 794 FT. Luminara will be launched in 2025 and has 226 suites, a capacity of 452 guests, and a crew of 374. . The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection will visit the Mediterranean, Central America, and the Caribbean, take Transatlantic cruises, & visit Northern Europe. . SUMMER 2025 SEASON Season highlights: 9-night Lisbon to Portsmouth - Wine Voyage 9-night Portsmouth to Amsterdam - Open Championship 7-night Amsterdam to Copenhagen - Baltic 7-night Copenhagen to Stockholm - Baltic 7-night Stockholm to Olso 11-night Oslo to Reykjavik - Norwegian Fjords 7-night Reykjavik to Reykjavik - Iceland! 10-night Reykjavik to Amsterdam - Scotland 9-night Amsterdam to Lisbon - Wine voyage.. Curated shore experiences offer personalized, flexible excursions led by local experts in small groups tailored to your preferences for a rewarding and immersive journey. Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection has an excellent pre and post-stay program that I can set up for you. They also have Concierge Air and transfers to and from the cruise port. I love my Marriott Bonvoy points and am so happy that the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection is now part of the Bonvoy rewards program! Please email me if you want to learn more about the Ritz Carlton Yacht Collection or any other cruise lines I have met with. You can also fill out THIS simple form. Search #PlentyofSunshineTravel on Facebook or Instagram to see our posts. . . . #RitzCarltonYachtCollection #RitzCarlton #CruiseSpecialist #travelagenttips #luxurytraveladvisor #LuxuryCruiseTravelAgent

This Day in Legal History: Salem Witch Trial ExecutionsOn August 19, 1692, five individuals—four men and one woman—were executed for witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts, during the height of the Salem Witch Trials. This dark period in American colonial history saw widespread hysteria and a fervent belief in the supernatural, leading to accusations against more than 200 people. The five executed on this day were Reverend George Burroughs, John Proctor, John Willard, George Jacobs Sr., and Martha Carrier. Despite their protests of innocence, they were condemned by the courts based on dubious evidence, including spectral evidence, which allowed testimonies of visions and dreams to be admissible. Reverend Burroughs, who had previously served as a minister in Salem, recited the Lord's Prayer perfectly before his execution—an act thought impossible for a witch—yet he was still hanged. The executions marked a turning point in the trials, as public opinion began to shift, questioning the legitimacy of the proceedings. The tragic events of this day highlight the dangers of mass hysteria and the miscarriage of justice when reason is overshadowed by fear.Former U.S. Representative George Santos, expelled from Congress in December 2023, is expected to plead guilty to multiple criminal corruption charges on August 19, 2024, according to sources. Santos, a Republican, faces federal charges for misusing campaign funds for personal expenses, fraudulently charging donors' credit cards, and receiving unemployment benefits while employed. These actions led to his removal from office after just 11 months, during which he was widely discredited for fabricating parts of his past. A House Ethics Committee investigation revealed Santos spent campaign funds on luxury items and services, further fueling the scandal. Democrat Tom Suozzi won the seat in a special election.Expelled former Rep. Santos to plead guilty to corruption charges, source says | ReutersOn August 17, 2024, the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, announced it would close its operations in Brazil immediately due to what it described as "censorship orders" by Brazilian judge Alexandre de Moraes. X, owned by Elon Musk, claims that Moraes threatened to arrest one of the company's legal representatives if X did not comply with orders to remove certain content. The platform shared a document, allegedly signed by Moraes, outlining fines and arrest threats against their representative. In response, X decided to shut down its operations in Brazil to protect its staff. Despite the closure, the service remains accessible to Brazilian users. The conflict stems from earlier legal disputes, where Moraes ordered X to block accounts associated with spreading misinformation and hate speech during former President Jair Bolsonaro's government. Musk has publicly criticized Moraes, calling his actions unconstitutional.X says it is closing operations in Brazil due to judge's content orders | ReutersSonder Holdings Inc., an alternative-lodging company, has struck a series of deals to raise capital and integrate its brand into Marriott International Inc.'s system to improve its financial stability. After a steep decline in market value from $2.3 billion to $29 million, Sonder secured $43 million in preferred equity and $83 million in additional liquidity from existing lenders. The company has also entered a long-term licensing agreement with Marriott, allowing its properties to be listed on Marriott's platforms under the "Sonder by Marriott Bonvoy" brand. This partnership is expected to drive demand and reduce costs, aiding Sonder's path to profitability. Additionally, Marriott's Bonvoy loyalty program will allow members to earn and redeem points at Sonder properties. Sonder's CEO, Francis Davidson, believes this collaboration will help the company expand and attract more business travelers. The integration is expected to be completed by 2025, providing Sonder with a more stable financial footing.Sonder to Announce Marriott License Deal, Additional Liquidity This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.minimumcomp.com/subscribe

I review the "new" Caledonian Hotel in Edinburgh, Jet Blue Mint Suites, Virgin Upper Class on the A330, and the "also new" Manhattan Hotel now owned by Marriott.

Get an easy $200 from Melio for making your first payment! (Affiliate link. Terms below) https://affiliates.meliopayments.com/7lwy9nh8rl9g Episode Description: As a reminder you can watch this show as well at: https://www.youtube.com/@20minutetravel This week Spirit Airlines finally evolved into a more normal carrier with the introduction of their new fare buckets. Depending on what you choose you can get anything from a basic fare all the way up to the equivalent of domestic First Class, but will this end up costing consumers more in the end or is it a good thing? In other news American Express has some good card offers out right now including two increased Bonvoy offers and a very good deal on the Blue Business Plus without lifetime language. We also discuss crazy travel influencers, the Brazil plane crash, a new VR waterslide, timeshare presentations from home and Hyatt/AA's new status match offers. Episode Guide: 0:00 Over the top travel influencers 0:44 Crazy plane crash in Brazil 2:07 Airline safety in different countries - Something to worry about? 2:58 Spirit's new fare buckets are now live - No more low cost carrier? 4:01 Will Spirit's new fare system ending up costing customers more 6:00 Increased offers for Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant - 185K welcome offer 7:47 Bonvoy Bevy Amex 155K welcome offer 8:35 Amex Blue Business Plus 50K no lifetime language offer & lower spend 10:26 Hyatt hotel demands customer signs a contract to get compensation 11:35 Why you may not want to deal with a hotel directly to ask for compensation 13:55 Get 50K Bonvoy points in your pajamas - Great virtual timeshare presentation offer 15:51 Why timeshare presentations can be an incredible path towards discounted trips & points 16:51 Hyatt/American airlines status match offers 18:35 Don't sleep on status match merry-go-rounds 19:17 Cool new VR waterslide About the Show: We love to travel and love to laugh! 20 Minute Travel is designed to get you all of the info you need to supercharge your travel by utilizing credit cards, travel rewards and other tricks to pay pennies on the dollar.  Shawn Coomer is the founder of Miles to Memories and has traveled all over the world with his family utilizing miles & points. He has been writing and podcasting about miles, points and travel since 2013 and has earned and spent millions of points & miles across dozens of programs. Mark Ostermann is the former Managing Editor of Miles to Memories and is the Managing Editor at Travel on Points. He has been writing about his travel experiences since 2017 and loves to dive into the weeds so you don't have to. He also enjoys a good beer and a laugh or fifty. Each week tens of thousands of people tune into our MtM Vegas news shows at http://www.YouTube.com/milestomemories. If you like this show check it out! Enjoying the podcast? Please consider leaving us a positive review on your favorite podcast platform! You can also connect with us anytime at 20minutetravel@gmail.com. Melio Offer Terms: This is a business to business payment platform - no personal bills / payments. The offer is for new accounts only. If you sign up using the 20 Minute Travel link new members will get $200 cash back after making a $200+ payment via Melio pay. Gal from Melio will reach out to finalize the details of your payment. That is $6 in processing fees for a $200 bonus! After signing up and making your first payment with a vendor you will want to upload your bank info to your Melio account. Do it as the receiving method so you have a checking account set up to receive payments. You will then receive an email from (Gal) Melio saying you are eligible for the $200 bonus and it will tell you to set up your receiving method, or you can share your bank information if you prefer that.

When Tony Capuano took over as President and CEO at Marriott, the company was wrestling with the most significant challenge it's ever faced as travel essentially shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Further complicating matters, Marriott's beloved, iconic CEO, Arne Sorenson, had recently passed away and many in the company were dealing with the loss of their visionary leader, mentor, and friend. On this episode of Redefiners, Tony talks with Clarke and Hoda about leadership lessons he's gleaned from almost 30 years at Marriott, including his top advice for leaders transitioning into the CEO role. He'll also dig into Marriott's Bonvoy customer loyalty program, sustainability at scale in the hospitality industry, and how technology and AI can help deliver high touch personal service. We'll also hear from Ty Wiggins, an Executive Director in our London office and author of RRA's latest book, The New CEO: Lessons from CEOs on How to Start Well and Perform Quickly (Minus the Common Mistakes). Ty discusses why transitioning into the CEO role is one of the most challenging—and rewarding—moves of an executive's career, and how new leaders can get off to a strong start. If you enjoyed this episode, you might also like these Redefiners episodes: Leadership Lounge – How to nail your first year as CEO The Business of Football with Los Angeles Rams COO Kevin Demoff Planting Long-Term Investment Seeds with Markel Group CEO Tom Gayner Reimagining Patient Care: A Conversation with Healthcare Innovator Ashley McEvoy Sunscreen and Success: Supergoop!'s Winning Formula with CEO Amanda Baldwin

The luxury accommodations market has exploded over the past few years, with more options for luxury clients than ever before. From luxury all-inclusive resorts to villas and luxury homes to lodges and boutique hotels, there is something for every one of your clients. This panel examines what luxury options are available for you to book and how to choose the right upscale accommodations to suit your client. This panel, moderated by Alan Fine, chief multimedia officer for Insider Travel Report, includes Willie Fernandez, chief marketing officer for Rental Escapes (www.rentalescapes.com);  Xavier Pineda, director of sales and marketing, Marriott All-inclusive by Bonvoy (all-inclusive.marriott.com); and Libby Cooke, CEO of Antipodal (www.antipodal.net) representing Baillie Lodges and Tierra Hotels in Chile. To watch the entire Virtual Roadshow on demand, RSVP for free at www.taconnect.travel/2024-agent-reg-lux-vrs. If interested, the original video of this podcast can be found on the Insider Travel Report Youtube channel or by searching for the podcast's title on Youtube.

This week I first discuss the latest trending news in the travel industry, including the State Department's recent worldwide travel warning, projections for Memorial Day weekend, and much more.  Later, I welcome two guests: Alicia Evanko-Lewis, Executive Vice President, Events at Northstar Travel Group, and Christen Perry, owner of Classic Travel Connection.  Together we discuss the events space in the travel industry. Evanko-Lewis provides insights into how the events space is doing in travel and the toughest part about putting on an event. Perry shares her thoughts on why it's so vital for travel advisors to attend events, as well as her best tips and practices.  The events in travel discussion begins after the 10-minute mark.  Today's episode sponsor: All-Inclusive by Marriott Bonvoy Looking for a vacation that's beyond the ordinary? Immerse yourself in a world of unparalleled luxury and adventure with All-Inclusive by Marriott Bonvoy. From the sun-kissed shores of Barbados and Jamaica to the lush landscapes of Mexico and Costa Rica, they bring you to the most coveted destinations. Whether you're traveling with your partner, family, friends, or flying solo, All-Inclusive by Marriott Bonvoy® caters to your every whim. They specialize in crafting authentic moments that resonate with your unique travel style. And here's the best part – as a Bonvoy member, you unlock unlimited travel possibilities. The longer you stay, the more benefits you enjoy. Learn more at all-inclusive.marriott.com Have any feedback or questions? Want to sponsor the show? Contact us at Podcast@TravelPulse.com and follow us on social media @TravelPulse. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week I welcome Tyson Wharton, owner of Sioux Empire Travel, back to the podcast. We first discuss top trending travel news, including top U.S. airlines suing the Biden Administration, Boeing's continued woes, summer travel pricing, and more.  Later, we answer the question: who are the MVPs of the travel industry? Listen to hear what travel advisors can offer their clients, a special shoutout to Moms, as well as Wharton's advice for having an MVP-like summer travel season.  The discussion on MVPs of travel begins after the 17-minute mark.  Today's episode sponsor: All-Inclusive by Marriott Bonvoy Looking for a vacation that's beyond the ordinary? Immerse yourself in a world of unparalleled luxury and adventure with All-Inclusive by Marriott Bonvoy. From the sun-kissed shores of Barbados and Jamaica to the lush landscapes of Mexico and Costa Rica, they bring you to the most coveted destinations. Whether you're traveling with your partner, family, friends, or flying solo, All-Inclusive by Marriott Bonvoy® caters to your every whim. They specialize in crafting authentic moments that resonate with your unique travel style. And here's the best part – as a Bonvoy member, you unlock unlimited travel possibilities. The longer you stay, the more benefits you enjoy. Learn more at all-inclusive.marriott.com Have any feedback or questions? Want to sponsor the show? Contact us at Podcast@TravelPulse.com and follow us on social media @TravelPulse. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nyligen öppnade ett nytt Fairfield by Marriott i Köpenhamn. Travel News var förstås på plats och intervjuade ledningen för det nya hotellet och designansvarig. Världens största hotellbolag Marriott har idag ett tjugotal enheter i Norden. Exakt hur många beror på hur man räknar, men de två mest kända i Stockholm är Sheraton vid Centralen och Courtyard Marriott på Kungsholmen. Det är alltså småsmulor om man jämför med övriga världen där Marriott har knappt 9000 hotell under sitt paraply. Marriott är en global varumärkesägare med runt 200 miljoner gäster i sitt bonusprogram Bonvoy. Marriott fungerar alltså inte som operatör som likt Scandic både har ett varumärke, ett bonusprogram och faktiskt driver sina hotell. Marriott har en pärm där det står hur man ska driva sitt hotell och den ger man till fastighetsägaren och operatören som sen har att följa detta. Alla tre kan alltså säga upp avtalet utan så kallad besittningsrätt vilket annars är vanligt i Norden. Det gör att hyresavtalen inte behöver vara på livstid som ofta är fallet med Scandic och Strawberrys kontrakt med sina hyresvärdar. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to another episode of the TravelPulse Podcast! This week I first discuss the latest trending news in travel, including the U.S. Travel Association's statement that Congress could create chaos for air travel this summer, big news in Hawaii, and much more.  Later, I welcome Alex Fiz, Area Vice President for the Caribbean and Managing Director All-Inclusive at Marriott to the show. Fiz provides updates on what's new with All-Inclusive by Marriott Bonvoy, from renovating Marriott Cancun to the new properties slated to open in 2024. He also shares how the brand works with travel advisors.  The interview with Fiz on All-Inclusive by Marriott Bonvoy begins after the 11-minute mark.  Today's episode sponsor: All-Inclusive by Marriott Bonvoy Looking for a vacation that's beyond the ordinary? Immerse yourself in a world of unparalleled luxury and adventure with All-Inclusive by Marriott Bonvoy. From the sun-kissed shores of Barbados and Jamaica to the lush landscapes of Mexico and Costa Rica, they bring you to the most coveted destinations. Whether you're traveling with your partner, family, friends, or flying solo, All-Inclusive by Marriott Bonvoy® caters to your every whim. They specialize in crafting authentic moments that resonate with your unique travel style. And here's the best part – as a Bonvoy member, you unlock unlimited travel possibilities. The longer you stay, the more benefits you enjoy. Learn more at all-inclusive.marriott.com Have any feedback or questions? Want to sponsor the show? Contact us at Podcast@TravelPulse.com and follow us on social media @TravelPulse. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you enjoy the podcast, I hope you'll take a moment to leave us a rating. That helps us grow our audience! Watch us on YouTube! Richard is sharing his Bonvoy moment, scoring baseball tickets using his Bonvoy points. Ed is sharing pictures of a Slack community member's great trip to Algarve.  He also recaps his son's behind-the-scenes trip to Disney World They're also discussing the rollout of Mr. And Mrs. Smith properties as a part of World of Hyatt. Lastly, Richard is taking a swing at The Final Two Pennies. If you're looking for a way to support the show, we'd love to have you join us in our Travel Slack Community.  Join me and other travel experts for informative conversations about the travel world, the best ways to use your miles and points, Zoom happy hours and exciting giveaways. Monthly access Annual access Personal consultation plus annual access We have witty, funny, sarcastic discussions about travel, for members only. My fellow travel experts are available to answer your questions and we host video chats multiple times per month. See More: https://milestogo.boardingarea.com/ Follow Us! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/milestogopodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@milestogopodcast Ed Pizza: https://www.instagram.com/pizzainmotion/ Richard Kerr: https://www.instagram.com/kerrpoints/

Yo-Eleven MinutesMostly Vegas. No BS. Casino Experience +more⬇️“Swanky Ambassador Elite ‘Swag - MGM Collection with Marriott BonVoy” - Yo-11 Minutes: E51 Season 2 On this episode:Michael discusses: Swanky Swag from Bonvoy Ambassador Elite status and further details on what Bonvoy Ambassador Elite entails.Movestro's News Story: Valentine's Day in Vegas aka People Getting Married at Denny'sLinks:TravelZork Travel  - The Vegas ExpertsLink to BonVoy Ambassador Elite Status Watch, Like and Sub on YouTubeThe Yo-11 Minutes Playlist on YouTubeSupport the show⁉️ Want to contact us or share something?Chat to TravelZork, ZorkCast and TravelZork Travel!

If you enjoy the podcast, I hope you'll take a moment to leave us a rating. That helps us grow our audience! No, Richard didn't get Bonvoyed.  But, Ed is wishing Richard farewell as he heads out for a European cruise.  Ed and Richard are doing a deep dive into the Hilton Honors program in response to a listener e-mail.  They're discussing elite status, benefits, credit cards and the overall value proposition of the Hilton Honors program. If you're looking for a way to support the show, consider joining our Slack Community. You can support the show and purchase access below: Monthly access Annual access Personal consultation plus annual access We have witty, funny, sarcastic discussions about travel, for members only. My fellow travel experts are available to answer your questions and we host video chats multiple times per month.

Festivus: The non-commercial holiday's celebration, as depicted on Seinfeld, occurs on December 23 and includes a Festivus dinner, an unadorned aluminum Festivus pole, practices such as the "airing of grievances" and "feats of strength", and the labeling of easily explainable events as "Festivus miracles"  0:15 Intro, some history about Festivus as we held it on the Observation Deck. 03:27 Airing of Grievances: Everyone gets two each. ONE towards an airline or loyalty program, ONE towards a bank. Sam: No Knock Devaluations in general. Trevor shared one of these happening in real time. Bank: Bank of America. Fraud happy, and full of themselves. Tom: Alaska Airlines end of 50K to asia MGM stays get bonvoyed Trevor: Loyalty program: Another Alaska no notice devaluation, making JAL awards even more expensive, from 70k to 100k for JAL F to Japan, one way. US Bank: I have a history of being unimpressed, such that I stayed away for a while, however I went back to the well, with a $500 business checking bonus. This may have been self inflicted, but US Bank is not the easiest to work with. 13:45 Alaska/Hawiian Merger Talk 20:20 Hyatt requalification and “Settle for Good Enough” 23:20 Feats of Strength Traditionally, it's "Your favorite redemptions/miles and points usage over the course of the year. But lets switch it up som: ONE towards an airline or loyalty program, and one towards a bank. Doesn't have to be the "best" or "best value", but just the one that defined your 2023 or you will remember going forward" Sam: Japan for 4 in Business class both ways. Not that this was an especially strong feat of strength but it seems like it is. I'm Bank: AA miles with a Citi Business card Tom: Award trip to Australia exact dates i needed for a Trevor: Loyalty Program: The incredibleness that has been Aeroplan with the super cheap lap infant that let us travel at a ludicrous pace. Bank: AMEX Business Gold + Employee cards (though I can of course try picking something else, but having done 80 employee cards on 1 card, and 5 on 3 other cards they moved the needle for me). 37:55 Festivus Miracles This is your deal of the year, or really anything. Whatever brought you the most miraculous joy in the miles and points game this year. Sam: Vacasa with Wyndham Rewards. 1 year ago I bought 300,000 of these for cash on points.com. This year I earned 2x that many from the comfort of my living room. Tom: Surprise Elite Status (thanks Delta) Delta Gold 2024, AS MVP, Spirit, Frontier Trevor: 68k/night Bonvoy points for St. Regis Maldives To close out we ask you to share your Festivus Grievances, Miracles and Feats of strength! Share here in the comments or on Slack! 

We're all about accountability on the Remarkable Retail podcast, so as we get close to wrapping up Season 7, it's time to grade Steve on his annual predictions. In part one of a two-part episode, Michael takes out his virtual chalkboard as we assess the first batch of Steve's prognostications on a disrupter reset, whether retail media networks are more hype than hope, what to make of an accelerating pace of C-suite changes, and a whole lot more.We start with retail news, including a surprise US jobs report, NRF's back-tracking on causes of retail shrink, and Amazon getting more nervous about Temu and Shein. We wonder whether lower gas prices may save retailers' fourth quarters and whether a marriage between Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue is inevitable. Then it's on to ponder what's next for Farfetch and whether a Bonvoy and Camp partnership will create happy campers, And as earnings season wraps up. we got a mixed picture from some of our favorite retailers: RH, Lululemon, and Ulta. We close with a return to visit Rent the Runway and Stitch Fix in the wobbly unicorn corner of the internet.**********************************Don't forget to join Steve's new Linked Group for his new book.About UsSteve Dennis is a strategic advisor, board member, and keynote speaker focused on strategic growth and transformation and the impact of digital disruption. He is the author of the bestselling book Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption and the forthcoming Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption , which will be published in March 2024 and is now available for pre-order at book retailers everywhere. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior contributor and on social media..Michael LeBlanc  is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice.   He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience, and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career.  Michael is the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts including Canada's top retail industry podcast,       The Voice of Retail, plus  Global eCommerce Leaders podcast, and The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois.    You can learn more about Michael   here  or on     LinkedIn. Be sure and check out Michael's latest venture for fun and influencer riches - Last Request Barbecue,  his YouTube BBQ cooking channel! 

Marcus Räder started his first company when he was 11 years old. Since then, he's been learning about the world of business, growing up in an environment where global communication and connectivity gets better each day. With 10 years of experience in EdTech and online marketing at various startups, he decided it was time to help others. By founding Hostaway, he helps Airbnb and short-term rental hosts improve their businesses. (0:50) - Hostaway origins(3:16) - State of Short-term Rental industry(8:37) - Airbnb regulation(14:32) - Marketplace fee monetization & consumer psychology(21:28) - Adam Smith's free market, market failure & regulation vs. monopoly(22:52) - All-in-one vacantion rental software(29:18) - Role of online travel agencies(31:26) - Proptech & Travel Tech lessons from EdTech(34:28) - Collaboration Superpower: Alice Cooper

Episode Description On this episode Shawn and Joe discuss even more consolidation happening in the travel realm. Similar to hotels and airlines we are seeing two major amusement park operators join forces, but will it be good for consumers? They also discuss the return of a good 3 free night Marriott offer, how Bonvoy is making a popular perk better, custom liveries and the top 50 travel destinations in the world. Episode Notes 6:52 - Six Flags/Cedar Fair merger 13:03 - Alaska Airlines Mickey's Toontown livery 17:21 - Marriott Bonvoy card offer and suite upgrade changes 24:14 - Jetblue tile bonus offer 33:48 - Lonely Planet top 50 destinations Enjoying the podcast? Please consider leaving us a positive review on your favorite podcast platform! You can also connect with us anytime at podcast@milestomemories.com.  You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Sticher, Spotify, TuneIn, Pocket Casts, or via RSS. Don't see your favorite podcast platform? Please let us know! Music: Rewind by Jay Someday | https://soundcloud.com/jaysomeday Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License

It's Halloween and there is no better time to address some of the common fears about travel. We asked our followers to tell us what keeps them from achieving their travel goals and have distilled it down to the top 5 reasons. But we don't think travel is scary at all, so we want to give you some suggestions on what you can do to tackle those fears and live your best life seeing the world one place at a time. So grab your trick or treat bags because we have some goodies for you today. Some links are affiliate links. See our disclosure. Top 5 Scary Things About Travel 1. Travel can be expensive but knowing how to look for cheap flights, discounted travel, & use "travel hacking" to your advantage can make travel way more affordable. Going (formerly Scott's Cheap Flights) sends you cheap flight alerts for free with signup (there is a paid version but I encourage you to just start with the free cheap flight alerts. We also just recently found out about Thrify Traveler, a similar service. I signed up for the Free Version to see how I like the deals because who doesn't like Free Flight Alerts for Cheap Flights! There is also a Premium Version in order to get full access to the deals. We use different cards for different things but getting the welcome bonuses is the best and fastest way to get points. 10X Travel has a great free starter course. We have a Bonvoy American Express with a lower annual fee that more than covers the annual free night. Using Marriott points to book your rooms gives you the 5th night free when you book through the Bonvoy site. We recently started leveraging both the welcome bonus and the 3x on all dining purchases on the Chase Sapphire Card - you can transfer the points to a variety of airlines and hotels depending on how you want to use it. HERE IS THE LIST of places to look for discounted travel deals and package deals: Vip Traveler - for luxury travel deals, Travel Zoo, Vacations to Go, Great Value Vacations For Cruises check: Cruise Critic & Cruise Direct We've also used Hopper for flights and hotel deals as well. We also have been able to take advantage of Interval International Getaway Deals through our Sheraton/Westin Vacation Club Ownership (now a part of Marriott Vacation Club). Recently we also learned about Status Matching your Hotel or Airline Status in order to get perks with another Brand. We were able to status match our Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Status to the Caesar's Diamond Status when Scott was recently in Vegas. Then with that, Atlantis Resort and Casino in the Bahamas offers free stays to those who hold status with another Casino (we've also heard of Caesar's and MGM doing this with other brands so it doesn't hurt to ask). In addition, Holland America also offers a free cruise in an inside stateroom to those holding status with a Casino Brand. So these types of Status Matches are definitely worth checking out. We just got back from Atlantis for our free stay so we will be doing a podcast episode soon and we go on the Holland America cruise after Thanksgiving. 2. Solo Travel - Hear Melissa's experience on traveling solo home and her flight getting cancelled on Episode 23 - How to Handle Travel Disruptions Episode Tours can be a great way to see more when traveling solo (Melissa has used Viator to book several in Portugal when Scott was working - see them here) 3. I'm un-familiar with the destination For more help with Trip Planning Listen to Episode 20 - How to Plan a Trip Step by Step 4. Travel Insurance, especially have medical coverage when traveling internationally could potentially save you so much money. This year we took out a one year travel insurance policy that included travel medical coverage. Check out World Nomads, Travelex, and Allianz as possible carriers. 5. Time off for Travel - Check out Take More Vacations for more ways to Maximize your Time Off for Travel Read more about this and other travel destinations on our BLOG Follow our travels on Facebook Follow our travels on Instagram here and here Save our travel ideas on Pinterest See our travel videos on You Tube Music Credit Music by OYStudio from Pixabay

Hey listeners, it's throwback time! Today we're looking back at a very special episode from 2022 with Jennifer Hsieh, VP of Homes & Villas by Marriott. Here's a fun fact: Annie had just completed her final interview for the position of Director of Business Development with Jenny just moments before we recorded this episode. A lot has changed since we first started this podcast, and it's fun to reflect on past episodes to see how far we've come; individually, collectively, personally and professionally. We are SO grateful for everyone who tunes in to the show each week – thank you for your support and friendship!Show Notes from original air date October 5, 2022:It was beyond a pleasure to sit down with Jennifer Hsieh, VP of Marriott Homes & Villas, to learn about both the challenges and opportunities Marriott has uncovered by bringing one of the world's largest hospitality brands into the world of vacation rentals. While Marriott International represents 30 hotel brands and 8,000 properties as part of their portfolio, Homes & Villas has presented perhaps the most unique - yet sought after - option for their loyal Bonvoy members.Alex, Annie & Jenny dive into the details of the complexities of growing a start-up in a grown-up enterprise, along with HVMI's position on working exclusively with professional property managers.Jenny shares career insights on her first major role with Target, and then how she worked in various departments in Marriott before moving into her current role to launch HVMI. She is an inspirational leader and one certainly worth following.Find out more about Homes & Villas by Marriott here: https://homes-and-villas.marriott.com/This episode is brought to you by our Premiere Brand Sponsor, Casago, and Co-Sponsor Rev & ResearchCONTACT JENNIFER HSIEHLinkedInCONTACT ALEX & ANNIEAlexandAnniePodcast.comLinkedIn | Facebook | InstagramAlex Husner - LinkedinAnnie Holcombe - Linkedin

A TCR listener just got told "I love you!!" on a THIRD date, Serina wonders if it's a "man thing" to not notice when women get their hair/nails done, Are You Smarter Than Nicasio, Tino blows everyone's mind with the pronunciation of a well-known hotel brand, and Matt breaks down the IOS updates...

Cristin and Lindsey join us to talk vacation. Then the conversation turns to the impending grand opening of Jeremy's pizza palace.

Episode Description On this episode Shawn and Joe discuss Charlotte and Joe's recent revelations about the Hyatt House brand. Hyatt's limited service brands can be broken into "old" and "new" categories and there is a big difference even under the same brand. Other topics discussed in this episode include: missed opportunities for student discounts to save on travel, Expedia launching a new rewards program while killing an old popular one, LifeMiles is back with a transfer bonus, Marriott Bonvoy has brought back a popular welcome offer and Chase Aeroplan Pay Yourself Back has claimed its first victim with a full shutdown for violating the promotional terms. Episode Notes 8:04 - Hyatt House brand old vs. new 16:24 - Hyatt family rate and how it can save you money 19:29 - Marriott Bonvoy Boundless big offer returns 21:39 - Missed opportunities with student discounts 24:49 - Expedia launching new rewards program and killing a popular old one 27:07 - Lifemiles transfer bonus to multiple programs 28:12 - Chase Aeroplan Pay Yourself Back shutdown Enjoying the podcast? Please consider leaving us a positive review on your favorite podcast platform! You can also connect with us anytime at podcast@milestomemories.com.  You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Sticher, Spotify, TuneIn, Pocket Casts, or via RSS. Don't see your favorite podcast platform? Please let us know! Music: Rewind by Jay Someday | https://soundcloud.com/jaysomeday Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License

Free night in San Jose.

In the episode, you will find out which luxury Marriott hotel is the best fit for you.Marriott Luxury hotels include:Ritz-CarltonSt. RegisJW MarriottEdition Luxury Hotel CollectionBugalri Hotels (Not a part of the Bonvoy program) Belvin's contact informationLinkedinYouTubeShowtime TravelInstagram Showtime TravelInstagram - Luxury Travel by BelvinFree ConsultationSupport the show

What is the state of commercial real estate? Who will be selling next year in 2023? Which asset class do we think will hurt the most next year? Deidre Wollard, a writer and editor at The Motley Fool will share her insights. You can read this entire episode here: bit.ly/3uxdx70 What is the state of commercial real estate today? It is an interesting time. It has always an interesting time in real estate. Right now, I feel like everybody is waiting for something to happen, which is really interesting. We're certainly seeing that on the residential side, because the housing market is sort of on pause. And we are seeing that on the commercial side as well, interest rates are so high that people can't get access to capital the way they could. And there's that little uncertainty about what's next in the overall economic sector. Are we headed into a recession? Consumers are spending a lot right now, is that going to shift? All of that uncertainty is leading to a bit of a lack of deal flow from what I've seen. Which asset class do you think will be the one that is most hurt next year? I think it continues to be office, office has really struggled. We are also starting to see a little bit of a weakness in industrial. That has been happening ever since Amazon about three or four months ago made a statement about looking at their warehouse spacing, we have seen that sort of fall throughout the industry. So there's a little bit of a weakness starting to happen in industrial. Overall, it's nothing to worry about. But with office, the question I keep asking myself is, is this a permanent shift? And I think my viewpoint on that has changed throughout the cycle as different things just keep happening. Because the employers are starting to have more of the power, you're getting more and more employers demanding people to go back to the office. That is one reason that I'm getting a little bit optimistic about office. When you invest in your next deal, what asset class is more interesting to you right now and why? Multifamily is forever interesting, because we're never going to run out of need for it. And it's not as much driven by what happens with the economy. Rent prices right now are definitely stabilizing, the question though is where are we overbuilding and that's the thing that's really important to watch because we saw so much activity flow into the Sunbelt, both before the pandemic and during, and that's moderating a bit. You see some of these hot markets get a little different and you start to wonder, are we building too much in Austin, Texas, for example, and start to think about, where's the money going next? Where are the people going next? That I think that is the puzzle that is most interesting. I think hotels is an interesting one to follow. Because when we look at consumer behavior, everybody spent on goods during a portion of the pandemic, then everybody switched over to experiences, and that changed the forecast of hospitality. The longer term trend that I'm watching there that I think is really interesting, is what we saw with Airbnb and long term stays, they saw their 28 day and higher stays keep growing.They announced recently that they're now letting apartment renters rent on Airbnb, which is interesting. At the same time, you've got Marriott, that just announced Apartments by Bonvoy, which is basically, medium term rentals of more apartment style units. There's something happening there with medium term 30 to 90 days, stays, I think that's an area to keep an eye on. Deidre Wollard at The Motley Fool twitter.com/deidre --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/best-commercial-retail-real-estate-investing-advice-ever/support

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card and the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card annual fee is waived for military servicemembers and military spouses. In this episode Spencer Reese and Jamie break down the differences between two of the best Amex hotel credit cards available: The Amex Bonvoy Brilliant and the Amex HIlton Honors Aspire Card. If you have a question you would like us to answer on the podcast, please reach out on instagram.com/militarymoneymanual or email podcast@militarymoneymanual.com. If you want to maximize your military paycheck, check out Spencer's 5 star rated book The Military Money Manual: A Practical Guide to Financial Freedom on Amazon at or at shop.militarymoneymanual.com. I also offer a 100% free course on military travel hacking and getting annual fee waived credit cards, like The Platinum Card® from American Express, the American Express® Gold Card, and the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card in my Ultimate Military Credit Cards Course at militarymoneymanual.com/umc3.

It was beyond a pleasure to sit down with Jennifer Hsieh, VP of Marriott Homes & Villas, to learn about both the challenges and opportunities Marriott has uncovered by bringing one of the world's largest hospitality brands into the world of vacation rentals. While Marriott International represents 30 hotel brands and 8,000 properties as part of their portfolio, Homes & Villas has presented perhaps the most unique - yet sought after - option for their loyal Bonvoy members. Alex, Annie & Jenny dive into the details of the complexities of growing a start-up in a grown-up enterprise, along with HVMI's position on working exclusively with professional property managers. Jenny shares career insights on her first major role with Target, and then how she worked in various departments in Marriott before moving into her current role to launch HVMI. She is an inspirational leader and one certainly worth following. Find out more about Homes & Villas by Marriott here: https://homes-and-villas.marriott.com/CONTACT JENNIFER HSIEHLinkedInCONTACT ALEX & ANNIEAlexandAnniePodcast.comLinkedIn | Facebook | InstagramAlex Husner - LinkedinAnnie Holcombe - Linkedin

Episode Description In this episode of the Miles to Memories podcast Shawn & Mark discuss the latest in miles & points including two new Marriott cards that are probably coming, tacos in Mexico City, what you need to know about partner awards and bank travel portals, a new best ever bonus for Citi Double Cash and how Choice Hotels responded to Mark's issues.  Episode Notes 2:00 Discussing Marriott brands Le Meridien & AC Hotels 4:26 Update on Mark's Choice Hotels issues 8:02 Partner bookings issues & flight changes - Delta edition 13:17 What happens to an upgrade during irregular operations 14:52 The problems and benefits of bank travel portals 21:46 Citi Double Cash has the best bonus ever. Learn more on Travel Freely 24:29 2 New rumored Marriott Bonvoy cards coming?!? 28:52 Is Bonvoy Platinum status worth it? 29:33 Hyatt hotel map - A handy tool for wanderlusting 33:11 Choosing Hyatt all-inclusives in the Cancun area 38:09 Why tacos in Mexico City are so good   Enjoying the podcast? Please consider leaving us a positive review on your favorite podcast platform! You can also connect with us anytime at podcast@milestomemories.com.  You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Sticher, Spotify, TuneIn, Pocket Casts, or via RSS. Don't see your favorite podcast platform? Please let us know! Music: Rewind by Jay Someday | https://soundcloud.com/jaysomeday Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License

In this episode of The Remarkable Project Jay speaks with Florencia Aimo, a Senior Director of Marketing & Communications for the world's biggest hotel chain, Marriott International, about why owned ecosystems are the future of fully-integrated customer service, how character can define a brand from its closest competitors, and the value of mixing in-person perspective with data when it comes to better understanding customers.Over the past 18 years Florencia Aimo has built a successful career taking on numerous marketing roles on and above property with different hotel brands. Globally-minded and passionate about travel and hospitality, her journey has steered her to work in multiple cities including Buenos Aires, Miami, Cancun, Orlando and Sydney.Florencia joined Marriott International in 2015 as the Director of Digital Marketing for Marriott Australia, where she led the execution of digital strategies for the business' hotel brand portfolio. With the acquisition of Starwood Hotels, she became part of the company's inaugural Area Team in the region, implementing brand, digital and communication programs across a portfolio of 40 hotels and 14 brands.Today she's responsible for leading marketing strategies and brand localisation, raising brand awareness and driving hotel performance. As well as securing significant global and local market partnerships including the Australia Grand Prix, Mardi Gras, and the Australian Open, Florencia has also driven change and innovation across hotel marketing over the past decade. This includes restructuring the organisation and developing Marriott's local paid placement advertising and digital marketing programs.She holds a bachelor's degree in Business Administration with a Marketing Major from Florida International University, USA, and currently resides in Sydney's Northern Beaches with her partner.Remarkable TakeawaysWhy creating your own ecosystem can have such a positive impact on growing both lifetime value and long-lasting customer love.How to separate brands or offerings by defining their true character, even if they were purposely built to compete with each other.The value of bringing together first-hand observation and deep listening with data, to ensure you know your customers intimately, today and tomorrow.Connect with FlorenciaFind her on LinkedinLearn more about the Marriott Bonvoy program here

Follow Us on YouTube Everything Coworking Featured Resources: The SEO Action Guide Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space Community Manager University Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective   Jason Anderson is the President of the World's Largest Coworking Franchise, which today includes the brands Venture X and Office Evolution. Check out the NEW Flex Uncensored Podcast with my co-host Giovanni Palavacini!  If that link doesn't work, just search for it in your podcast player and hit that subscribe button! Jason Anderson started his career in the Air Force when he was 17. His first deployment was to the UK where he was stationed over 9/11. Before that assignment, Jason had never left the country. Jason didn't know at the time that some years later, he'd return to London to celebrate the expansion of a Venture X franchisee….one location that is part of a global footprint of the third largest coworking company in the world. Jason had a vision (literally on a board) of creating the “Bonvoy” of coworking brands. He's just getting started.   In this episode, he shares the “why” behind the Venture X acquisition of Office Evolution. He talks through the way he looks at the flex industry through a hospitality lens. We learn why it's natural for VentureX to operate globally early in its life as a brand. We also get some behind-the-scenes details on how the Venture X model has evolved over time and what Jason's predictions are for the next 5 years.  

After planning of months, our Napa Valley trip was destined to begin in San Francisco. Flying from south Florida to California meant our flight options required a layover, so we chose to splurge to fly first class on American Airlines (AA). American Airlines seemed to have the best options to fly from Southwest Florida. After a pretty easy travel experience, thanks to TSA Pre-Check and Global Entry, we arrived at our hotel, the Marriott Fisherman's Wharf which was just. short walk to all the action at the Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39.Since we were staying for two nights, we stayed at the Marriott and used Bonvoy points, and enjoyed the Marriott accommodations like food/drink vouchers and credits. The next morning, we woke up early to walk around Pier 39 and had a quick bite to eat and drink at Biscoff Coffee Corner, which had the best White Chocolate Mocha EVER. Pier 39 was so much fun and worth seeing because they have Sea Lions there that you can't miss. Especially during the summertime, this spot has tons of restaurants and entertainment for the whole family. After a morning exploring nearby, we headed off to Bay City Bikes where we booked a tour of the Golden Gate Bridge to a neighboring town called Sausalito. This was a guided tour on Electric Bikes that lasted about 3.5 hours before we were able to do our own thing and have options once we arrived in Sausalito. Our experienced tour guide from Bay City Bikes took us on bike paths through the city showcasing Fort Baker, views of Alcatraz Island, the passing of Ghirardelli Square, history of the city, and then we got to go over and UNDER the Golden Gate Bridge. That experience was somewhat wild - as it's very narrow on the walking/biking path on the bridge, but the views were truly unmatched and the pictures will last a lifetime. Once we were done with the Golden Gate Bridge, we made our way down some winding paths to Sausalito. The town was lined with boat home communities, painted mailboxes, quaint coffee shops, chocolate stores on every corner, and the most delicious restaurant, Poggio. After biking around for a few hours, the tour ended in Sausalito and you could either bike back on your own through the city, continue on to Tribuon, return your bike there for a surcharge, and take the ferry back. The ferry cost $16 a person and would take you back to San Francisco with your bike, but we chose to return our bikes in town, find a fun spot for dinner, and Uber back to our hotel. Uber was readily available everywhere we went in the city, and seemed to be somewhat cost effective compared to renting a car and paying for parking. The beautiful thing about traveling is when your friends and family are all spread out and your travels allow you to connect with the ones you love most. Our second and final night in San Francisco was dedicated to getting together with my high school best friends who reside in Berkeley/ Oakland area. For seafood lovers and a more high end atmosphere with one of the best views in San Francisco, the Waterfront Restaurant was perfect for lovers, friends, and celebrations. We wrapped up our night there, and began preparing for the next 3 days in Napa Valley. Before getting picked up in the morning to begin our wine excursions, we ate at Boudin and had lunch for breakfast - chili and soup in bread bowls. Best meal of the trip. If our trip was extended, we would have loved to go to Chinatown to explore, get a tour of Alcatraz island, and actually stop at Ghirardelli Square. Also, there are tons of great museums to visit, such as the pop up immersive museum for Frida Kahlo. Enjoy your next trip to San Francisco and as always stay safe and share your favorite recommendations with the travel brats. Thank you for tuning in and stay connected for the ultimate guide to Napa Valley coming your way. 

Episode Description In this episode of the Miles to Memories podcast we take a look behind the curtain of travel blogging. We also talk about the massive Marriott devaluation, Joe's trip to Disney and if the expensive club access add on is worth it.  Episode Notes 7:08 - Hyatt Regency MCO 9:47 - Disney trip 13:29 - Boardwalk Inn Club Level 18:47 - Bonvoy devaluation and upcoming IHG changes 27:40 - State of independent blogs (Lucky's article) Enjoying the podcast? Please consider leaving us a positive review on your favorite podcast platform! You can also connect with us anytime at podcast@milestomemories.com.  You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Sticher, Spotify, TuneIn, Pocket Casts, or via RSS. Don't see your favorite podcast platform? Please let us know! Music: Rewind by Jay Someday | https://soundcloud.com/jaysomeday Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License

There are great airlines that fly to Costa Rica. For a pricey, more comfortable choice, American Airlines and JetBlue regularly fly and typically out of international hubs. So Miami is a convenient spot to get the most cost effective and direct flight. Spirit flies out of Fort Lauderdale, but that's a story for another day. If you have flexibility on your schedule or aren't sure which days to go yet, SkyScanner is the perfect resource to sway you to go on a more budget friendly week. Rental cars are attainable to get in Costa Rica, but they can be pricey and if you aren't super comfortable with driving a manual transmission, get an automatic. The roads can be challenging, so the most comfortable driver should be the one behind the wheel. Most major rental car companies are there, and you get a shuttle to them from the airport and go from there. Enterprise and Budget were both reliable and we didn't have any issues. If you are going from Los Suenos to La Fortuna, I recommend a 4x4 so pay the extra money. On this adventure, Jen and Mark stayed for almost two weeks, which allowed them to adventure along the Pacific Coast, fish, relax, travel to their next destinations, get situated again, go on a tour or two, visit the spa, and try excellent places to eat. Anywhere from 5 days to a month or two will get the job done, but once you are in Costa Rica, you'll begin planning the next time for you to come back and stay longer. While staying on the Pacific Coast in Los Suenos, a beautiful spot to stay is the Los Suenos Marriott, especially if you are a BonVoy card member and earn/use points. Here's more about the Marriott Bonvoy cards to see if that's a good fit for you. This is a well-known destination for fishing and chartering a boat to catch big fish - just ask Mark about the huge fish he's caught there. Plus when you catch fish you are able to keep, you can take it to a local restaurant, and they can falay it for you and your family. A highly recommended one is the Pelican, along the coast. Then it's a long, heart racing drive from Los Suenos to the middle of the country, in the beloved La Fortuna. There are tons of highly rated places to stay while you're there, but the unbeatable luxury choice is Nayara SpringsIt's truly the epitome of everything you'd want for an exotic getaway - privacy, your own villa, outside shower, pool, daily breakfast delivered, excellent service, and incredible views. It's on the pricier point, but Jen says, “it's worth every penny.” Even Travel and Leisure rated in the top 2 hotels in the world at one point. 

Just a solo podcast. Maybe weekly. Who knows. This one I recap a week on the road. Huntsville, Atlanta, Palm Harbor & Palm Beach. I complain about the BonVoy app for a second and something else, I forget at the moment.... Also, big announcement I can't talk about yet..... Don't you hate that? Just tell me when you can tell me... Come see me live! Dates at NeilRubenstein.com And if you can, support the Patreon.com/NeilRubenstein --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/neilrubenstein/support

Vill du åka till en plats där du får en förhöjd vardag snarare än en regelrätt semester? Då kan Kapstaden och Kalifornien vara för dig. Emma är vd för nystartade BONVOY, ett innovativt necessärvarumärke, och hon har rest mycket i sitt liv. Men två platser har hon fastnat för, Kapstaden och Kalifornien. Emma guidar oss igenom hur man på bästa sätt njuter av dessa två destinationer. Här får vi höra om Camps Bay, maten, vinerna, vindistrikten, stranden, Santa Monica, Venice boardwalk, och San Diego. Mer avslappnat och skönt blir det inte, in och lyssna! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Episode Description In this episode of the Miles to Memories podcast we discuss Chase finally dropping 5/24, well on some cards at least. We also talk about Mark's house being overtaken by covid, Joe getting the bonvoy'd treatment and Amex finally righting their wrong. Episode Notes 7:10 - Mark's covid experience 15:07 - No more 5/24? 21:33 - Joe Gets BONVOYED 36:19 - AMEX reinstatements 39:21 - Bonvoy displays resort fees 40:25 - Solid credit cards to consider Enjoying the podcast? Please consider leaving us a positive review on your favorite podcast platform! You can also connect with us anytime at podcast@milestomemories.com.  You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Sticher, Spotify, TuneIn, Pocket Casts, or via RSS. Don't see your favorite podcast platform? Please let us know! Music: Rewind by Jay Someday | https://soundcloud.com/jaysomeday Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License

In today's episode, Massimo is joined by Valarie, the Founder and CEO of Valiant Coaching. Her coaching practice includes supporting chief counsels, university deans, as well as senior technology leaders in the hi-tech industry. Valarie seeks to empower her clients to be both resilient and confident, helping them to develop leadership and communication skills that build high performing diverse teams that are deliberately inclusive. Prior to starting Valiant Coaching, Valarie held VP positions at Marriott International, S&P Global, Slalom Build and leadership roles at Cisco Systems, Dell EMC and AT&T Bell Labs. She has managed projects ranging from the development of Marriott's Bonvoy mobile application to Cisco Systems' use of machine translation to deliver multilingual support sites. Valarie holds a Masters in Mechanical & Metallurgical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and a Bachelors from Carnegie Mellon University. She serves on a number of advisory boards that focus on the empowerment of young women and people of color; Girl Scouts, Nerdy Girl Success and TY-Education. She is gleefully married for 35 years and the mother of two amazing women; an attorney and UX designer. Highlights from today's podcast include: Her experience being the first African American female to graduate in metallurgical and mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University Where her drive came from to keep going when she could have given up and what it means to be resilient The challenge in accepting compliments and the impact that has on owning one's role as a leader The missteps in diversity and inclusion efforts where we undermine the unique needs of each group. How people can define success and be proactive about their career Valarie's mission for her coaching company and how she supports minorities Connect with Valarie: Website www.valariegilbert.com Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/valariegilbert/

En este episodio, las muchachas le pichean a Juany así que nos buscamos a Luis Herrero para hablar de su primer viaje a Las Vegas.  Con Juany Nadal y Luis Herrero. ¿Necesitas ayudas utilizando tus puntos o millas? ¿Quiéres que evalúemos tus opciones? ¡Envía tus preguntas por Instagram, Facebook y Twitter y te podemos seleccionar para ayudarte! Si te gusta Que Buena Vida!, recuerda dejarnos 5 estrellas Michellin en Apple Podcasts. Y síguenos en Instagram, Facebook y Twitter.  No olvides visitar Puerto Rico Eats y seguirlos en Instagram, Facebook y Twitter. ***SHOW NOTES*** HOTELES     Circus Circus - el hotel más sucio del strip.      Caesar's Palace     Winn Resorts     Excalibur (No recomendado)     Flamingo Hotel     Vdarra     New York, New York     Golden Nugget (Downtown)     Park MGM     Resorts World by Hillton     Cosmopolitan (se puede bookear via Bonvoy)     Circa, hotel en downtown enfocado en “sports betting” RESTAURANTES     Nobu en el Caesar's Palace     Food Court de restaurantes asiáticos en Resorts World. Recomendado y bueno precio.      Tacos el Gordo, tacos estilo Baja California. Un clásico.      Lindo Michoacán, restaurante mexicano off the strip     Peppermill Diner     Komol, restaurante tailandés off the strip. De los mejores de EE.UU. y a precios inigualables     Vic & Anthony's, steakhouse dentro del Golden Nugget. Pidan el Chateaubriand     Zuma, restaurante japonés en el Cosmopolitan AMMENITIES          The LINQ (estrella que erróneamente Luis dijo que se llama The Circle)     Area15, parque de diversiones para rarito     Absinthe, show en el Caesar's Palace     Cirque de Soleil - Michael Jackson     Encore Beach Club - club y disco party en piscina     Wet Republic - club de piscina     Chequea los outlets para buenas ofertas en marcas premium See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

SIDE NOTE: The funniest part of the episode may be the last 5 seconds. Really. Big changes in the travel world this week and not all of it is good. Richard Kerr is back with us and he's not alone. Returning to the show are Julian Kheel of CNN Underscored and Summer Hull of The Points Guy. First, the gang discusses the Marriott changes. Marriott plans to move away from award charts completely, scrambling the landscape on what your Bonvoy points are worth. Meanwhile, American Airlines is reimagining their loyalty program. TLDR, this might be good news for you. Here's an easy way to understand the changes. We have a new way for you to reach us with your questions. You can text us at (571) 293-6659‬. Listen for your question on a future show! If you have a question you can e-mail me at ed@pizzainmotion.com. And, you can also find me on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram and ask your question there. If you enjoy the podcast, I hope you'll take a moment to leave us a rating. That helps us grow our audience! Hope you enjoy the show!

Comic Megan Gailey joins Jared in the Luxury Lounge this week to hear your complaints about Bonvoy hotel points, no room service availability, potluck dinners with friends, bad wineries, travel company accommodations, Delta comfort. and being too beautiful. Check it out, and enjoy Stream Jared's new album 'Always A Momma Bear' here: https://orcd.co/vcn-jaredfreid-mommabearSponsored By: MeUndies (meundies.com/jtrain), Roman (getroman.com/jtrain), & Ziprecruiter (ziprecruiter.com/jtrain)Subscribe to the JTrain Patreon now at www.patreon.com/jaredfreidinstagram.com/jaredfreid // instagram.com/bettermegangailey // instagram.com/classicshelbSubscribe to The JTrain Podcast on Apple Podcasts: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/

Episode Description In this episode of the Miles to Memories podcast we talk about what we would want in a Hyatt premium card, Marriott blowing the doors off with their increased offers and why redeyes are the best...or are they?  We also talk about more rumored coupons for the Amex Platinum coupon book, end of month reminders and 40+ Amex Platinum benefits. Episode Notes 5:43 - Marriott card increased offers 12:35 - Redeyes 26:29 - Hyatt premium card rumor 33:50 - American Express Platinum new benefits 35:49 - Making use of American Express Platinum benefits 37:08 - End of month checklist

You know how you always hear people talking about getting free stays at hotels or status perks? How do they do that? Find out! This week on the podcast we talk road warrior Ed Pizza from the Miles to Go podcast about the best hotel loyalty programs for families and ways to earn status and free hotel stays. About Our Sponsor: Room Steals Today's episode is sponsored by Room Steals.  Listeners may remember Room Steals from our discussion on finding hotel deals in Episode 185, but Room Steals is a Chrome browser extension that works alongside existing booking sites to show you what the wholesale price is for that room. Just install the browser extension and search for a hotel as you usually would on Hotels.com, Booking.com, Expedia, or Google. Once you've done your initial search, Room Steals will show you in a pop-up if that same room is available for less. If it is, you can click on that pop-up and book it directly through Room Steals. Downloading and using Room Steals is free; however, if you want to book a discounted room you have to pay an annual membership fee. Listeners can save 20% off the annual membership fee with promo code vacationmavens.  If you travel multiple times in a year, the subscription will quickly pay for itself. One listener already saved $400 using Room Steals on her first booking!  To learn more, visit roomsteals.com. That's roomsteals.com and use promo code vacationmavens to save 20% off your membership to Room Steals, and we thank them for their support. About Ed Pizza Ed Pizza is a road warrior and family traveler.  When we're not in the middle of a pandemic he travels 100,000 miles a year for work.  His family loves luxury travel, all things Disney and even bought an RV during the pandemic.  You can check out his podcast, Miles to Go, the same places you catch Vacation Mavens and you can find him writing about travel at pizzainmotion.com. Best Hotel Loyalty Programs for Families Hyatt offers the best loyalty program for families as it is easier to earn and use points (you need fewer points to redeem for a free night than other programs) and they offer great family-friendly perks like free breakfast, guaranteed late check out, and, if you have status with them, the concierge is good at guaranteeing connecting rooms or confirming suite upgrades in advance. The only challenge with Hyatt is that they don't have as large of a footprint as Hilton or Marriott, especially if you are traveling to smaller destinations. Hyatt does have a number of family-friendly brands including Hyatt Place on the lower end and Hyatt House for suites. A few terrific Hyatt properties in popular family travel destinations include: Hyatt Grand Cypress (outside of Disney), Ziva Resorts in Mexico, Costa Rica, and the Caribbean, the Hyatt Regency Sydney in Australia (which is more affordable than the Park Hyatt Sydney but still has amazing views), Grand Hyatt Bahia Mar in the Bahamas, and the Driscoll in Austin. Wyndham also is an excellent choice for families. In addition to the hotels, you can use points at many of their vacation rental or timeshare properties, which offer so much more room for families. Wyndham also has a partnership with Vacasa for vacation home rentals. Some great Wyndham properties include the Magic Villages in Orlando, ski lodges and log cabins in Montana, and great properties overseas. Wyndham now has a credit card through Barclay's that helps you earn points and they have bonus points on things like utility bills, which you don't find elsewhere. Hilton has some pros and cons for their loyalty programs. Hilton values treating folks well on award stays and they don't add resort fees, unlike some other programs that still charge fees on free stays. Hilton also gives away a lot of points for stays and through their credit card. The footprint isn't as big as Marriott but larger than Hyatt. Hilton Honors Gold members also receive little perks like free bottles of water at check in and free WiFi. However, Hilton recently rolled back their free breakfast offer for members (at least temporarily). Instead there will be a credit per day to use as you want (drinks from the bar, meals, etc), however it wouldn't typically cover everything that you would get at a free breakfast. Marriott has the largest footprint, but they do charge fees like resort fees and parking on award stays. IHG (which includes Holiday Inn, Intercontinental, Hotel Indigo, etc) doesn't offer as much as the other brands but can be good if you do a lot of road tripping and then redeeming points for stays overseas at classic, boutique hotels. Unless you are a road warrior traveling frequently on business, the best way to earn points is through a credit card. Instead of using the brand specific credit card, it is better to use a credit card with programs like Chase Ultimate Rewards or American Express Membership Rewards that you can transfer points to hotels to book award stays. Chase offers a bit more flexibility and value over Amex. When you transfer points, it is often 1:1 transfer so you will get more bang for your points if you transfer to a program like Hyatt where your points go further. If you are going to stay with a specific brand often, a hotel credit card can get you to the next status tier (and related perks) faster and you will often get one free hotel stay certificate per year. You need to make sure you are using the value of the cost of the annual fee. Generally it makes sense to pay for your hotel stays with that card but you will get more points per dollar for other types of stays from other types of cards.   Full Episode Transcript [00:00:00.000] - Kim Tate Which hotels deserve your loyalty? Stay tuned to find out. [00:00:15.290] - Announcer Welcome to Vacation Mavens, a family travel podcast with ideas for your next vacation and tips to get you out the door. Here are your hosts, Kim from Stuffed Suitcase and Tamara from We3Travel. [00:00:29.940] - Kim Tate Today's episode is brought to you by our sponsor, Room Steals. You guys may have already heard of it. Room Steals is a browser extension that you add to Chrome, so that when you're shopping for the next hotel for your vacation, you can see if you are really getting the best rate. You plug in your destination on one of the major booking engines, whether it's Expedia or Travelocity or booking.com or hotels.com, and a window will pop up, letting you know if they found a better deal for you. [00:00:55.810] - Kim Tate The program is free to use, so you can always see and shop and figure out if the there is a better deal out there. And if you do spot a better deal, you can book it through the Room Steals site where there is an annual membership fee. But our listeners get to save on their annual membership fee with the code vacationmavens, they can save 20%. [00:01:14.110] - Tamara Gruber So I was just researching some potential hotels in Dublin in Ireland because we're still trying to figure out where to take Hannah for her graduation trip. And that's one option. And I was going through some of these options because I really want it to be like, nice hotels, like special hotel in for this trip. But obviously I would always like to save some money. So I found one on Room Steals where I could save $142 and then another one where I could save $60. So it's like all these things could add up over the course of a big trip. [00:01:46.570] - Tamara Gruber So it's like even just that one hotel stay would be saving more than the cost of the membership. So I definitely encourage everyone to go check out Room Steals. Like Kim said, it is a browser extension that you can download add to Chrome. And then when you're searching for hotels, you're able to see whether or not there's a deal that you'd like to take advantage of. And just remember, check out Room steals. Com. You can sign up using Code vacationmavens all one word, all lowercase and save 20%, and we thank them for their support. [00:02:15.280] - Kim Tate So Tamara talking about hotels and getting deals through Room Steals. Today we are going to talk with a guest that we've had on before, and he's one of my favorite savvy travel guys. And that's Ed Pizza. [00:02:27.960] - Tamara Gruber Yeah. So he travels so so much every year, he knows all the hotels, all the programs, what the best deals are, what the best credit cards are, and he's going to share all of his knowledge. So I can't wait to jump into that interview. [00:02:40.540] - Kim Tate Let's chat with him. [00:02:49.470] - Tamara Gruber So today we're here with Ed Pizza. He's a road warrior, and family traveler. And when we're not in the middle of a pandemic, he travels 100,000 miles a year for work. His family loves luxury travel, all things Disney, and even bought an RV during the pandemic. You can check out his podcast Miles to go at the same places you can catch vacation, mavens. And you can also find him writing about traveling a pizza in motion dot com. So Ed, welcome back to the podcast. [00:03:15.640] - Ed Pizza Hey, thanks for having me back, guys. It's been a while and I'm excited to be back on talking stuff. [00:03:20.110] - Tamara Gruber I know you're back traveling a little bit for work, but how long did you go without being on an airplane? [00:03:25.780] - Ed Pizza So I was actually in New Zealand helping a friend on the Tarmac when the US announced that they were closing arrivals to Europeans. And that was me coming back into the country. So that was called like, March 14 ish. And I didn't get back on a plane. That was March 14, 2020. Sorry, I didn't get back on a plane until early June 2021, but I have been ramping things up, and I think it's interesting that if you guys hadn't reached doubt to have me come podcast, I was almost going to reach out to you guys because we're following this parallel track and that I spent a couple of weeks in Maine, I think right before you did, Sarah and I just finished coming back across the Canadian border on the east side, Kim to your west. [00:04:11.260] - Kim Tate Nice. [00:04:13.150] - Ed Pizza So a little bit of family travel, mostly road warrior stuff. [00:04:18.470] - Kim Tate Especially now that you have an RV that you were one of the many that jumped into that lifestyle. I've seen some of your things that's kind of funny how you're like, I'm embracing this for my family, but I am not embracing this. This is what I want to do with my life. [00:04:33.000] - Ed Pizza Yeah. I mean, as I've said jokingly a number of times if it happened to burn to the ground and I got an insurance settlement, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. But the kids and you guys know that your kids are older than mine. And so I think you probably have a better grasp of this than I do. You wake up at some point and you realize that they're going to College and you're like, Well, did I fill up the bucket enough? And our kids still love both of us. [00:04:59.150] - Ed Pizza My wife and I, and they like being with us. And they really love the camping thing. And so as much as I grumble and say bad words, sometimes when things break, which is pretty much every time we roll it anywhere, the memories that they're creating with us, I hope, will be things that when they get to College, it's, wow. That's in the bucket of things that I love doing as a kid. [00:05:21.850] - Tamara Gruber That's good. You speaking to my heart there. [00:05:24.870] - Kim Tate I was going to say Tamara and I are both right there because we both have girls going off to College. As you've probably heard, we're definitely in that wondering how we can keep scraping some more trips in there and then hoping that the College schedules will allow us to keep traveling and that our kids will keep traveling with us through those four years as well, at least for me. [00:05:47.390] - Ed Pizza And I know it's not what we're talking about today, but I think a really good point to make that I've obviously seen with the way that both of you guys travel with your family is that we all make memories in a variety of different ways. But we've all chosen travel as one of those primary ways to create those memories. And just like you, I'm hoping that the work that we put in for travel up until our daughter is a sophomore in high school. Now I'm hopeful that when she gets into College, it'll be, hey, I'd love to go take a Disney trip. [00:06:18.940] - Ed Pizza Hey, dad, mom, do you want to go or, hey, I love Lisbon. Or can we go visit Peggy's Cove in Canada? Whatever that there's a powerful enough connection to a place that they've been. They're like, I want to go and I want to go with mom and dad. [00:06:32.830] - Tamara Gruber I was just thinking mine is talking about the road trip that she wants to do with her friends post graduation, but I know she'll come back to our trips as well. [00:06:41.510] - Kim Tate Definitely. I think we're in that same boat, Tamara. So if you're listening to this and like, do you have a few more years? Definitely. Don't worry about I spent so many summers not planning and stuff because I hated crowds and also because we have such nice summers here in Seattle. But I now kind of regret not using that summertime more efficiently. Although we did take a lot of family trips and visited family and had family here. So I guess it was well used, but definitely maximize your time off with your kids. [00:07:13.940] - Tamara Gruber Well, speaking of traveling with kids and planning and thinking ahead and all of that, one of the ways that we've gotten to travel a little bit more or structure our budget a little bit more is using hotel loyalty programs and trying to maximize some free nights here and there. And I was thinking about which programs are really best for families. And I know a lot of programs have changed recently. And Ed, you came to mind because I know on your Miles to Go, you talk about this a lot, and I think I might know the answer. [00:07:47.180] - Tamara Gruber But when it comes to hotel loyalty programs, what one do you really like for families? So not business travelers, but really for families. [00:07:56.600] - Ed Pizza I'm going to give you my favorite. And then if we have time later, I'm going to give you my sleeper because I think there's someone coming up on the outside turn that maybe doesn't become my favorite, but it started to earn their keep above some of the other chains. But for me, it's it. And for many years it was starwood preferred guest before Marriott bought them because they understood that road warriors have husbands, wives, significant others, in a lot of cases, kids. And they want to take care of those other people because that makes that means the business traveler want to patronize them and high. [00:08:29.570] - Ed Pizza It just where they really get this right, and they get it right in a number of different ways. But I think primarily it's in reducing friction for family travel. So when we think about a family of three or four, we don't all live in one room at home. We certainly don't share one bathroom, especially with a teenage daughter. So being able to have space when we travel, it is huge. And it has benefits like being able to request and confirm a suite upgrade at the time of booking, which is unique amongst the major hotel chains. [00:09:00.780] - Ed Pizza And you say, well, if I know ahead of time where I can get that extra space for my family, that helps drive where we might choose to go on vacation. And there are a lot of other benefits to the world Hyatt program that I think make things easier for families, things like free breakfast, guaranteed late checkout, just things that make it easier for when family travel goes sideways, which the younger your kids are, the more frequently that happens. [00:09:23.820] - Tamara Gruber 100% agree. My husband was ambassador level with Marriott for a while, and he had these five suite upgrades of a year or something to use. And we were looking to book a suite in Amsterdam. I think it was and we like you we want the space. It's all about having a little extra space, not being crammed into those two double beds in particular. And we wanted to book this week, but we're like, do we actually pay for it, or do we take the risk that we can use one of these upgrades and not being able to confirm that, you know, you have that upgrade. [00:09:58.620] - Tamara Gruber It makes such a difference because you're making a totally different choice. And of course, we ended up just doing an Airbnb instead. [00:10:03.840] - Ed Pizza Yeah. And especially when you talk about families in Europe in that the restrictions on the number of people in a room are very different from the US. There are plenty of rooms in Europe where two is the Max Occupancy and a flu or three same in Asia. So that's a complication. And I think one of the things you mentioned, Marriott Ambassador, and I had a Marriott ambassador for a long time. In the beginning, they were great at communicating with the properties and they could advocate on your behalf. [00:10:31.470] - Ed Pizza But I'll be honest with you. For me, at least one of the biggest benefits that world of Hyatt provides for me. I have their equivalent. It's called my Hyatt concierge as part of their globalist status. It isn't even necessarily the suite upgrades. Those are great. And who doesn't love a big plus room with an awesome view and all that stuff? But for me, it can really be as simple as can you just guarantee me connecting rooms? My kids are younger, like we just want connecting rooms. [00:10:56.420] - Ed Pizza I don't need something fancy, and my Hyatt concierge would always contact the property early on my behalf, and they would work with the property to block rooms. And I can say, honest to God, I very rarely use the words always or never. In the ten or so years I've been top tier status with Hyatt, I've never shown up at a property that promised me connecting rooms ahead of time and not gotten them. And as a family traveler, that's huge. I need just a few times a year, but when I need it, I need it and they always say yes, we're going to take care of you. [00:11:29.720] - Tamara Gruber Yeah, Hyatt is not a property or a brand that I get to stay at a lot. There aren't quite as many. I think that's one of the problems that people run into. But when I've had an opportunity to stay at a Hyatt place just in terms of the lower tier, I was kind of amazed. I love this setup where it has kind of a partial dividing wall between the bed and the sitting area with the pullout couch. So when you have a younger child, you have that little bit of that separation of space without going for the larger suite or two rooms. [00:11:59.390] - Tamara Gruber So another benefit to me are some of the Hyatt brands that people may not be familiar with. [00:12:04.310] - Ed Pizza Yeah, no, I agree. And I think Hyatt House is another brand of there where they have multiple room suites. And I've had a reasonable amount of luck in contacting a property ahead of time through the concierge and asking even though it wasn't, isn't a published benefit to say, hey, can I use a suite upgrade certificate to just get a two bedroom unit instead of a one bedroom? And very rarely I've been told no for things like that. So I think it's the flexibility that they work with folks on. [00:12:30.320] - Ed Pizza It's not that Marriott or Hilton or anything to change doesn't have fabulous, unbelievable properties. I think it's for family travelers and for specific needs. We just need a little bit more flexibility at times. And Hyatt works hard to give that that's nice. [00:12:46.630] - Kim Tate I've heard a few other people that are kind of in the point space. They just love Hyatt. I'll admit, one of the things that's kept me from just going all in on them. I find I have a harder time finding properties where if you're doing like a road tripping type family or something like that, those Marriott properties, it seems like everywhere you go there's a Fairfield Inn. So that is one thing that I have noticed. Do you think there's any limitations on property availability with Hyatts? And then do you have any favorite property within that program that you think are great for families to check out if they're looking for a kind of hotel destination? [00:13:23.000] - Ed Pizza Yeah. And I think that's a fair criticism of Hyatt. If there is one is that they don't have the third tier city when you're going to visit friends and family when you're going to visit Grandma, if you're road tripping in the US, that's certainly an area where they're weaker than the other chains. They've expanded their footprint through really interesting partnerships. They have a big partnership with small luxury hotels of the world, which means that they now have over a dozen properties in Italy where they used to have one, and they things of that nature. [00:13:54.090] - Ed Pizza But as you say, I always use Williamsburg, Virginia, sort of my textbook example of the comparison between Marriott Hyatt, and each person will choose what's most important to them. Williamsburg, Virginia, Colonial, Williamsburg, Busch Gardens, all that stuff. It's a family destination. Not far from my house. There are zero Hyatts. There are no limited service properties. There are five Marriotts. They're all kind of dingy, but there are five properties there. And so the choice I make when my family goes to Williamsburg is do we drive 45 minutes from a very new Hyatt place, or do we stay right there at one of the Marriotts? [00:14:28.410] - Ed Pizza That's convenient, but not as nice as property, and I don't know that there's a right answer for that. I think every family makes that decision. But if you're going to make a compromise at times, that's the compromise you'd make with a road tripping in the US where I think they have some really specific fits, though, that work well for families. As you mentioned, what are some of my favorite properties? First and foremost, I think Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress, just outside the gates at Disney World, is a big plus, and it didn't use to be as big a plus. [00:14:57.680] - Ed Pizza But as Disney has reduced the benefits you get from staying on site, the Grand Cypress, it hasn't taken anything away. And beautiful property, tons of space, lots of pools, all that stuff right outside the gates of Disney, so it's easy to get to. I think again, when we think about family travel, Hyatt has a brand called Ziva, which is a family geared, all inclusive brand with properties mostly focused in Mexico and the Caribbean, which on points can be a really great way to go on vacation without spending money, because you could generally redeem points for extra guests in your room as well as the two base guests that are normally included in a reservation. [00:15:36.710] - Ed Pizza So you can actually use points to pay for your meals at an all inclusive with Hyatt, which I think is interesting, and it might not be the best value for everyone. But again, if it's hey, how do we take an extra family vacation every year being able to use points to cover meals? It might mean that your family gets to go rent a catamaran for the day or swim with Dolphins or do some other activity that maybe you didn't have the cash for something like that. [00:16:00.530] - Ed Pizza It's a great choice. And then we were really surprised to go further afield. Everybody, all the bloggers talk about the Park Hyatt Sydney is this unbelievably beautiful property that overlooks the opera house, and it's under the Harbor Bridge in Sydney. And I agree with all those things. I stayed there a few times. It's a wonderful hotel, but right down the road from it is the Hyatt Regency Sydney, which opened up a few years ago. And it's kind of a rooftop lounge up on one of the really high floors. [00:16:26.870] - Ed Pizza And so we were there for a week right before the pandemic in 2019. And by the second day of our stay, everybody in the lounge had memorized not only our kids names but the drinks that they liked in the morning, in the evening and what they like for breakfast. And so my kids were doted on by the lounge grew all included with my room as part of our stay, and they never had to ask for anything. They were doted on. They loved it. And my wife and I could enjoy a cup of coffee or out on the terrace on our own and watch our kids through the glass and watch the staff take care of them. [00:16:59.420] - Ed Pizza And it was a really great way to sort of sneak away for a few minutes as a husband wife while our kids were still with us on this epic trip. [00:17:06.460] - Kim Tate That's important. I think that when you can find a good hotel, they kind of recognize your kids as guests as well. Kids love that. And they remember that for sure. [00:17:15.240] - Ed Pizza Yeah. And I might not get this exactly right because I didn't look it up on the charts before we hopped on to record. But I think it's half the points of the Park Hyatt, which again is a delightful hotel, but it's pricey. And then I think there's other fun things. Grand Hyatt Bahamas is a really huge resort property in the Bahamas. So if you're looking for a way to do something like in Atlantis style property, but using points, I think that's a great choice. And then I'm a sucker for old historical properties. [00:17:43.390] - Ed Pizza So the Driscoll in Austin, Texas, is the Yellow Rose, as they call it, is one of my favorite old historic hotels. That's part of it as well. [00:17:51.240] - Tamara Gruber Does it have a collection like that the way the autograph collection for Marriott or gosh, what's the Hilton one. [00:17:58.350] - Ed Pizza There's so many of those different brand like the Marriott Hilton has spawned all these names for different things of all the brands. And the short answer is not only is the answer yes, but there's a ton of them, and some. Some of my fellow travel bloggers have almost criticized the hits and the merits of the world for having you have too many brands. Those things don't necessarily matter as much to me per se. I guess I understand it to some degree, but at the end the day, I think as travelers and especially family drivers, we're just looking for interesting, unique properties. [00:18:29.110] - Ed Pizza And as long as they come up on the website, I'm all years yet they have their unbound collection. And that was where it started with some recent acquisitions. They sort of added a bunch of other brands, so they fall under a bunch of different names, and I won't list all of them out. But like unbound one destination hotels, Thompson Hotels, a bunch of collections that they've absorbed over the past few years and acquisitions. But I think one of the fun things that hit does is they have what's called a Brand Explorer program. [00:18:57.870] - Ed Pizza I don't quote me on this, but I think there are 15 brands right now across the portfolio and in the boundless portfolio and the independent collections. For every five different brands you visit with it, you earn a free night, and so you can earn up to three free nights by staying at all the different brands. So it's a pretty cool unpublished benefit of it is that every time you chalk up one of these, you're closer to a free night at a high in the world. [00:19:22.760] - Tamara Gruber That's interesting. So they really want you to explore the breath of those brands. I mean, I like those kind of collections because then, you know, you're having something that's maybe historic or at least has character and personality versus your standard Hyatt. Hilton, whatever the generic kind of business hotel cool. That's good to know. Well, I am very intrigued by your hinting at a dark horse. So before we jump into our other questions, what would be your number two? [00:19:51.760] - Ed Pizza Yeah. So I'm not sure if this is my number two, but certainly they're right there in line with Hilton, because I think Hilton's maybe just a smidge ahead of them. But Wyndham redid their credit card portfolio late last year. And honestly, it was one of the things I wasn't paying a ton of attention to and through a mutual friend they had asked about sponsoring the podcast, and I'm generally not somebody who does that sort of thing unless it's a brand that I really support a lot of like, I really want to be into something. [00:20:18.520] - Ed Pizza I was like, Wyndham, it's not my favorite. Could there are a lot of lower to your properties that weren't really my fit. The credit card is really geared up being able to maximize points for earning for families, which I think is a hard thing to do if you're not a road warrior. And where I think they really fit for family travel is they have a huge chunk of vacation rentals. So they have some of their own, quote, unquote vacation rental properties. And they have partnerships with brands like Vacasa. [00:20:47.480] - Ed Pizza I never know if I say that correctly, but because of that, that we think of again, when we think of families, or at least for me, I think of space. And so there's a property in Orlando called Magic Villages, which is a Wyndham property, and you can use your points to redeem for up to a four bedroom luxury condo with pools and all that other stuff that are beautifully appointed, big barbecue grills outside at Zero fridges, all that stuff. And you can do that with points. [00:21:18.200] - Ed Pizza And it's equidistant between Disney World and Universal. And then you've got ski lodges and log cabins in Montana and properties overseas. And so I think when I think about family travel and I think about space and Airbnb and the role it plays and how our family travel world has changed. Wyndham sort of forging this middle ground where they say like, yeah, sure. If you want a Wyndham hotel or one of our other limited service brands like, we got you covered. But if you need more space, you can turn those points into Airbnb ish type rental in hundreds of cities around the world. [00:21:56.270] - Ed Pizza And I think that adds a lot of value for family travelers. Not as much for people who like to travel in a traditional way. But I think family Traveler specifically Wyndhams carving at a niche to say you could earn a bunch of points on our credit cards and you can use them for Airbnb ish type stays around the world. [00:22:12.740] - Tamara Gruber Yeah, that's good. I think about Smugglers Notch in Vermont, which is an amazing family ski resort. I used to be part of Wyndham Vacation Rentals, and I have to double check that it is. And I know I have a friends awesome that really love the property in Orlando and love that space option. Like you mentioned. [00:22:33.490] - Ed Pizza Yeah. And the Smugglers Notch is still a Club Wyndham property. And again, people think of timeshares like, oh, I don't want to buy a Timeshare, and that's a whole other podcast for some other day. But I think Wyndham gives you the ability to stay at those properties and not be a timeshare owner. So I think that's what's unique about the them in Hyatt has a very small collection of those properties time shersh sort of residence club properties. In fact, one of my favorites is in Sedona. It's called the Hyatt Residence Club Pinon Point, not that far from the Grand Canyon, but they only have 15 or 20 of those where Wyndham literally has over 1000 with the Club Wyndham stuff, vacation rentals and the Vacasa partnership. [00:23:14.530] - Ed Pizza So if you like that sort of travel where you're not staying in a hotel and you want a little bit more space, Wyndham is really carved that niche. And before when they didn't have a really robust credit card platform, it was harder to earn a lot of points with them. And now, especially if I'm a small business owner, and I understand that not everybody is that. But if you are a small business owner, some of the stuff that they have bonus categories on are very unique, like utility bills and stuff like that, that definitely aren't for everyone. [00:23:47.230] - Ed Pizza But if you happen to be somebody who as a small business owner and you've got all that stuff, it's a great way. Wait a pile on a ton of points that you're not going to find somewhere else. [00:23:54.620] - Kim Tate And do you know, if Wyndham is a transfer partner of either Chase or Amex it's one of the downsides is that they're not really have that kind of the credit card of their own to their credit cards are issued by Barkley's. [00:24:08.960] - Ed Pizza And I think you guys know some of the Barclay cards they've had over time, but they don't really have a flexible currency. Okay, as you say, with Chase and American Express, and even sort of coming around the bend with City adding like, I a partner like American Airlines to their fold, that in doing the and the Capital One is really up their game. This is the area where I think Barclay's as weakest is that they just don't have that robust transfer network. So you'd have to invest in holding a Wyndham card to earn a bunch of Wyndham points. [00:24:41.800] - Ed Pizza And I might be forgetting some other Wyndham transfer partner out there. And if they're out there, I apologize. I'm definitely not a credit card expert, like some other folks are in the space. I my interest has been peaked in a way that I wasn't expecting. [00:24:55.860] - Kim Tate Well, definitely for families. I can see why that might be appealing. So let's quickly just finish up this little bit of a category and touch base about maybe Hilton, of course, Marriott. Maybe even if we have time, you could mention IHG do you see, what are the pros and cons for any of those three type brands for to show up on their loyalty train. [00:25:20.870] - Ed Pizza Yeah. And I'll try to cover all three quickly. I think they all represent slightly different things. One of the things that I think Hilton has in common with Hyatt is that they value treating folks well on award stays. So things like no resort fees on award stays is a really cool benefit of Hilton that it has as well. I think the benefit for Hilton is massive footprint, easy to earn lots of points. And so you sort of got this world where Marriott has really expensive properties that cost a ton of points, but they don't issue a lot of points you've hired as a smaller footprint, and their properties cost less points. [00:25:57.480] - Ed Pizza And Hilton somewhere in the middle, and that they do have an award chart where the resort property can get pricey, but they give away a lot of points for hotel stays, they give away a lot of points for folks who happen to hold their credit cards. And as you mentioned earlier about road tripping, you can find a Hilton anywhere. Marriott is the same way in terms of footprint size, but they do charge things like resort fees and parking and stuff like that on awards stays, so they're not completely quote, unquote free. [00:26:23.030] - Tamara Gruber Can you explain for our listeners what award stays are? [00:26:26.040] - Ed Pizza Yeah. So if you spend on a credit card or you stay on a paid stay, you earn points in the loyalty program. So if you have a Hilton credit card, you're in Hilton points. If you have a Marriott credit card earning Marriott points, and then there's all the transferable partners, which maybe we find time to talk about today. But as Kim alluded to Chase and American Express, so you build up these points. And those points help get you a free room. And not all points are created equally. [00:26:54.150] - Ed Pizza So we like to say that top tier property at Marriott is 100,000 points and a top tier property that is 30,000 points per night. And so it's a lot easier, cheaper in points to get a free room with it. But they don't quite give the same amount of points per dollar. That's where it gets a little bit like funny money math. But Hilton, like I said, sits in the middle where they give a lot of points for folks who stay on paid nights. And you can also earn a lot of points with bonus categories on their credit cards. [00:27:25.740] - Ed Pizza So you you can build up a pretty big balance of Hilton points quickly if your goal is to save up for a family vacation. [00:27:32.140] - Tamara Gruber Now, some of these programs have changed some things recently. Do you want to touch on that? [00:27:37.280] - Ed Pizza Yeah. So again, we talk about family travel. Things like free breakfast is important, and Hilton rolled out some changes that they say are temporary. And I'm actually supposed to be recording with an executive from Hilton on my podcast in October. So hoping to get a more final answer on this. But they've temporarily removed to a benefit where instead of getting free breakfast, you get a credit per day that you can use for breakfast. If you wanted to use it for breakfast, which you can also use it for a drink in the bar in the evening, et cetera. [00:28:08.660] - Ed Pizza It doesn't cover traditionally what a free breakfast used to cover. And sort of where this came from was during the pandemic. A lot of hotels eliminated free breakfast completely in the beginning. It was because we didn't really know how COVID was bread is now sort of become this thing of, well, gosh, we lost a lot of money during COVID, so we don't want to have breakfast out anymore. And I think it's a big question Mark right now on what the future will look like. I think hotel owners don't really want to give free breakfast. [00:28:32.760] - Ed Pizza They've never really wanted to, but it's always been a benefit that's been there. And so there's this unique most moment where a chain like Hilton is trying to move away. It seems from that free breakfast benefit, and I'm going to be really interested to see how this rolls for, because as of right now, it is only listed as a temporary benefit. You guys have been in this business long enough to know that lots of things that are temporary become permanent. So that might be where we end up with us. [00:28:57.450] - Ed Pizza But right now, the breakfast benefit, Hilton is nowhere near as good as it used to be in a vacuum. That being said in my travels, I've seen very few hotels that really have have a free breakfast out, as opposed to a Brown paper bag with a Nutri grain bar, an Apple and a bottle of water [00:29:14.620] - Kim Tate for a while there when we took our spring break road trip, they weren't even stocked with that stuff because they couldn't get supply chains as like we have one almond milk and an Orange going to the first customer down. [00:29:27.910] - Ed Pizza Yeah, it has been crazy and I didn't touch on IHG I think is sort of falls behind those others. I think at this point Wyndham has passed them in my mind and that it doesn't really have the vacation rental part of their platform. And for those that might not know IHG or brands like Holiday Inn, Holiday and Express Intercontinental, they have beautiful properties overseas, Europe and Asia, much more so than I'd say in the US where the I think they can play a role is definitely road tripping. [00:30:00.260] - Ed Pizza And then also, if you happen to be somebody who has some travel for work in the US, I think earning points stand staying at US based IHG properties and then using them for some of the really cool properties overseas. They have some really eclectic older style properties in Europe that I think are a lot of fun. So that would be how I think about trying to use is it would be saying if your traveler road warrior staying at the Holiday Express throughout the year so you can redeem for a really cool Intercontental stay in Europe or Asia. [00:30:34.620] - Tamara Gruber Yeah, they have cool. The Hotel Indigo brand properties are pretty cool too for those boutique type of stays. [00:30:43.570] - Ed Pizza And they are expanding. The Hotel Indigo brand obviously has a lot of change during the pandemic, but I do expect there to be more Hotel Indigo being built over the next handful of years. [00:30:57.260] - Kim Tate A brand I always like the decor and stuff. It's very clean and modern feel and a little bit of the local vibe with local artists and some of that stuff. So that's cool. [00:31:07.960] - Ed Pizza Yeah. Last I checked and don't quote me on this. There's probably about 100 or so Hotel Indigo in the pipeline and there's probably about 100 open right now, so they'll probably double the size of that brand over the next call, four or five years. [00:31:23.220] - Kim Tate So now that you've given us a good layout of all the great programs, and maybe people are thinking of which property or which brand might work best for them. Do you have any tips or suggestions for how to build up points with some of these programs beyond just hotel stays? So you mentioned a little bit about the Wyndham credit cards, so I know credit cards are a huge part of it. So any other tips or what info do they need to know about earning and transferring hotel points? [00:31:49.700] - Ed Pizza Yeah. And I think you keyed right there on the last two words that you said are the two ways that we're thinking about this. Are we earning points or are we transferring them? And so I think there's two separate paths, and I'm going to take them backwards because I think the transferring path is the one that's going to work for more people. Then the best example I like to use for folks is for anybody out there that has a retirement account. I hope you don't have everything all in one individual stock or mutual fund. [00:32:14.850] - Ed Pizza You're diversified. So Kim kind of alluded to this before where Chase and American Express both have their own flexible currencies. Chases is called Ultimate Rewards, and American Express is called membership rewards. And so you can spend on a credit card, a certain Chase branded credit cards and certain American Express branded credit cards. And you can then transfer those points to hotels. And for this, I specifically like Chase better than I like American Express, and that Chase has multiple hotel partners you can transfer to IG. But you can also transfer to Marriott and to High. [00:32:49.820] - Ed Pizza So lots of flexibility there. And if you ultimately decide you didn't want to transfer hotels because you got a really super deal, like you found a super cheap hotel and you want to use your money on your hotels and then use your points for airline tickets. You'd have that flexibility. But this also goes back to what the value of points are. And if you transfer points from Chase Ultimate Reward, so let's say you had, like, a Chase Sapphire preferred card, and you earn points for dining out and groceries and all that stuff. [00:33:17.670] - Ed Pizza And then you transfer those points. They're going to go a lot further with Hyatt, where the most expensive property costs 30,000 points a night versus Marriott, where the most expensive property will set you back about 100,000 points a night because you're still transferring on a one to one basis from Chase Ultimate Rewards to these different hotel programs. So for most folks, I think those sorts of cards offer great flexibility, which I think is what we want in travel, especially for family travelers. If hotels is really the thing that you're most focused on, then yes, absolutely. [00:33:49.470] - Ed Pizza They're or hotel credit cards. And not just because of my bias towards Hyatt, but I also think they have a pretty strong offering for credit cards in that they offer bonus points for dining out airline tickets, gym memberships, which is a fairly unique category. Mass transit,  tolls, taxis, just a whole bunch of different categories where you can earn points for the things that you do on an everyday basis and use those to turn into vacation points further down the road. [00:34:19.360] - Tamara Gruber So would you ever recommend having a brand specific card as well? [00:34:24.720] - Ed Pizza You know, I think if your main goal is that you're going to be a free agent from an air travel standpoint where you're never going to use points for that, then I think a hotel branded credit card can make more sense. I think the other thing, too, that's a really solid reason to pick up a hotel credit card is that some of the cards do offer some level of status along with holding the card. That's a benefit of some cards, and it's very different amongst the different cards people use Hyatt  as an example is that you do get discovered status with them, which earns you a free late checkout and a bonus on points that you earn. But it also gives you sort of a head start to the next level of status as well. So those can be great ways to sort of bridge across. Marriott has a lot more credit cards than hit us, so you have the ability to sort of maximize that if you're willing to hold multiple credit cards, they also have credit cards from both Chase and American Express. [00:35:23.520] - Ed Pizza But you really do have to sit down and think about as you start to get into multiple credit cards. Are you really getting the value for the annual fees for all these cards? Because some of them have gotten quite expensive for annual fees for five $600 a fee. And we just want to make sure that we're getting that value if we're going to keep that card in our wallet year in, year out. Whereas something like Chase Sapphire preferred annual fee is $95, and it's not hard to get $95 in value on a yearly basis. [00:35:48.640] - Kim Tate Yeah, I was going to say one of the things I have the Marriott, and it is kind of nice when I choose that knowing that I'm earning six points or ten points or whatever it is now on those hotel stays, and I don't even have to think about that. And then it's kind of funny, though, because I get gold with them, which doesn't do anything with Marriott now and then I get gold with my Amex as well. So I'm paying all the stupid fees to get overlap that still doesn't do anything. [00:36:13.730] - Kim Tate But I've been really looking at my Amex Platinum lately to see if I'm really getting my $700 worth or whatever they raise the annual fee to this year. [00:36:23.030] - Ed Pizza Yeah, not to dig too deeply into the numbers of it but again, depending on which Marriott card you have, we talked about the one to one transfer from Chase to Marriott. And so for every day spend, you could still either category where you can earn three, four, five chase points per dollar and then transfer those to Marriott in a one to one basis. So you can definitely make an argument why a Marriott card might be really good for you to pay for your Marriott stays. [00:36:53.350] - Ed Pizza The other bonus categories on those cards generally aren't as generous as some of these, like middle of the road flexible currency cards where you can come out of head. [00:37:02.330] - Kim Tate Overall, I've been trying to figure that with dining. That's been my biggest dilemma lately is when I'm eating out because I don't have, like, a freedom or any of those things. So I feel like the Marriott actually recently looked like it was more. But then when you look at the points value, my Chase ink is probably the best way to go. So I was really torn about that one. [00:37:21.960] - Ed Pizza Yeah, and dining is one of those things. It isn't necessarily a big strength of the Marriott card. The chase cards are pretty weak on those categories, and I don't remember all the American Express benefits off the top of my head. But when you think about the fact that you take a car like the American Express gold card that are in four points per one dollars on dining, that's a pretty sizable bonuses compared to the other cards. And don't quote me on this, but I'm pretty sure that annual fee is 250 where you're obviously a lot higher with some of the premium cards. [00:37:56.360] - Ed Pizza So you get three points per dollar on the Bonvoy brilliant. I was tell the names are confused. [00:38:01.250] - Kim Tate I know they make it. Yeah, I have their business one. I don't know which one that is. I don't have a really expensive one. [00:38:06.490] - Ed Pizza They all have B names, but that one only earns three points per dollar on dining where you're getting four on American Express gold. So again, it's a mixed bag of things. I think if you're going to have a lot of Marriott stays, those can be solid cards for you, but I think at the end of the day it's hey, sit down and make sure you're doing the math on what you're paying for annual fee to make sure you really are getting the value. Because on that one, like a big part of why that card should be in your wallet is because you're going to use that $300 credit that it comes with at a Marriott property, because if not, then you're paying $450 for a credit card on a yearly basis. [00:38:44.060] - Ed Pizza And that's a pretty big chunk of change. [00:38:45.950] - Kim Tate I have the size down one on that one. I don't have that expensive one. The other one boundless or busy. I don't know why they chose to make the full you'll never know makes them hard to say. [00:38:58.580] - Ed Pizza Yes. [00:38:59.470] - Tamara Gruber I will say that one time I got Marriott card for a while. And if anybody has an event coming up, it's a good thing to do. Right. So I hosted my daughter's, bat mitzvah party at a Marriott, and you basically got, I think, like, three times the points. If you're hosting an event there, there was some kind of calculation that I did where I was getting points for the rooms that were booked as part of my group as well as the event itself by putting it all on that Marriott card. [00:39:29.840] - Tamara Gruber So that's how I tried to maximize that for a while. [00:39:33.200] - Ed Pizza Yeah. And you can even triple up and that they have a meeting planner program. So when you're planning larger events like that, you can earn points on top of those points. [00:39:41.940] - Tamara Gruber I think that's what I did. Yeah. [00:39:45.020] - Ed Pizza That's a great way to triple up with you, as you say, when you have things like special family events that can really maximize your earnings. [00:39:51.480] - Tamara Gruber Yeah. Well, as you said, we can dive into credit cards for a very long time. And I suggest anyone that really wants to get into this should definitely be subscribed to Miles to go, because sometimes you guys get into conversations on there where I'm like, Whoa, too much vernacular, too much jargon going on here because you definitely have guests that really know what they're talking about. So I would definitely recommend that. But I'm just curious. As a road warrior in so many hotels, sometimes you always want to write a post about biggest hotel pet peeves. [00:40:22.900] - Tamara Gruber But of course, who would care? But I want to hear what are your biggest pet peeves when it comes to hotels? And are they brand specific? [00:40:29.860] - Ed Pizza Well, and first off, I would care. So if you ever do write that, so let me know what I'll read it for me. Honestly, the biggest pet peeve that's developed over the past couple of years, and I hate to think of just the pandemic, but I think that this was lasting effects after we're done is what I've started to affectionately refer to as what I call no notice. No housekeeping. A lot of chains made changes to their housekeeping rules during the pandemic. In some cases, they weren't coming into rooms at all. [00:40:56.890] - Ed Pizza In other cases, like Hilton, they sort of moved away from the the standard of daily housekeeping. Two rules that make it sound like can't have housekeeping on a daily basis where in most cases, you could still ask for it. But I think the notice is the big part. We're all adults here. Let us make adult choices if you're not going to offer me housekeeping, which for the 40 plus years I've been on this planet has been a standard of pretty much every hotel in the country, minus some very limited narrow set of brands. [00:41:26.170] - Ed Pizza Housekeeping is a thing. We expect it. And so if you if you don't have enough staff or there's not enough money to do it. All those things. Just be honest about it and tell me upfront that. Hey, you're going to be here for six days and we're never going to clean your room. As with anybody in the pandemic, I can understand that hotels have gone through a real tough time not to sound sarcastic. I'm in the restaurant industry. We serve burgers and fries. If a customer pays me the same price they paid for a burger last year, I can't tell them I'm not giving them a hamburger bun today. [00:41:56.150] - Ed Pizza I still need to give them everything that they paid for. And housekeeping. I still just one of those things that I expect as part of hotel stay unless you tell me a time. And if you tell me out of time, hey, we're not going to here are the rules. At least I know the rules going into it. It's the changing of things and not telling customers clearly hear that we're not offering just like we talked about the free breakfast thing. Like, look, it's the published benefit than I expected. [00:42:17.600] - Ed Pizza And if you tell me you're not going to deliver it because of XYZ, at least I can make the choice as to whether or not I come stay at your exactly. [00:42:24.460] - Kim Tate I totally agree. They've been really lazy at notifying everyone even along on booking. I understand they can't always control third party booking sites, but on their own sites, they need to be saying if the breakfast is going to be a grab and grow bag, it should be right there on your reservation page. Or if they're not offering daily housekeeping or daily housekeeping can be added on to your even if they start saying, okay, you can get a prepay rate, you can get a regular refundable rate, or you can also book a rate that includes housekeeping. [00:42:55.990] - Kim Tate Fine, start doing that. But I think the lack of, like, housekeepers has been a big impact, and but I'm with you. Just let us know in advance. [00:43:06.360] - Ed Pizza Yeah, just be intellectually honest with your customers. We're smart enough to figure out that nobody came in and cleaned the room, and we're smart enough to remember we weren't told. So just get it out there ahead of time. [00:43:15.100] - Kim Tate That's the most annoying thing to me is just not knowing and then coming home expecting, especially when you're a family. [00:43:20.740] - Tamara Gruber Right. [00:43:20.950] - Kim Tate And you've got all of your towels are all mixed up and the kids would put theirs all over the floor, beds or carpet. And you're like, who's that never happens. You. Well, your kids are perfect. [00:43:31.790] - Tamara Gruber And not to mention there's that one tiny garbage can that fills up within a minute of arriving. [00:43:37.800] - Kim Tate And then for a while, when you were eating all your meals, like in your room, that worked really well. [00:43:43.740] - Ed Pizza Yeah, I think again, like, we're all adults, we can all cope with a new reality. If you tell me. I've got to put my trash can out by 08:00 at night, and sombody's going to pick it up. [00:43:52.060] - Kim Tate Great. [00:43:52.600] - Ed Pizza Then I know what the standard is. If we're never going to dump your trash can for five days, that's going to get ugly. [00:43:57.390] - Tamara Gruber Yeah. Well, and also back in the day, you were at least given the incentive of you get some points if you bypass housekeeping with kind of I always did not trust the greenness of that. I thought it was more of a way of getting out of housekeeping, but at least you got something for for it, right? Whereas now it's like, oh, no, you have to request it like you're being a diva to request it. It's like, no, if I'm going to say that, I'm not kidding it then give me something for that. [00:44:25.090] - Ed Pizza And the height of the pandemic when hotel rates were like, 50 or $60 a night because nobody was staying, I think it was an understandable quid pro quo. As a business traveler, I paid $300 to stay in a regular old Marriott property a handful of weeks ago and was told that I couldn't get daily housekeeping. It's like I'm paying three hundred dollars a night. That rate should have enough baked into it that you can get somebody clean the room. And if you can't understand, staffing is a big issue, but you need to communicate that. [00:44:51.910] - Tamara Gruber Yeah. I told this story recently on the podcast where I paid 250 a night to stay at a really crappy town place suites that was dirty and they didn't even have a pillow for my daughter to use on the pull out bed. It's like those kinds of things, like, no, sorry, it's taking it too far. Yeah, I agree. [00:45:09.430] - Kim Tate So now that we've talked about pet peeves and things that are driving us all nuts, what about some of the amenities or perks that you look for when you're debating between what hotel to choose? Yeah. [00:45:20.830] - Ed Pizza Well, we obviously talked about one of my favorites before, which were those confirmable suite upgrades at time of booking for Hyatt. So I think that's a really big one, just because I can lay that shit down when I need to for that one or two vacations a year and say, here's my ticket. I want that special room and tell me now. So I think that's a big one for me and for our family. I also think we're Hyatt and Hilton have really focused on reducing fees for folks who are on award stays. [00:45:50.310] - Ed Pizza So resort fees for Hyatt Hilton Hyatt went so far as to say we're not going to charge for parking on award stays. And it's not that parking costs a lot of money, but it's more like the nickeling and diming of stuff when you're on vacation, like, here's another fee and here's another fee and here's another fee. So I really like that those two who chains are really focusing on removing those fees when you have a, quote, unquote free room, it's actually closer to free. And that sounds funny for folks who maybe don't redeem points a lot. [00:46:17.830] - Ed Pizza But at some brands, there are lots and lots of fees. I know there are a lot of people that love club lounges. As our kids have gotten a little bit older, we probably use them just a little bit less because we like to get out and sort of explore local cities, if you will. And eating breakfast at a small cafe, Paris or Amsterdam or Lisbon is more appealing than hitting the lounge. But I still think lounges have a tremendous amount of value for families with younger children. [00:46:48.040] - Ed Pizza And so as our kids have gotten older, maybe that one's a little bit less important. But, boy, did we save a lot of money on properties that had free breakfast. And actually, I think the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress was a great example of that pre pandemic. Their lounge has been closed during the pandemic, but before going to Disney World every morning, we'd have breakfast in the lounge. And I would say that's probably worth at least 30 or $40 a day for a family of four to eat breakfast somewhere. [00:47:12.660] - Tamara Gruber Well, I'm with you on the lounges, but also one of my things that I love is free water. So it's like the Hilton will give you the bottles of water. I remember checking in with my husband to a Courtyard Marriott in Portland, Maine, and he's Ambassador level. They didn't have us an upgrade available. And I was like, Can we get a couple of waters? And they're like, oh, we don't do that here. And I'm like, Seriously, you won't give us two bottles of water and the lounges. [00:47:39.520] - Tamara Gruber I stayed recently at a Marriott in Buffalo and had access to the lounge. And I think I was wiping them out on the water because the stuff from the tap just wasn't doing it. And they didn't have any refill stations open. So those little things Kim, knows how much I need my water. So it saves me a lot. [00:47:57.040] - Kim Tate It seems like they've gotten rid of those communal water fill, you know, for, like, some hotels have the little jug in the lobby, but because a COVID they got rid of that. And I have a feeling that's going to be another thing we never see see return. [00:48:10.580] - Ed Pizza Yeah, it's a good point. And I think you're the same way I am Tamara that I drink a ton of water when I'm on the road, just trying to stay hydrated wherever I am. And so that's a huge benefit for us. And you're right, Hilton is very good about offering that every time I check in like, hey, do you need a couple of bottles of water? It's also something that IoT is very good at and not to pile on Marriott. Put your comment about we don't do that there. [00:48:35.510] - Ed Pizza It's kind of sort of like an unwritten model of Marriott. That the property sort of do what they feel comfortable with. And some properties are really good about taking care of their guests. And a lot of the other ones are like, well, there's no financial justification for us to give you two bottles of water so you can buy them. [00:48:50.330] - Tamara Gruber Yeah, they're like, there's a little shop, little. I don't know what to call it, but it's like the main marketplace. Thank you. [00:48:57.540] - Ed Pizza Where you can pay $4 for a bottle  of Aquafina. [00:49:01.840] - Tamara Gruber well, you've been on the program before, so you know that we always ask a question about what you wear. But since we've heard that, I thought maybe we would mix it up and ask if you have a favorite type of luggage or brand for a carry on bag or a rolling bag. [00:49:16.240] - Ed Pizza Yeah. And I'm among the minority here. So my favorite brand is Briggs and Riley. They're not the prettiest suitcases. Sometimes my wife kind of looks sideways at them because not all the bags are like the sexiest and sleekest suitcases. But my main Briggs and Riley bag is now almost 20 years old. They've prepared at a time or two. A true lifetime warranty. It's got over a million miles rolled on it. They're just really, really durable, functional bags again, not as pretty as to me, but never had a zipper break on a Brigand rally bag in almost 20 years. [00:49:51.190] - Tamara Gruber That's amazing. [00:49:52.420] - Ed Pizza Yeah. [00:49:52.760] - Kim Tate There's somebody else who really loves those that I'm trying to think of. [00:49:56.000] - Tamara Gruber Is it Eric? Yeah. Okay. [00:49:58.130] - Kim Tate Maybe I couldn't remember. I was like, who else do I know that's a real Briggs and Riley fan. [00:50:02.340] - Ed Pizza Yeah. I mean, I've had really good luck with them. I think the brand stands behind their bags. And I've had so many people tell me about how they tried to send there to me, a bag away to get it repaired. And it was gone for weeks and weeks, and they had to pay for shipping and all this stuff. And I'm just a no nonsense guy. And the bags just work. [00:50:24.330] - Kim Tate Well, you have given us so much great information, but as we've already shared before, you have a lot more out there. So why don't you tell our listeners where they can find you on the line and follow along with all your great travel tips? [00:50:34.900] - Ed Pizza Yeah. And thanks again, guys, for having me on this was a lot of fun for me. I live vicariously through some of the travel that you guys have done over the summer, and I can't wait to get back to some of those fun places. So it's always great to be on the show with you. We do publish a podcast on a weekly basis, just like you guys find me at Miles to go on all the popular podcasting platform where you can find vacation mavens. And you can find me writing at PizzainMotion.com and all the Twitter, Facebook Instagram stuff is all @pizzainmotion as well. [00:51:06.880] - Tamara Gruber Thanks so much, Ed. [00:51:08.100] - Kim Tate Yeah, thanks. We love having you, and we will look forward to chatting with you again sometime soon. [00:51:12.940] - Ed Pizza Thanks, guys. [00:51:17.060] - Tamara Gruber And we forgot to mention at the beginning of the episode, but Kim and I do have an announcement to make, and that is something that we talked about a little bit on the last episode, but is now official. We're going to Portugal, although I'm totally knocking wood as I say that because, oh, my God, things can totally come up last minute. Now, I'm like, scared. Did I just drink this? Kim? [00:51:37.290] - Kim Tate No, no, it's all good. We're good. [00:51:39.300] - Tamara Gruber But we're going to be in Portugal. We're going to be exploring so much of this country. Kim and I have actually gone there together in the past, but now we're going to get to Do Porto and the Duoro and Alentejo hopefully that's how you pronounce it the Algarve. We're going to the Azores. It's going to be an amazing trip. I hope that you will follow us both on social media. So Tam

Julius Robinson, Marriott International's Chief Sales & Marketing Officer, US and Canada; has an essential job, getting people interested in travel and staying their hotels. Here's how he sees opportunity going forward and how he plans to leverage it for Marriott. Bonvoy's 140 million members may offer a clue!

Julius Robinson, Marriott International's Chief Sales & Marketing Officer, US and Canada; has an essential job, getting people interested in travel and staying their hotels. Here's how he sees opportunity going forward and how he plans to leverage it for Marriott. Bonvoy's 140 million members may offer a clue!

Steffen Hager ist der Chefredakteur von InsideFlyer.de und Experte für Tipps und Tricks wie man Treueprogramme am besten nutzt und mit Punkten günstig, aber sehr komfortabel um die Welt reisen kann. In Folge 38 von HIN & WEG erläutert er die Geschichte von Kundenbindungsprogrammen in der Touristik und wie wichtig seiner Meinung nach das Thema Kundenbindung, vor allem von Geschäftsreisekunden für Airlines und Hotelketten in Zukunft sein wird. Ein interessantes Gespräch mit einem cleveren Kopf, der weiß wie man günstig UND komfortabel reist.

Cette escale du bourlingueur met en lumière les systèmes de points récompense dédiés au voyage grâce au savoir du fondateur de Milesopedia. Au programme; on décortique les cartes de crédits et leurs utilités; comment se servir des cartes AÉROPLAN et AIRMILES puis la conversation se termine autour des systèmes de points des grandes chaînes hotelières comme BONVOY de Marriott.    Liens et Ressources :  https://milesopedia.com/

Episode Description In episode 74 we discuss Bonvoy’s customer friendly changes, Virgin Atlantic walks back their devaluation some, are Citi ThankYou points overrated & a hotel reviews rant. Episode Notes 10:43 - Positively Bonvoyed? 20:45 - Virgin Atlantic Devaluation - good news 23:36 - Hotel Reviews rant 41:06 - Straight to the Points Premium 42:11 - Amex Uber Credits 42:30 - Citi ThankYou Points - overrated?   Enjoying the podcast? Please consider leaving us a positive review on your favorite podcast platform! You can also connect with us anytime at podcast@milestomemories.com.  You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Sticher, Spotify, TuneIn, Pocket Casts, or via RSS. Don't see your favorite podcast platform? Please let us know! Music: Rewind by Jay Someday | https://soundcloud.com/jaysomeday Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License

instagram: @superdhuang blog: https://caocaoluveat.net

Episode Description In episode 47 we discuss Chase shutting down their bonus earning error, massive Amex clawbacks and reminisce about our first international travel experiences.  We also talk about the best bank bonuses out there right now, amazing Vegas hotel rates & more. Episode Notes 9:35 - Chase 5X was an error 15:14 - AMEX RAT claws back Hilton, Delta and Bonvoy points. 21:36 - American Airlines lawsuit shows how far they will dig. (h/t paxex.aero) 24:16 - Remembering our first international trips. 40:01 - The best nation wide bank bonuses this month 41:18 - Vegas has amazing hotel rates (practically free) 42:23 - Fluz Shop Small codes for Amex.   Enjoying the podcast? Please consider leaving us a positive review on your favorite podcast platform! You can also connect with us anytime at podcast@milestomemories.com.  You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Sticher, Spotify, TuneIn, Pocket Casts, or via RSS. Don't see your favorite podcast platform? Please let us know! Music: Rewind by Jay Someday | https://soundcloud.com/jaysomeday Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License

Until May 17, Bonvoy gift cards are being sold at 20% off. | Frommer's

This week I welcome my good friend Aaron on the show! We talk about our time in Italy together, as well as some hotel loyalty program tips!

On April 1, 2020, Booking Holdings Inc. announced to its employees that Glenn Fogel, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus.“What if your computer could help scientists fight COVID-19?” You can download an app runs in the background whenever your device is unused or in light use. The app does not slow your computer down, personal data are never shared, and the software cannot access your personal files, yet, it distributes your processing power to IBM, to help scientists “study the world’s biggest problems in health and sustainability.” OpenPandemics will be launching soon. Starting from next week, residents in Wuhan will be allowed to travel again within the city. According to Forbes, “cautious optimism remains that normality will be resumed in the near future”.Airbnb co-founder and CEO, Brian Chesky, sent an email to his hosts, explaining why he had to refund guests fully. HEventually, Expedia Group is applying its force majeure cancellation policy to all bookings worldwide with stay dates prior to April 30, 2020.Just Stay Home, says the latest Hotels.com commercial. Never in my career, I would have thought to see the Expedia Group usine such a tagline…According to an anonymous source, Airbnb would have paused a good part of its marketing spending, saving around $800 million.Mattel is making face masks from Barbie and Fisher-Price fabric. Ynon Kreiz, Chairman and CEO, stated: “Our design and development teams in El Segundo, Calif., and East Aurora, New York, are producing face masks from Barbie and Fisher-Price fabric to help meet the significant demand for these supplies.”Booking.com, Expedia, and Trip.com are removing parity clauses in Hong Kong. “The existing clauses require accommodation providers in Hong Kong to always give the online travel agents the same or better terms as those they offer in all other sales channels […] As a consequence, buyers of accommodation services, such as hotel guests, possibly may not benefit from lower and more varied room rates,” the antitrust commission said in a statement.Still another data breach for Marriott International: the breach may have impacted over 5M customers, and, again, it may be originated from “a property system.” The breach was discovered at the end of February, but it is thought to have been going on since the beginning of 2020. “We are still investigating the incident,” Marriott stated, “We identified that an unexpected amount of guest information may have been accessed using the login credentials of two employees at a franchise property.” Stolen data might include: name, company, gender, birthday, physical address, email addresses, phone number, loyalty account information, room, and language preferences. No credit card or Bonvoy accounts have been, so far, affected.

Jake and Anthony get to quite a bit of rambling on subjects like outlet shopping, golden birthdays, tax time and more. Somewhere, we work in some sweet Bonvoy redemptions at luxury-level hotels, the new Centurion Lounge at CLT and side-eye an opinion piece from USA today about "free" travel.

Episode Description In episode 27 we talk about our recent event in New Orleans and more of Mark’s craziness. We also discuss the Marriott devaluation, Southwest’s 100K offer, seeing celebrities while traveling, the easiest airline status and tons more! Episode Notes 0:00 - New Orleans meetup wrap up 5:00 - New Orleans as a city, flights, hotels, Biloxi 14:26 - Joe's weekend away 17:48 - Credit card draft 19:31 - Southwest 100K credit card bonus 24:40 - Celebrity sightings while traveling 32:02 - Bonvoy me twice... 36:09 - Alaska status is the easiest to earn 37:32 - Hyatt double points promo 39:01 - Disney price increases 41:23 - New Priority Pass restaurant in Seattle Enjoying the podcast? Please consider leaving us a positive review on your favorite podcast platform! You can also connect with us anytime at podcast@milestomemories.com.  You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Sticher, Spotify, TuneIn, Pocket Casts, or via RSS. Don't see your favorite podcast platform? Please let us know! Music: Rewind by Jay Someday | https://soundcloud.com/jaysomeday Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License

On the Sunday, February 9th edition of The Travel Guys… *    In the Travel News, Marriott, in two separate moves, cuts the value of your Bonvoy points pretty significantly.  Between the new “peak/non-peak” award chart, and the “annual realignment” of awards for individual properties, considerable value has been lost for some. Cruise ships are scrambling to respond to the Coronavirus, dropping planned stops in China, refusing Chinese passengers and even getting stuck in quarantine. ...

This week the guys talk all about the amazing bonuses that @Delta employees got this year. They also debate the best kind of headphones for business travel. They sound pretty excited about a new program from @Marriott where you can earn and use your #Bonvoy points for luxury homes and villas and finally they talk all about a new trend in #PopUp Hotels. #instagram

Significant changes, many brought about by younger consumers and increasingly digital operations, are producing shifts in the hospitality industry.

Radisson shows strength, as US markets falter - and Marriott pins hopes on Bonvoy; why Sykes has attracted new private equity backing - but are home rental businesses overvalued? And thoughts from the Deloitte hotel conference, year on year

In this episode Elan and Fifi have a chat while driving along the A4 highway in France discussing the different loyalty programs that they took advantage of to pay for Fifi's 40th birthday celebrations in Paris. They also give some tips for how best to experience Paris from the roads, rivers and sidewalks and the types of experiences abroad that can be paid for with loyalty points. Engage with us on Instagram @whatsthepointafrica If you're ready to produce your own podcast, contact the podcast experts at

#169-In der heutigen Folge unseres Podcasts geht es um die neue Marriott Statuspromotion. Mit über 5600 Hotels in verschiedensten Preisklassen in der ganzen Welt ist es sehr lohnenswert hier einen Status zu haben. Mit der aktuellen Promotion geht das deutlich lässt sich der Gold oder sogar Platinum Status in nur drei Monaten sehr schnell erschlafen. In unserem neuesten Podcast stellen wir die Details der Promotion vor und verraten euch, wie sich diese besonders einfach erfüllen lässt. Außerdem erklären wir euch, warum ihr die Promotion nur beantragen solltet, wenn ihr euch 100% sicher seid, dass ihr diese auch erfüllen könnt.Abonniere uns, damit du keine Folge verpasst!Vereinbare noch heute Deine kostenlose Beratung. Verbinden Sie sich mit anderen Vielfliegern in unserer Facebook-Gruppe& folgen Sie uns auf Facebook.

Luke and Andrew record their final show from the public radio conference hotel room, where Andrew is unhappy about the Bonvoy program and he doesn't care who knows it. Meanwhile, Luke has a new vegetarian obsession thanks to a Minneapolis "butcher" shop. ... Today's show is sponsored by Eight Sleep. Visit EightSleep.com/TBTL to get $150 off your purchase.

Luke and Andrew record their final show from the public radio conference hotel room, where Andrew is unhappy about the Bonvoy program and he doesn't care who knows it. Meanwhile, Luke has a new vegetarian obsession thanks to a Minneapolis "butcher" shop. ... Today's show is sponsored by Eight Sleep. Visit EightSleep.com/TBTL to get $150 off your purchase.

#152-Die Marriott Travel Packages waren lange Zeit eine der besten Möglichkeiten, Punkte bei Marriott Rewards einzulösen. Ein solches Travel Package inkludiert neben 100.000 Meilen bei einer der Partnerairlines 7 Nächte in einem Marriott Hotel. Je nachdem welche Kategorie das Hotel haben soll, müssen für die Travel Packages mehr oder weniger Punkte eingelöst werden. Seit dem Zusammenschluss von Marriott Rewards und Starwood Preferred Guest wurden die Travel Packages leider stark entwertet, sodass die Ersparnis verglichen mit dem regulären Meilentransfer und der separaten Einlösung von Punkten nicht mehr signifikant war. Seitdem Marriott jedoch die Punktezahl für Freinächte während Peak-Zeiten erhöht hat, ergibt sich wieder eine spannende Möglichkeit, mit den Travel Packages zu sparen: Mit diesen lassen sich Hotels nämlich unabhängig davon, ob an den gewünschten Daten das Peak-Pricing gilt oder nicht, buchen. Damit liegt die maximale Ersparnis eines Travel Packages verglichen zum regulären Meilentausch in Kombination mit regulärer Zimmerbuchung bei 90.000 Rewards Punkten. Alle Details erfahrt ihr im Podcast.Abonniere uns, damit du keine Folge verpasst!Vereinbare noch heute Deine kostenlose Beratung. Verbinden Sie sich mit anderen Vielfliegern in unserer Facebook-Gruppe& folgen Sie uns auf Facebook.

#120-Marriott Bonvoy bietet für Mitglieder und vor allem Statuskunden tolle Benefits und regelmäßige Promotions. Die Promotion die wir euch in dieser Folge vorstellen, ist fundamental anders von sonstigen Bonvoy Promotions: Sie richtet sich nämlich nicht an die Mitglieder sondern an Nicht-Mitglieder. Wer sich über den Promotionslink für Marriott Bonvoy anmeldet und bis zum 28. November mindestens zwei Aufenthalte bei Marriott absolviert, erhält einen Gutschein für eine Freinacht in bestimmten Hotels. Lars und Johannes erklären, worauf ihr bei der Promotion achten müsst, wo sich die Freinacht einlösen lässt und was deren Gegenwert ist. Fazit: Die Promotion lohnt bietet einen hohen Gegenwert und lohnt sich dank des langen Zeitraums für fast jeden, der ab und zu bei Marriott übernachtet und noch kein Bonvoy Mitglied ist.Abonniere uns, damit du keine Folge verpasst!Vereinbare noch heute Deine kostenlose Beratung. Verbinden Sie sich mit anderen Vielfliegern in unserer Facebook-Gruppe& folgen Sie uns auf Facebook.

#105-In unserer heutigen Frage Freitag Episode beantworten wir eine Frage, die wenn alles glatt läuft nie aufgekommen wäre. Unser Mitglied Christian ist Ambassador bei Marriott - der größten Hotelkette weltweit. Damit hat er das höchste Statuslevel, welches die Kette gibt inne. Der Status kommt mit zahlreichen Benefits bei Aufenthalten in Hotels der Marriott Gruppe. Diese Woche wurde ihm jedoch bei seinem Hotelaufenthalt in einem Marriott Hotel in den USA ein Benefit nicht gewährt. In dieser Folge erklären euch Lars und Johannes, was man in einem solchen Fall tun kann und warum Marriott bei solchen Fehlern den Hotels gegenüber sehr strikt ist. Wenn auch ihr eine Frage habt, meldet euch gerne bei uns und vielleicht beantworten wir eure Frage bereits nächste Woche in einer neuen Frage Freitag Episode.Abonniere uns, damit du keine Folge verpasst!Vereinbare noch heute Deine kostenlose Beratung.https://FTCircle.as.me/Verbinden Sie sich mit anderen Vielfliegern in unserer Facebook-Gruppe (https://www.facebook.com/groups/vielfliegerstammtisch/) & folgen Sie uns auf Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/FTCircle/).

Today's episode is a You Ask, We Answer, as is our end-of-month tradition. Housekeeping Hashtag #planthatwedding so we can see your pics! Share your engagement pics with us (with photographer credit) so we can share. And BIG thank you to those of you who already have. Next month will have 2 YAWAS and one will be all QA from our awesome facebook group! Voicemail ASK My wedding is next may, in 2020. I wanna know where I should put the Horrah on the timeline, since I'm a Jewish bride. The wedding is in a historic mansion, it has a tented terrace, that's attached. The dinner will be in the tent, next to the band and the dance floor, and there's connecting doors that will be open in between. We have a seated dinner and cocktail hour before dancing. So, I was thinking maybe we could come down this curved staircase to the dance floor for the introduction, and immediately go into the Horrah. But is it weird to do that before the dinner service? Also, is there anything else we should do in advance, like choose which people hold up the chairs? Our chairs don't have arms, so should we set aside special chairs with arms? - Ashley via Voicemail ANSWER We love the Horrah! But we haven't done a ton of them. So we brought in our good friend, Katherine, to help answer. Traditionally, it happens right when the guests are seated for dinner. But sometimes, when the dancing is not near where the dinner is, that can't happen. Because you don't want to drag guests around from room to room. For your set-up, Katherine thinks you should definitely do the Horrah right after introductions. The guests are ready for it, so bring the energy in right away! It is necessary to have the right chairs for this, so find a light weight chair with arms. You need something the bride can hold onto. They can be kept tucked away, they don't even have to match the wedding decor. You have to have the arms! As far as designating people, it is a wise idea. You need about four pretty strong people per chair to be sure that it's all ready to go. This is a great way to give people a job or task during the wedding. EMAIL - We'll start light - with a lighting dilemma ASK Hi Christy and Michelle, I love your show! I have been listening for almost a year now, and I think you are both great! I look forward to your episodes every Wednesday, but I haven't had a good question to ask. Now though, I have a silly question, but it has got me stumped (I am sure it is easy for you). My question is about lighting. I am getting married next month, and after listening to your bonus episode about lighting, I decided to book uplights for our reception through our dj. He originally told me I could have two colors, one for dinner and one for dancing...but now that it is time to pick the color, he says we can only have one color. I don't know what to choose. I was going to do the amber color you suggested for dinner and then bright pink for dancing, but now I don't know which one to pick. I'm afraid having just one color won't set the right tone for the whole event. So, long story short, should I have it be the "dinner color" all the way through the night or the "dancing color"? Also, keep in mind that since its July the sun won't be setting until around 9pm and our reception is from 7-11 (cocktail hour is earlier in a different room). So maybe it won't show much during dinner anyway? Thanks for your help! A P.S. On a more serious note, this isn't related to my question but I just wanted to tell you how much your episode "The Happiest Sad Day" meant to my fiancé and I. My fiancé's mom was recently diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer and we have been dealing with the possibility that she won't be able to come to our wedding which has been really devastating for him. Listening to that episode helped us feel like we weren't the only ones going through sad stuff while we were trying to be happy. And it gave us hope that even if she can't come, it will still be a happy day worth celebrating. So thank you for featuring episodes about some of the more serious aspects of planning a wedding. ANSWER Thanks for writing - good question! First of all - why is this DJ only giving you one option now? In my experience, these lights are really easy to color-change, its all digital. Or at the very most, he has to go to each one and click a button, but that wouldn't take long, even with a whole room of them. Usually my DJs just set the colors on their main board and operate it from there. Maybe he has a different type of light or something. I suggest asking him again why you can't have two when that is what he said initially. Anyway - IF you can only have one - go with the pink! It won't be as dramatic during dinner with the lights up and the windows for sure, and it photographs really well. When the dancing starts, you'll take down the main lights and maybe have some dance lighting too and the pink will show more on the walls and pillars (if you have any). We suggest amber in our episode because that is the 'basic' glow color that people like and all DJs offer it - its ambient and subtle, but if you have decor or a venue that can take a little more fun, do it! My vote is for pink. Hope this helps! Your PS about your fiancé's mom brought tears to my eyes. That episode has received so much love from listeners - you are not alone. I am so sorry to hear about your fiancé's mom, I can't even imagine how hard it is to face cancer with such a close loved one. I have no advice, I can only thank you for the reminder to call my own mom. We have to tell the people we love that we love them. Remember - the wedding is about celebrating the choice you two are making to do life together. His mom is a part of your life now and she loves you. I'm sure she is happy that you two are getting married. My love to all of you. _EMAIL 3 Money Money Money _ ASK Hi fabulous ladies! Let me start by saying how much I adore your podcast. Not only have I learned so much, I've had a blast listening! Your warmth and honesty makes me feel like I'm amongst friends. I was inspired to write in with this question after listening to your episode on credit card "hacking" your wedding. I have $2000 in cash saved (literally in an envelope in the back of my closet) for my wedding, and I want to start a wedding savings account. I've watched all my cousins get married (I am the youngest in my big fat Greek family), as well as several friends, and I've also watched all of them go into tremendous debt because of their weddings. While me and my long-term boyfriend have agreed that we will not get married for another 3-5 years, I want to start saving now so I'm not as financially screwed as my loved ones were. What type of account would you recommend? A savings account, or a CD, or another option? Also- which banks should I look into/steer clear of? I have started doing some comparison shopping myself, but I would really appreciate your expert opinions. Additionally, I will be splitting everything with my intended, so asking my parents for a handout is not an option. Any advice on saving for a wedding is very appreciated. Much love to you in this wedding season, I'm sure it's a super hectic time. Rock on!! ⚡⚡ Take care, G ANSWER HI G! Thank you so much for listening and reaching out! We aren't really qualified to give financial advice but I can already tell that you are on the right track! Many couples blow through money they don't have because they simply don't care or think about the debt after the wedding...they are all about the wedding day and they want what they want, so they end up making financially irresponsible choices...to the tune of several thousand dollars. Like, "Oh, we'll deal with that afterwards. But for now, I want a ceiling of hanging roses and a champagne fountain and a 12 piece band." (I have a friend who made these kinds of decisions. And now it's 11 years later and she has 3 kids and a mortgage and they are still paying off credit card debt from their wedding. It's ridiculous! And you know, the thing is, it was a great wedding. But it wasn't THAT great...! I don't remember having a better time at her wedding than at any of the other weddings I've been to. When the people are great, the wedding is great. When the couple getting married is having fun, the guests are having fun. Just a little perspective there...) On to the actual advice: I definitely recommend saving and then spending accordingly, rather than spending money you don't have and then dealing with it later. Credit card hacking is great, and that episode makes a lot of good points for saving money on a honeymoon after the wedding with money you spent during the wedding - but you still have to have to money to pay those credit cards off - within the statement period! When I waited tables, I had an envelope of cash too - most of my colleagues did. I remember spending it all during a trip to Ireland! Which is exactly what I had been saving it for. It's so satisfying to save with purpose and then actually get to spend it on what you have been saving for! So good for you, you're on the right track. You have a couple years to do this, so I suggest you up your game a little, in addition to the petty cash envelope you have going. You and your partner can both start putting into a savings account - a joint one, separate from your other bank accounts. You probably have your paychecks directly deposited into your main account - so each of you can do an automatic transfer 1-2 times a month with a portion of your paycheck or salary going straight into the savings account. A couple hundred bucks a month will add up quickly! Then it's out of sight, out of mind. I don't know which banks are better than others - I use Wells Fargo and it seems fine. And I've heard great things about Ally - it's all online or the app, so you won't have a brick and mortar bank to walk into. Also - if you want to start collecting points on a credit card, listen to that ep again and pick a card that works for you. A couple years ago, my husband and I got a Chase Marriott card (now it's called Bonvoy) since we were using a credit card occasionally anyway - we got this to start collecting hotel points so that 'one day' we could take a vacation to Hawaii and have the hotel paid for. We're almost there! We've used it specifically for hotel stays because we get double points for those (we seek out Marriott properties wherever we go) and for big one-off expenses (like a new mattress) - and we try to pay it off in time and in full. That doesn't always work, sometimes life happens - so we've paid interest here and there and if we were paying more interest than we were collecting incentives/points, it wouldn't be worth it. If you started with a credit card now - purposefully - you could start collecting points before you spend big on your wedding, and you can also build good credit up. So! A combination of savings and a card is my best advice, but again, don't get the card if you're only going to rack up charges and not pay them off! When the wedding planning starts to roll around and you need to book a venue or put a deposit down on a vendor, buy your dress, etc, you can use the card and pay it off with the money you've saved. And keep in mind, weddings don't have to cost a ton of money. There are ways to budget and have a very nice, fun, unique wedding without breaking the bank. You just have to communicate with each other about priorities and what kind of wedding you really want to have...and you can't get caught up in the comparison game. People spend too much money on weddings. That's a fact. And I think a lot of that is because they're looking online and at what other people are doing and everyone is trying to meet some extreme expectation and they lose the meaning along the way. We can get more into ways to save money and things like that if you want to do some consulting with one of us - just let me know! In the meantime - Here are some eps that address this: https://www.thebigweddingplanningpodcast.com/financial-planning-and-your-wedding #82 https://www.thebigweddingplanningpodcast.com/big-ideas-little-budget 53 Hope this helps! Christy Email 4 - From an Israeli bride! ASK (She asked another question about action stations for her big fat Hebrew wedding -- “ We kind of want our wedding to be like festival themed and balagan, which is Hebrew for chaos/mess, but in this context in a good way. We basically want everyone stuffing their faces and dancing the whole time.” I love! - but I pointed her to YAWA 15 - released feb 2019 bc that episode breaks down the tips and tricks for a successful cocktail reception style wedding ) How can we make sure that our ceremony is unplugged? Israelis hate being told what to do. I was thinking of planting some friends and family and telling them to watch out for people using phones. Or would it be too intrusive to have a check-in system? ANSWER As far as the unplugged ceremony - you can only do so much and guests (particularly rude or stubborn guests...) are going to do what they want anyway. That being said - I think some signage will help - positioned at the entrance to the ceremony. Plenty of ideas on Pinterest for that. And also if your officiant can make an announcement about it at the beginning of the ceremony, that will help too. And spread the word a bit pre-wedding weekend as well. Put the 'we kindly request' announcement on your wedding website if you are having one, and ask your parents to help spread the word to the older relatives - like their siblings maybe...in hopes that it trickles down a bit. Or at least, no one is surprised when they are told to keep their phones off on the wedding day. (you can also put it in your program if you are having one and you think your guests will be reading it pre-ceremony as they sit/wait...) (Usually I don't like a ton of signage everywhere at weddings, but this is a good one because it's directive. And sometimes it takes a few times to get people to actually follow the directions - so reading it and then also hearing it from the officiant is your best bet.) *Links we mentioned: * http://www.dreamalittledreamevents.com https://www.acorns.com/ https://creditcards.chase.com/marriott/cardmember/rewards_benefits https://www.ally.com/ Zola.com/bigwedding for $50 off your registry! Get In Touch EMAIL: thebigweddingplanningpodcast@gmail.com FACEBOOK: @TBWPpodcast FACEBOOK GROUP: https://www.facebook.com/groups/TBWPP/ INSTAGRAM: @thebigweddingplanningpodcast BE SURE TO USE THE HASHTAG: #planthatwedding TWITTER: @TBWPpodcast PHONE: (415) 723-1625 Leave us a message and you might hear your voice on the show! PATREON: www.patreon.com/thebigweddingplanningpodcast

Today on the show we welcome Gilbert Ott from God Saves the Points! Gilbert is here to talk about his article which explains how he was wrong about his predictions for British Airways and their CEO, Alex Cruz. When our guest saw the early actions of BA's then-new CEO, he predicted bad weather ahead for the company and the article he published on the matter went viral, even attracting Cruz's attention. Alex Cruz assured Gilbert of several things, all of which have subsequently come true, at which point Gilbert admitted being wrong and applauded the company and their leader for what has been significant progress and decisions in the interim. In our conversation, we go over some of the details of the matter and what really impressed Gilbert about Cruz's work. We also talk about how other airlines are dropping the ball in this arena, and the rising importance of experiential award offers in the travel industry. Plus a little bit of Bonvoy talk. For all this and more, join Michael and Gilbert today!Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:God Save The Points Read this ==> TWO YEARS AGO I TOLD BRITISH AIRWAYS CEO ALEX CRUZ TO QUIT. I WAS WRONGGSTP on Twitter GSTP on InstaZorkCast FaceBook Group- JOIN TODAY! (Continue and Start the Conversation)TravelZorkZorkCast on TwitterZorkCast on Instagram© 2019 ZorkCast © 2019 TravelZork

“I know this is frustrating, I know what we told you was wrong, but there’s nothing we can do about it”Was it just last week we were discussing what to do when loyalty programs behave badly? Sigh. Ed Pizza from Pizza in Motion is back this week to recap with Richard on what has been a very interesting week. Aside from some issues with the Award Travel Advanced Facebook group, Marriott has “Bonvoy’d” the Kerr’s 10th Wedding Anniversary trip to Europe. Tune in to hear an absolutely puzzling story of 12-hr Twitter responses, wrong information and just the totally bizarre inability for Marriott’s customer service team to fix their (self-admitted) mistake.Timestamps2:05 - Updates on Award Travel Advanced Facebook group4:40 - Background on their anniversary trip to Europe9:10 - When you tweet about successful customer service…too soon13:38 - When customer service via Twitter fails17:05 - Hyatt to the rescue23:30 - Keeping perspective & finding a solutionToday's GuestEd Pizza founded the Pizza In Motion blog on the BoardingArea network. He's considered one of the preeminent voices in the loyalty program space and is a successful entrepreneur. He's also the host of the Miles to Go and NowBoarding podcasts.Thanks to Our SponsorFly smarter by receiving premium flight deal alerts straight to your inbox from Thrifty Traveler Premium. This includes mistake fares, tailored deals from your selected departure city and even Delta SkyMiles Flash Sale alerts. Sign-up today and try if for free.

#83-Nachdem wir euch in der letzten Woche das Markenportfolio der Hilton Gruppe vorgestellt haben, werfen wir nun einen Blick auf die verschiedenen Brands der weltgrößten Hotelgruppe aus Bethesda. Mit über 6500 Hotels bietet Marriott nach dem Zusammenschluss mit Starwood Häuser in allen Kategorien und auf allen Kontinenten der Welt. Bei über 30 verschiedenen Marken weiß der ein oder andere Hotelgast gar nicht, welche Brand die für ihn passende ist.In der letzten Folge unserer Serie befassen wir uns mit den luxuriösesten Marken der Marriott Gruppe. Hier sind insbesondere St Regis, W Hotels und natürlich Ritz Carlton zu nennen. Während St Regis und insbesondere Ritz Carlton exzellente Beispiele für klassische Luxushotels mit allen nur erdenklichen Annehmlichkeiten sind, zeichnen sich die W Hotels in diesem Segment durch ein erfrischendes und einzigartiges Konzept aus. Johannes und Lars erklären die Unterschiede zwischen den verschiedenen Marken damit du für deine nächste Reise die passende Marke wählen kannst.Abonniere uns, damit du keine Folge verpasst!Vereinbare noch heute Deine kostenlose Beratung.https://FTCircle.as.me/Verbinden Sie sich mit anderen Vielfliegern in unserer Facebook-Gruppe (https://www.facebook.com/groups/vielfliegerstammtisch/) & folgen Sie uns auf Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/FTCircle/).

#85-Nachdem wir euch in der letzten Woche das Markenportfolio der Hilton Gruppe vorgestellt haben, werfen wir nun einen Blick auf die verschiedenen Brands der weltgrößten Hotelgruppe aus Bethesda. Mit über 6500 Hotels bietet Marriott nach dem Zusammenschluss mit Starwood Häuser in allen Kategorien und auf allen Kontinenten der Welt. Bei über 30 verschiedenen Marken weiß der ein oder andere Hotelgast gar nicht, welche Brand die für ihn passende ist.Gestern haben wir uns die Select Service und Midscale Hotels angeschaut, heute liegt der Fokus auf dem Upscale Segment. Hier finden sich neben zahlreichen kleineren Marken, die auf ein bestimmtes Kundensegment ausgerichtet sind auch die beiden Legacy Brands Marriott und Sheraton. Diese Marken stehen in der ganzen Welt für einen hohen Standard im Full Service Bereich, allerdings ist das ein oder andere Haus auch etwas in die Jahre bekommen. Wir verraten euch, warum diese beiden Marken insbesondere für Statusinhaber dennoch eine gute Wahl sind. 
Außerdem schauen wir uns an, mit welchen Besonderheiten Le Meredien, Renaissance und Westin überzeugen können.Abonniere uns, damit du keine Folge verpasst!Vereinbare noch heute Deine kostenlose Beratung.https://FTCircle.as.me/Verbinden Sie sich mit anderen Vielfliegern in unserer Facebook-Gruppe (https://www.facebook.com/groups/vielfliegerstammtisch/) & folgen Sie uns auf Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/FTCircle/).

Ed Pizzarello from Pizza in Motion and the Miles 2 Go podcast drops by to discuss his crazy Disney parkeology challenge for charity, the perils of overscheduling "vacation", what loyalty might look like to consumers in the future, and why in the name of all that is good and just in this world did Bonvoy win at the Freddies? In Final Boarding Call, Joe talks about lessons you should probably take from his semi-disastrous family trip over spring break.

Episode 5 - Marriott May Bonvoy You But Still get The Points"One complaint came from a member who had (over 1,300) nights with Marriott...That's an average of $266,000 they have spent with this company...and due to tech glitches...properties aren't honoring lifetime status and (other) benefits? It's a bait and switch."If you've said or heard the phrase "I've/You've been Bonvoy'd", chances are high you've been burned by Marriott's problem plagued SPG merger and new program rollout. The stories of former Marriott Rewards, SPG and Ritz-Carlton members missing nights, points, waiting for hours on hold, and more are endless. This week Richard is joined by Mister M, Shubhayan Mukherjee, co-founder of Bonvoyed.com! Yes folks. You know that there are more than just a few customers on the fringes that are upset when a website launches dedicated to helping members get the support they aren't receiving.Founded in 2013, the Award Travel 101 Facebook group teaches members how to travel the world using points and miles. Today, our community of over 50,000 people from around the world share, teach and learn how to travel anywhere on any budget. More than just a recap on award travel news and strategy, the Award Travel 101 Podcast offers a glimpse into the stories and lives of our AT101 community members. Show Timestamps1:30 - Starting out on a positive note with some of the good parts of Marriott Bonvoy12:00 - Three ways to use those Marriott Bonvoy Points13:50 - The Mysterious Mister M16:22 - Bonvoy'd goes viral18:00 - The problems are everywhere25:00 - Is there an entitlement issue?LinksBonvoyedThanks to Our SponsorEarn Instant Gold status when you join Fuel Rewards. Save 5 cents/gallon on every fill-up. Terms and Conditions apply, max 20 gallons per fill-up. Visit AwardWallet for more info on the Award Travel 101 Podcast!

Episode 2 – Marriott Bonvoy And The Struggle Bus“The blogs are being told policies before Marriott reservation agents even know whats going on and certainly before front desk agents. No one knows what’s going on.”The Marriott and Starwood merger has been anything but smooth and leadership of the combined portfolio continues to display tone deaf responses to loyal customers. This week Richard and Ed Pizza discuss the continuing struggles of the new Marriott Bonvoy program, how it got to where it is, the current state of trying to be a Marriott Bonvoy loyalist and what Marriott can do to right the ship. Show Timestamps1:12 — Happy Travel Day2:21 — Bonvoy Merger Disaster3:51 — Problems attaching award certificate for an award night? Points advance bookings and more5:19 — Marriott is broken master thread6:55 — New Bonvoy Co-branded card discussion7:34 — Marriott's tone deaf responses10:33 — Has anyone never needed a passport to make a hotel reservation? Probably not18:07 — What could Bonvoy and Lolo Jones have in common?20:18 — “Bonvoyed”24:00 — Is there hope? What Marriott needs to do to improveToday's GuestEd Pizza founded the Pizza In Motion blog on the Boarding Area network. He's considered one of the preeminent voices in the loyalty program space and is a successful entrepreneur. ResourcesMarriott Is Broken #MasterThread in Award Travel 101Pizza In MotionBonvoyed.comContact Marriott Thanks to Our SponsorEarn Instant Gold status when you join Fuel Rewards. Save 5 cents/gallon on every fill-up. Terms and Conditions apply, max 20 gallons per fill-up. Visit AwardWallet for more info on the Award Travel 101 Podcast!

#34-GreenChoice - Meilen statt Essen? Für Mitglieder von SPG oder neuerdings Bonvoy ist GreenChoice bereits seit längerem ein Begriff. Bei mehrtägigen Aufenthalten werden Programmmitglieder mit Punkten belohnt, wenn sie auf den Zimmerservice verzichten. Neben Personalkosten können so auf Seiten des Hotels auch Ressourcen gespart werden was der Umwelt zu Gute kommt. Durch die Belohnung der Gäste mit Punkten entsteht so eine Win Win Situation. Mit China Southern hat nun erstmals eine Airline begonnen, ein ähnliches Programm zu testen. Mitglieder des hauseigenen Vielfliegerprogramms erhalten auf ausgewählten Strecken das Angebot durch den Verzicht auf die Bordmahlzeit zusätzliche Meilen sammeln zu können. In Anbetracht des Verpackungsmülls und der Lebensmittelabfälle, die beim Catering von Flugzeugen entstehen sind Lars und Johannes der Meinung, dass es sich hierbei um eine interessante Idee handelt. Könntet ihr euch ein ähnliches Programm bei europäischen Airlines vorstellen und würdet ihr dieses benutzen? Hört euch die neueste Episode des Frequent Traveller Podcasts an und schreibt uns eure Meinung.Abonniere uns, damit du keine Folge verpasst!Vereinbare noch heute Deine kostenlose Beratung. https://FTCircle.as.me/ Verbinden Sie sich mit anderen Vielfliegern in unserer Facebook-Gruppe (https://www.facebook.com/groups/vielfliegerstammtisch/) & folgen Sie uns auf Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/FTCircle/).

Is it possible to pay for your honeymoon (or at least the flight and hotel accomodations) using points you earned when you spent money on your wedding? Yes! This episode breaks down how. We're happy to have Keith King on the podcast because we too need to learn about our credit cards! Miles, points, travel hacking - woohoo! Keith King is quickly rising the ranks as a blogger, and freelance writer. The travel bug was planted in him when he was young. That was when his love for planes started. It continues to this day, as it led Keith to become a licensed pilot. His other love is writing. After all, it's what he does for a living AND a hobby. He's a TV news executive by trade. At KeithKingReport.com, you'll find Keith's experiences with travel, budgets, and more. The goal for this blog is to make sure you can do more than just live to work. Rather, we want you to work to live. Keith's first book, Cracking the Code to Travel Hacking, was published in November of 2017. A great read if you're interested in jumping into the world of travel hacking with credit cards. Big Takeaways Disclaimer: It's super important that we mention a few things here. We are not affiliated with any financial institutions or credit card companies! We're speaking from personal experience and it's very limited! Keith King is a hacking and travel expert and his opinions are his own. Don't come back and blame us if you rack up thousands of dollars in debt on credit cards and wedding planning! Even credit cards that give you incentives and points are ONLY worthwhile if you pay them off every month. The interest incurred for a balance due will never be less than the rewards or points you are getting. There is a reason why credit card companies make money! Don't be that reason. And don't spend a lot of money on your wedding that you just don't have. Unless you are ok with debt and interest piling up and in that case, do you. We encourage you all to always pay off your credit card statements! Who would this whole thing work for? Responsible adults who pay off their cards on time! If you are in credit card debt, or if you can't pay off your debt in a cycle or two, you shouldn't apply for a new credit card. Pay off the debt you have and then once it's clear, you can get the card with the points that you want. Also, it will work specifically for you if you love to travel and plan on traveling on flights and staying in hotels for your honeymoon! Double awesome if you also want to host your wedding in a hotel. _Cards that are awesome for the ‘starter hack': _ --#1 suggestion right now - Chase Sapphire Reserve and/or Preferred - depending on the card -- 2 or 3 points per dollar at restaurants and travel (good card to use if you're reception is at a restaurant). You can transfer these incentives to the travel partners like hotels and airlines. Super easy to use, Michelle loves it. --Chase Freedom Unlimited (1.5 points per dollar on everything) --Amex Gold (4 points per dollar on dining and supermarkets) --Barclaycard Arrival Plus (cash back) --Capital One Savor Cash Rewards (cash back) What about points with a specific airline credit card or hotel affiliated card? Pretty much every airline has a branded credit card, so if you get that card and spend money on it (and pay it off), then you get points to spend on the same airline for flights. If you know where you want to go on your honeymoon - find out the major airlines (and their affiliates) that go to that location and then consider applying for that credit card a year or so out. You can spend money on the credit card throughout wedding planning and for any flights you take during the wedding planning phase. Then you'll be able to collect enough points for at least one round-trip flight to your honeymoon destination. Most of these airline cards have a great starting incentive (50k points on the AA Barclays card, for example) - just read the fine print. You may have to spend and pay off a certain amount in then first month or three. Oh! And Southwest is flying to Hawaii now! Hotel branded cards...most hotels have them. Check out the newly rebranded Marriott card - it's called Bonvoy. SO many hotel chains are a part of the Marriott family now. They own Starwood now. If you can honeymoon in the same hotel that you host your wedding at -- like get married at a Marriott Hotel in SF and then honeymooning at the Ritz in New Orleans...you can get upgrades and incentives because you are spending so much money with the chain. When booking your wedding at a hotel, it helps with negotiating and room rates if you are a card holder. Hilton and Hyatt have cards too. Getting married at the hotel that you have the credit card at is a good way to get incentives on both ends. Maybe you can get your suite for the wedding weekend upgraded because you are a card member. And then you are also collecting a lot of points for your honeymoon, because you are spending a lot of money on the reception at the hotel. You're spending the money! Might as well get some freebies out of it. Links we referenced http://www.keithkingreport.com/ - he has a book! And a great blog too for travel hacking and travel tips. https://twitter.com/The_KeithKing Quotes “There are three main types of credit cards you can use for travel hacking. Airline branded cards, hotel branded cards and general points and dollared cards that you can use.” - Keith - starting with the basics “So for 60k American Airlines miles, you can get two round trip tickets to Europe in economy. That will save you over $3500 on the flights alone.” - Keith, BOOM. Two flights to Paris “What I would recommend doing if you are just beginning the process...I would sit down and make a schedule of expected payments. This way, you have a schedule of when money is due and apply for your card accordingly.” - Keith “If you're going to spend anyway for your wedding and you have money in the bank to pay off your statement balances, then it's definitely something to consider.” - Christy, summing it up “So if you're getting married at a venue that isn't one of these branded hotels and you know you are going to be spending a lot of money, the best card to get is the Chase Sapphire Preferred.” - Michelle, in a nutshell! “We're constantly talking about all the money being spent, being spent, being spent on a wedding and here's a way to get something out of it! So, this is awesome.” - Michelle Get In Touch EMAIL: thebigweddingplanningpodcast@gmail.com FACEBOOK: @TBWPpodcast INSTAGRAM: @thebigweddingplanningpodcast BE SURE TO USE THE HASHTAG: #planthatwedding TWITTER: @TBWPpodcast PHONE: (415) 723-1625 Leave us a message and you might hear your voice on the show! PATREON: www.patreon.com/thebigweddingplanningpodcast Special Guest: Keith King.

#32-Bonvoyed - so macht man ein Loyalty Programm kaputtSPG war der Klassiker unter den Hotelprogrammen schlechthin. Ein Portfolio von tollen Hotels, interessante Promos und die Möglichkeit, Punkte zu Meilenprogrammen von Airlines umzuwandeln, haben das Programm der Starwood Gruppe so beliebt gemacht. Mit der Übernahme von Starwood durch Marriott, wurden die bisher separaten Programme von Marriott, Starwood und Ritz Carlton unter dem neuen Kunstnamen „Bonvoy“ zusammengefasst. Die positiven Assoziationen, die das Wortspiel aus Bon und Voyage bei den Kunden wohl auslösen soll, werden allerdings durch verschiedenste Probleme überschattet und führen zu einer Menge Frustration. Dass einige Kunden trotz der Probleme ihren Humor nicht verlieren, zeigt die Internetseite bonvoyed.com, auf welcher Kunden ihre „Bonvoyed“-Momente teilen. Lars und Johannes berichten über ihre eigenen Erfahrungen mit dem Programm, die Absurditäten, die sich aus Titanium und Ambassador Statuslevels ergeben und beleuchten die Internetphänomene, die aus dem Bonvoy-Debakel hervorgegangen sind.Abonniere uns, damit du keine Folge verpasst!Vereinbare noch heute Deine kostenlose Beratung. https://FTCircle.as.me/ Verbinden Sie sich mit anderen Vielfliegern in unserer Facebook-Gruppe (https://www.facebook.com/groups/vielfliegerstammtisch/) & folgen Sie uns auf Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/FTCircle/).

J.D. Power's Michael Vermillion, Michael Taylor and Jennifer Corwin discuss hot topics in the travel and hospitality industry in our latest Travel Podcast. Airline: Is Southwest Still the Low Cost Airline? Hospitality: Marriott launches Bonvoy to replace loyalty programs Airport: British Airways and American to spend $344M at JFK Rental Car: Hertz scraps surprise fees for crossing GG Bridge Digital: Travel Apps recording keystrokes: Does Privacy Matter to App Users?

Views on Whitbread and its Premier Inn challenge; lessons as Ryanair trims its wings as it abandons plans to be the "Amazon of travel"; and where Marriott needs to take its refreshed loyalty programme, Bonvoy.

Bonvoy Adventure Travel takes Travel Itch Radio to new heights Thursday, March 6 when Christine Tibbetts talks to Sean Jackson about his company's exhilarating approach to adventure, culture, luxury and history in small-group guided travel. Listen in for flex pricing options too. 8:00 p.m. Eastern Dan Schlossberg rejoins the show March 20.