There are rumors that three Chinese companies are fighting to buy Starwood Hotels. Bloomberg reports that Shanghai Jin Jiang International Hotels (Group) Co., HNA Group Co. and China Investment Corp. have presented separate proposals to the Chinese government for its approval to make a bid for the hotel chain. Starwood’s stock jumped up almost 10% on…
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Hotel Review: ITC Gardenia Bangalore – Refreshingly good!
Every time I head over to Asia, especially India or Southeast Asia, I am always pleasantly surprised by the awesomeness of the hotels there. And of their relatively low prices for the product they provided. After spending most of my traveling nights in hotels in North America and Europe, it is pleasant to see a…
Giveaway: Free code for FlightTrack Pro iOS App
Starbucks had a recent promotion of their weekly iOS giveaway – the FlightTrack Pro App. This is an awesome iPhone, iPad App which usually sells for $9.99. You could get it from Starbucks for free using the free giveaway cards they have for songs, books and Apps. If your Starbucks has run out of these…
The best credit card recommendation: Figure it out yourself
When I was a kid, my dad ingrained the doctrine “Learn from and listen to everyone, follow no one” in me. I have found this to be the best advice one can ever get. This probably also holds true for credit cards. A plethora of credit cards swarm the market with so diverse benefits that…
Buy Starpoints at for 2.8c (20% off)
If you had taken advantage of earlier promotions and had bought all 48K points, your out of pocket cost would have been ~$1350 compared to $2k if you had bought the rooms with cash. Now that Starwood award stays count towards elite status, there is no reason to pay them out of your pocket.
Action: Contact Sheraton Madison to get Facebook promotion 3K SPG points
Most of you would probably remember Sheraton Madison’s Facebook promotion: 3000 SPG points just by ‘liking’ them on Facebook. As with most of the social media promotions, the points did not post. However, they were extremely fast in responding when I contacted them on Facebook. And the points appeared in my account in 3 days.…
Upto 75% bonus on hotel point to US Airways Dividend Miles transfer
US Airways has brought back the promo this year. You can get up to 75% bonus on hotel points to Dividend miles (DM) transfer. Everybody gets at least 25% bonus miles. On top of that you get An extra 25% if you’re a Dividend Miles Preferred member And another 25% if you have a…
If you had an infinite wallet, what credit cards would you carry? – Part III
Details of the analysis Travel (10 cents per $) Airfare (10 cents per $) Highest payout : Travelocity American Express Best Cash-back Rewards Credit card : Chase Freedom (5% for three months in a year), Discover More (5% for 3 months in a year ), American Express True Earnings Card From Costco , Chase BP Visa (2% throughout the year) Best Airline Credit Card : The best payout is by the co-branded card of the airline you are traveling on, Fidelity Aeroplan American Express (2 miles per $) Best Hotel Affinity Card : Starwood American Express (1 point per $=2.1 cents per $) Best Other Rewards Card : American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card ( 3 points per $=6 cents $) , Travelocity American Express (5 points per $=10 cents per $) Hotel (10 cents per $) Highest payout : Travelocity American Express Best Cash-back Rewards Credit card : Chase Freedom (5% for three months in a year), Discover More (5% for 3 months in a year ), American Express True Earnings Card From Costco , Chase BP Visa (2% throughout the year) Best Airline Credit Card : Fidelity Aeroplan American Express (2 miles per $) Best Hotel Affinity Card : Best Rewards is by the hotel co-branded card for the hotel you are staying in. Best Other Rewards Card : Travelocity American Express (5 points per $=10 cents per $), Blue Sky Preferred (2 points per $=2.66 cents per $) Car Rental (10 cents per $) Highest payout : Travelocity American Express Best Cash-back Rewards Credit card : Chase Freedom (5% for three months in a year), Discover More (5% for 3 months in a year ), American Express True Earnings Card From Costco , Chase BP Visa (2% throughout the year) Best Airline Credit Card : Fidelity Aeroplan American Express (2 miles per $) Best Hotel Affinity Card : Starwood American Express (1 point per $=2.1 cents per $) Best Other Rewards Card : Travelocity American Express (5 points per $=10 cents per $), Blue Sky Preferred (2 points per $=2.66 cents per $) Everyday Purchases Grocery and Drugstore (5 cents per $) Highest payout : American Express Blue Cash Best Cash-back Rewards Credit card : American Express Blue Cash (5% after your total yearly spending exceeds 6500$), Chase Freedom (5% for three months in a year), Discover More (5% for 3 months in a year) Best Airline Credit Card : Asiana American Express (3 miles per $ at select stores ); United Mileage Plus Select visa (2 miles per $), Fidelity Aeroplan American Express (2 miles per $) Best Hotel Affinity Card : Hilton HHonors American Express (3 cents per $) Best Other Rewards Card : American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card ( 2 points per $=4 cents $) , Travelocity American Express (2 points per $=4 cents per $) Gas (5 cents per $) Highest payout : American Express Blue Cash Best Cash-back Rewards Credit card: American Express Blue Cash (5% after your total yearly spending exceeds 6500$), Chase Freedom (5% for three months in a year), Discover More (5% for 3 months in a year), Chase BP Visa if buying from BP (5%).
If you had an infinite wallet, what credit cards would you carry? – Part I
Part I: The cent value of miles/points Let us consider a hypothetical situation. Consider the case that you had every cashback/miles/points Credit Card possible. How would you maximize the value of rewards on your spending? This is a complicated question and requires detailed analysis of various credit cards along with the valuation of various miles/points…
Email Inbox: Using Starwood points for Air travel
One of my readers asked me a question via email about using Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) points for Air travel. As I have discussed in two different articles before, SPG is one of the most versatile programs out there will a myriad of ways to redeem their points. Using SPG points for air travel itself…