Sunday, February 5, 2017
Today is going to be a good day. You woke up and decided to take the first step. Good attitude, good credit and an open mind. Make your coffee, add the Irish Cream and then now what…
This is where the wheels come off for most because of information overload. I live on my IPhone and you’ll find the app store has most of the following apps for free. I’m sure Android offers a similar venue. Either way, your screen is about to get cluttered.
The easiest way to begin is to choose a Hotel Chain. We’ll start with Hilton. Hilton was very intimidating because of well, it’s Hilton. Images of incredible Luxury and Expense plus it didn’t help with the pictures of Paris Hilton floating around cyberspace living a life of hedonistic opulence. Being cheap and maybe a little envious, this was my White Whale. Moving on…
Hilton is actually a mixture of Luxury AND value. Hilton owns/operates many hotels including Hampton Inn, Embassy Suites, Doubletree and Waldorf Astoria. Next Steps…
1. Go to Hilton.com, explore the website and become familiar with the brands
2. Sign up, its free and provides you with a Hilton Honors Number. Welcome to the Party.
3. Play with the “search for a hotel” area. Choose a date, How many rooms you’ll need then turn on the “Use Hilton Honors Points” toggle. Finally you’ll arrive at the “Add Special Rate Code” section. The Three that most likely matter to you are the AAA, AARP and the Government/Military section. Toggle on all that apply.
***********Get AAA or AARP, the benefits/discounts are worth it especially the AAA. http://www.AAA.com and http://www.AARP.org
4. Don’t worry about accidently making a reservation, the system will warn you before it actually places the reservation.
*********** A Note about cyber security, these websites will ask you a lot of questions, the required questions usually have a red asterisk and the balance can be ignored. But let’s be realistic, your 12 year old neighbor, loaded with a can of Redbull and a few hours to kill, could probably dredge up more information about you on-line than you could ever imagine. Two takeaways: 1. Teenagers are evil 2. You can always call Hilton at 1-800-446-6677.
You’ve looked at Hilton and have seen the cost per night and/or points required plus you’ve had to choose how many beds and what kind of room it is and AAAGH! In the next post I will “dumb it down” and we’ll get knee deep in how to get the best value using either cash or PMs from a Credit Card…or both.
Travelinggump.Com 