2 Increased Offers: 10,000 Extra Points or $50 Statement Credit With AMEX Hilton Card

http://bit.ly/2kMIOOk

Let it me know what you think.

Big Changes by the tech department, we lost the “blogspot” and are now Travelinggump.com

A new look and it’s now easy to comment!

Happy Travels!

Tuesday, February 7, 2017
Writer’s block…I envisioned writing something witty and useful this morning. Not gonna happen…so we’re going to use my default setting, Bullet Points (no relation to Hilton Points…get it?… Ugh, ok).

Lets recap the process and benefits because most hotel chains work in a similar fashion. If you understand Hilton, you’re well on your way to understanding them all.

Sign up for the rewards program http://www.hhonors.com and save your new number.

Download the app or save the web site on your computer.

Sign in and explore.

Do some math, play with the points, remember that they are worth ~.005 cents each (10K pts ~$50

Explore Citi Hilton http://www.citi.com and American Express Hilton http://www.americanexpress.com and choose which one best suits your needs. Apply (if they stall ie: we need to review your info, message me and I will provide you with the phone number for their “Reconsiderations Department”. These are the actual people who approve or decline you and they will usually do it while you are on the phone. Most of the time, the initial delay is because a question about something was generated, income, address errors or something that a quick phone call can cure.

When you receive your card in the mail, celebrate and welcome it into the family!

Get serious and complete the spend as specified using your new card. Pay everything you can such as utilities, groceries etc…Try not to take the full 90 days, try for 70 or less if possible. (Don’t go wild on a spending spree either and remember that the balance must be paid off each month or the interest you pay ruins the value).

This Matters: There are many websites that talk about “Manufactured Spending” and other ways to earn points or meet the minimum spend by exploiting a cards rules or policies. Don’t go there. The programs provide plenty of opportunities to earn points in ways that you don’t have to worry whether you’ll be kicked out, and they will, or have your points clawed back.

After the points hit your account, consider the IHG card http://www.chase.com and, if you choose, follow the same plan and ask Hilton for a Status Match. (If your income levels and spending needs support it, get them both at the same time, swing for the fences!)

Remember, you earn points from the hotel from paid stays in addition to those you can receive from the credit card. This can add up to a very large number.

The no-fee cards from Citi and Amex come with Silver Status (Yawn…) and the fee cards come with Gold (Happy Dance).

Then, Go Somewhere! It works Worldwide and for some crazy reason, I get better value from using points OUTSIDE the United States.

Here are a few helpful websites that will add value to finding the great promos. They provide links to Hilton and other Hotel promo’s as they become available.

http://www.doctorofcredit.com
http://www.thepointsguy.com
http://www.frequentflyerbonus.com (This one is great for current promos for all forms of travel)
http://www.travelinggump.com (A shameless plug, I know… Message me and I’ll update you on promos as I watch them like a hawk)

Now that you have a good working foundation, in the next blog we’ll explore other Hotel Chains.

At the beginning of the movie Deadpool, the story stops suddenly and rewinds in time quite dramatically. That is what we kinda need to do now. At the end of the last post, I left you with a cliffhanger of sorts and lots of unanswered questions, such as where do these points come from and um, how do I get them?

First, when stay at a Hilton, you receive 10 points per dollar on room rate ($100 before taxes=1000 hhonors points. They have a lot of promos that 2x or 3x that amount per dollar. In addition, if you book through their app or have Elite status, extra points can also be added. Hilton is very generous with their points and seem to do all that they can (usually) to give them to you.

This Matters: Hotel points do not always have to come from hotel stays (as a percentage, about 25% of mine come from stays). They can come from obtaining the right Credit Card(s), signing up for Hilton’s many points promos, shopping at their (Hilton’s) on-line shopping portal, buying points on-line when the value is right and lastly, maximizing the points you receive when you do have to stay. In addition, you definitely want Hotel Elite Status. This, gloriously, does not require hotel stays either.

Having said that, its time to quit stalling and take a detailed look under the hood. Let’s stay with Hilton for now.

Scenario time: Jenny is 35 years of age, single and loves to travel. She makes $75,000 a year and works for a misogynistic micromanaging creep who pays her fellow male employees $80,000 a year….! Hmmm…I…um…yeah, well anyway, Jenny has excellent credit and is financially responsible.

The easiest way for Jenny to begin, is to look at the assortment of Credit Cards which are available in the market place. To simplify the process she could focus on Hilton credit cards of which there are basically two companies that fill the void (there may be more, probably is). American Express (www.americanexpress.com) and Citi (www.citi.com). Both companies offer sign up bonuses if you meet a minimum spend.

This Matters: A credit card can offer you a sum of points or miles if you agree to use the card and spend a certain amount of money on goods and services etc. over a certain amount of time. For example, spend $1000.00 on whatever within 90 days of the account opening and we will give you 50,000 points to be used at our Hotels/Airline. in addition, some cards will offer you Elite Hotel status for having and using their card. The best cards (subjective) usually come with some sort of yearly fee.

In the next post we’ll expand on the two card companies mentioned above and dig deeper into the myriad of benefits and perks offered by each as we get Jenny set up.

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.

TravelGump

In the beginning, there was Motel 6…In Arizona…and it was good. The staff was kind but the bed was not and I was not pleased. George Santayana wrote “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”. And, true to form, one week later, I stayed at another Motel 6 and was actually shocked that history had, yet again, repeated itself. Two takeaways: 1. I’m cheap and 2. I’m done staying at Hotel/Motels (does anyone really know the difference between the two?) with lousy beds. This was my Ah-Ha moment.

The problem was that the nice beds were hidden behind what I thought were very expensive walls. My firm would send us to wonderful hotels around the world but the room rates were ridiculous. Now you’ll notice I wrote “wonderful hotels” not places. This matters because I love hotels, I’m crazy about them. Lilly: We’re going to Rome! Me: That’s nice. Lilly: Were staying at the Westin Roma. Me: OMG! That is so awesome, I can’t wait to check out the rooms, the musty old world hotel smell and I’ll bet the bathrooms are marble and MAYBE there is a basement we can explore! Lilly: Seriously, you’re an idiot.

My travel hierarchy is this: Great Hotel (with one exception = Great bed and perks mentioned above
Where are we going to eat?
How are we going to get there?
Where are we eating again?
Oh yeah, where are we going?

I mention all this because in the Points and Miles “game” where you stay and how you get there are very big matters. It can be consuming and it definitely helps to be Obsessive/Compulsive, Competitive (I am a numbers guy and I love to win. A win is defined as a hotel stay or Airline flight that I didn’t have to pay for) and have the passion of a Police Detective to find the fantastic deals, which are everywhere. It also helps to have a spouse who has the patience of a Saint and the ability to act interested while completely blocking you out while you blather on relentlessly about airline miles and hotel points. One last thing, you must have good credit, be able to pay off credit cards in FULL every month and be willing to pick up the phone and POLITELY (what you say or do on Mute, however, is up to you) call whomever and state your case regarding whatever points/miles etc… that you are after. Above all be honest and kind to the people you speak to. The companies do watch and they will “claw back” points and close your account if they suspect you are cheating.