SPG's Latest Promotion

Starwood Preferred Guest is out with their latest promotion.  You must register by 10/15/16 and complete stays between 8/15/16 and 11/15/16.  The promotion may be targeted and it's possible that some may see a different offer.  You can check to see if you are eligible here.

 My offer provides 2,000 bonus SPG points after the second stay, 2.500 after the third and 3,000 after the fourth up to a total of 7,500 bonus points for four stays.

SPG promotion T's & C's

I already have 3 stays lined up during the promotion so will earn an easy 4,500 bonus points for stays I was going to complete anyway.  Is it worth it to mattress run for the additional 3,000 points?  I value the points at around $75 so even at a rate of $65 (which is possible but unlikely in Denver) there still isn't much value in doing so.

In that case, I'd earn 250 points for being a Gold Member, 5x points for being elite and putting the stay on my SPG Amex and 3,000 bonus points.  That is 3,580 points valued around $90.  Likely not worth the incremental time but if you were short on stay credits and could pick up the 3,000 bonus points, it might be worth it.

My points from my second stay during the promo in Istanbul already posted.

Review: Sheraton JFK Airport

Introduction
Introduction Part Two
Planning & Booking
Sheraton JFK Airport
Lufthansa Business Class Lounge JFK
Turkish Airlines 777-300ER Business Class New York (JFK) to Istanbul
Turkish Airlines Istanbul Arrivals Lounge
St. Regis Istanbul
Turkish Airlines CIP Lounge Istanbul
Turkish Airlines A330-300 Business Class Istanbul to Male
Transfer from Male to Conrad Maldives
Conrad Maldives
Transfer from Conrad Maldives to Male
Singapore Airlines 777-200 Business Class Male to Singapore
Crowne Plaza Changi Airport Singapore
Singapore Airlines SilverKris Business Class Lounge to Singapore
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER Business Class Singapore to Tokyo (HND)
Andaz Tokyo
ANA Suite Lounge Tokyo (NRT)
ANA 777-300ER First Class Tokyo (NRT) to Houston
American Express Centurion Lounge Houston (IAH)

We had a debate a few days ago about the merits of landing at Newark at 1:30AM and staying at a Newark airport hotel (as we had planned) and taking an Uber to JFK in the morning or suck it up, take the Uber at night when traffic would be light and stay at a JFK hotel.  JFK was the more expensive option but likely the most logical.

So we changed our plan and used an Amex offer ($50 off Sheraton spend of $250 or more) to bring the cost of the room down to $200.  We arrived around 2:45AM and left around 9:30AM it was a quick (and expensive) stay.  We could have used 10,000 points but I'm generally getting 2.5 cents+ per SPG point so decided to pay cash.  I did earn almost 250 SPG points from the Uber right from Newark to the hotel (3x points during SPG stays for Gold members).

I didn't take any pictures of the hotel given the short stay, but I would recommend it.  The room was clean, recently redone, and the bathroom was actually pretty nice for a Sheraton.  The best part (for me) was that the hotel sat directly under the flight path so I watched planes from bed this morning which is a real treat.  Some of you may find that as a con but definitely a pro in my book.

The shuttle (shared with the Hilton Garden Inn next door) was quick and efficient (leaves every 30 min 24 hours a day) and took about 8 minutes to get to Terminal 1.

Save $50 on Airfare with Amex Offers

If you've been reading ATRP, you know that I'm a huge fan of American Express Amex Offers.  Over the last few years, I've saved over $2,000 by leveraging Amex Offers to obtain statement credits on stuff I was going to buy anyway.

Nearly $1K in savings on one card

The concept is simple - login to your American Express account online, scroll down to the bottom and you'll see the available offers. Scroll through the offers that make sense for you, and click "Add to Card."  Meet the spend requirements at that merchant and you'll receive the statement credit a few days later.

Spend $300 on airfare, get a $50 statement credit

Amex is out with a targeted offer that will provide a $50 statement credit after spending $300 on airfare.  There aren't any restrictions on airline and it seems that a gift card would work to trigger the credit.  It's available through 10/31/16.  I'm pretty confident I'll be purchasing a flight between now and then so will just wait until I actually need to make a purchase vs. the gift card route.  Note that I was able to add this to my SPG Amex but the offer was not available on Emily's account.

$50 is $50.  Most people will be purchasing some sort of airfare for travel between now and next October so definitely worth checking to see if you can save $50 on the purchase.

The 5 Most Popular Posts of 2016

It's hard to believe we're almost two thirds of the way through 2016.  I meant to post this after the half way mark but just didn't get it done.  In order, here are the top five posts of this year thus far by page views.  Not surprisingly, all five are trip reports and three out of five are Singapore Airlines reviews.

1)  Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class Singapore to Hong Kong

This flight was a great end to last year's RTW adventure to Dubai, Maldives, and Singapore.  While it wasn't Suites Class, we did get to fly Singapore's gorgeous new first class which we both very much enjoyed.

2)  United Airlines 777-200 First Class Washington (IAD) to London (LHR)

United's getting rid of first class as they launch their new "Polaris" business class.  I'm glad we both got to sample United's first class offering before first class is removed from the fleet.  The flight was fine.  We both slept most of the way although the service was actually pretty great.

3)  Singapore Airlines 777-200ER Business Class Male to Singapore

We'll be taking this same route (although the day flight vs. the redeye) in a few weeks.  For a four hour flight from a remote island destination, you can't beat Singapore's seat, food, drinks, and service.

4)  Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class San Francisco to Hong Kong

There was a fair amount of drama in making this flight.  But thanks to a Christmas miracle, we made it and thoroughly enjoyed the waning hours of Christmas with Champagne in hand.

5)  Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa Dubai

The best hotel stay we've had thus far.  Al Maha is magical and I hope to return soon.  Check out the trip report for more details!

My Pre-Trip Logistics Routine

This is an update to an older post (from 2014) on logistics preparation before a long trip.  Since then, I've taken another half dozen or so of these trips and each trip has gone smoother than the last.  Traveling is stressful and the more you prepare upfront, the better. Here are some of the things I do in the weeks leading up to the trip.

1)  Build an Itinerary
When I was a kid and we would go on family vacations, my Mom would make these intense folders containing all the information about our destination.  Maps, articles, restaurant reviews, etc...I think the internet has made things a lot easier where it's much more manageable to rely on your phone as both a guide book and a "trip folder."  But I've found (especially in Asia) that having a printed copy of things is super helpful.  You may be asked for a confirmation number, the address of your hotel, or the credit card in which you booked your flight.  

So I always build an electronic (and then print several copies) itinerary containing our flights, hotels, lounge options, who we confirmed activities with, etc...it has really come in handy on more than a few occasions.  The act of building the itinerary (probably takes 30 minutes) forces me to ensure that all flights are confirmed and on the right day, hotels are booked, and we have all of the confirmation numbers/addresses should we not be able to use our phones.  Plus, it's an easy way to provide your friends and family with your trip plans and contact information.

Selecting Seats on ANA

Our upcoming trip has a long-haul segment in ANA first class which we're really excited about.  It will be our first visit to Japan as well as our first time flying a Japanese carrier.  A new country and a new airline to the list!

I had to book us on separate awards using Air Canada Aeroplan and United MileagePlus miles and thus ended up with two ticket numbers, booking reference numbers, etc...This morning I went to select seats on ANA's website and found it to be surprisingly simple.

First, go to ANA's US website and click on "My Booking."

ANA US website homepage

Planning & Booking: I'm Going Going, Back Back to Maldives, Maldives

Introduction
Introduction Part Two
Planning & Booking
Renaissance Newark Airport Hotel
Turkish Airlines 777-300ER Business Class New York (JFK) to Istanbul
Turkish Airlines Istanbul Arrivals Lounge
St. Regis Istanbul
Turkish Airlines CIP Lounge Istanbul
Turkish Airlines A330-300 Business Class Istanbul to Male
Transfer from Male to Conrad Maldives
Conrad Maldives
Transfer from Conrad Maldives to Male
Singapore Airlines 777-200 Business Class Male to Singapore
Crowne Plaza Changi Airport Singapore
Singapore Airlines SilverKris Business Class Lounge to Singapore
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER Business Class Singapore to Tokyo (HND)
Andaz Tokyo
ANA Suite Lounge Tokyo (NRT)
ANA 777-300ER First Class Tokyo (NRT) to Houston
American Express Centurion Lounge Houston (IAH)

We are just a few weeks away from our RTW adventure to Istanbul, Maldives, Singapore, and Tokyo.  This will be our second RTW trip in the last year and we're really excited about how this trip came together.  If you're interested in reading in previous updates, check out the latest introductory post.

Lots of flying but looks worth it

Hotels:

As it stands now, we have 9 hotel nights planned.  We needed a Newark overnight and I ended up booking the Marriott Renaissance Newark Airport for 25,000 Marriott Rewards points.  This ended up being a phenomenal use of points as the the hotel is selling for $249/night which comes to $288/night with taxes.  Getting more than 1 cent per Marriott point is amazing.

Renaissance Newark Airport Hotel Rates

In Istanbul, we ended up booking the St. Regis through American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts since we really need the ability to check-in early and in theory, we should be able to get in the room at noon or earlier.  The rate came to $251 USD with taxes.  That includes the early check-in, likely room upgrade, and $100 food and beverage credit.  While we could have certainly saved money by staying at the Park Hyatt ($180 USD/night) or a few other options, we wanted to checkout a new property in Istanbul and figured the rooftop Spago would be a nice way to end the day and burn our $100 credit.

St. Regis Istanbul Rooftop Views