A Great Day Yesterday

Chase is being very generous again. They are offering various points bonus to encourage people to spend money on various credit cards. Yesterday, I received my third bonus offer from Chase Hyatt.

This time the offer is spend $6,000 by the end of 2013 and earn 6,000 Hyatt Gold Passport Points.

Others are reporting that they have received emails offering 5,000 points after spending $3,000 in 3 months. This is similar to my previous two offers.

This offer would be good on its own. However, I received a similar offer from my Personal Southwest Visa.

If I spend $5,000 in 3 months I will earn 3,000 bonus Rapid Rewards points.

Neither of the offers are jump up and down amazing. However, since I don't have any minimum spends to hit, I will move my spending over to these cards.

Did you get any offers from Chase?

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Earn 5,000 Bonus Hyatt Gold Passport Points

If you are Chase Hyatt Credit Card holder check your mail for a summer bonus offer that could earn you a bonus 5,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points if you spend $3,000 or more on your Hyatt Credit Card from July 1 to September 30.

The 5,000 bonus is in addition to the points that you will earn on your $3,000 spend. Hyatt has a helpful breakdown of extra points that you could earn on various items. You can earn 3 points per $1 spent at Hyatt properties, 2 points per $1 spent at restaurants, airline tickets purchased directly from the airline or at car rental agencies, finally 1 point per $1 spent anywhere else. So on the low end you can earn 8,000 extra Hyatt points for $3,000 in spending.

This is a good deal if you are not in the process of meeting a minimum spend on another credit card and you are in the market to gain some Hyatt points. If you have a Hyatt redemption in mind, its even better. With top Hyatt properties at a very accessible 22,000 points putting an 8,000 point dent is always a plus.

To register you can visit hyatt.mychasebonus.com/summer5k or call 1-877-532-3803 to register.
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Donate Hyatt Gold Passport Points to Help Oklahoma Tornado Victims

Growing up in Kansas has made me acutely aware of the dangers of severe storms and tornadoes. I'll never forget being just three or four years old and having to leave a restaurant dinner with my parents and my grandparents because a storm was coming in. On the way home I turned around in my car seat and saw a tornado on the ground behind us. The storm missed us, but others are not so lucky. 

The disaster in Oklahoma was a horrible event and I am so sorry for all of those that lost a loved one and their homes. Companies across the country have started to chip in and if you are interested in helping out Hyatt Hotels is taking donations of Hyatt Gold Passport points to transfer donations to the American Red Cross. More details from Hyatt are below:

On Monday, May 20^th a massive tornado struck the Oklahoma City region leaving a path of destruction in its wake. 

Our thoughts are with those who have been deeply impacted by this disaster. 

To support the immediate needs and long-term recovery of the affected communities, Hyatt is donating $50,000 to the American Red Cross.  In addition, we pledge to match the total donations from Hyatt guests, associates and others up to $25,000 through June 30, 2013. 

At this time, we invite you to join our matching gift campaign for the American Red Cross in the following two ways:

1.     You can donate your Hyatt Gold Passport® points in 5,000 point increments. Each 5,000 point donation results in a $25 USD gift to the American Red Cross. To donate your points, please call Hyatt Gold Passport Customer Service toll free at +1.800.228.3360 in the U.S. and Canada or +1.402.593.8615 when outside the U.S. and Canada.

2.     To make a cash donation, please visit Hyatt's American Red Cross donation page.  

No contribution is too small.

We thank you for teaming up with Hyatt and the American Red Cross to rebuild communities where our associates, guests and neighbors have been affected by this disaster.

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Check Your Mail: 5,000 Hyatt GoldPoint Offer

I came home tonight from a very busy day to some happiness. I received a piece of mail offering me 5,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points after spending $3,000 on the Chase Hyatt Credit Card. Scott at Hack My Trip reported getting the offer last evening just before we posted.

One needs to visit https://hyatt.mychasebonus.com or call 1-877-532-3815.

 Since you need an enrollment code, I guess its limited to those who got it. However, check your snail mail, because I though this was a flyer talking about their Spring stay bonus and almost tossed it,

Well, time to switch some spending.

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Earning My Southwest Companion Pass

In my most credit card churn, see here, I got both the Southwest Personal and Business credit cards. Both cards earn 50,000 miles after spending $2,000 in three months. The reason I got both cards is to get the Southwest's Companion Pass. You can learn all about the Companion Pass on Southwest's website here. In short, the companion pass allows your chosen person to fly with you free on any purchase or free Southwest flight.

One can earn the Southwest Companion Pass by earning 110,000 miles in one calender year. The key term here is "earn." One does not need to earn the miles by flying alone.

Therefore getting the two Southwest Cards puts be almost 95% the way to a companion pass:

50,000 Point Sign-Up Bonus for Personal Card
2,000 Earned by Spending $2,000 on the Personal Card
50,000 Point Sigh-Up Bonus for Business Card
2,000 Earned by Spending $2,000 on the Business Card

So far, I have earned 104,000 Southwest Miles leaving me 6,000 miles short of the Companion Pass. I could spend $6,000 more on either or both cards and be finished, but that will divert my spending ability from other cards that I value more. Therefore, I need to find other ways of earning 6,000 Rapid Reward Miles and quickly.

Here is my plan (so far):

1,000 Filing taxes through TurboTax (Southwest Merchant Portal here)
2,000 eRewards Transfer ($100 eRewards = $2,000 Points)

I have no plan for the last 3,000 Rapid Rewards. Here are some of my ideas:

1) Transfer 5,000 Choice Privilege Points = 1,800 Rapid Reward Points
2) Transfer 5,000 Hyatt Points = 2,400 Rapid Reward Points
3) Sign Up for Southwest Dining Rewards and spend $25 = 300 Rapid Reward Points
4) Stay at a Wyndham Hotel =1,200 Rapid Reward Points

As you can see,there aren't really any cheap slam dunk ideas to get that last 3,000 points. These 3,000 points are very violable. The sooner I earn them the sooner I earn the Companion Pass.

After looking at my options, I might need to just spend the extra $3,000 on the credit cards. Not what I want to do, but what I may need to do.

Am I missing some great way of earning 3,000 Rapid Reward Points asap and cheaply?




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Earning Hyatt Points While Not Staying at Hyatt

EDIT: Thanks to @Jamucsb for remembering that it was Gary from View From the Wing with the original post!

I love the blog community. Everyday, I seem to learn a new trick, a new policy or get inspired by a new destination. What I love even more is when a learned trick or policy turns into points in the bank?

Case in point: A while back some blogger (I don't remember who, so I apologize for not hat tip)  explained that one could earn Hyatt points for eating at one of their restaurants or getting spa treatments, even if you were not staying at the hotel.

On V-Day, my boss and I held a luncheon for a few of our real estate agents at the Blue Duck Tavern located at the Park Hyatt in Washington, DC. I had booked the event in early January and kind of forgot about it until I read this blogger's post about earning points at restaurants at Hyatts.

I immediately sent an email to my contact at the restaurant inquiring about earning points for the event. Her quick response was "of course you can, just send over your Hyatt Gold Passport number." The result was about 5,000 more points in the bank!

Hyatt FAQ page has a whole tab devoted to Earning and Redemption in Restaurants and Spas. The important ones are:

7.

How can I earn points for F&B and Spa when not staying at the hotel? If member is a Hyatt Gold Passport (HGP) member and visit participating restaurants or spas, member will provide HGP account number to the Hyatt Associate at the outlet at time of payment to process the earned points (5 HGP points per $1USD) on eligible charges.

8.

What is eligible for earning at restaurants and spas? Eligible changes vary on a hotel-by-hotel basis, but generally include spa and salon services, spa and salon retail items, and food and beverage expenditures (except at outlets not operated by the hotel). Points will not be awarded on tips, service charges, taxes, gratuities and alcoholic beverage purchases in certain jurisdictions. (Alcohol excluded where prohibited by law). Other exclusions may apply.

Not all charges are eligible to receive points. On our bill, we did not receive points for alcoholic beverages, which were flowing, the tip, DC's outrageous 10% food tax or the parking for our guests and us.

To see which Hyatt hotel's restaurants and spas participate, go to this website.

The luncheon was a major success and the food made love in. It was AMAZING. Here is a peak at our menu, personally customized for the event:

If you have never been to the Blue Duck Tavern, you must go. The service is amazing, the kitchen is open and the food screams in your mouth. The Gold Passport Points are only the cherry on top of the homemade ice cream!

Thank you to whomever wrote about earning points at Hyatt Restaurants!!!!

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European Holiday - Hyatt Regency London - The Churchill

Introduction 
DCA - JFK
Radisson Martinique on Broadway 

JFK - Milan Maplensa 

Lake Como and Dinner in Milan

Park Hyatt Zurich

Zurich (Uetilberg Look Out and Lake Zurich Cruise)

Intercontinental Geneva  

Is it a Queen or a Double Bed? The DoubleTree Westminster  

The Hyatt Regency - The Churchill

First Time in First: AA LHR - JFK

After our night at the DoubleTree Westminster we checked out and hopped on a bus over to the Hyatt Regency London - The Churchill which is located right off of Oxford Street and just a few blocks from the Marble Arch Tube stop. This is a GREAT location to tour London from. You are just a block or two from Hyde Park and right on the main shopping street in central London. The great thing about Oxford Street is also the sheer amount of bus routes that are accessible. You can get to almost any point in London from Oxford Street and I would argue it will be better and even faster on some routes than taking the Tube.

The lobby of The Churchill is very visually impressive and it was also very very busy when we checked in. It was New Year's Eve so the city was packed with revelers ready to bring in 2013. The lobby is adorned with marble floors and columns and was still decorated beautifully for the holidays. On one end is the restaurant (which we didn't get a chance to try) and to the right is the check in desk. Above the check in desk is a beautiful picture of the Queen that is so striking I just had to keep looking at it every time we walked by the desk.

The staff was absolutely swamped with people checking in and out, but they were beyond apologetic for the wait and were so so kind and welcoming that we didn't mind at all. We were quickly checked in and confirmed that we were using one of our free nights from the Hyatt Chase Visa sign up and welcomed as Platinum members. With our keys in hand we headed up to the eighth floor and to our room.

Check In Desk

Lobby

Lobby

We were given a king room just off one of the corners of the hotel. The room is smaller, but the hotel has made great use of the space. There is a build in closet on one side of the bed and a set of drawers on either side of the bathroom wall that has a tv on top. The room is adorned with classic pictures of London and there is a very comfortable sitting area by the window. Sadly the hotel is surrounded by buildings so there isn't much of a view, but that's alright because the service of the hotel and the kindness of the employees is worth not having a view.

Bed

Bathroom

Sitting area and dresser

This is one of those hotels that just impresses overall. Nothing specifically stands out as amazing, but it was just a great overall hotel. I felt like we were getting the service level of a Park Hyatt and it would be my first choice hotel the next time we go to London.

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European Holiday: Park Hyatt Zurich

Introduction 

DCA - JFK
Radisson Martinique on Broadway 

JFK - Milan Maplensa 

Lake Como and Dinner in Milan

Park Hyatt Zurich

Zurich (Uetilberg Look Out and Lake Zurich Cruise)

Intercontinental Geneva  

Is it a Queen or a Double Bed? The DoubleTree Westminster  

The Hyatt Regency - The Churchill

First Time in First: AA LHR - JFK

I am very sorry for the delay in continuing this trip report. I now see why it's so hard to finish a complex trip when real life gets in the way sometimes.

But...if you will dive back in with me we are heading out of Milan on a EuroRail train to Zurich. The train ride taked about 4 hours total and stops seven or eight times along the route. The total cost for reserved seats for each of us was about 65 Swiss Francs. But the views from the train were worth every penny. We went from rainy Milan through the Alps where it was dumping buckets of snow and pulled into a cold Zurich around 2:00 pm.

First View of the Alps 

First view of snow! 

 After hopping off the train we headed to the tourism office for Zurich which was located inside the train station before you exit to the trams. Here you can buy a 24-hour transit pass for all of the trams and local trains. You can also buy the Zurich Card which costs 24 Francs for 24 hours or 48 Francs for 72 hours. The Zurich Card gets you a transit card for the trams and trains while you are in town (including to/from the airport), a cruise on Lake Zurich, entrance to most of the popular museums in town, discounts on shopping and dining and a discount on a few guided tours.

We were not as interested in the museums since we only had a short amount of time in the city so we ended up buying a 24-hour transit pass and a 24-hour Zurich Card for our second day in the city. That way we could explore on our own for the first day and on the second day we could take the cruise on Lake Zurich and go to a look out point above the city on a local train.

After purchasing our Zurich Card we headed on the trams to the Park Hyatt Zurich. From the train station you can take the 2, 7 or 13 tram and get off after 4 our 5 stops at Stockerstrasse from there you turn left and the Park Hyatt will be two blocks on the right side.

I know many of you have seen the reviews that those on the SMD4 posted from this beautiful hotel, but let me tell you, pictures don't do it justice. The lobby is absolutely elegant and beautiful. The colors of the lobby are all a dark brown/black wood that just screams warm and welcoming. But that could be the cold temps and the inviting fire talking to me from the lobby sitting area as well.

We were quickly escorted to the check-in desk and offered the opportunity to finish checking-in inside our room, but we decided to just check-in at the desk. That was a good thing because we had some trouble with our reservation since we had booked them with free nights from the Hyatt Visa Card that each of us had. Hyatt Reservations had combined the reservations into one, but the computer wasn't showing it that way so we had to wait a bit for them to make the computer behave. They finally got it taken care of and the very nice check-in agent escorted us to our King Room on the 4th floor and showed us around the room and explained all the features of the room (including the very important "how to turn on the lights" and put the "do not disturb" light on).

The room its self was very beautiful and simple. When you walk in the bathroom is to your right and next to that is a large walk-in closet which included two "Park Hyatt Zurich" bathrobes, which were very comfortable. In the entry way was a dresser which had a few drawers for storage but was the main location for the mini-bar and safe. But on top was a beautiful fruit plate as a welcome gift that was put out again on our second day. This served as the perfect afternoon snack.

Entry Way 

Welcome Fruit Plate 

When you head past the dresser you enter into the main part of the room. On the right was the king bed which featured a night stand on either side with knobs and buttons that adjusted the lighting all over the room. Which I never quite was able to figure out...so most of the time I just repeatedly pushed buttons to find the right setting.

Across from the bed was the larger dresser and television which had a good selection of channels, but had BBC Radio, which is my absolute favorite thing and was on for most of our stay. To the left of the tv and dresser was a large glass desk and an arm chair next to the window which looked out over the street in front of the hotel. One of the craziest things was the retractable shade on the outside of the window that was used instead of a shade on the inside of the window. You could press a button and the shade would automatically go down or up on the outside of the room.

King Bed

Desk and Chair 

Accent Lighting Piece 

Turning back to the front of the room there was a sliding set of doors that opened up into the beautiful marble bathroom and tub. The tub was right on the edge of the set of doors and just beyond that was the shower which had both a hand shower AND a rain head shower. I love rain head showers and will take any excuse to use one so I was pretty happy about that. The room also featured a warming rack for the towels and a beautiful marble sink with a selection of high end cosmetics which Kelsey was excited about.

Sliding Doors to the Bathroom 

Marble Vanity 

Soaker Tub

Rain Head Shower 

The room and the hotel were very beautiful and I can see why people love the Park Hyatt brand. The simple touches that the put with every bit of service in the hotel was so welcome. The constant questions of if we need anything and if we needed directions, suggestions or reservations was so great and the awesome Park Hyatt umbrella they let me use in the rain was wonderful. I don't know that I would ever pay the full rate for a night in the hotel (that's my penny pinching ways) but if I win the lottery or get more free night certificates I would not hesitate to spend it at the Park Hyatt Zurich again!

New Features Coming on Oct. 1 to the Hyatt Credit Card

I just received the following message in my inbox from Hyatt with regards to my Chase Hyatt Credit Card: 


"On October 1, your Hyatt Credit Card will offer brand new features that can make your purchases and Hyatt stays even more rewarding. As an existing cardmember, you will be able to enjoy these features as soon as they launch – you do not need to register or reapply.

EARN MORE HYATT GOLD PASSPORT POINTS
Your Hyatt Credit Card could help you earn more Hyatt Gold Passport^® points than ever before, whether you’re dining at your favorite neighborhood restaurant or flying around the world.
new Earn 2 Hyatt Gold Passport points for every $1 spent at restaurants, on airline tickets when purchased directly from the airline, and at car rental agencies.¹
Plus, you’ll continue to earn 3 Hyatt Gold Passport points for every $1 spent at Hyatt properties worldwide and 1 Hyatt Gold Passport point for every $1 spent elsewhere.¹
There’s no limit to the number of points you can earn, and points never expire. Use your Hyatt Credit Card for all of your purchases, and see how quickly your points add up.

ENJOY ELITE STATUS
As a Hyatt Credit Cardmember, you’re entitled to Hyatt Gold Passport Platinum membership for as long as you are a cardmember.²
new You’ll also have an opportunity to earn and maintain Diamond status—our highest level of membership—more easily. When you spend the following amounts in a calendar year, we will award you with credits towards Diamond status:³
    $ 20,000 annually = 2 stay / 5 night credits
    $ 40,000 annually = an additional 3 stay / 5 night credits
Diamond status is achieved by completing either 25 stays or 50 nights at Hyatt properties each calendar year. Use your Hyatt Credit Card for every purchase and you’ll be even closer to enjoying all of the benefits of our most elite level of  membership."

So, it looks like Hyatt is joining other partners with the ability to spend your way to Diamond status. 

Hotel Flexibility by Chris

As a result of getting both of the American Airlines credit cards using the well-publicized 2 browser trick, Kelsey and I have four companion certificates between the two of us.

While this is a great benefit, the bad thing is that the certificates expire on November 30th! But the good part is that it means we have lots of travel coming up. We are in the back-end of our first trip on a companion pass to visit my parents in Seattle. In four weeks we are headed to Chicago to visit a few of Kelsey's friends, and her parents and relatives are driving up to meet us as well.

Kelsey's parents used points to book a hotel at the Grand Hyatt Magnificent Mile and I figured that at 15,000 points for a reward night it would be a good value for us as well. So I went through and transferred the points from Chase via my Chase Sapphire Card. The points transferred instantly and so I went through the booking process only to find that the Hyatt was fully booked and no reward nights were available. The only rate available was $450 for one night!!! Wayyyyyy beyond our budget so we will end up bunking up with her parents for a night.

The real problem is....what to do with those 15,000 points I have sitting in my Hyatt account.

I brilliantly (it happens very rarely :p) remembered that we were paying $300 for two nights at a Double Tree in Denver and could cancel it without any penalty. So I called up Hyatt to check for availability in Denver and found that I could get a free night at the Grand Hyatt Denver and just pay $150 for the second night!

The lesson I learned from this story is to not panic if the plans don't go exactly as you want them to. One perfectly laid plan can adapt to help you in another trip.

Hope you are all having a wonderful Labor Day!