I just received an invite to join e-miles for Intercontinental's Priority Club. Nice! One mile equals 1.5 PC points, so I'm adding up at a nice clip. Hopefully, this will knock out a thousand points for GS13.
On the downside, it's hard keeping track of all those email addresses.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
e-rewards: Going to Hilton
After an internal battle trying to figure out what to do with my $100 in e-rewards and they are going to Hilton. I get a pretty good bang for the buck in a program that I use, which helps even if there is no GS12. I thought about Choice, but they can take a while and I didn't want to miss the end of the quarter. Priority Club only gets me 4,000 points and I need 10,000 to convert, so that may go next, assuming 2Q12 is good for me.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
More e-miles today
Just remembered to do a bunch of e-miles clicks, so I'm at about 225 points there.
Today's March 6, meaning that we're about halfway to GS12! Six months or so to go.
Today's March 6, meaning that we're about halfway to GS12! Six months or so to go.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Broke $100 on e-Rewards
I finally broke $100 on e-Rewards. Now comes the hard part: where to transfer it.
I already have a ton of Hilton points, so that's an easy, if expensive hit, if I need it.
I have no Choice points, but they're easy enough to acquire.
I have plenty of Club Carlson points.
I don't trust that La Quinta will still be a partner next year.
I also have plenty of Priority Club points.
I'm leaning toward transferring them to Choice right now, but there's plenty of time, since we're not even in the second calendar quarter.
I already have a ton of Hilton points, so that's an easy, if expensive hit, if I need it.
I have no Choice points, but they're easy enough to acquire.
I have plenty of Club Carlson points.
I don't trust that La Quinta will still be a partner next year.
I also have plenty of Priority Club points.
I'm leaning toward transferring them to Choice right now, but there's plenty of time, since we're not even in the second calendar quarter.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
E-miles and E-Rewards
Don't forget to check those E-miles accounts! I'm now up to 195 points. Not much, but I only need 500 to get a hit next year.
I did read a report on FT of someone getting booted for having multiple accounts. No idea what caused E-Rewards to catch on, though. I'm up to about $86 in my account, so I'm closing in on points for another hit.
I did read a report on FT of someone getting booted for having multiple accounts. No idea what caused E-Rewards to catch on, though. I'm up to about $86 in my account, so I'm closing in on points for another hit.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Preparing for GS12: Club Carlson now complete!
Every once in a while I get lucky. A few months ago, I caught a promo where Club Carlson offered 9,000 points for renting a car. They just showed up so, if CC is a partner for next year, I've got one more hit. Keep an eye out for those car rental promos, they tend to be good ones.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
e-rewards pays: Received my $25 gift card
For a lucky few, e-Rewards offers a $25 Target gift card as one of the prizes. Just got mine yesterday! Hey, it's better than the equivalent hotel points.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Merry New Year!
Some people call it the most wonderful time of the year. Screw that. I hate any time of the year when my elite balances are going to turn to zero.
Having said that, I have a lot to be thankful for. After a year of unemployment, I found a job. My wife recovered from a serious illness. And I have two wonderful kids who continue to thrive, even if dinner time is a struggle. 2010 was an F. 2011 was an A-.
As you know, I am not spending as much time on this blog, since there really isn't much going on for GS12. Most of my time is spent on two other blogs:
Mysuitepoints focuses solely on hotel deals. There were 10 or so hotel partners last year, and I look for deals that are either ridiculously cheap, or free. It's a site for "quick hits" rather than extensive analysis and I post as many deals as possible that won't be a waste of time.
Freepointsite is turning out to be a lot of fun. It focuses on non-travel loyalty programs, ranging from My Coke Rewards to Pampers Points. For the most part, it is a list of free codes to get points at any of those sites. I laughed at first until I realized A) how many free points these sites tend to give away and B) they have pretty good prizes (e.g., You can get movie tickets at Pampers Points.).
I update both of those sites daily and look forward to the day when I make my fortune from google adsense (Okay, that'll never happen.).
Points are good, but I hope that you have a safe, happy and healthy new year.
Having said that, I have a lot to be thankful for. After a year of unemployment, I found a job. My wife recovered from a serious illness. And I have two wonderful kids who continue to thrive, even if dinner time is a struggle. 2010 was an F. 2011 was an A-.
As you know, I am not spending as much time on this blog, since there really isn't much going on for GS12. Most of my time is spent on two other blogs:
Mysuitepoints focuses solely on hotel deals. There were 10 or so hotel partners last year, and I look for deals that are either ridiculously cheap, or free. It's a site for "quick hits" rather than extensive analysis and I post as many deals as possible that won't be a waste of time.
Freepointsite is turning out to be a lot of fun. It focuses on non-travel loyalty programs, ranging from My Coke Rewards to Pampers Points. For the most part, it is a list of free codes to get points at any of those sites. I laughed at first until I realized A) how many free points these sites tend to give away and B) they have pretty good prizes (e.g., You can get movie tickets at Pampers Points.).
I update both of those sites daily and look forward to the day when I make my fortune from google adsense (Okay, that'll never happen.).
Points are good, but I hope that you have a safe, happy and healthy new year.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Update: e-rewards, e-Miles, Wyndham
I'm currently at $58.21 on e-rewards, so I'm a little over halfway to getting enough points for one of the GS12 hits. Hey, it's a start, and we're not even in 2012. The e-rewards surveys have been coming a little more frequently, although they do come in waves. Hopefully, I'm not at the end of the wave.
e-Miles is so easy that I tend to forget about it. I had 70 points waiting for me and am now up to 165. I'll have no problem hitting the 500 mark. Note: When you sign up for a newsletter or free offer, it says to use the same email address that you use for your e-Miles account. That tends to lead to a lot of spam and I've never had a problem using an alternate address.
My easy Wyndham hit is now gone. There was a mistake fare for a Ramada in Mexico which allowed me to book two rooms for under $10 and qualify for the 6,500 bonus points for two stays. A number of people, however, have been having trouble with the hotel, and I don't feel like fighting with a hotel in Mexico. I cancelled the reservations.
e-Miles is so easy that I tend to forget about it. I had 70 points waiting for me and am now up to 165. I'll have no problem hitting the 500 mark. Note: When you sign up for a newsletter or free offer, it says to use the same email address that you use for your e-Miles account. That tends to lead to a lot of spam and I've never had a problem using an alternate address.
My easy Wyndham hit is now gone. There was a mistake fare for a Ramada in Mexico which allowed me to book two rooms for under $10 and qualify for the 6,500 bonus points for two stays. A number of people, however, have been having trouble with the hotel, and I don't feel like fighting with a hotel in Mexico. I cancelled the reservations.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Updates
It's been a busy few weeks preparing for GS12, a promotion that may not even exist next year. Having said that:
I rented a car this week using a Radisson promotion that would give me 9,000 points. We'll see if the points actually hit or if I need to fight with them.
FT pointed out a mistake fare for a Wyndham in Mexico city. Assuming that all goes to plan, which rarely happens, that'll be 6,500 of the 7,000 I need.
I'm up to $42 in e-Rewards and have just gotten a few new surveys. It's a long way to what I need, but with Club Carlson and Wyndham potentially done for next year, it will help.
I rented a car this week using a Radisson promotion that would give me 9,000 points. We'll see if the points actually hit or if I need to fight with them.
FT pointed out a mistake fare for a Wyndham in Mexico city. Assuming that all goes to plan, which rarely happens, that'll be 6,500 of the 7,000 I need.
I'm up to $42 in e-Rewards and have just gotten a few new surveys. It's a long way to what I need, but with Club Carlson and Wyndham potentially done for next year, it will help.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Don't let your emiles expire
I just got an email reminding me that I hadn't been to emiles in a while. Not a revelation, since I get this email about once per week.
What caught my eye, however, was that my account went inactive and my points were about to expire. Oops, can't have that. I logged back in and did one of the clicks.
Emiles is one of the easiest GS hits and, since you can get either Hilton points or US Airways points, it's actually worth two hits, although getting enough Hilton points to transfer to US Airways for a hit would involve a thousand clicks. You can speed it up by signing up for the 10-15 point offers, but be sure to use an email address that is not vital to avoid all the spam.
Bottom line: because it's so simple, it's easy to forget about it. Don't.
What caught my eye, however, was that my account went inactive and my points were about to expire. Oops, can't have that. I logged back in and did one of the clicks.
Emiles is one of the easiest GS hits and, since you can get either Hilton points or US Airways points, it's actually worth two hits, although getting enough Hilton points to transfer to US Airways for a hit would involve a thousand clicks. You can speed it up by signing up for the 10-15 point offers, but be sure to use an email address that is not vital to avoid all the spam.
Bottom line: because it's so simple, it's easy to forget about it. Don't.
Monday, November 21, 2011
More eRewards!
Okay, you're gonna get sick of hearing about eRewards, but I've been getting a bunch of them over the past week, so keep at it in preparation for GS12. I'm up to $28, which is about 5-10% of what I believe I will ultimately need, but a good start.
Note: DO NOT just click random answers. They have filters to grab people who are doing surveys faster than humanly possible and/or giving highly inconsistent answers. Get caught enough times and they'll shut you off.
Note: DO NOT just click random answers. They have filters to grab people who are doing surveys faster than humanly possible and/or giving highly inconsistent answers. Get caught enough times and they'll shut you off.
Friday, November 18, 2011
e-rewards surveys coming in, so start now!
e-rewards tends to go in fits and starts. Over the past several days, I have gotten lucky and qualified for one or two, along with a few that booted me. Take advantage of the surveys while you can, since you may not see another one for a while.
Why start now? $7,500 gets you 4,500 Club Carlson points. $100 in e-rewards currency can get you any of the following: 4,000 Choice points, 4,000 La Quinta points, 4,000 Priority Club points or 7,000 Hilton points. What do those all have in common? Not a single one will get you enough points for a hit. Furthermore, there may be limitations on the number of transfers to a particular partner in a quarter, which means you need to get these transferred by the end of September to be able to get a second transfer in during the third quarter to top off your balances. And let's not forget the 500 emiles you can get for $25 e-dollars or the actual US Airways hit you can get for transferring 25 e-dollars.
The bottom line is this: You are going to need several hundred e-dollars to convert to hotel points to max out on these hits. True, there are easier ways to get those hotel points, but e-rewards is consistent. The good news is that there is a lot of time between now and next September, so get crackin!
Why start now? $7,500 gets you 4,500 Club Carlson points. $100 in e-rewards currency can get you any of the following: 4,000 Choice points, 4,000 La Quinta points, 4,000 Priority Club points or 7,000 Hilton points. What do those all have in common? Not a single one will get you enough points for a hit. Furthermore, there may be limitations on the number of transfers to a particular partner in a quarter, which means you need to get these transferred by the end of September to be able to get a second transfer in during the third quarter to top off your balances. And let's not forget the 500 emiles you can get for $25 e-dollars or the actual US Airways hit you can get for transferring 25 e-dollars.
The bottom line is this: You are going to need several hundred e-dollars to convert to hotel points to max out on these hits. True, there are easier ways to get those hotel points, but e-rewards is consistent. The good news is that there is a lot of time between now and next September, so get crackin!
Thursday, November 17, 2011
What's next? Preparing for GS12
So now that I'm essentially done with GS11, I've decided to keep this blog open and start preparing for GS12. Granted, it could all be for naught, since they may not run the promo next year, or it may be so different that nothing from this year applies. My suspicion is that we will see the promo again, but with more restrictions added regarding minimum purchases and what counts/doesn't count. That means you, Audience Rewards.
Now is the time to start preparing. Yes, now. eRewards is your friend. You're going to need several hundred eRewards dollars if you want to convert them into hotel points for later transfer, so get started. It seems intimidating at first, since you start at zero (if you can even get an invite) and don't often qualify for surveys, but you'll thank yourself later. And yes, I'll put it out there one more time: the new blog focuses solely on hotel points. By the time GS12 rolls around, you'll easily have enough for several transfers. I put up one opportunity today that may get you almost halfway to the Radisson hit, no money required. I promise, that's the last of the self-promotion for today.
Emiles is an easy hit. Start it today.
I'll be posting my progress as I go along. Obviously, the postings won't be as frequent, but I will show up. Stay with me in the journey to next year.
Now is the time to start preparing. Yes, now. eRewards is your friend. You're going to need several hundred eRewards dollars if you want to convert them into hotel points for later transfer, so get started. It seems intimidating at first, since you start at zero (if you can even get an invite) and don't often qualify for surveys, but you'll thank yourself later. And yes, I'll put it out there one more time: the new blog focuses solely on hotel points. By the time GS12 rolls around, you'll easily have enough for several transfers. I put up one opportunity today that may get you almost halfway to the Radisson hit, no money required. I promise, that's the last of the self-promotion for today.
Emiles is an easy hit. Start it today.
I'll be posting my progress as I go along. Obviously, the postings won't be as frequent, but I will show up. Stay with me in the journey to next year.
Hit #37 posts. Pshaw...
No waiting this one out for me. Hit #37 posted today, so I'm pretty sure that I'll be getting those last 20,000 miles. Total cost for the promo? Just a hair under 0.52c per mile. And lots of fun.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
And it's over! Part II
Hilton hit. 36 hits achieved, another 20,000 miles to make their way to my US account. 100,000 total. The insurance hit, which will post Thursday, won't be necessary. Rats, I could have used that hotel stay to earn my 50,000 Radisson points as discussed here. Surprisingly, they still haven't gotten 50,000 sign-ups.
I wonder what I'll do with all my free time now. Start preparing for GS12, perhaps? I'm already building up the erewards points and really should get to work on emiles, but for now, I'm just going to think about where SQ is going to take me.
Thanks to those of you who have checked out the new blog. It's been fun to write and I hope that you will continue to follow it.
I wonder what I'll do with all my free time now. Start preparing for GS12, perhaps? I'm already building up the erewards points and really should get to work on emiles, but for now, I'm just going to think about where SQ is going to take me.
Thanks to those of you who have checked out the new blog. It's been fun to write and I hope that you will continue to follow it.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
And it's over!
Grand Slam 2011 has come to an end. Don't worry, there's still plenty of time for those hits to count. I'm still waiting on one of two, but you could have hits posting for the next several months, so don't fret!
Monday, November 14, 2011
Still waiting...
It's not quite "excruciating," but I'd like to get that 36th hit securely over the finish line. Is that mixing metaphors? I don't know if that's allowed on the internet.
The Hilton stay hit my Hilton account and now I'm waiting for it to get over to US Airways. And then I'll be done with this friggin' promo for another year.
Mysuitepoints.com is up and running and I'm having fun posting promos that you may or may not be interested in. But I encourage you to visit, since it makes me feel good.
The Hilton stay hit my Hilton account and now I'm waiting for it to get over to US Airways. And then I'll be done with this friggin' promo for another year.
Mysuitepoints.com is up and running and I'm having fun posting promos that you may or may not be interested in. But I encourage you to visit, since it makes me feel good.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Stuck at 35 for now...
But it should come to an end on Thursday, when my Hertz hit posts, if not before then.
I stayed in the Doubletree on Washington Street in Boston the other night as my safety hit and I'll give them credit where credit is due. I have no status at Hilton but my wife is Diamond. We were staying under my number, but when we mentioned that my wife is Diamond, they gave her a Diamond amenity and free internet access, anyway. Granted, the amenity is only two bottles of water and a couple of bags of fruit snacks, but we both appreciated the gesture.
Meanwhile, I'm continuing to focus most of my time on getting mysuitepoints.com up and running.
I stayed in the Doubletree on Washington Street in Boston the other night as my safety hit and I'll give them credit where credit is due. I have no status at Hilton but my wife is Diamond. We were staying under my number, but when we mentioned that my wife is Diamond, they gave her a Diamond amenity and free internet access, anyway. Granted, the amenity is only two bottles of water and a couple of bags of fruit snacks, but we both appreciated the gesture.
Meanwhile, I'm continuing to focus most of my time on getting mysuitepoints.com up and running.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
The new hotel blog is up!
And as an added bonus, it has a cool name: mysuitepoints.com. Get it? "Sweet?" "Suite?" Okay, let's face it, all the good names were gone, so I went for a cute pun. It will focus exclusively on hotel point opportunities, which aren't as numerous as airlines in terms of points, making them a little more fun to manipulate.
This site is a major work in progress. I'm going to try to post daily, just to get into the flow of things, but I'm looking for questions, comments and observations. I encourage you to check it frequently and make it a part of your daily grind. Of course, I'm a little biased.
This site is a major work in progress. I'm going to try to post daily, just to get into the flow of things, but I'm looking for questions, comments and observations. I encourage you to check it frequently and make it a part of your daily grind. Of course, I'm a little biased.
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