Written by Loyalty Traveler @ BoardingArea
Gray whale migration is swimming south this January past the Monterey Peninsula of California’s Central Coast. I walked from Highway 1 into Point Lobos State Reserve around 11:40am and after a little more than a mile walk through the Monterey pin…
Author: Loyalty Traveler
Choice Privileges Buy Points to Feb 4, 2020 lowest price in years
Written by Loyalty Traveler @ BoardingArea
Choice Privileges is currently offering the lowest price in years through their own site at $6.93 per 1,000 points through Feb 4, 2020 during the 30% discount sale. A Choice Privileges member can buy a maximum 120,000 points through this offer. Choice …
Amsterdam winter light of day
Written by Loyalty Traveler @ BoardingArea
Amsterdam at 52 degrees North latitude places the Dutch capital at a more northerly location than any state in the USA, except Alaska. Visiting in late December means fewer than 8 hours between sunrise around 8:45am and sunset around 4:30pm. Chances ar…
SFO to Barcelona $494 Air Canada July dates, $306 August
Written by Loyalty Traveler @ BoardingArea
Every year for the past several years there are short periodic sales in the winter and spring months for July travel to Europe. One of these is happening now with Air Canada ticket prices as low as $494 round trip for San Francisco to Barcelona for som…
Hotel Review Mercure Amsterdam Canal District great location
Written by Loyalty Traveler @ BoardingArea
Mercure Amsterdam Centre Canal District for two nights starting Christmas Day was my second stay for Le Club Accorhotels, now rebranded as ALL-Accor Live Limitless, September 2019 promotion for 6,000 bonus points after 3 two-night stays. The advance pu…
Amsterdam open Christmas Day
Written by Loyalty Traveler @ BoardingArea
Amsterdam is a great city for a tourist visiting on Christmas Day. Most grocery stores, markets, restaurants, bars and coffeeshops are open on Christmas Day. Most city museums are open. Public transportation runs on a Sunday schedule. Except for many r…
SJC-Maui $152rt; SFO-Boston $113rt with Alaska Airlines 2-for-1. Buy Dec 20, fly Jan 7-Feb 12.
Written by Loyalty Traveler @ BoardingArea
San Jose to Maui for $152 round trip and San Francisco to Boston for $113 round trip are just two example ticket prices for Alaska Airlines during today’s (Dec 20, 2019) Buy One Get One sale. There are specific routes on sale and flights must hap…
SFO to Kenya or Tanzania $575-$620 Star Alliance Jan-May 2020
Written by Loyalty Traveler @ BoardingArea
Star Alliance airlines have dropped ticket prices to $575 for San Francisco to Nairobi, Kenya NBO and around $620 to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania for travel departures from mid-January to mid-May 2020. Most tickets are bookable online through United, Luftha…
One good reason to buy Wyndham Rewards buy point 40% bonus to Jan 13
Written by Loyalty Traveler @ BoardingArea
Today I spent a couple hours studying Wyndham Rewards opportunities for high value points redemptions based on the Wyndham Rewards buy points 40% bonus points promotion through Jan 13, 2020. This is the first time I recall Wyndham Rewards offering disc…
Wine tasting with dogs in Carmel-by-the-sea, California
Written by Loyalty Traveler @ BoardingArea
Dog friendly spaces, scenic beauty and more than a dozen wine tasting rooms steps apart in the middle of the city center commercial blocks are attractions for this small community of 5,000 residents on California’s Central Coast in Monterey Count…
Over 160 hotel brands in 9 major hotel loyalty programs
Written by Loyalty Traveler @ BoardingArea
There were 134 hotel brands in nine major hotel loyalty programs when I compiled a list 21 months ago in February 2018. Today I compiled a new list to find more than 160 different hotel brand names, hotel chain parterships and vacation rentals in these…
Budget travel at 20 Marriott Category 1 AC Hotels across Spain
Written by Loyalty Traveler @ BoardingArea
Spain can be a real budget travel deal with Marriott Bonvoy points. There are 100 Marriott brand hotels in Spain with 20 of those hotels sitting at Marriott Bonvoy category 1 with a standard reward night rate of 7,500 points. All 20 of these Spain cate…
New York JFK to Madeira Island, Portugal $225 round trip winter 2020
Written by Loyalty Traveler @ BoardingArea
TAP Portugal has an incredibly low ticket price at $225 round trip for New York to Madeira Island, Portugal for winter 2020 travel. Madeira is an autonomous region of Portugal in the Atlantic located 600 miles southwest of Lisbon. Lowest fare departure…
Los Angeles to Cape Town, South Africa $696 Qatar Airways
Written by Loyalty Traveler @ BoardingArea
If a 16 hour flight LAX to Doha, followed by an 8 hour airport layover, then another 10 hour flight to South Africa does not scare you off, then $696 round trip might be quite a deal to travel half-way around the world. One of the best features of the …
Monterey off-season
Written by Loyalty Traveler @ BoardingArea
November is the beginning of off-season tourism around Monterey, California. Traditionally November means the start of the California rain season where five to six months offer rain showers and potential for major Pacific storms on the Central Coast of…
SFO/SJC to Rome $390 AA and UA Jan-May 2020
Written by Loyalty Traveler @ BoardingArea
American Airlines and United Airlines have dropped ticket prices to $390-$410 for flights from San Francisco SFO and San Jose SJC to Rome FCO for travel departures from January to early May 2020. These deals are also available with some Oneworld and St…
United SFO to London $488 nonstop in July 2020
Written by Loyalty Traveler @ BoardingArea
Initially I planned to write an article on how to nest two round trip tickets for a winter trip and a summer trip to London at a discount ticket price compared to summer ticket prices. Turns out that strategy is not necessary today since United Airline…
United LAX to Dublin $461 for St. Patrick’s Day
Written by Loyalty Traveler @ BoardingArea
United Airlines and other airlines have LAX to Dublin priced from $444 to $462 for travel from late November through March 2020, even during St. Patrick’s Day week March 17. United Airlines Los Angeles LAX – Newark EWR – Dublin DUB &#…
InterContinental Monterey pool view room, he jokingly bragged
Written by Loyalty Traveler @ BoardingArea
A pool view room with balcony at InterContinental The Clement Monterey, a 70,000 points IHG property on the Pacific Ocean waterfront of Monterey’s Cannery Row, seemed like an opportunity to celebrate a big score for my free Chase credit card anni…
IHG Pointbreaks hotel list Oct 28-Jan 31, 2020
Written by Loyalty Traveler @ BoardingArea
IHG Rewards Club has posted a list of hotels for 5,000 points, 10,000 points and 15,000 points for reward nights through January 31, 2020. Members can book up to two PointBreaks reward stays per hotel. PointBreaks Hotels for 5,000 Points Oct 28-Jan 31,…