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Elite Status

Hilton HHonors Gold Status Fast Track (4 Stays in 90 Days)

May 29, 2012

Hilton announced a promotion for Carlson Wagonlit Travel customers that’s kind of like an airline elite status challenge. Travelers stay four times within 90 days of registering for the promotion to get HHonors Gold Status. Update: Some people have reported getting the upgraded status within minutes of signing up – I have Hilton Silver and [...]

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Travel Tuesday Top 10: Ways to Get Access to Airline Lounges

May 29, 2012

Airline lounges are becoming more and more sophisticated by the day, and are one way the major airlines try to build brand loyalty in an increasingly competitive marketplace, so I thought I’d take a look at the ten best ways you can get access the next time you’re flying without having to pay the annual [...]

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How Families Can Avoid Being Split Up On Airplanes

May 22, 2012

Scott Mayerowitz of the Associated Press just wrote a story about family summer travel and how often families are split up on airplanes with individual members having to sit alone unless they pay fees to sit in preferred or premium seating (or even just to have a chance at seat selection before check-in). That could [...]

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(Video) Sunday Reader Question: Pulling Rank With Elite Status Lines

May 13, 2012

TPG reader Brad writes: “I just checked into the Hyatt Regency O’Hare for my company’s annual training week. Obviously check-in was a nightmare with all of the people coming in. I have Hyatt elite status so I walked right up to the Platinum/Diamond line and waited behind the guy being checked in. Everyone else was [...]

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Reminder: American Airlines Double EQM Promos Incl Dallas, Chicago, Boston and West Coast

April 19, 2012

I thought I wrote about the most recent AA double EQM promo targeting Boston, but just realized not only did I forget – but I forgot to register too! So here goes – if you are an AA flyer, make sure you are signed up for these promotions. Even if you don’t have any travel [...]

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Travel Tuesday Top 10: Hotel Loyalty Program Perks

April 17, 2012

For our second post in the Travel Tuesday Top 10 List series, we’ve rounded up a list of the top 10 benefits conferred upon members of various hotel loyalty programs, including several available not just to top-tier members but to mid- and intro-level members as well. As always, feel free to share your thoughts and [...]

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Free 90 Day Hyatt Platinum Trial

April 13, 2012

Until May 11, 2012, you can sign up (registration link) to get free Hyatt Platinum status for 90 days if you have any Visa Signature card. The registration page is buggy and works best if you use Internet Explorer. Hyatt Platinum members get a 15% point bonus on stays, free internet, preferred rooms and 2pm [...]

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My Q1 Wrap Up: Airlines, Hotels and Credit Cards

April 4, 2012

I can’t believe it’s April already. 2012 has been going by in a blur, so I thought I’d do a little wrap-up on all my travel for the first quarter of 2012 and discuss my personal strategy for the rest of 2012. Mileage: 75,034 actual miles flown. Destinations visited: Beijing, Shanghai, Xian, San Francisco, London, [...]

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Expat Travel: Choosing Between United MileagePlus and Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer

March 26, 2012

TPG contributor Nate is a US expat living in Singapore. His posts will shed light on choosing the best airline and hotel loyalty programs for Americans living abroad in Asia, starting with this post on deciding between Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer and United MileagePlus. We realize this content isn’t useful to everyone, but from time to [...]

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Unintended United Perk: Elite Status Transfers to Awards Booked for Others

March 10, 2012

Last weekend, United officially integrated Continental and United’s frequent flyer programs into one program – the new Mileage Plus. However, even though it’s called Mileage Plus, a lot of the features, such as the base website technology itself, came from the Continental side of the house. In fact, the prevailing CEO of the new United [...]

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American Airlines Announces 2012 Elite Rewards

March 9, 2012

Many airlines offer special perks for going above and beyond elite stats requirements. They do this to incentivize flyers to stay loyal, even after they achieve the highest echelons of elite status. For example, some people may try to achieve status in another alliance once they hit top tier, which can be a smart way [...]

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United MileagePlus Premier Status Match Challenge

March 6, 2012

As I’ve written about before, status matching and challenges can be the quickest, easiest way to achieve elite status on a new airline, especially if you know you have a lot of flights coming up and can choose the airline on which you complete your travel. For anyone unfamiliar, a status match is when an [...]

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Airline and Hotel Elite Status Soft Landing Reports?

March 2, 2012

So yesterday was judgement day for most loyalty programs – March 1, when those who didn’t retain elite status either get dropped to non-status all together or sometimes you get lucky and only get bumped down a level, which is otherwise known as a soft landing. Soft landing programs are usually informal and not publicized. [...]

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How to Cope With Losing Elite Status

February 27, 2012

This is an installment in my Maximizing Elite Status series. Articles include; The Basics and Why People Mileage Run, Using ITA Matrix to Find Cheap Flights, How Much is Elite Status Worth?, Comparing Top Tier Status, Comparing Mid-Tier Status, Comparing Low Level Status, How to Get Elite Miles Without Flying, Understanding Elite Status Bump Thresholds, The Lowdown on Soft Landings and How to [...]

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Sunday Reader Question: Hyatt Diamond Benefits on Award Stays

February 26, 2012

TPG reader Garrett writes: “I’m about to get Hyatt Diamond and was wondering what their amenity policy is on award stays. Based on what I’ve read from your posts over the last year, it seems like the amenities are usually given on award stays like room upgrades (not always a suite) and club access or [...]

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American Airlines Double Miles and Accelerated Elite Status Promotion (Targeted)

February 9, 2012

Several TPG readers sent me an interesting promo they received from American Airlines offering double award (not elite) miles on all travel from February 8, 2012-May 31, 2012 and offering an accelerated route to Platinum (10,000 miles) and Executive Platinum status (25,000 miles). The earned status is good until February 28, 2013 unless you requalify [...]

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Sunday Reader Question: Should I Transfer RBC Avion Points to British Airways?

January 22, 2012

TPG reader Jonathan writes: “I have 50,000 RBC Avion points to use and I wondering if you think it makes sense to transfer them to British Airways Avios? There is currently a transfer bonus of 50% . I live near Atlanta and don’t get to travel too much, so I usually try to fly Delta whenever [...]

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Club Carlson Triple Points Promotion and Status Match Information

January 11, 2012

From now until March 16, 2012 you can get triple points when you register and stay at any participating Carlson (Radisson, Country Inns & Suites, Park Inn by Radisson and Park Plaza hotels).  You normally earn 20 points per dollar spent, but you earn 60 with this promotion. Carlson free nights start at 9,000 points, which [...]

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My 2012 Points Strategy: Hotel Elite Status

January 10, 2012

This is an installment in the My 2012 Points Strategy Series. Posts include: Taking Credit Card Inventory, Future Credit Card Applications, Airline Elite Status, Hotel Elite Status. Hotel elite status is often overlooked, but frankly can be much more rewarding than airline status, which seems to get all of the attention. Frankly, hotels can be a huge portion of [...]

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My 2012 Points Strategy: Airline Elite Status

January 5, 2012

This is an installment in the My 2012 Points Strategy Series. Posts include: Taking Credit Card Inventory, Future Credit Card Applications, Airline Elite Status, Hotel Elite Status. If you are a frequent traveler, elite status is critical. Not only do you get valuable perks like upgrades and priority boarding, but you get mileage bonuses that can make a real [...]

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Reminder: Last Day to Qualify for 2012 Elite Status

December 31, 2011

Just a friendly reminder that today is the last day to get the elite qualifying miles needed for 2012 airline status. Most programs will reset your elite miles to 0 on January 1 (with the main exception of Delta who will allow you to roll over excess elite miles). If you are close to a [...]

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My Positive Experience Using American AAdvantage Miles to Upgrade Domestically

December 24, 2011

I’m currently knee-deep in a status challenge with American Airlines due to my participation in the Oneworld Mega Do in January. American is allowing any participant who has status on another airline to do a challenge to get comparable elite status on them. Since I am a current Delta Diamond, they challenged me to fly [...]

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Last Minute Delta MQM Options

December 21, 2011

There are only 10 days left in the elite qualifying year and I know people are starting to get desperate judging by the number of frantic, “How do I get X amount of Delta Medallion Qualifying Miles, cheaply and easily before the near year starts?!?!” emails I’ve received. The cheapest way to get up to [...]

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Maximizing Elite Status: The Lowdown on Soft Landings

December 19, 2011

This is an installment in my Maximizing Elite Status series. Articles include; The Basics and Why People Mileage Run, Using ITA Matrix to Find Cheap Flights, How Much is Elite Status Worth?, Comparing Top Tier Status, Comparing Mid-Tier Status, Comparing Low Level Status, How to Get Elite Miles Without Flying, Understanding Elite Status Bump Thresholds, The Lowdown on Soft Landings, How to Cope with Losing [...]

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