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- šØ How to get elite benefits without status (or a card)
šØ How to get elite benefits without status (or a card)
A nifty trick that I'm using today. Plus, did you know that there is a way to pay for literally anything with points? I'll tell you how. Oh, and find out where two American tourists got trapped recently...
Estimated read time: 4 minutes and 18 seconds
š¤¦āāļø Trivia Tuesday: If you read any travel news last week, then you might be able to guess where two American tourists ended up pulling an all-nighter. Any guesses? Keep reading to find outā¦
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Welcome back after a long weekend!
I donāt know about you, but I had a fantastic one visiting the famous temples here in Siem Reap, including Angkor Wat, the largest religious structure in the world.
Shoutout to Sarry, the random Cambodian lady who took this photo.
But right now, thereās only one religion you all care about: The Church of Miles and Points.
And you can consider me your priest, because Iām about to save you from eternal sub-optimal traveling.
Hereās what we got on the pulpit today:
š³ Top Cards Update (September 2023)
šØ How to get elite hotel benefits without being elite
š¤ Travel Trivia Tuesday
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š³ Top Cards Update (September 2023)
There hasnāt been a whole lot of movement on the credit card front lately, with a couple of small exceptions.
A few weeks ago, I shared a sweet card offer with you. Due to the popularity of said card offer, weāve decided to toss her on the top cards list for this month, in slot number two.
Why slot number two? Because there is one card, the [[ capital-one-venture-x-rewards-credit-card.name ]], that has remained in slot number one on our list for months.
In fact, I think there was only one time when it was replaced (because of a too-good-to-be-true offer on the [[ capital-one-venture-x-rewards-credit-card.casual-card-name ]]), after which point it went right back up there.
The reason we keep it at number one is because you can use it to pay for literally anything with points. Itās like magic.
But I donāt think everybody understands the full magnitude of the [[ capital-one-venture-x-rewards-credit-card.casual-card-name ]] and how crazy it isā¦
So I wrote an article. Itās called āHow to pay for literally anything with points.ā
I think youāll like what you read. Oh, and youāre welcome. Because your life will forever be changed.
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šØ How to get elite hotel benefits without being elite
There are many things I enjoy about having hotel elite status.
And Iām not talking about that feeling you get knowing that the people next to you at breakfast paid $40 per day for something youāre getting for free.
Waitā¦ no, thatās actually exactly what Iām talking about.
Hotel elite benefits are great. And I like having them very much. The only caveat? You need to spend a bunch of time, points, and money, and you need to travel a ton.
For reference, I put a lot of time into being loyal to hotels to get elite statusā¦ this was my Marriott account at the end of last year. š¬
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Help. Iām addicted to Marriott
But what about normal people who want to experience these things, too?
Well, there are a number of ways. Most of them involve getting a credit card, or using a specific bank travel portalā¦ which requires a credit cardā¦ š
But thereās one way that any old schmuck can use. And itās actually what Iām using at this very moment.
Iām talking about Small Luxury Hotels of the World.
Small Luxury Hotels of the World, or SLH, is a brand of hotels that has a unique partnership with Hyatt.
When you book an SLH property through Hyatt, youāll get some sweet benefits just because you booked it through Hyatt, no elite status required.
The benefits include:
Things like free breakfast, room upgrades, and late checkout are all AWESOME and make this a really appealing option, in my opinion.
And just to reiterate, EVERYBODY gets these benefits, as long as you are a World of Hyatt member and book through the Hyatt website or app.
As with other Hyatt properties, you can also use points to pay for these bookings based on the category of the property.
For example, Iām currently writing this from the Angkor Village Hotel in Siem Reap, Cambodia, a Category 3 SLH hotel.
This hotel was booked through Hyatt for just 9,000 points per night, which is a pretty sweet deal, though the cash rates are also fairly reasonable at just over $100 per night.
What makes SLH hotels stand out isā¦ wellā¦ everything. Iāve stayed at a few SLH hotels now, and theyāre always unique and capture some of the essence of the place theyāre in.
My current hotel has a really cool traditional Cambodian feel to it. All of the rooms are sort of like āhuts,ā but really luxurious ones. š
Itās a really cool experience to stay here, and another solid experience with SLH.
What I also love about this partnership is that even though Hyatt doesnāt OWN these hotels (itās simply a partnership between the two companies), you still earn points and Hyatt elite nights when staying here.
And if youāre wondering how many there are and if itās a convenient option, I have good news:
There are tons of these bad boys.
SLH has more than 500 properties spread out over 80 countries all around the world ranging from the U.S. to Europe, Central & South America, and even right here in Cambodia.
So hereās the bottom line:
By simply signing up for a free Hyatt account, you can access this global network of hotels and get treated like an elite every time you stay, even if itās once or twice per year.
No elite status, credit card, or fancy hacking required. Which I find quite refreshing.
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š¤ Travel Trivia Tuesday
Correct answer: the freaking Eiffel Tower
Honestly, it sounds like these guys hacked the system. Thereās no telling how many people have tried to do this and never pulled it off.
Two American tourists were found sleeping in the Eiffel Tower after getting stuck while drunkā¦
These guys were so drunk that they became stuck in a restricted zone.
The tourists had dodged security and were found sleeping off a heavy night in the heights of the tower.
The opening of the Eiffel Tower was delayed on Monday morning after security officials found the tourists sleeping in the monument.
Read more about it here. And please, donāt try this at home.
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Thatās all for today, kiddos. I hope you all had a lovely long weekend, and I look forward to seeing you tomorrow morning for some more travel fun times.
Take care,