Hack My Trip

I was a little harsh in my original review of Rocketmiles, which I compared to PointsHound. Both services allow you to earn airline miles when you book a hotel stay through their respective web sites. However, there are a few key differences in their business models. After writing my review, co-founder Jay Hoffman reached out to me so we could discuss how Rocketmiles targets consumers and may offer greater value than PointsHound. What it boils down to is how involved you want to be in the reservations process. I am a control freak. If I rank the travel experience, the destination comes first, then the search and booking process, and finally the actual trip to the destination. There is something satisfying about comparing all the options, … [Continue reading]

PointsHound offers a revolutionary approach to booking hotels, allowing you to earn miles AND hotel points AND hotel status when you stay with most major chains like Hilton, Hyatt, Starwood, Marriott, and Priority Club. When I wrote about this before, it was called "Double Dip," but they've decided to rebrand as "Double Up" in order to avoid any confusion with Hilton's existing double dip program. The only real fault I found with Double Up when it was originally announced is that it rolled out in a limited number of properties. Most participating properties were in major markets, and even then you might find two Hyatts participated despite the presence of four in that city, or perhaps all the Marriott properties were game but not the … [Continue reading]

Hipmunk issued an infographic to people on its mailing list today, and I found it interesting. It outlines all the little ways you can get dinged by airlines, hotels, and associated merchants along the way when you travel. I enjoyed it because it highlights how important it is to take a holistic view of travel and look for lots of ways to save money when traveling. When people ask me where's a cheap place to visit, I might suggest Bangkok as one idea. Sure it's expensive to get there, but once you arrive everything is pretty cheap. Contrast this with Las Vegas. You can drive from Southern California, but many of the fancier hotels (and everything is moving upscale there) can cost $200-300 a night on weekends. If you don't pay attention … [Continue reading]