I just got back from a wild weekend at home. After a meeting with the folks at Hipmunk to talk about their new product release last week, I spent Saturday and Sunday looking at potential wedding venues in Sonoma and Napa Counties. Thanks again to all the readers who wrote in with suggestions of places Megan and I should visit.
I’ll have lots more to report on in the next couple days as I get back into blogging mode. The week off was nice, as I was just too busy over the weekend. Of course, wedding venues in wine country are generally going to be wineries, and we had to taste everywhere we went to make sure we liked both the atmosphere and the wine. At one point in the Carneros region we visited four wineries in one hour. I need to learn to spit more than I swallow. Ugh. With all the heavy food and good wine, I’ve been detoxing the last few days.
Hyatt and Hilton and Accor, oh my!
But what a good day to get back to blogging with all the deals on free elite status that Gary has been sharing at View from the Wing!
Gary reports that previously announced offers for free Platinum status at Hyatt, Gold status at Hilton, and Platinum status at Accor hotels are all still alive and kicking. I’ve taken advantage of all of these and even leveraged the Gold Hilton status into a Diamond challenge from Hyatt. It never hurts to sign up just incase your next stay is at one of these properties, and even though the Platinum status at Hyatt is only for 90 days, that may be long enough for you to apply for a Hyatt Visa credit card from Chase and get a few extra suite upgrade certificates in addition to the usual two free nights.
But how will I get there?
Also, Gary has shared an opportunity to get free Executive status at National car rental. Rental car status is often overlooked by infrequent travelers, who after paying for an expensive flight and a more expensive hotel stay probably just want something cheap. After all, you’re going to get the same cheap compact car no matter which guy you rent from, right?
At least this was how I used to be. But having complimentary Hertz #1 Gold status thanks to an offer from United Airlines has really made a difference by allowing me to skip long lines and not have to check the same darn box every time I rent a car and want to refuse insurance or pre-paid gas. By getting Executive status from National, you get similar perks as well as a free upgrade on every rental and a better selection of cars to choose from.
Remember, although it’s targeted to customers of Signature Flight Support, you should be able to click through just fine. The images for the application button didn’t load on my browser, but when I hovered over the “missing icon” graphic next to the worlds “Passenger Enrollment,” the link was still active. My new Executive status and member number appeared in my inbox a few minutes later.
I’ll have a short trip report on my visit to Sonoma and Napa (I’ve been to Sonoma, but Napa was a first) as well as our dinner a Bistro Jeanty and night at the Avia Napa. The Hipmunk people have asked me to do an update on their new features, to which I happily obliged. And of course there is lots of other travel news and travel tools I want to share. So you have a few things to look forward to.
About Scott Mackenzie
