Every summer, the Points, Miles and Martinis writers, stakeholders and members of the Board of Directors from around the world drop what they are doing and meet face to face in an undisclosed location to discuss the blog’s performance and goals. Because secrecy is of the utmost importance for this exclusive event, all participants are…
About alex
Alex loves to travel and does so a lot. Logging 100,000 flight miles each year over the past 4 years, Alex uses points and miles to power his passion. Alex is continuously striving to experience the far reaches of the globe. In his day job, Alex is a Management Consultant frequently on the road advising Technology organizations. I love thinking about, reading about, and talking about all things travel. Feel free to reach me at pmmalex@gmail.com
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One month left for the Hyatt Summer Airline Promo
There is still one full month left for the Hyatt Summer Airline Promo. For those that selected the first earning period (May 1 – July 31) of the SPG Nice Choice promotion like myself, this is a good opportunity to keep earning big value for your summer hotel stays. You start earning the bonus with…
The St. Regis Washington DC Hotel Review
The St. Regis Washington DC is one of my favorite DC hotels. I have stayed here several times and love to share this hotel with friends and family. The lobby is stunning and the hotel just oozes with history. Walking out of the front of the hotel located on 16th and K and looking left…
Journey to Easter Island – Exploring Lima
Setting up shop at the JW Marriott Lima, we set out to explore Lima for a couple days on a layover. While Lima was not originally on any of my target travel cities, I found an amazing restaurant and a city that exceeded my expectations. Trip Report Trip Motivation and Planning LAN Flight Experience Tambo…
Starwood wants to know what I look like!
As a 52 week-a-year business traveler, I generally stay at Starwood properties between 100-200 paid nights per year. When SPG introduced the Ambassador program this year I was initially very excited though it has yet to amount to anything tangible for me personally. I am sure I could take more advantage of my ‘status’ but…
Getting a seat on the A380: Expert Flyer Success Story
Expert Flyer is powerful tool for frequent flyers. I want to share a recent success story to demonstrate a simple yet powerful feature of the tool. As part of PMM’s Monster Day of Booking, I booked two award tickets to Australia to check out the Great Barrier Reef and the newly renovated Park Hyatt Sydney. …
Southwest is more lucrative for business travelers than most realize
Yesterday, The Weekly Flyer shared a witty jab Delta launched in the Atlanta market reminding flyers that Delta has First Class seats and Southwest does not. Coincidentally, this reminded me that flying Southwest for business travel is more lucrative than most realize. Being a frequent business traveler based in Chicago, I am often asked why…
PMM’s Monster Day of Booking
As you may have noticed, travel is a way of life here at Points, Miles and Martinis. We feel very fortunate to spend time thinking (dreaming) about travel on a daily basis with a steady stream of bookings for others using our award booking service. That being said, every once and awhile (OK, a lot!)…
Journey to Easter Island – JW Marriott Lima
I am not a devout Marriott-ist, but I have to admit this Marriott property is pretty impressive. I usually save my Marriott points for convenience stays near airports or in obscure locations. My first instinct was to book the SPG Category 2 Sheraton near the Lima convention center to save points but I changed my…
Southwest schedule opens Monday; Lock in low ski season fares
According to their website, Southwest plans to open up the flight schedule on Monday, July 9th, 2012 to allow bookings through February 13, 2013. Most airlines allow new bookings around 330 days out whereas Southwest generally opens up their schedule around 90-180 days. The importance of this particular schedule opening is that it covers prime…
Can you name this suite?
I am falling a little behind on my South America and Norway trip reports but I just checked out of a fun upgrade I’d like to share. I have stayed at this property before but never received a suite upgrade like this. For perspective, on a prepaid rate in the summer expect to shell out…
Is Oslo the most expensive world capital?
I have absolutely loved my time here in Oslo, Norway. However, I am having a hard time grasping how unbelievably expensive everything is. I am VERY fortunate to eliminate the costs of flights and hotels using United Miles and Club Carlson points but still…..this is crazy! Here is a peak into the receipts in my…
A Radisson above the rest
I feel like I am in the majority here who has just started getting to know the Club Carlson portfolio of hotels as a result of the recent generous promotions. I have spent 2 nights in a Radisson and one night in a Country Inn in the US thus far. I like what Club Carlson…
Snapshots from the Northernmost airport on Earth
Last month I shared a few snapshots I took at the most remote airport on Earth. This month I find myself at the Northernmost airport on Earth in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway. Longyearbyen is located at 78 degrees North, making it the Northernmost city in the world of any material size. The airport is located a…
Greetings from the Lufthansa First Class Lounge in Munich
I am fresh off my first ever International First Class flight and all I have to say is WOW! I flew on a Lufthansa A330-300 overnight from Dulles to Munich en route to Norway. It was the ‘old’ First Class product though that doesn’t mean much to someone who has never flown International First Class. …
What do you seek from an SPG Suite Night Award?
I have been dabbling with the idea of creating an award trip to Australia in the next couple months. My lovely friend would like to go Scuba Diving and I would like to go Park Hyatt’ing so Australia is the perfect intersection of the two! After investigating places to stay near the Great Barrier Reef,…
Journey to Easter Island – Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley
I had some pre-conceived notions that Machu Picchu was a bit of a tourist trap. I couldn’t have been more wrong. This ‘Wonder’ deserves its title. Trip Report Trip Motivation and Planning LAN Flight Experience Tambo Del Inka Resort Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley JW Marriott Lima Exploring Lima Exploring Easter Island and the…
50% bonus on Hyatt credit card everyday purchases
I received a notice via snail mail today that the Hyatt credit card will be offering 50% more points for everyday purchases between July 1 – August 31. Use of the card at Hyatt properties will yield 3.5 points per dollar. There is no indication that this deal is targeted. The bottom line I obviously…
Elite award for reaching SPG Platinum
On Saturday I received an email from SPG alerting me I had eclipsed the 50 night mark this calendar year and have thus earned SPG Platinum status through 2013. Consequently, this marks my 5th year in a row as a Platinum member so therefore received my ‘golden guarantee’ of lifetime SPG gold. Today, I received…
Journey to Easter Island -Tambo Del Inka
Our first stop in South America was the Sacred Valley of the Incas in Peru. We flew straight from Miami to Lima to Cuzco on LAN. From the Cuzco airport we arranged car service through the Tambo Del Inka to take us to the resort. We paid about double the cost of just getting a…