Author: SteveHacksTravel

Steve has spent the last 35 years traveling around the world for both business and pleasure. He is a Delta Three Million Miler and has earned top tier elite status with multiple Airline and Hotel Programs. One year after a very long mileage run to Japan to qualify for Delta status, he decided to get serious about finding the best way to travel better for less and started building a portfolio of travel hacking tools and techniques. If there's good travel, hotels, food, wine, spirits and company to be had, there's a way to have it for less.

Miles, Points and Travel Hacks | Weekly Round Up

Miles, Points and Travel Hacks | Weekly Round Up

Welcome to the Miles, Points and Travel Hacks Weekly Round-Up for the week of December 11th Each week we sift through all of the posts, blogs, PR, hyperbole and rumors, boil it down and share the best stuff with you. It’s beginning to look a lot like…. that crazy rush at the end of the […]

Miles, Points and Travel Hacks | Weekly Round Up

Miles, Points and Travel Hacks | Weekly Round Up

Each week we sift through all of the posts, blogs, PR, hyperbole and rumors, boil it down and share the best stuff with you. Sales and more sales everywhere, but great deals are few and far between. But, there’s an internet that needs to be fed with new content. So, let’s get going.

Flash Deal – Atlanta to Vegas for $186 Roundtrip

Atlanta to Vegas Delta Fares

  If you’re a Total Rewards or Mlife member that has a decent level of play, I’m sure you get nice offers for comped hotel rooms. If not, stop right now and start reading these articles. Once you’ve scored those free rooms, the next challenge is finding a frugal way to get from your house […]

Miles, Points and Travel Hacks | Weekly Round Up

Miles, Points and Travel Hacks | Weekly Round Up

Each week we sift through all of the posts, blogs, PR, hyperbole and rumors, boil it down and share the best stuff with you. I’m exhausted from reading all of the Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Wait We’re Still Not Done sales info. But, there’s an internet that needs to be fed with new content. So, let’s get going.

Miles, Points and Travel Hacks | Weekly Round Up

Miles, Points and Travel Hacks | Weekly Round Up

Welcome to the Miles, Points and Travel Hacks Weekly Round-Up for the week of November 14th Each week we sift through all of the posts, blogs, PR, hyperbole and rumors, boil it down and share the best stuff with you. A very busy week in the world of Miles, Points and Travel Hacks. So, let’s […]

Delta One To Europe Flash Sale – Tic, Tic, Tic

dl-flash-europe-nov-2016

  Delta Airlines doesn’t have a lot of killer deals these days. The SkyMiles program is being tailored to, as the Delta execs say, enable members to elevate / enhance their travel experience. So far that has translated to more and more SkyMiles being required to fly Delta One anywhere in the world. I’ve seen […]

Miles, Points and Travel Hacks | Weekly Round Up

Miles, Points and Travel Hacks | Weekly Round Up

Welcome to the Miles, Points and Travel Hacks Weekly Round-Up for the week of November 7th Each week we sift through all of the posts, blogs, PR, hyperbole and rumors, boil it down and share the best stuff with you. A very busy week in the world of Miles, Points and Travel Hacks. So, let’s […]

Miles, Points and Travel Hacks | Weekly Round Up

Miles, Points and Travel Hacks | Weekly Round Up

Welcome to the Miles, Points and Travel Hacks Weekly Round-Up for the week of October 31st. Each week we sift through all of the posts, blogs, PR, hyperbole and rumors, boil it down and share the best stuff with you. A very busy week in the world of Miles, Points and Travel Hacks. Halloween wasn’t even the weirdest day of the week. So, let’s get going.

Hyatt Elites | Don’t Let Mlife Downgrade You

MGM Players Club Cards

One of the great perks of Hyatt Gold Passport is their partnership with MGM’s Mlife program. They offer a status match that is very good with Hyatt Diamonds mapping to Mlife Platinum. That’s one notch down from MGM’s, by invitation only, Noir status. There’s a good number of benefits to being Mlife platinum, including lots […]

Vegas | Dinner at L’Atelier De Joël Robuchon

Joel Robuchon Sea Bass - Porcini Cream

I wasn’t feeling that flush, so I slid my mouse over to Robuchon’s other Vegas outpost – L’Atelier De Joël Robuchon. It’s a bit less formal and has 1 Michelin Star. It also features an open kitchen, so you can watch the culinary creations as they come together. I opted for seats at the bar, so my colleague and I could take in the action, and maybe take a few notes to improve our own kitchen skills.

Miles, Points and Travel Hacks | Weekly Round Up

Miles, Points and Travel Hacks | Weekly Round Up

Welcome to the Miles, Points and Travel Hacks Weekly Round-Up for the week of October 24th. Each week we sift through all of the posts, blogs, PR, hyperbole and rumors, boil it down and share the best stuff with you.

Cruise Hacking | A Newbie’s Guide – Part 3

Previously, I covered the steps that led me to consider my first cruise and the education I received trying to navigate my way through the complex process of booking a cruise without destroying my wallet. Cruise Hacking has proved to be a whole new animal with some elements of Airline and Hotel Hacking, but with a whole new vocabulary to learn. In this last installment, I’ll cover my lively and informative phone conversations with NCL’s customer service agents, the details and lessons learned, and how I finally booked and paid for my first cruise, ever.

Cruise Hacking | A Newbie’s Guide – Part 2

Cruise Hacking Guide

Previously, I had gotten as far as the Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) website where I was met by some really confusing and vague language about how much cruise my money would buy. I had picked out a 7-day cruise on the 2nd newest ship in their fleet, the Norwegian Getaway, and it looked like I […]

Cruise Hacking | A Newbie’s Guide

Norwegian Cruise Line Ship

Travel Hacking is a science, an art form, a sport and social alchemy, all working together to elevate your travel experience without emptying your bank account. After a few decades of travel hacking with the airlines and hotels, I have a decent system worked out. I may not always get the absolute best deal in […]

Score Better Comps – URComped Client Interview

URComped Client

A little while ago we had an in-depth discussion with Craig Shacklett, the co-founder of URComped. He gave us great insight into how the company got started and laid out the kind of comps and other benefits gaming fans could achieve. We liked everything we heard and asked Craig if we could speak with a […]

Hyatt Announces 75K Gold Passport Promotion

Hyatt 75K Gold Passport Promotion

We’re big fans of Hyatt and their Gold Passport Program. Last year they announced a very aggressive status matching program to entice Marriott Rewards and Starwood SPG elites to bring their business over to Hyat

Marriott Announces Fall 2016 MegaBonus Program

Marriott Mega Bonus Fall 2016

Marriott Rewards has announced a new, MegaBonus campaign where members can earn 50,000 Rewards points through one of two different options that best fit their style of travel. By registering here, both new and current Rewards members can opt in to the promotion of their choice. ·      Option 1: Earn 10,000 bonus points for every […]

Flash Deal | New York To Scandinavia for ~$275

Stockholm Water and Building

Low season in Europe is during the winter months. But for travel hackers that love the splendor of a Scandinavian winter, that’s the time to go. Norwegian Airlines is showing deep commitment to the US market with great fares and great service to exciting destinations. This latest Flash Deal just popped up and the TravelZork […]

Delta Introduces Delta One Suites – With Doors!

New Delta One Suites With Doors

It came as a big surprise when I opened up my news feed and saw that Delta had announced the “World’s first all-suite business class introduced in Delta One.” Delta customers could use some good news right now given last week’s system meltdown..

Breaking: Chase Sapphire Reserve Card – The Last Great Card Offer?

Chase Sapphire Reserve Close Up

UPDATE – 09:30 EDT – 22 August 2016 There is now a live link available online. The intro page does not mention the 100,000 Ultimate Rewards Point Bonus. Caveat Emptor everyone. UPDATE – 14:00 EDT – 21 August 2016 There are isolated reports of some Chase customers being able to apply and be approved for […]

Ritz-Carlton Enhances Benefits For Their Credit Card Holders

Ritz Carlton Lion Logo

Ritz-Carlton, the most recognized luxury brand in the Marriott portfolio of hotels, is upping their game with improvements to their co-branded Chase credit card. The Ritz-Carlton Rewards Credit Card is being upgraded to the VISA Infinite platform, which carries with it a number of new benefits. New Benefits Unlimited $100 discounts on two or more […]

Developing | Delta’s Computers Are Down Globally

Delta CEO Ed Bastian apologies for outage

Delta Airlines’ global computer systems went down sometime around 4AM EDT this morning. This comes on the heels of Southwest’s outage less than two weeks ago. Delta frequent flyers are posting on Social Media that updates were originally expected at 6:30. We’re hearing that there will be an update at 7:30AM EDT, but some at […]

Flash! | UK To Las Vegas – £274 Roundtrip

UK To Las Vegas

£274 fares from the UK to Las Vegas and the western United States are popping up all over the place right now. This one is on Virgin Atlantic and that’s always a fun experience.

First Class Airline Caviar Service – The Comparison

Caviar Service First Class

In Part 1 we spent some time discussing what makes Caviar Caviar. With all of that knowledge, we’re ready to launch into a look at the Caviar/caviar service available on airlines offering International First Class Service.

First Class Airline Caviar Service – Introduction

Caviar Service

Nothing says First Class like Caviar Service. Of course, it’s even better with world-class, vintage Champagne or ice cold, quality Vodka. And it’s absolutely the best when it gets served to you while sitting in an ultra comfortable seat in your own private space at 35,000 feet.

Delta Inventory Returns To ExpertFlyer

expertflyer

Something good just happened in the world of Delta flyers and travel hackers. After a lot of takeaways, they have reversed course and given something back. Expertflyer subscribers have regained visibility into the unsold inventory on Delta flights.

Streamline US Customs with this Free Passport App

Streamline US Customs with this Free Passport App

Nowadays, when you think about ways to get through US Customs in a rapid fashion, one name / brand comes to mind – Global Entry. It’s a great service, it’s not that hard to get signed up, it doesn’t cost all that much and the first time you use it you’ll swear you hear angels playing […]

Polaris | United’s Bid To Make Their Premium Cabin Stand Out

Polaris | United's Bid To Make Their Premium Cabin Stand Out

United Airlines has announced a rebranding and reinvention of their premium cabin(s), Polaris, that will launch on December 1st, 2016 with new inflight food and beverage experiences, new custom bedding from Saks Fifth Avenue, new amenity kits and the new United Polaris lounge in Chicago.

Who Wants To Run The World’s Busiest Airport? – Part 1

Who Wants To Run The World's Busiest Airport? - Part 1

This is part one of a multi-part article that focuses on the growth of Atlanta’s major airport, ATL, Delta Airlines role in shaping its growth and strategic vision, and the often rewarding, often contentious role played by the General Managers of ATL.