Hotels

From the Archives – The Marines Memorial Club in San Francisco

Byglenn

Eight or nine years ago, before GSA ruined the use of the term, we had a Commander’s Conference at the Marines Memorial Club in downtown San Francisco.  Previous to this, conferences were held in some nice getaway places like Reno, but by the time I got a battalion command, they were already looking for cheaper and less conspicuous places to hold meetings with guys in military uniforms running around where the public could see them.  To my fortune, I discovered the Marines Memorial Club and hotel. Legend has it that the Marines had saved up a lot of money in WW2 to run a PX system for the occupation of Japan, when the war suddenly ended.  This was back in the day when things were a lot looser with money and the Marines decided that they would buy a hotel in downtown San Francisco so Marines would have an inexpensive place to stay when on shore leave there.  They also wanted to memorialize the Marine legend and particularly recognize all the extreme…

From the Archives – Lesser Known Military Resorts

Byglenn

We’ve been writing this blog for about three and a half years now.  Realizing that many of you have not been reading us that long, I thought I would dredge up some of our older posts that are still timely.  Hope you enjoy! Most military members are aware of at least some of the military-run…

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Military Deals From Around the Interwebs

Byglenn

A lot of places actually offer military deals, but don’t advertise them forcing you to ask.  I think both parties feel embarrassed when the answer comes back “no” so I am very glad when they advertise or promote the fact that they have a deal for the 1% of us who serve our country.  Here…

Great Hilton Point Earnings Over the Next 3 Months

Byglenn

While we stick to military related topics for the most part, we do point out when great deals are to be had.  This one in particular is probably of interest to military members as we spend a lot more time in Hiltons, Marriotts, and IHGs than Starwood and Hyatt which seem to be frequent flyer…

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Game Theory: Tips & Tricks for Frequent Flyers

Byglenn

From Wikipedia: Game theory is the study of strategic decision making.  Sounds like what we are all trying to do with the game of acquiring and redeeming miles & points.  To me it is a game since there are rules for all to follow and everyone is just trying to use those rules to maximize…

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So How Did 2014 Treat You?

Byglenn

Before all your mileage/ point counters reset tomorrow, let’s take a look at how everyone did.  I’ll review my plan vice results and ask you to chime in and compare. Airlines: Goal: United 1K Results: Only 62,046 EQM so no 1K for me for the first time in ten years.  Interestingly, I had $7,036 in spend…

Marriott Cracks Down on Government Rate Users

Byglenn

A thread on Flyertalk caught my eye the other day and I thought you may be interested.  It seems that Marriotts are now enforcing the actual rules when it comes to allowing customers to use the Federal Government rate.  It’s not that people with no association to the military are trying to use that discounted…

Does It Ever Makes Sense to Convert Hotel Points into Airline Miles?

Byglenn

Currently United has a promotion where they will give a 20% mileage bonus on any hotel points that you want to convert to UA miles.  Sounds OK until you realize the conversion rate is not in your favor.  I dug into this and comprised the following chart for converting hotel points into miles for the…