My Hilton Diamond Experience in Barcelona (With Suite Upgrade Worth Over $1,600!)

by Harlan 14 Comments

a room with a bed and a tv

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I was super looking forward to visiting Barcelona.

From the initial disappointment of not getting the best deal (but still a very good deal) on the flights, to wondering which hotel to stay at, to finally getting a Citi Prestige card and choosing the Alexandra Doubletree, it was a bit of a ride.

In the end, I was able to book 6 nights via Citi Travel Concierge with Hilton’s Winter Sale rate and 4th night free.

Here’s how it all shook out.

Booking by the numbers

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Get Honey, Save Money! (Browser Extension for Chrome)

by Harlan 4 Comments

a screenshot of a computer

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You guys know I’m all about saving money when shopping online.

In fact, I’m borderline obsessed with Paribus, which is an incredible way to save money when there’s a price change on items you bought.

Enter Honey Chrome extension

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10,000 Citi ThankYou points for catching a site error

by Harlan 11 Comments

a screenshot of a card

Citi’s been hit-or-miss with peeps calling in about various website errors recently.

Doctor of Credit shared an experience about getting a 5,000 bonus Citi ThankYou points because the Citi Prestige application site showed an error on earning 3X ThankYou points on all travel purchases including gas.

Error alert!

Error alert!

It actually earns 3X points on airfare and hotel purchases, not travel broadly defined – probably my only complaint on this otherwise incredible card. (Here’s how much I’ve saved I picked up the card in November 2015. And it’s available via my links if you decide to apply.)

How I got 10K points

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Out and Out Is in Barcelona! Any Must-Dos? (And Updates!)

by Harlan 16 Comments

a group of buildings with balconies

Dear Out and Out readers, I miss you so.

I got to Barcelona (Barcy) Wednesday morning and have spent the past 3 days wandering, sleeping, working, eating (tapas), and drinking (sangria and Spanish wines and local craft beers).

Wandering in the Gothic Quarter

Wandering in the Gothic Quarter

I still have 3 more full days in Barcy and am totally open to ideas about how to fill the time. I’m meeting with friends, and have a few things on my to-do list (on Todoist):

asd

Restaurants, sites, and things to see. Anything I should add?

I’ll get up tomorrow and see La Sangrada Familia, then maybe head to the Picasso Museum and see the Arc de Triomphe along the way.

Feel free to share any tips about where to go, what to do, or great restaurants you love. I’ll try to work in as many things as possible!

A few updates

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Forget AAdvantage! I’m Switching to Alaska MileagePlan This Year

by Harlan 30 Comments

a close-up of a logo

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The beginning of the year is an excellent time to set new travel goals.

Especially when you’re looking at this:

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Ruh roh!

I already broke down the numbers of qualifying for top-tier status on American and Alaska, and found that Alaska MVP Gold 75K status is easier to earn with less flying. And you end up with more miles than AAdvantage Executive Platinum status when you start from zero and hit the top tier – 36,250 miles to be exact.

And now it’s even more attractive in light of American’s upcoming devalued award chart.

But… what about Dallas?

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How I Made an Extra $60K from Airbnb in 2015

by Harlan 31 Comments

a hand with a peace sign

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Side hustle of the millennium

Side hustle extraordinaire

I’ve written a lot about my side hustle with Airbnb a lot in the past. So I thought I’d follow up, because side hustles are a big part of my FIRE, and a great way to dig yourself out of debt – or earn more income.

In my Q2 update, I estimated I’d make an extra ~$31K off the endeavor in 2015.

I took some knocks here and there, but doubled my original projection. All told, I earned an extra ~$60K from Airbnb in 2015. And most of it went toward debts. In 2016, I’ll earn less but hopefully knock out my student loans once and for all.

asd

Good vibes

Here’s how I did it.

The numbers

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16 Points & Miles Predictions for 2016

by Harlan 3 Comments

a group of people sitting on a couch

Happy New Year! I thought I’d hop on the bandwagon with the predictions. So here’s my effort.

"Everyone else is doing it, so why can't we?"

“Everyone else is doing it, so why can’t we?”

2015 was a crazy year

A portrait of the Fidelity AMEX card

A portrait of the Fidelity AMEX card

Out and Out’s Points and Miles Predictions for 2016

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Barclaycard Aviator Downgrade Offer + Q1 Bonus Points at Supermarkets

by Harlan 6 Comments

a credit card and a card on a book

RIP, Barclaycard AAdvantage® Aviator™ Red World Elite Mastercard®.

As part of closing on my house, I had to ax this card (I’ll explain why in another post). But, before the boot, I downgraded the card from the Barclaycard AAdvantage® Aviator™ Red World Elite Mastercard® (with an $89 annual fee) to the regular ol’ “Aviator card” (with no annual fee), and got it in the mail just in time to say goodbye.

You are lost and gone forever, oh my darlin', Clementine

You are lost and gone forever, oh my darlin’, Clementine

Here are 2 offers I got that might be helpful to some folks. One you have to call to receive, the other is targeted – so be on the lookout if you’re interested.

Downgrade offer

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Out and Out’s Best Posts of 2015

by Harlan 4 Comments

a colorful confetti and streamers

Wow. Out and Out made huge strides in 2015. A lot happened – and even more will happen in 2016.

Blog traffic tripled this year. In fact December 2015 is the biggest month ever for the blog (and it’s not over yet!). I’m thinking of how to improve things around here even more, and celebrating every step of the way because I couldn’t grow without your support.

Celebrate!

Celebrating!

You guys are awesome. I love my readers!

I’ve ironed out many ideas on here and found solid resolutions thanks to tons of community-focused comments. And meeting new peeps at the regular Reach for the Miles meetup has been fantastic.

I hope to continue the momentum and keep improving.

But first, I want to take a moment to pause and look back at where we’ve been this year.

Best of 2015

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3 Days Left to Save Money on Christmas Gifts With Amazon Prime!

by Harlan Leave A Comment

a screenshot of a gift card

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There’s a lot going on with Amazon right now in terms of deals:

  • 10X Chase Ultimate Rewards points (10% cashback with Chase Freedom, if you activated the offer in time)
  • 10% cashback with Discover It (5% back now and 5% back after 12th billing cycle for new cardmembers)
  • Amazon’s own deals – which are fantastic

The chance to get 10X Chase Ultimate Rewards points (which turn into 10X United Airlines miles, 10X Hyatt points, 10X Southwest points, etc. when paired with the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Ink Plus) is too good to pass up. It’s a big reason why the AMEX Jet.com offer is on hold for me.

adas

3 days left for Prime 2-day shipping

If you’ve put off last-minute gifts, this is a *perfect* weekend before Xmas to knock out last-minute shopping with Amazon Prime membership (you could even buy it today and start using it right away if you really wanted to!).

Tons of good deals

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Booking Barcelona: Citi Prestige + Hilton Diamond at Alexandra DoubleTree

by Harlan 4 Comments

a city street with buildings and trees

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The hotel stay for Barcy is all set. And, I booked it – again – with Citi Prestige. I wrote about my first experience booking a hotel room it for Martinique.

View Additional Airline & Frequent Flyer Credit Card Offers Here

asd

Gonna eat the hell out of that free breakfast

I settled on the Alexandra Barcelona, a DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel.

I’d originally booked the Hilton Barcelona as a Points & Money reward.

Why the switch?

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Taking Another Look at Hilton, Hyatt, and Diamond Elite Status

by Harlan 28 Comments

a fish under a glass tunnel

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To begin, I must say I’m disappointed I wasn’t one of the lucky ones to receive Hyatt Diamond status. Although I did luck out with Hilton Diamond status.

I realize I’ll likely sound like a spoiled brat whining about something I didn’t get for free. Especially when others have spent much more time and money to actually earn the status. That said, the way Hyatt handled the Diamond status match – from free-for-all to the later restriction to only match SPG Platinum members, and all the missteps in between- was very mishandled.

Booooo

Booooo

Hyatt had an opportunity to capitalize on the SPG/Marriott merger and they blew it – unless you got the match, then you win. I likely would’ve gone out of my way to stay with Hyatt more in 2016 and beyond. This whole thing has left such a bad taste behind that it makes me want to actively avoid Hyatt, and only use them for free award night stays.

Although I think what Hilton is doing is genius, at least from a marketing perspective. And, let’s face it: Hilton has a much larger footprint than Hyatt (4,100+ hotels compared to ~600). And Hilton is in every place there’s a Hyatt with few exceptions.

For example, there are NO Hyatt hotels in Barcelona (where I’ll be in a few weeks). But there were 4 Hilton options:

Furthermore, the next time Hyatt has a Diamond status challenge to stay 12 nights, I won’t even consider doing it (even though you can complete it with only 9 nights if you have Citi Prestige). Why would I spend $1,000 on something so many others got for free?

Anyway, that’s my preamble – just wanted to clear the air here. Again, I completely understand I don’t “deserve” the status in way. It just sucks to see so many get it for free, even though my credentials where enough – at one point – to get me in, too. A case of “early bird gets the worm” if there ever was one.

But now, I’m taking another look at Hilton, as I expect to have more paid stays there, at least for now. And, it’s not as bad as you’d think.

Hilton Diamond Vs Hyatt Diamond

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