...constantly searching to find the best travel deals and places to visit. A never-ending quest for adventure!

Tuesday, December 31, 2024

Travel Stats 2024

It's time for another quick travel checkin now that 2025 is here.  I was pretty happy with my travel pattern over the last year though I will lose some status this year due to decreased flying.  This will be the first time in many years with no 1K on United.

For the year I ended with 92,112 miles flown across 75 flights (with 76,271 BIS on United).  No major travel disruptions due to weather.  Global Entry is still fast and even checking luggage was not a problem.  I also made it back to Doha, Qatar along with trips back to Switz.  

I had fewer stays overall with Hyatt this year - nights credited were 40 including free nights from the credit card.  

Happy New Year! 

Friday, December 20, 2024

First Hyatt 2025 Promotion

I was thrilled to receive an email from Hyatt today about a promotion for spring:

Register by February 2, 2025 and then complete qualifying activity within 90 days of registration.

Free Nights Logo

Remember—free nights at Hyatt hotels start at just 3,500 points during off-peak times.

When you register for this exclusive offer, you can earn up to 90,000 Bonus Points for qualifying nights.

Nights Stayed

Bonus

Total Bonus Points

5

+5,000

5,000

15

+10,000

15,000

25

+15,000

30,000

35

+25,000

55,000

45

+35,000

90,000

 If you have stays planned, be sure to take advantage of this offer when received!

Friday, December 13, 2024

Thanksgiving 2024: Doha

We were off again on another Thanksgiving trip flying back to Doha!

There are a number of options to fly to Doha, however, Star Alliance does not have easy direct flights.  In order to maximize miles and points, we chose to fly through Newark on the direct United flight to Dubai (United miles) and transfer to a Qatar Airways flight (AA miles).  We still arrived in the evening the next day which helped with the time shift.  For our stay we chose to try a new Hyatt property - the Park Hyatt Doha.  The room and amenities were excellent including the breakfast which was part of our stay being a Globalist.  Airport transfers are straightforward via Karwa taxi which can be reserved from the Uber app if preferred. 

Our food choices included the following:

Sunday Dinner w/Justin and Christy: Damasca One (fantastic Syrian cuisine)

Monday Dinner: Morimoto Doha (sushi and Japanese offerings)

Tuesday Dinner: Sora Rooftop at the PH Doha

Highlights for this portion of the week included walking to Souq Waqif multiple times, dinner north of West Bay, visiting the Museum of Islamic Art, and meeting up with Justin and Christy for dinner.  The weather was warm and perfect for plenty of walking.

It was great to be back and enjoy the city along with seeing friends and trying new restaurants.  We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Tuesday, December 10, 2024

AA and Citi Expanding Partnership

Big news has been shared by American Airlines - starting in 2026, Citi will be the exclusive issuer for AA credit cards.  The press release is here:


This is potentially huge news if the exclusive partnership includes participation by AA in the ThankYou Rewards program!

Thursday, December 5, 2024

Tracing genealogy lines

I had time on my flight home to continue some research on individuals in my family tree - since my big discovery and data share from the researcher in Switzerland, there are some fascinating names listed.

Scrolling back from Charlemagne, the furthest name on that line is Afranius Syagrius Aegidus and his son is Flavius Afranius Syagrius.  This appears to be a connection of Roman origin!



The next individual in the line is Tonantius Ferreolus - I believe this is the correct link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonantius_Ferreolus_(prefect)

The history here is what I love the most - potentially a Consul and/or Governor of Gaul!