Greenwich: Prince Harry Can be Blacklisted By St. Regis Accommodations For Defeating Their Polo Organization.

Oh, who can be we kidding? We're confident St. Regis Hotels in addition to their polo team, captained by hunky Nacho Figueras, let Prince Harry and additionally his Sentebale Land Rover group win the match using a final tally of 4-3. Not surprisingly, the hot ginger Dictator Harry even scored that winning goal.

The polo match came about last week included in the Royal Salute Sentebale Polo Cup in the Greenwich Polo Club around Connecticut. The match was the opener on the polo season and it's primary goal has not been to give us graphics of Prince Harry and Nacho together but alternatively to raise awareness together with support for healthcare and education for the children of Lesotho, Cameras.

Several other St. Regis Connoisseurs found cheer the St. Regis team on--which includes Dawn Jones (wife from Tommy Lee Jones)--such as fashion designer Jason Wu, Starwood's SVP Company Management Dave Marr, Greenwich Polo Tavern Co-Founder Peter Brant and additionally Stephanie Seymour, Nacho's wife Delfina Blaquier (pictured above), unit Karolina Kurkova and Olivia Palermo.

Now there's a chance you're wondering why St. Regis is cuckoo for polo (our early thought was because it's just the thing their rich guests have an interest in) but it's more for a tribute to the original owners within the St. Regis Hotel in NYC, the Astor home, who were a fixture for the polo matches on Govenor's Island in the turn of the the twentieth century.

Today, the E. Regis brand, which is section of Starwood Hotels, has been hosting polo matches worldwide within the UK, where they merely held the 6th Yearly St. Regis International Cup to Thailand, South The united states and coming this show up, Mexico City. So yeah, it's still pretty much a factor that guests who can spend the money for St. Regis are into but no less than it gave us pictures of Prince Harry about this Monday morning.

More Info: Carmona, Seville with more history and Heritage cities

Chop My Trip - New Strategies to Support This Site.

I've always tried to maintain you guys informed around my relationships with other companies, especially affiliate marketing. There isn't a denying that it has the power to influence material. I hope that by providing disclosure you can judge for your own benefit if I have genuinely provided useful advice or should you question it and go forward. No one should needlessly have a financial product, but if you might anyway I always appreciate the you provide this blog.

Some of you know I have tried more difficulty than most getting approved to your major affiliate programs. I'm sure it's largely an concern of perception (I possess word "hack" in my title) plus the more recent move by way of many banks to control the addition of cutting edge affiliates. To get around this issue, I have create two alternative solutions. Both consultants require an extra step upon your part, so I want to explain them.

The first solution is usually that some application links shall be redirected to a dedicated website landing page on One Mile at a stretch. Ben lives nearby, and we've determined that on condition that the actual application links remain on his site and he is in charge of the content, then I often be compensated for mentioning traffic to him. If you'd like to support me this strategy, you MUST access her site through mine.

The other solution is the orange and white ad in the right sidebar that claims "Best Travel Rewards Business cards. " If you press that ad, you will be redirected to your page with many card offers that you can filter and sort inside ways. To be very clear, Credit Karma remains the reason for the accuracy of any sort of content on that web site, but I do receive compensation using them to apply.

Each option has completely different rules for what I'm able to and cannot say when linking to the card since I am not really a direct affiliate. What I want that you know is I it's still looking out for the very best available offer when I suggest one or the various. I will still be maintaining my set of cards that includes gives you that don't pay me anything more. There is never any expectation that you use these links to have a card.

More Info: Carmona, Seville with more history and Heritage cities

Maximize Monday: Getting The Most Points Out of Double and Triple Dipping When Booking Travel

When I checked my Delta SkyMiles and Starwood Preferred Guest accounts the other day, I noticed that my SPG/Delta Crossover Rewards had kicked in and I had started earning Delta miles on my Starwood stays and Starwood points for my Delta flights.

At first I was happy to note that I was double dipping in a sensible manner and had ended up with nearly 1,000 bonus Starpoints. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that even though I was earning both points and miles on my stays and flights with these two particular brands, when it comes to booking travel – and even general spending – I don't always maximize the way I spend my money so that I earn the most points from my purchases. And I'm not alone.

Although there are obvious ways to maximize the points and miles you earn on purchases, such as using an airline or hotel co-branded credit card to earn bonus points on purchases with a particular airline or hotel, or using the Sapphire Preferred to earn 2X points per $1 on travel and restaurant spending, this is only just scratching the surface of earning the most points per dollar, and there are several other factors to consider, like going through an online travel agency (like Travelocity), using shopping portals, and even purchasing gift cards to earn even more points per dollar.

So I thought I'd put together a Maximize Monday post on making the most of your travel purchases as well as your everyday spend.

Although it might seem like booking airfare through an airline's website using a co-branded card that earns 2-3 miles per dollar you spend might be your best option, it actually pays to look at what other bonuses are available through shopping portals as well – especially because unlike hotel points programs, even if you buy airfare through an aggregator like Expedia or Orbitz, you still earn the miles and elite credit for the flights you fly.

Most of these online travel agencies offer the same airfares as booking directly through airline websites and some are even better at displaying your options, especially if you're trying to compare prices among airlines.

Not only that, but several of them regularly offer online shopping portal bonuses and you don't even have to use your associated credit card. For example the Chase Sapphire Preferred Ultimate Rewards shopping portal is currently offering 2 extra points per $1 when you navigate through it to Travelocity for a total of 4 Ultimate Rewards points per $1 you spend there using your Sapphire Preferred. That's the equivalent of 4 miles or points with the program's several travel partners (which include United, Southwest, British Airways, Korean Air, Virgin Atlantic, Hyatt, Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, Priority Club and Amtrak) per $1 – a great value bonus.

You can earn even more bonus points by going through a shopping portal first. These are the current Ultimate Rewards bonuses.

The downside is that if you do this, you won't be earning a purchase bonus by using a particular co-branded credit card to buy tickets on that airline, but I'd take 4X Ultimate Rewards points over 2X miles any day.

Just as a note, Ultimate Rewards is currently only offering 1 extra point per $1 at Expedia, Hotwire, Priceline and Orbitz, though these bonuses often change.

Then remember, that many of these sites have their own rewards programs allowing you to double dip. For example, Expedia offers  1 point for every $2 spent on flights. You can then redeem those points for flights at a ratio of 1 cent apiece (up to 2 cents apiece when redeeming for hotels). So you are getting an extra 0.5% return on your spending.

It's not just Chase, either. American Express Travel offers an additional Membership Rewards point for all flights booked through them. There is sometimes a small fee of about $5 tacked onto flights you book through Amex travel, but sometimes the extra Membership Rewards point per dollar spent will be more valuable than the fee paid. If you use the Premier Rewards Gold or Business Rewards Gold cards to purchase airfare, you earn a base of 3x points, so the additional Amex Travel point brings the total points per dollar for airfare to 4X, another great value. If you have one of Amex's other Membership Rewards-earning cards like the personal or business Platinum cards, you will still be earning 2X points per $1.

When it comes to purchasing airfare, it pays to know the bonuses your individual cards offer – apart from those of an airline co-branded card. Here are some of the top non-airline credit cards to consider using to buy your tickets.

Amex Premier Rewards Gold and Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN: You earn 3x points on all airfare, and then you can transfer those American Express Membership Rewards points to any of 17 airline partners. When you hit $30,000 in spend per calendar year, you also get a 15,000-point bonus on the Premier Rewards Gold – making up to a 50% bonus on your earning.

Chase Sapphire Preferred: This card earns 2 points per $1 spent on travel, including airfare – and that actually ends up being 2.14 points per dollar once you factor in the 7% annual points dividend.

Barclaycard Arrival: Both the card with an $89 annual fee (waived the first year) and the no-fee version offer 2X miles on travel purchases including airfare, which you can then redeem at a rate of 1 cent apiece and get a 10% miles refund after each redemption for a total 2.2% return on your spending.

US Bank FlexPerks Visa Signature: Both the personal and the business versions have the potential to earn 2 FlexPoints for every $1 spent on airline purchases if it's the category you spend the most on that month.Citi ThankYou Premier: This card earns 2 ThankYou points for every dollar spent on dining and travel in the first 12 months, and subsequently 1 ThankYou point for every dollar spent on purchases. However, it also earns 1 Flight Point for any airline flown that you use this card to purchase a ticket on. In addition to the ThankYou points you earn for the dollar amount spent on airfare, an equivalent amount of Flight Points will also be credited to you as ThankYou points, so essentially you're getting double ThankYou points on this spending (quadruple in the first year). If you have the ThankYou Premier, you can then redeem those points for airfare at the rate of 1.33 cents each, so in the first year you have the card, you're earning 5.32% back on airfare purchases, and 2.66% back after the first year.

Citi Hilton HHonors Reserve: Although it's a hotel card, this one earns 5 Hilton HHonors points per $1 spent on airline purchases while the Hilton Visa earns 2 HHonors points per dollar on all purchases including airfare and both the Hilton Amex and the Hilton Surpass card each earn 3 points per $1 on purchases.

Starwood Amex: Though neither the personal nor business versions of this card have an airline category spending bonuses, you can convert those points at a rate of 1.25 miles each when you transfer points to your airline program of choice thanks to the 5,000-mile bonus on transfers of 20,000 points.

Just like with airfare, sometimes it can make more sense to book hotel stays through an online shopping portal like Ultimate Rewards or an online travel agency instead of directly through a hotel – especially if it's not a chain or a brand you normally have points activity with.

With hotel points, it's usually the case that you only earn points and/or elite credit if you book directly through the hotel, so if you go through an online travel agency, you might not be earning points or getting your elite benefits. However, many people report that they still do even when booking through an aggregator. It's taking a chance, though.

The good thing about going through a shopping portal is that you are booking directly with the hotel, so you're still earning the points you would otherwise, plus bonus points or miles.

Like with airfare, Ultimate Rewards usually offers plenty of bonus earning opportunities on hotel purchases. Right now, the Sapphire Preferred UR portal is offering 3 extra points per $1 at Holiday Inn and Express, Intercontinental, Best Western and Choice Hotels, and 2 extra points per $1 at plenty of others including Marriott and Westin. That's all in addition to the 2X points per $1 you earn by booking hotels with the Sapphire Preferred, Ink Bold and Ink Plus cards.

Amex Travel offers cardholders one extra point for eligible travel purchases made on the American Express Travel website.

The other great thing is that in the case of hotels, many airline shopping portals offer bonuses as well. For example, American Airlines is offering 3 miles per $1 at Crowne Plaza and Candlewood Suites right now, and 2 miles per $1 at Choice Hotels, Country Inn and Suites and Best Western. But you can also earn bonus points at sites like GetaRoom.com and BedandBreakfast.com now as well if there are no hotels in your choice programs offering bonuses at the moment.

Then remember, if you go through a portal to an online travel agency, even though you might not earn hotel points, you can still earn points with that agency's loyalty program if it offers one. For example, Expedia Rewards allows customers to earn one reward point for each dollar spent on hotels. Likewise, Hotels.com offers a 10% rebate off your hotel stays through its loyalty program.

If you are not planning to stay at a brand with which you want to earn points, you also have some other options where you can earn airline miles instead. New sites like Rocketmiles partner with hotels in various US cities to offer miles with travelers' choice of American, Delta, United or Hawaiian Airlines (one-night stays usually generate between 3,000-5,000 miles). Pointshound is another such site that gives travelers an average of about 3-4 miles per dollar spent at hotels with United, Delta, Hawaiian and Aeromexico – and it recently added American Airlines and Virgin America as partners as well. Even if you are staying with one of your usual brands, you might choose this option from time to time if you've already hit your elite level goals or if you need to top up a mileage account more than you need the hotel points.

American Express Blue Sky Preferred offers double points for hotel stays booked directly with hotels. Points are worth 1.33 cents each, so hotel stays return 2.66 cents in value.

Chase offers a variety of cards that earn bonus points on hotel bookings. Both the Sapphire Preferred and J.P. Morgan Palladium earn double points on all travel, including hotels booked either directly or through online travel agents. But the Sapphire Preferred features a 7% annual points dividend for a total of 2.14 Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent on hotels. Chase's Ink Bold, Ink Plus, Ink Classic (but not Ink Cash) earn double points on hotel stays booked directly with hotels.

Capital One's Venture card features double miles on all purchases, and each mile is worth one cent towards a statement credit against any travel expense, so you're earning 2% back on your spend, including on hotels.

Barclaycard has recently gotten into the game as well. Like the Capital One Venture Rewards, the Barclaycard Arrival (the version with an $89 annual fee waived the first year) earns double miles per dollar spent, but with a 10% miles refund. Therefore, cardholders receive about 2.22 cents back in value per dollar spent as statement credits towards any travel expense.

This is probably the biggest factor that many of us overlook when trying to maximize our points earning. The fact of the matter is, though, that a little strategic spending can equate to tons of bonus points if you can take advantage of gift cards.

That's because gift cards are sold at many merchants at which certain credit cards offer lucrative category spending bonuses such as office supply stores, gas stations and drugstores. So instead of simply going to a restaurant an using your Sapphire Preferred card, let's say, for 2X points per $1, you could instead buy gift cards to a restaurant at Staples or Office Depot using your Ink Bold or Ink Plus cards and earn 5X Ultimate Rewards points per $1 instead.

Among the gift cards on display at stores that offer category spending bonuses for certain gift cards, you'll often find restaurant and hotel gift cards in varying denominations as well as to other merchants like Petco, Nike, Regal Cinemas and even Southwest.

Specifically in terms of hotels, if you know you'll be spending money at a certain hotel chain, you could purchase a gift card for that chain at a merchant with a big category spending bonus and earn a per-dollar points bonus while still being able to earn the usual hotel points for booking directly with a hotel.

For example, Marriott gift cards are sold at Staples, where Ink Bold and Ink Plus cardholders earn 5 Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent. There are also Marriott gift cards at Lowes, which is eligible for 5x rewards with Chase Freedom during Q2 of 2013.

To take this even one step further, you can triple dip by going through an online shopping portal and seeing what bonuses these retailers is offering and click through the links to earn even more bonus points.

So for instance, right now, the Ultimate Rewards portal is offering 3X points at Office Depot and Office Max and 2X points at Staples. If you clicked through to Staples, then, and bought a Marriott gift card using your Ink Bold or Ink Plus, you'd earn 3X points per $1 plus the usual 5X points per $1 at office supply stores with those cards for 8X points per $1.

Then you could go back to the Ultimate Rewards travel portal, which is offering a bonus of 2X extra Ultimate Rewards points per dollar when you click through to Marriott and make a reservation. You would pay for your stay with the gift card, and still earn a total of 10 Ultimate Rewards points per $1 you spend! Normally you earn 10 Marriott Rewards points per $1 you spend, which I would value at about 0.5 cents apiece for a 5% return on your spending. But those 10 Ultimate Rewards points are much more valuable in my opinion – worth about 2 cents apiece – so I'd prefer them any day.

Now you see why sometimes people don't take advantage of all these possibilities – there are a lot of steps involved!

American Express: The Premier Rewards Gold offers 2X points at gas stations and supermarkets, where gift cards are often sold, and the Business Gold Rewards card offers 2X points at gas stations. The Hilton HHonors Surpass and Hilton Amex cards both earn 6X points at gas stations.

US Bank: The US Bank Flexperks Travel Visa offers 2X points at gas stations or grocery stores (or airlines) depending on which is your highest expense per statement period.

Although it can mean extra work (and calculations!) doing a little bit of math, plotting our your spending and choosing the most lucrative strategy for your needs can reap potentially huge points bonuses for you, getting you to your travel goals even faster.

Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuer. Opinions expressed here are author.s alone, not those of the credit card issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer. This site may be compensated through the credit card issuer Affiliate Program.

DoubleTree's Brand-new YouTube Channel Could Land You a Free Trip Around the world.

The biscuit monster's favorite hotel product, DoubleTree has just launched a fresh travel-themed social media online site called "DTour. " Why should you care? Because to increase it, they're giving away six all-inclusive trips around the globe. Yup, free!

The DTour site is going to be a digital scrapbook, allowing users to write their own stories, photos and videos on to an interactive Google map—thus sharing their travel methods for a particular destination, and possibly being inspired by that experiences of others.

According to a promotional video posted on the website, DTour (which was developed together with Google and lives using a YouTube channel) aims to "redefine like you would plan and share your travels" and give "inspiration to help strategy the trip you've always had to take. "

Some of the travel tips are somewhat useful, like a Seattle video showing a 2-acre mountain / hill bike trail built within the I-5. Though others are additional questionable: do we should preferably be cruising the Chicago, il River with some schmoozy travel talk-show host? Or watching a rerun on the Lonely Planet video approximately music venues in Nashville? (We'll just do it answer that one in your case: nope. )

We can't say DoubleTree is doing anything new here. Facebook and Twitter are about all the "travel sharing" social media you can easily handle right now, and we tend to build great tips on where to start in certain places definitely asking our friends or colleagues that know about the destination we're considering a visit to.

Still, though. If slapping slightly video up onto Metacafe is all we gotta do to win a complimentary trip, then sure, rely us in.

What about you? Will you be increasing the online DTour "community"? Is this an effective trip-planning tool? Let us know with the comments below!

More Info: Say "aloha" best betting Hawaiian

AAdvantageGeek : Reduced AAdvantage Mileage Honours to Vegas.

Enjoy Vegas! With its magnificent illustrates, glitzy Strip, great meals and bustling casinos, Vegas has something to consider for everyone!

Book some sort of Economy Class award meant for travel on American Airline carriers, for only 10, 000 kilometer after kilometer each way, to Vegas in the contiguous U. S. for a total saving of 5, 000 miles on the round trip!

A one-way, coach MilesAAver Award will likely be 12, 500 miles, thus you're saving 2, 500 kilometer after kilometer each way. You can book these reduced mileage awards online and that means you won't have to pay back the ticketing fee, but should you not have AAdvantage Elite position, there's a $75 expense for booking the designation within 21 days with travel.

I wouldn't head off to Vegas just to benefit from this offer, you're simply saving 5, 000 miles and American usually offers some great bargains if you plan in advance.

But if for some reason you must travel to Vegas by the end of May, now you're looking at some pretty steep fares, then employing your miles might make far more sense, and saving 5, 000 miles is a great deal.

Speaking involving Vegas…. just a reminder that Hilton offers 3X AAdvantage Miles at "select Las vegas hotels" through June 31, 2013.

Miles from Blighty - Signing up for Schipol’ s Privium System Immigration card.

This indicates as if I have a number of trips to AMS in your mind over the next year with Immigration lines being extremely lengthy there sometimes, I decided to get their paid-for-use Iris scanning entry system – Privium.

Their offering is available in two 'flavours' – a slimmer version at EUR121 plus the full version at EUR199, every year. There is no sign-up monetary fee, but you have to get your card and have your retina scanned one on one in Amsterdam. The benefits associated with each membership level are shown below:

Once you have selected the version that you would like, you need to supply your details for the Privium web site. You might receive an email confirming your application and two days later you can actually call and schedule a meeting. I did this, and after arriving beginning I was still seen straightaway.

The slightly tricky thing is a location of the lay. It is between Halls 1 and 2 at Schipol. The escalators and lifts that supply you with from the train station come out in order that you have your back on the lounge. However, after a moment I found it!

You go down a pair of flights of wide picket stairs and arrive in a very space-age looking lounge. The Reception desk is immediately while in front of you

The staff on requirement located my application and took me to this Immigration staff who are located right at the end of the lounge:

These people check your passport together with confirm your card. Once this is accomplished the lounge staff get back to scan your retinas, update the card which holds all your personal data. You can use a practise machine if you'd like to try the card. One this done you come back to the desk, pay your fee and become your card. Also you obtain a welcome pack explaining the results, a nice 2GB USB Key and a key ring.

One of the benefits of the lounge (only available with the EUR199 version), is which you can use it when travelling and contains direct access to both the Schengen and non-Schengen features of the airport. More about this tomorrow.

Via: BBC Quick Fix, vocabulary and phrases practices in 40 languages

Rapid Travel Chai - Chai E-book Club: There is Virtually no Brontosaurus?

There is virtually no Brontosaurus? I was fascinated studying CBC's Quirks & Quarks meeting of My Beloved Brontosaurus: On the highway with Old Bones, Completely new Science, and Our Beloved Dinosaurs author Brian Switek (listen here). This intro:

Many people have wonderful childhood memories on their favourite dinosaur, especially a magnificent Brontosaurus. The only problem is actually that scientists have known for regarding green century that there is not a such thing as some sort of Brontosaurus. It is actually an Apatosaurus that had been mistaken for a new species.

Please leave a comment with valid email address contact info by Monday, May 13 from 11: 59 EDT. On the market to US addresses only. One winner can be selected at random.

More Info: Isla de la Plata, the best kept secret of Ecuador

Holiday: World's Largest Econo Stay to Open in Orlando... Do Its Extra Perks Signal a change in Direction?

Say goodbye to the Metropolitan Resort on International Drive in Orlando. This fall, it can be the world's largest Econo Lodge which includes a "whopping" 297 rooms.

A part of us chuckles of the fact that world's largest Econo Resort will humbly boast according to 300 rooms, but we suppose it's just a nice step for the typically small motel chain exactly where novelty goes. Perhaps more important than the size of the property is the other perks that are never normally seen at Econo Lodges including an on-site delicatessen and free in-room Wi-Fi, java makers, refrigerators, and ironing message boards. It will also contain a partnership with the adjacent YMCA Aquatic Center, allowing guests free entry to its three indoor private pools, fitness center, and interior racquetball courts.

Err... this sort of helps make us wonder. Is this a litigation run for Econo Lodge in the case of developing more full-service residences? That's total speculation with our part, but we feel it's worth a mention. Econo Lodges generally are a stash-your-stuff-and-go sort of site, however it seems this location is working hard to get guests to hold around the property. We'll be interested to find if other new Econo Lodges begin to include most same perks. In any case, we hope it fairs more advanced than the other International Push Econo Lodge location downtown that flunked its test on CBS' Undercover Employers.

The work will initiate in June and the different renovations are scheduled to be completed by October. The house or property will remain open through the entire process, so be sure to allow a call meanwhile to see what's taking before booking.

There is no word yet on what's going become of the fees. Right now, a room for the Met will run anyone about $70. We additionally hope the funky bathroom towel art stays.

Loyalty Traveler - California oil and water

Chinatown and There Will Be Blood are two Hollywood movies about California's turbulent history around water and oil.

There Will Be Blood is based on Upton Sinclair's novel Oil, published in 1927, and that story was based on Edward L. Doheny who struck it rich in oil in Los Angeles, California in 1892. The Doheny Estate is owned by the city of Beverly Hills and the Greystone mansion has a haunted story to tell.

Just south of Monterey County in San Luis Obispo County is Highway 46, the road that takes travelers from Cambria on the Pacific Ocean coast a few miles south of where Hearst Castle is located to the Central Valley of California.

James Dean Memorial Junction is the spot where James Dean died at the age of 24 in a car crash September 30, 1955 weeks after completing the movie Giant.

Highway 46 was known for years as blood alley for its 60-mile long stretch of straight two lane road between Highway 101 and Interstate 5, the two main north-south freeways in California.  The road was only expanded to four lanes in the past three years.

There is oil all over California. Monterey County has oil wells in the San Ardo oil field in the upper Salinas Valley. Oil rigs are in the sea from Long Beach to Santa Barbara. As I passed through Bakersfield there are several vineyards with oil pumpjacks right in the middle of the grape vines.

California Aqueduct is a 700 mile canal transporting water from the Sierra Nevada mountains to the Central Valley farms and cities along the coast.

As Egypt's Tourism Industry Languishes, Antiquities Under Threat

Now the tumultuous situation is affecting one of the nation's main sources of income – its ancient heritage. Al-Ahram Weekly investigated several reports of damage at ancient sites and found a dire situation of neglect and willful destruction. At the ancient capital Amarna, farmers spread their fields onto the archaeological site. Part of the Graeco-Roman site of Al-Bordan got bulldozed when "developers" built holiday homes for themselves. At the ancient city of Iwn, a group moved in and built a car wash right on top of some ancient buildings.

In some places the destruction has been stopped. Police stepped in at Amarna before any serious damage was done. In others, the damage is already done and is even continuing.

The most famous site to suffer damage is Dashour, site of the famous Bent Pyramid (shown here in this Wikimedia Commons image). Part of the pyramid was damaged when locals built a cemetery nearby. Others in the area see the value of the site and staged a protest at the pyramid, holding up signs that said, "God does not bless a nation that ruins its heritage," and, "Heritage is our past, present and future. Let's protect it with love and respect."

A growing Islamist movement in Egypt has been blamed for the recent upturn in disrespect for ancient sites, but the Al-Ahram reports that even Cairo's ninth century Ibn Tulun mosque has suffered neglect and the area next to the walls is being used as a refuse dump.

Tourism is one of Egypt's main sources of hard currency. With tourist numbers down, police and archaeologists struggle to get the funds to protect the sites that generate income, thus creating a vicious downward spiral.

Delta Points - SWAG Saturday: What is your aspirational “fun”!

This past Friday, before a PVT BoardingArea conference, I had the amazing privilege of flying with MJ from MJ on travel. As many readers know when I started in college I was going for my pilot's license. I chose not to follow that but MJ did and flew for AA way back when. What a fun time we had buzzing around Colorado Springs and I think you will see more about the day and some photos on his blog soon (and maybe a few photos here as well)!

But that brings up my question for today's swag giveaway. What would you like to use points to do for the "first time ever". I love love love to scuba dive. It had been a while since I "got wet" and Lisa & I had a stupid amount of fun last year in Grand Cayman on points that I mostly got from both of us EACH getting an INK BOLD and an INK PLUS card each last year.

So for today's giveaway, all you need to do is tell me what you have always wanted to do and hope to use points to get that done? As always the rules are HERE and I will be picking the winners for the fun mix of travel stuff you see below! – René

More Info: Sri Lanka: traveling the the train of tea

My SPG Platinum Requalification Gift Choice: Double Starpoints or 35% Award Discount

Starwood offers elites who requalify for their tier in 2013 a choice of elite gifts. Golds who requalify (10 stays/25 nights) get the choice of a 25% discount on one award stay or double points for a month, and Platinums (25 stays/50 nights) get the choice of a 35% discount on one award stay or double points for a month.

I just requalified for Platinum with 50 nights year-to-date thanks in part to starting the year with 10 elite nights thanks to my SPG Personal and Business Amex cards which give 2 stays/5 nights each towards elite status. To get notification of the gift, make sure you're opted in to Starwood's promotional emails, but even if you do not receive Starwood's promotional emails, you can still register for this promotion here.

Preferred members who achieve Gold status and Gold members requalifying are eligible for the Gold gift. Gold members who achieve Platinum status and Platinum members requalifying are eligible for the Platinum gift. If a member obtains Gold status by meeting the spend threshold on their SPG Amex co-brand credit card, they will also be eligible for the Gold gift. Lifetime Gold members who hit the Gold stay or night thresholds and Lifetime Platinums who hit the Platinum stay or night thresholds will also be eligible for gift selection.

Comped Gold status from the Amex Personal and Business Platinum cards will not get you the Gold gift. Also, those who are Platinum, but don't requalify for Platinum – even if they get Gold, they won't get a gift.

The promotion is ongoing, so you can qualify and register throughout 2013, and those who qualify in December of 2013 for the Gold or Platinum gift can register and up until early in 2013.

Per the promotional terms and conditions, if I choose the double points option, I earn double points just on my base earning. So whereas right now I earn 2 Starpoints per $1, plus 2 more Starpoints per $1 as a Platinum and an additional 2 points per $1 with my Starwood Amex, for a total of 6 Starpoints per $1. If I choose this option, though, I'll earn an additional 2 points per $1 on base spending for a total of 8 Starpoints per $1. You get to choose from three possible months provided as options at the time I register. That just gives me until September, so I find this option fairly limited.

I'm personally much more interested in the 35% off redemption gift. To book a discounted award stay, you must get the Award ID on your registration confirmation and call the SPG number at 1-888-625-4991 to book (you can't do it online). This benefit is also only available at Category 1-6 hotels for stays up to a five-night stay up to six months from registration and applies only to standard room categories.

To max out the point savings at a Category 6 hotel like the Hotel Imperial in Vienna, you could book four award nights at a peak time when award nights 25,000 points each (and get the fifth night free) for a total of 100,000 Starpoints, when rooms are going for 419 EUR ($550) per night.

With the 35% off elite gift, you'd get 35,000 points back, so your five nights would cost a total of 65,000 points instead of $2,750, getting a value of about 4.2 cents per point.

To earn more than 35,000 points (the equivalent of what you're saving) with the double points promotion, you'd need to spend at least $17,500 during your selected double points month. That's something I won't be doing, but if you plan huge events or are a road warrior, the double points may be the way to go.

This option has the potential to be extremely lucrative at lower category hotels as well. To take an example, I'm thinking of going to Sydney for New Year's.  The Westin Sydney is a Category 5 property that normally requires 12,000 Starpoints for an award night.I could book four nights at 12,000 points and get a fifth night free, spending a total of 48,000 Starpoints. However, I'd then get 25%, or 16,800 Starpoints back.

So my total redemption would be 31,200 Starpoints for five nights in Sydney over New Year's – a breakdown of 6,240 Starpoints per night.

Room rates at the same time are a whopping $750 AUD ($770 USD), so those five nights would cost me $3,750 AUD ($3,845), giving me a value of 12.4 cents per point. Thanks SPG! Even though I'm not maxing out the rebate with a category 5 hotel, I'd still save 16,800 Starpoints- to get that many during a double points month I'd need to spend at least $8,400.

The one chance I would have to take on that particular redemption is that I can only book up to 6 months out, so I will have to wait to register until the end of June to book this award and hope rooms are still available.

All in all, I think it's nice that Starwood rewards loyal customers for qualifying for their tier early, even if it's just under the deadline, and a 35% points discount can be a great way to save a ton of points if you plan your redemptions carefully.

Double Starpoints® Month: Registered member can choose to earn double Starpoints on all eligible stays during the calendar month of their choice from the three months provided as options. Retroactive selecting of the member's bonus month is prohibited. Members who earn double Starpoints will earn an additional two Starpoints per eligible US$1 spent (for a total of four Starpoints per dollar). Elite-level extra Starpoints earnings and other bonuses will not be doubled. Only the base two Starpoints per dollar earnings are doubled. There is no limit to the number of bonus Starpoints that can be earned during the promotion period. Bonus Starpoints will post to the registered member's account within 2–4 weeks after the qualifying stay posts. An Eligible Night is a night at any of the over 1,100 SPG®-participating hotels and resorts paying an Eligible Rate during the promotion period. An Eligible Rate is any rate that is eligible to earn Starpoints in the Starwood Preferred Guest® program. SPG-participating hotels and resorts and a description of Eligible Stays and Eligible Rates can be found at spg.com under program terms and conditions. See Section 1.4 b iii for the complete definition of Eligible Rates, but note that certain prepaid rooms where the booking is made through a third party (including but not limited to travelocity.com, expedia.com and orbitz.com) are not Eligible Rates and do not earn Starpoints or qualify toward promotional earnings.s

35% off Starpoints® Redemption: Registered member chose one (1) 35%-off redemption award. SPG® members must call 1-888-625-4991 or their nearest Starwood Preferred Guest® Customer Contact Center and mention Award ID PP2POR. Offer is valid for one award at Category 1–6 hotels and resorts for up to a five-night stay through November 30, 2013. This 35%-off redemption offer excludes Category 7 properties, upgrade awards and award reservations booked online. 35%-off redemption and no blackout dates applies to standard room categories only. 35%-off redemption stay will count toward elite qualification. Member forfeits percent-off redemption when modifying award reservation outside the offer dates. If a percent-off redemption award is cancelled, only the amount of Starpoints used to order the percent-off redemption award will be credited to the member's account. Other restrictions may apply. Advance reservations required.

Qualifications and Starwood Terms: Offers are nontransferable and void for Starwood employees. Once a member chooses his or her offer it cannot be changed at any time. All promotions are subject to the Starwood Preferred Guest program terms and conditions, which are subject to change without notice and can be found at spg.com. Offer is applicable to individual members only and not to groups. Not responsible for omissions or typographical errors. Starwood reserves the right to discontinue this offer at any time. To update your communication preferences or learn about our privacy practices, view our Privacy Statement on spg.com/privacy, or access our privacy information line by calling 1-877-782-0071 in the U.S. and Canada or +353-21-4930474 in all other countries. Starpoints, SPG, Preferred Guest, Sheraton, Four Points, W, Aloft, The Luxury Collection, Le Méridien, Element, Sheraton, St. Regis and their respective logos are the trademarks of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., or its affiliates. Void where prohibited by law. ©2013 Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. All rights reserved.

This content is not provided or commissioned by the company whose products are featured on this site. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or evaluations provided here are those of the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the Advertiser. This site may be compensated through the Advertiser's affiliate programs.

More Info: Train stations to watch before you travel

AirBnB Flexes Its Muscles: May be the Hotel Industry Worried?

Where: Various Locations The chatter surrounding Airbnb has found in the last few months because of its now simple reputation within the lodging industry, although it is been around for a couple decades now. Based on Yahoo News, Airbnb listings -- aka rooms for rent -- have risen from 10,000 at the end of 2009 to 300,000 across 192 nations today. At the conclusion of this past year, the numbers proposed Airbnb could surpass Hilton in number of rooms booked. That's a serious growth spurt! Obviously, Airbnb's rise in popularity shows it's no longer an alternative limited to hippies and free spirits, a well known fact that has caught the interest of some within the hotel industry. The major question becomes: Can Airbnb really pose a threat to resort income and occupancy? Well, considering the fact that both business and leisure travelers are using the service, nightmare yes it can! Price, range, and the concept of having a traditional experience appear to be driving Airbnb's achievement as travelers turn to not only cut costs but to throw themselves locally while on the way. "It is obviously painful to discover a nice and inexpensive place to keep particularly when you travel alone and do not know concerning the place you're likely to visit," mentioned Lu Cao, from Portland, OR. Airbnb several times were used by "i around different U.S. Towns and they all ended up to be good. You can always learn a large amount of local information from the hosts, and the always check in/out time can become more flexible than the usual hotel. Also, the majority of them offer free WiFi connection." For example, a of the Airbnb entries in NYC for this weekend showed over a rooms available for less than $100 a night. Meanwhile, a of hotels.com for the same time frame and same cost range pulled up a listing of accommodations generally located in Nj-new Jersey, many poor reviews had been received by of. In addition, in case you didn't know, New Jersey is not New York City! Therefore, if Airbnb has more options at lower costs and culture begins to see it to be secure (aka we work through thinking every stranger is a serial killer), why could not the service contend with resorts? Especially considering all of the "support local" movements happening in the united states. Speak about promoting the neighborhood economy and people -- your tourism pounds would actually go directly into their pockets. We see opposition as a very important thing, so we're looking forward to seeing what Airbnb continues to accomplish and the way the hotel business reacts. [Photo: ABC News]

Via: The Gijón botanical celebrates its 10th anniversary with open days

5 Famous People From Florence, Italy

Florence is more than just a beautiful Italian city; over the years it has been the birthplace of many very important people in history, from Donatello to Catherine de Medici.

Although there are probably as many notable people who have hailed from this city as there are places to stay in Florence, let's take a look at five you will certainly recognise…

Florence is known as the birthplace of Renaissance, and was the home of many famous Renaissance artists such as Donatello and Michelangelo.

Donatello revolutionized the 15th century art scene. One of his most famous works is "David," a bronze statue commissioned for the court of the Palazzo Medici.

It was the very first free-standing nude sculpture made since ancient times and it was like no other work at the time.

Michelangelo is another important Renaissance artist associated with Florence. He too created a "David" statue, which is perhaps even more famous than that of Donatello.

The statue is meant to be a representation in marble of the perfect male form – so why did his creator not make him – how would one say – a little better endowed?

The mystery is said to have been solved, apparently his "male organ" is supposed to have shrunk by the fear of Goliath..!

Where: Although the real statues of David are in Museo Nazionale del Bargello and Galleria dell'Accademia, you can see a replica of Michelangelo's David at Piazza della Signoria.

Born in Florence in 1940, Roberto Cavalli is a fashion designer who is known for created the "sand-blasted" style of lighter-coloured denim jeans, which is now a standard style for many denim makers.

He began his career in 1965 when he was only in his 20s, creating hand-painted T-shirts. He went on to become one of the most well-known Italian fashion designers.

Elton John is a huge fan and is said to spend hours in the store picking out clothes. Cavalli's designs are synonymous with rock-and-roll and they utilize a lot of leather, colour, silk, feathers and much more.

Where: Next to his shop is Caffe Giacosa, a great cafe which Cavalli actually owns (and designed of course!). It has a great atmosphere and delicious food and coffee!

Daughter to Lorenzo ll de Medici, Catherine was a French/Italian noble woman born in Florence in 1519. She would eventually take the throne as the Queen of France after marrying King Henry II when she was only 14.

Henry's death thrust her into the political arena. In 1560 her frail 15-year-old son, King Francis II died, leaving her as regent on behalf of her 10-year-old son, King Charles IX. She also played a key role in the reign of her third son, Henry III.

Although she is thought to be unforgivably ruthless, she is considered by many historians to be the most powerful woman in 16th century Europe.

Where: The Uffizi museum (one of the most famous in the world) was once a palace of the Medici family full of art treasures. Today visitors can view the art collected by the family and others at the museum.

Botticelli was born in Florence circa 1445 and went on to become an Italian painter during the Early Renaissance. He studied at the Florentine school under the esteemed patronage of the famous Lorenzo de Medici during what would later be considered the "Golden Age."

His best known works are "The Birth of Venus" and "Primavera" (also known as the "Allegory of Spring"). The latter is said to be one of the most written about and most controversial paintings in the world.

These are just five examples of famous people who have hailed from Florence, Italy, but of course there have been many more over the years. This city just seems to have something special and inspiring and when you visit you will see it for yourself.

About the Author: Sarah Sherman is a freelance writer who has spent the last two months making her way slowly across Italy and writing about what she discovers. She has fallen in love with this city.

Delta Points - Swag Saturday: What is your best SPG upgrade?

I will have a review soon of my stay at the SPG LAX. It was a great stay. I slept well and was 100% recharged for my final two legs of my 12 leg mileage run. I even scored my first battlefield upgrade and the LAX-JFK flight was very very nice and will cover that soon too! But for today, let's power up again.

On my trip I have used my ANKER ASTRO2 power brick a bunch. I have one more to give away So the rules, as always, are HERE! Then, you need to answer this simple question:

That simple. I have found SPG to be one of the best hotels in both product and service. If you don't have an SPG card yet, you are missing out! – René

Via: Is very easy: photos from abroad this week, following American Adventure

New York: Dream Friday: Flatiron Hotel's $8,000 Birthday "Pimping" Package

Here's the most recent happening in the luxury hotel world as told by JustLuxe.com. Got a question about luxury resorts, the journey industry, and where to stay? Send it in and we'll have JustLuxe answer it. Whoever came up with that little slogan aItas the thought that countsa for special-occasion gifting is really a more spiritually developed creature than we (or Kristen Stewart aor Johnny Deppas new piece) will ever be. Caring feelings are appreciated, but when you really wish to make our next birthday unforgettable, please book us the VIP birthday package at the Flatiron Hotel. Particularly, the one which comes with a private sushi cook, a classic Cadillac Deville a65 with chauffeur, four tickets to the New York Giants, and all-day spa treatments for all the friends who're remaining with us in the 4000-square-foot Toshias Penthouse. Along with a few more little things we havenat comprehensive (full offer details following the leap). Itas $8000 per individual, plus tip and tax, but if someone is loved by you, moneyas a small price to pay for, right? aThese customized, over-the-top festivals could only be available in the greatest city in the world,a says resort owner Robert aToshia Chan. His resort can be providing two more cost-effective birthday packages, on the more reasonable tip. The entry-level Preening package includes treat, a Birthdaya serenade from your house group, and wine package support (with fireworks delivery!!) for $95 per person (room charge maybe not included). That is available to non-guests as well. The next level is Strutting, and generally includes sets from Preening along with a 5-course gourmet selection, a cake and VIP sitting in the lounge. Price: $195 per person, on top of room rate. Also offered to non-guests. But that is Fantasy Friday, therefore letas concentrate on the $8K Pimping offer. Cap tip to Toshi Chan, because it more or less reads like a common weekend itinerary for Jay-Z and Beyonce, the couple that defined major pimpina. Behold: aPremium bottle of French Champagne aPersonalized cocktail produced by mixologist aOriginal birthday song played by Toshias band aChoreographed unique dance with a corps of wonderful professional Broadway performers (gender recommended ) aPremium lounge section aToshias personal sushi cooking makes new sushi at table-side Over 10 lb. Alaskan King Crab (flown in live from Alaska) prepared with garlic and new butter over a bed of pasta aOvernight stay in Toshias Penthouse aChauffeured trip door to door in Toshias classic Cadillac Deville a65 convertible or Ford Galaxie a66 aFour (4) quality New York Jets or New York Giants Football Tickets (in-season just ) aFull human body massage, cosmetic, reflexology, and aromatherapy remedies in Toshias Penthouse for all members of the Agroup A modern urban store resort neighboring Madison Square Park and Mario Batalias Eataly, Flatiron Hotel is well known because of its live music displays six evenings weekly in the lobby lounge. If you plan on hitting the sack early request an area on a top floor. [Photos: Flatiron Hotel]

Via: To ensure the future, national parks look beyond aging 'baby boomers'

Compromise My Trip - Rocketmiles Fizzles after Launch

Thereas been plenty of excitement about Rocketmiles within the last two weeks. You all know from my previous threads that Iam a lover of PointsHound, and the programs are extremely similar: generate miles in a existing airline commitment program when scheduling hotels on top. I knew what made PointsHound great: the opportunity to earn even more miles as a buyer and adouble dipa by making both airline miles AND resort points/status. Nevertheless the main appeal to Rocketmiles appeared to be just lots and lots of miles. Thatas wonderful a' if you earn enough miles to create up for the tradeoffs. Up to now I've maybe not been impressed. PointsHound does that, also, having its aBig Earningsa costs at select houses. So how exactly do the 2 companies assess? Hereas my present impression of Rocketmiles: But I know generalities aren't enough. A few test comparisons were run by me for future travel times, picking to credit my reward miles to United Airlines in all cases.AI conducted some test searches using a fresh PointsHound account at Level 1. That is an important qualifier because theAnumber of miles you generate can more than doubleAas you book more times and development to raised levels. Depending on your scheduling patterns, the winner in these evaluations may change. Also donat forget that when you want to visit Wichita, as I will in June, PointsHound will help you out but Rocketmiles arises nothing. My searches were restricted to markets served by both businesses. Letas skip directly to my home town. June is peak tourist year in Seattle, and the resort industry is ridiculous. Remember my Insideras Guide from the couple months ago? It may be clear in winter and then book full months beforehand in summer time. Luckily we have a lot of good hotels, nevertheless the capacity issue shows that decision is essential. Rocketmiles offeredAonly two hotels for this weekend trip. Resort Max was offered at $219 per night and 7,000 miles total, while Hotel Vintage Park was offered at $240 per night and 2000 miles total. These are reasonable rates and good hotels. PointsHound matched those rates but offered only 1,900 miles for the Hotel Max while getting closer to the competition with 1,800 miles for Hotel Vintage Park. What enjoyed about PointsHound is that in addition it provided dozens more hotel possibilities beyond both supplied by Rocketmiles. A number of these were at similar or cheaper prices and included significant restaurants that will honor your elite benefits if you'd status. Like, the W Seattle was $289 per evening with 1,800 miles total. Access was also provided by pointshound to Double Dip prices including hotel details and standing. In some instances, theseADouble Dip rates also have AAA savings! (This really is something PointsHound could do a better work advertising.) When I engaged to see Double Dip alternatives for the W Seattle, I saw that the price dropped only $249 per night for a AAA rate that involved 1,400 miles plus most of the common SPG factors and elite keep credit. Nevada is known for the deep reductions and scarcity of important hotel chains (well, not necessarily, but handful of them are on the Strip). In cases like this, I ruled out PointsHoundas Double Dip element and assessed choices fully on price.ABoth companies provide large usage bonuses, hitting five numbers for a three-night stay. I wonat quibble with the hotel possibilities supplied by Rocketmiles. Most of them are quality resorts, like the Wynn, Venetian, Caesars Palace, and Trump Hotel. Iall even venture out on a limb and say it was great to start to see the Tropicana there (which seems to have eventually recovered after being renovated; it now works as a DoubleTree). But Vegas is about finding a deal, and there have been no offers to be had here with Rocketmiles. Wynn Nevada Rocketmiles: $302 per night and 15,000 miles total PointsHound: $212 per night and 2000 miles full The Venetian Resort Hotel & Casino Rocketmiles: $196 per night and 5,500 miles complete PointsHound: $196 per evening and 2,200 miles complete Tropicana Hotel & Casino Rocketmiles: $230 per evening and 15,000 miles overall PointsHound: $57 per evening and 700 miles total Trump International Hotel Rocketmiles: $133 per night and 3,000 miles overall PointsHound: $125 per night and 1,600 miles whole Whoa, that Tropicana price was decent! To acknowledge, $57 is one of PointsHoundas periodic one-day sales, but also the normal rate was only $116, about half that of Rocketmiles. You're keeping therefore much money that it's difficult to justify the extra miles provided by Rocketmiles (and I would assume PointsHound to raise its benefit after the price returns on track). In most case I looked at, even those perhaps not shown here, PointsHound had an equal or greater rate. But, these four cases do suggest that PointsHound now offers fewer miles. How large of an issue is that? With the Tropoicana, you pay $519 more ($173/night) to earn 14,300 miles a' properly getting them for 3.6 dollars each. With the Wynn, you pay $270 more ($90/night) for 13,000 miles a' buying them for 2.1 cents each. I'd not suggest paying more to Rocketmiles merely to earn more miles. And again, PointsHound had more possibilities in the event that you desired to choose something cheaper. Washington, DC, was a good bargain. It may be a pricey industry, and there are lots of resorts either separate or part of key organizations. Many more options were provided by rocketmiles than I got for either Seattle or Nevada, which I thought would make it simpler to compare them to your competition. The Dupont Circle Hotel, where Megan and I remained throughout certainly one of her recent business trips, is a great hotel and available for $249 a night with 4,500 bonus miles. That seems compelling, but PointsHound had exactly the same resort for only $239 and 3,100 bonus miles. $10 more may be worth the additional 1,400 miles, but such close numbers show you should check both websites in the future to evaluate their differences. The Washington Marriott was $299 on both sites, but miles were earned 5,000 by you with Rocketmiles and only 800 with PointsHound. In this case, the thing protecting PointsHound is that it presented a Double Dip rate for hotel details and status. However, Iam uncertain itas worthwhile to give up therefore many miles on a one-night stay. (But like in Seattle, selecting Double Dip will provide different reduced charges, also, like a AAA rate for $284.) In fact, few miles were offered relatively by many of the hotels in Washington, DC, when I check always PointsHound. In this case, Rocketmiles won, but I still loved that PointsHound provided many more possibilities. Iam a guy who likes to see his choices and crunch the numbers, and I think that'll often bug me about Rocketmiles. I can comprehend the appeal of Rocketmiles. If you donat care one bit about hotel elite status, and if a lot of choice may be overwhelming, then the choices and Double Dip functions supplied by PointsHound mightn't matter. If major markets are only visited by you, then Rocketmilesa limited choice could possibly be adequate. A year people who travel only once or twice might care more in regards to the upfront miles compared to the potential to earn more with PointsHound as a repeat customer. But I discovered that Rocketmiles wasnat only ahand selectinga its resorts. Why could it discover six to 12 resorts in certain areas like Washington, DC, but only produce two in downtown Seattle?AThis gave the impression to me that its options were based strictly on the size of the fee it could disagree from the hotel. Certain, a big percentage suggests more miles for you personally, too, but I love option. Why bother disclosing the name of the hotel at all, if miles are all that issue? Rocketmiles could just like easily take on Hotwire. PointsHound continues to earn my benefit thanks to Double Dip rates so I can earn my resort things and elite status. I do believe that's enough to create up for fewer airline miles. You'll earn greater awards more comparable to those made available from Rocketmiles, if you guide enough. Ultimately, PointsHound also offered aBig Earningsa charges that are just like the big bonuses stated by Rocketmiles a' circumstances where PointsHound has gotten larger commissions and could afford to share more of it with you. If you care less in regards to the hotel and want plenty of miles, look for Big Earnings choices the very next time you try PointsHound. Disclaimer, I earn a few bonus miles if you use my link to sign up for PointsHound, but only after you make your first booking. If you have a look and choose itas perhaps not for you, nothing is earned by me. But I would be interested in understanding more about why you decided to book elsewhere.