Will Run For Miles

Sync American Express & Twitter Promotion

2012-03-09T13:04:00.000-08:00

American Express has been coming at us so fast and furious with promotions that I'm honestly considering renewing my card next year! First, it was the Small Business $25 promotion, then a series of promotions involving checking in on Foursquare where you sync your Amex to Foursquare.

The most recent promotion of this genre is between American Express and Twitter, and its called "Tweet Your Way to Savings with American Express."

Sign in with twitter to get started here.

As explained by American Express, all you need to do is Sync your eligible American Express® Card with Twitter, and Tweet special offer #hashtags to load exclusive offers directly to your Card.... and voila, you will receive an automatic statement credit when you make a qualified purchase in store or online with your synced card.

Check out the hashtag #syncwithtwitter on Twitter!

some of the deals include:
$10 back on $50+ purchase @ H&M
$5 back on $5+ purchase @ McDonald's
$20 back on $75 purchase @ Whole Foods
$10 back on $25 purchase @ Seamless.com
10% back @ Virgin American

and it looks like Amex is adding more deals in the pot! So, if you have an Amex card and were on the fence about joining Twitter, now may be a good time to check it out.

and, while you're at it, please follow me on Twitter too! You can find me at Katruns26point2.

I have some giveaways coming up, including a pair of arm warmers from the one and only --------------------------> ZENSAH!

Marathon Hotel Booking - Do it Yourself & Do it Early!

2012-03-09T05:19:00.004-08:00

When I decide to travel to an out-of-town race, it is key to: (1) register for the race; (2) make travel arrangements; and (3) make hotel or other lodging arrangements. It goes without saying that training for the event and getting to the race uninjured are paramount.

When booking your hotels directly, keep in mind that:

(a) there may be additional rates, such as AAA, Government, Corporate or AARP, which might bring down the rate from the daily rate offered by a hotel. Even if these rates don't reduce the price, using the special rate may be advantageous in other ways, such as offering breakfast, or permitting cancellation. Once it dawns on the hotels that there is a big event coming to town with a corresponding high demand for rooms, they typically hike up the prices and remove some or all of the special rates --- this is another reason to book early and lock in lower rates;

(b) it is generally best to book early at a refundable rate - perhaps even before you definitively know you are going to go to the race. With any large marathon, prices generally only go up as the race date draws closer. If a hotel is running a sale and offers a special non-refundable price that is substantially better than the refundable rate, you might also consider that purchase. Priceline's "Name Your Own Price" is another option, but know that you will not usually be given a late checkout by a hotel booked with Priceline - so, if you plan to shower at the hotel and leave the same day as the marathon, unless you are a 3-hour marathoner, I wouldn't recommend using Priceline;

(c) you will get better deals if you wish to stay further from the start or finish of the race. (Personally, I prefer to be close to the action);

(d) if you have status with one hotel chain, check to see if they have a hotel nearby and their rates first. Also, always determine whether, when booking with a third-party agency, if you will be credited with whatever points and amenities that you would otherwise receive from the hotel if you were to book directly with them.

Even though many of the larger marathons in the larger cities (such as New York, Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago, and any of the Rock n' Roll or ING marathons) seem to now have affiliated entities claiming "negotiated" deals at nearby hotels, I have found that, especially when it comes to these "larger races, in larger cities" - it often pays to book your room directly with a hotel.

This became totally clear two days ago. Registration for the Marine Corps Marathon opened at 3pm on March 7th and filled up in a record-breaking 2 hours and 41 minutes!

The Marine Corps Marathon website advertises a listing of "special" hotel prices, offered by the "special" marathon agency for marathon weekend, onPeak. The link to onPeak's hotels looks like this:

OnPeak makes some very grand representations about the services it offers and the low hotel rates it has negotiated - the website says::

Benefits of booking in the official housing block

Book through onPeak to ensure you pay the lowest price and get the best service with reservation protection, flexibility and assistance—before, during and after your stay.

Best Rate Pledge

• The lowest room rates available have been negotiated at official hotels.

• Other booking channels are monitored to track down rival rates.

• Rates are lowered when necessary and applied to already-booked rooms.

I decided to conduct a little experiment. I randomly chose a few of the 23 hotels listed by onPeak on the Marine Corps Marathon website. I checked to see what the rates would be if I were to book these hotels myself. I looked at various rates (note: government rate is $226 across the board in the Washington, DC vicinity). In many instances, prices were significantly higher with onPeak - which, as stated above, promises "the lowest room rates available." (I tried to phone onPeak, but was left on hold for a long time, so I never found out if they would in fact honor the lower rates which I found, or what other benefits they offered to those using their services that would make it worthwhile to use them).

here's my research - In each case, I searched for two nights- October 27, 2012 to October 29, 2012. :

Capital Hilton - 1001 16th Street, NW, Washington, DC

rate offered by onPeak
- $189 per night
rates offered by Hilton:
- Best available rate - $239
- AAA rate - $215
-Senior rate - $227

Marriott Courtyard Alexandria Pentagon South, Alexandria, VA

rate offered by onPeak
- $ 129
rates offered by Marriott
-Weekend rate - $139
- AAA rate $118
- Senior rate $118
Sheraton National Hotel, Arlington, VA
rate offered by onPeak
- $ 179
rate offered by hotel (Starwood)
- Best available rate - $239
- Save 20% -prepaid rate (non-refundable) - $147.20
-AAA rate - $115
- Senior rate - $191

Radisson Hotel, Reagan National Airport, Arlington, VA
rate offered by onPeak
- $158
rate offered by Radisson
- best available rate - $129
- hot deals rate (non-refundable) - $116.10
- AAA rate - $116.10
- Senior rate - $116.10

As you can see, the rates vary greatly, and that's why it pays to do your homework! Clearly, the negotiated rate for the Hilton was decent, while the rate offered for the Radisson was not. Then again, on the luxury end of the spectrum, the rate offered by onPeak for the Ritz Carlton was more than $100 better than the rate available directly from the Ritz Carlton website.

Also remember that there are hundreds of other hotels in Washington, DC and Virginia to choose from.

and there you have it...

What has been your experience? Any tips you can add to this?

Do you want to know what I booked?

Tweet & Get $1 Off Amazon MP3 Albums and Songs

2012-03-01T20:02:00.001-08:00

Just follow the instructions here!

AmazonMP3

You'll be taken to an Amazon.com page that instructs you to click a button, which will:

Connect your Amazon.com and Twitter accounts. (If you are not already signed in, you will be prompted to do so).
A window will pop up when you connect your Amazon.com and Twitter accounts for the first time. The window will provide some information about the permissions you're giving Amazon.com. Though these permissions allow us to post tweets for you, we will only post the message below. If at any time you would like to disconnect your Amazon.com and Twitter accounts, you can do so from the Applications tab of your settings page on Twitter.
Automatically follow @amazonmp3. The message "I just got a $1 credit for music from @amazonmp3. Click http://amzn.to/AFlt0P to get yours. #hollerforadollar" will be automatically tweeted from your Twitter account. A $1 credit towards purchases at Amazon MP3 will be automatically added to your Amazon account.

The page further states that:

• This credit can only be used towards MP3 purchases and will expire at 11:59 p.m. Pacific on March 5, 2012.
• Although the price shown on the detail page will not change, your credit will automatically be applied to your purchase.
• After your purchase, you can confirm that the credit was applied by checking your order confirmation, which will be sent to you by e-mail.
• To receive this offer, you must click the button to follow Amazon MP3 and Amazon Deals on Twitter and tweet the above message between March 1, 2012, at 6:00 PM PST and March 5, 2012, at 11:59 PM PST.
• Offer limited to one promotional credit per Amazon.com customer.

Please note: Will Run For Miles may have a financial relationship with some of the merchants advertised on the blog, and may receive compensation if consumers utilize the links located on this site and generate sales therefrom.

Singapore flights from NYC on Delta for around $700! Have you considered running the Singapore Marathon?

2012-02-26T11:41:00.000-08:00

I confess. I'm a travel bug. I'm a marathon bug. I want to travel everywhere. I want to run everywhere.

I've never been to Singapore, but it fits in the category of "I've never been there but would love to visit someday," along with about a zillion other places. So, this morning I learned from a friend on a list-serve (hat tip to Michael Dunn) that there are flights on Delta from Newark (EWR) to Singapore (SIN) for around $700. The airfare to Singapore is generally much, much higher - at least $1,500!!

Insanity took over my brain. Its a crazy thought, spending 24+ hours traveling somewhere, only to spend 2 or 3 days there. When I talk about adventures such as this, I get excited. People roll their eyes at me, or, worse, think I'm ready for the loony bin. Maybe I'm a madwoman, but I see trips like this as a journey, and I consider time spent in airplanes and airports as part of the journey, rather than as a waste of time or annoyance (OK, sometimes its annoying, but I'm great at rationalizing). With each trip, my life starts changing way before I actually begin the trip.

Back to the flight. As is often the case when I learn of a good airfare, I google and see if and when there's a marathon at that destination. This explains how I ran the Panama City marathon in 2010, and the Barcelona marathon in 2011. I found a good fare, found the marathon, discovered the good fare was available for the marathon, and the rest is history. Such amazing experiences.

Yup, that's me in Old Panama City

Singapore hosts a large and famous marathon -the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon.

The Singapore Marathon will take place on December 2, 2012. Unfortunately, I'm already committed to run another marathon that weekend (the St. Jude Memphis Marathon), but I decided to do a search on Kayak to see if the cheap airfares were available that weekend. Sure enough, there is a flight available for $717:

Depart: Thu 11/29 Return: Mon 12/3 (Trip spans 5 days)

$717

Delta

EWR

8:05a

→

SIN

1:05a

28h 00m

2 stops (MSP…)

SIN

6:00a

→

EWR

5:43p

24h 43m

2 stops (NRT…)

Economy

Incidentally, there is another marathon in Singapore called the Sundown Marathon on May 26, 2012. Sundown event also includes a 10K and a Half Marathon. I have another commitment that weekend (Memorial Day weekend) as well, but, if you are interested in running in Singapore, this is another option to explore.

On Delta (and all other airlines as well) any reservation - even a non-refundable reservation, can be canceled without penalty if canceled by midnight of the following day. So, if you might be interested in visiting Singapore, book it and think about it, because this airfare may not be there tomorrow. Cancel it by midnight tomorrow night if you decide against it (the full amount will go right back on your charge card).

As I mentioned above, I am not going to run either of the 2012 Singapore marathons, but I still want to go to Singapore on this incredible airfare. There are plenty of dates available for travel throughout the year - go to a website where you can do "flexible" searches to find the sale fares. I booked a trip for mid-November. You do know what that means, don't you? It means I'll have a whole 8 months to obsess about planning the trip!

One more thing - for those interested in attaining elite medallion status, this trip will earn you over 20,000 miles. That's almost enough for a free domestic trip, and, if you fly 25,000 miles in any year on Delta, you will attain Silver Medallion status. Its their lowest level, but there are still many benefits.

First-Friday Free Entry to NYC Zoos for Delta Medallions

2012-02-22T13:57:00.000-08:00

I just got this email from Delta:

We've partnered with the Wildlife Conservation Society to bring you a new benefit you'll be wild for.

Now through September 7^th, you and one guest may enjoy complimentary admission on the first Friday of every month to the Bronx Zoo, New York Aquarium, Central Park Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo and Queens Zoo. Just show your current Medallion® card and photo ID at the Zoo or Aquarium entrance.

Free Wall Street Journal for 39 weeks

2012-02-22T13:13:00.000-08:00

I haven't written much recently as I've been busy working and traveling. The traveling wasn't even to run marathons (shocking, I know!).

Two weeks ago, I hopped over to Ireland for a weekend to visit a friend in County Meath - I'd purchased the flight on Delta for under $400 during a little airfare war a few months ago.

Last weekend, I spent with family at a lovely Hyatt hotel on Long Island to celebrate my father's 85th birthday! My dad was so happy. The weekend was lovely (well, except for the drunken firemen, but that's another story), and the Hyatt was wonderful, as always.

I've noticed this item for a free subscription to the Wall Street Journal in a few places and thought I'd share the LINK.

I've been assured that its legitimate, but that it may take a while for the subscription to begin.

Enjoy!

AIRFARE sale - NYC and SFO

2012-02-17T10:14:00.000-08:00

Right now there is an airfare war going on for flights between New York and San Francisco on many major airlines - including American, Delta and Jet Blue. Prices are as low as $220. The dates seem to go through early June. As always, if you are interested, do not hesitate, because the deal may be gone in a nano-second and then you'll be kicking yourself you-know-where.

When I saw this sale, I immediately checked on the Big Sur marathon, but that's already closed out. Dang! That's a marathon on my "to-do" list!

If anyone is planning to do the Oakland marathon on March 25, 2012, contact me and convince me to join you!

Speaking of San Francisco, did you know that it's the 50th Anniversary of "I Left My Heart in San Francisco"? Here's an article, and, ok, I have to brag because my niece sang with the San Francisco Girls Choir at this event! I'm so proud of her!

Tony Bennett receives a key to the city from San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee. February 14th, 2012. (Photo: Andrew Dalton/SFist)

Got Swag?

2012-02-06T14:29:00.000-08:00

Swag. Swag. Swag.

Originally defined as the loot of a theft, now the term has become synonymous with freebies -- generally promotional items distributed at an event as opposed to items awarded for winning a competition or contest. (I have no idea if "Swag" is singular or plural, so please excuse the grammatical confusion).

Perhaps the most notable and enviable swag are the list of items one hears about given to the attendees at the Oscars or Grammys, and other events of that ilk. That Swag is often incredible - expensive watches, designer items and high-end tech items.

It's a funny phenomenon but everyone seems to want Swag - even when it's bad swag! My god, I've seen people stand on long lines at marathon expos just to spin the wheel in order to get a free box of Carolina Rice or Rice-a-Roni worth, at most, 79 cents. Crowds wait on another line hoping to receive a foul-smelling plastic water bottle or to taste some horrific newfangled protein shake that promises to improve something-or-another in one's running performance.

Typically, even with "bad" Swag, if they give it, we take it. Then we wrap it up and lug it on planes, and drag it all the way home, only to never take the item out of the bag or box, let alone actually use it. Really, when will I ever wear or use most of these promo items?

In addition to a race shirt and occasional free socks, gloves, hats and duffel bags, there is some Swag that we tend to always see at expos - and, indeed, I have garnered lifetime supplies of certain products, such as Breathe Rights (which I gave out to all the snorers in my life - you know who you are!), chapsticks, small tubes of Aquafor (I wouldn't run a marathon without one), Zicam nasal swabs (a little dab when you feel a cold coming on), and Lady Speed Stick deodorants (I must have 20 of these!). In the "old" days, they'd have packets of 8 Advils in a race packet. Later, they discovered people were taking them all and getting sick, so they reduced the number of pills in the sample packet to 2. Even later, reports came out that ibuprofin is dangerous for runners, so now we must buy our own. To be honest, my problem with those Advil packets wasn't that I took too few or too many pills, but that I couldn't open those damn packets in the first place.

I decided to poll a number of runners about Swag. I asked them to share what was some of the best Swag, as well as the worst, weirdest and/or most bizarre Swag they'd received either in race packets or at race expos. The responses were hysterical!

"Women Only" races seem to have their own genre of Swag -- if you run a Women Only race you're likely to come home with a bag of "feminine" products - often with the name "sport" in them, from tampons and mini pads, to calcium and other supplement samples, to personal lubricants (yes, one woman recalls getting a sample of Astroglide in a race packet!). There seems to be no limit on what they will give us. One woman recalled receiving a product called "Squattie Pottie," which apparently is designed to let us go on the run (Thank you, but I'll stop if I need to!). Once I received a box of Poise Pads in a race packet for the More Marathon, a race for women over 40 (hey, we may be over 40, but that doesn't mean we suffer from incontinence!). And we've received every kind of "wipe" known to ~~man~~ woman.

Some of the "best' items reported were brand-name shoes (Brooks and Salomon), fleece vests and jackets, and a night-light jacket by Brooks. At the Underwear Run in New York City, all finishers get a pair of Nautica boxer shorts and a bowl of Chipotle chili (thankfully, that's given out after the run). Those of us who've run the Mississippi Blues Marathon in Jackson, Mississippi all agree that the engraved harmonica and cd of mississippi blues performances were fantastic.

To me, any race that gives out Buff Headwear is a race worth running!

By far, the worst Swag is most entertaining. One marathon in Idaho uses a potato sack as a race bag, while another Idaho marathon (yes, there is more than one marathon in Idaho) gives out a full five pound bag of spuds. Here are some of the others - in no particular order of weirdness -

Iam dog food
Glade Plug-Ins
A bobble-head Fred Lebow doll (FYI - Fred Lebow was the beloved founder of the NYC Marathon)

Tree seedlings
garbage disposal cleaner
laxatives
rolls of toilet paper
track cleats
cans of sardines distributed by someone dressed up as King Oscar himself

microwave popcorn
bird seed
flour tortillas
balsamic vinegar
cheeses from around the world
coupons for free eyebrow waxing
coupons for anal waxing (OH MY GOD!)
and, last but not least:

butt paste!

And, there you have it.

I'm sure there are so many more Swag examples.

Please share some of yours here - the best, the worst, and the weirdest!

There will be a prize, but I haven't decided what it is yet!

15% Off iTunes cards at Best Buy

2012-02-06T11:15:00.000-08:00

Right now, you can get iTunes cards in a variety of amounts, at 15% off, with free shipping at Best Buy. Here's the LINK.

GROUPON IS BACK!!!

2012-02-03T07:44:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, I lamented that Groupon was no longer listed as a participating merchant on Chase's Ultimate Rewards portal. Well, here's good news -- today, I looked, and blinked, and looked again.... and, sure enough, Groupon is now listed as a participating merchant with a whopping 12 points per dollar!

happy friday!

HYATT's 1st Quarter Promotion

2012-02-02T06:28:00.000-08:00

The Hyatt hotel chain includes Park Hyatt, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, Hyatt, Hyatt Place, and Hyatt House. It is my favorite of the hotel chains - the rooms are well-appointed and the service impeccable. (It's also the only hotel chain where you don't have to ask for toothpaste!) My only gripes are - first, that there are not enough Hyatt hotels in the world, and, second, that they are sometimes (but not always) a little bit on the expensive side.

As detailed in an earlier post - I was given Hyatt Diamond status by virtue of my attendance at the Star Alliance Mega Do trip last September. Every stay at a Hyatt hotel is a dream vacation for me - in addition to free wifi, late checkout, room upgrades, and breakfast, I am treated like a star! So, when, price permitting, there is a Hyatt hotel available in the place I'm visiting, I go for it!

The newest promotion from Hyatt begins with the following words: " Earn thousands of Hyatt Gold Passport® bonus points after every four nights. Now through April 30, earn enough points for two free nights at any Hyatt worldwide. After all, the more nights you stay, the more generous the rewards." The bonuses are detailed below - and, if you have the Chase Hyatt credit card (which I love and recommend), you will earn an additional 25% bonus (even if you don't use the credit card!):

Stay 4 Nights = Earn 4,000 Bonus Points (+1,000 bonus with credit card)
Stay 8 Nights = Earn 8,000 additional Bonus Points (+2,000 bonus with credit card)
Stay 12 Nights = Earn 12,000 additional Bonus Points (+3,000 bonus with credit card)
Stay 16 Nights = Earn 20,000 additional Bonus Points (+4,000 bonus with credit card).

You can register for the promotion here: LINK

The total bonus you can receive is 44,000 points (or 54,000 points if you have the credit card). This equates to 2 free nights at a top, top category 6 hotel. I'm not a business traveler though, so my analysis of the promo must start with the least, not the most, hotel night stays.

If I take advantage of the promo, it will most likely be at the 4 nights level, not at the 16 night level. Is it a great promo? Not particularly. But, getting 5,000 Hyatt points equates to a free night at a category one hotel. I have a number of trips during the time frame already booked, but in at least 2 cases, I have purchased non-refundable hotel stays via Priceline - so I can't take advantage of the Hyatt promo during these stays. Nevertheless, I can probably muster planning 4 nights with Hyatt hotels during this time frame as I'm a big fan of mini-vacations - a night here or there - for no reason - just to get away. In fact, we are planning to take my parents for one or two nights to the Hyatt Regency Long Island for my dad's 80-somethingth birthday this month, and I'm planning to spend an extra night in New Orleans (beyond the two nights at the Priceline hotel), so I've already booked the Hyatt Regency New Orleans for that night. Only one to go.....

(I owe credit to so many of the esteemed travel bloggers for their discussion and analysis of this promotion. I thank them all)

Is Groupon Gone from Chase Ultimate Reward Merchants????

2012-01-24T05:43:00.000-08:00

My favorite credit card right now is the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. Besides being gorgeous (think: George Clooney movie, Up In the Air), and having a great sign up bonus (50,000 points - valued at approximately $625), as well as the first year fee ($95) waived... it also has an amazing shopping portal, known as Ultimate Rewards. Frankly, it is a card I would keep a second year!

Using Ultimate Rewards is simple. You go to your online website by linking through the Ultimate Reward page. You then make your online purchase as usual and get Ultimate Reward points for your purchase. Its that simple - and it adds up! Certain merchants have great promotions - instead of 1X point per dollar - they might have 4 or 5 or 10 points for dollar.

For the six or eight months that I've used Ultimate Rewards, Groupon has always been a participating merchant. Generally, the return, if I recall correctly, was 8 points per dollar. In other words, if I purchased a $100 Groupon via the Ultimate Rewards portal, I earned 800 points. On one day in November, 2011, as part of the Black Friday promotion, the bonus for Groupon purchases was 20 points per dollar!

This morning, I noticed a wonderful Groupon deal - one I've used before and loved. $65 for dinner for two with a bottle of wine at a lovely restaurant in Greenwich Village in New York City called Chez Jacqueline. Here is the LINK. (Its a great meal, and if you plan to be in New York City before May 2, 2012, I highly recommend purchasing this Groupon).

I went to the Ultimate Reward website to see the bonus being offered for Groupon and, to my horror, I could not find Groupon listed as a participating Ultimate Reward merchant. Whooooa. What happened? Is this an error? Is it temporary or permanent? I'm so distraught. Has there been a defection of merchants on Ultimate Rewards? Does anyone have any information?

(In the meantime, even without the Ultimate Rewards bonus, I still recommend buying the Chez Jacqueline Groupon.)

1,000 HHonors Points by Signing up for Texts

2012-01-20T17:46:00.000-08:00

There is a new promotion by Hilton -- by signing up for mobile texts, and entering your Visa card, you get 1,000 HHonors points.

If you spend $100 with the enrolled Visa card at a US Hilton by June 30th, 2012, you'll get an additional 4,000 HHonors points.

Registration is simple. Register HERE.

Hat tip to MilesQuest and The Traveler's Loophole for the info!

Why I Love KAYAK - The Price Dropped Further!

2012-01-19T13:04:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I wrote about how helpful KAYAK is when planning a trip - or MANY trips - in order to take advantage of the ebb and flow of airfare prices.

Yesterday, I showed how, because of a daily "price alert" email from KAYAK I was able to take advantage of an unpublished sale on Continental/United from LGA to MEM. I booked two weekend trips to Memphis, one in September and another in December, for the Tupelo and Memphis Marathons, respectively. I was thrilled with the amazing price of $165, nearly $200 less than the price the day before.

Fast forward to early this morning. I looked at my email and saw my trusty daily "price alert" from KAYAK. It looked like this:

•	New York (NYC) to New Orleans (MSY), Mar 2 to Mar 5, $119 ↓$49
•	New York (LGA) to New Orleans (MSY), Mar 2 to Mar 4, $119 ↓$49
•	New York (NYC) to New Orleans (MSY), Mar 2 to Mar 4, $119 ↓$49
•	New York (NYC) to Bradenton (SRQ), Mar 9 to Mar 12, $384 ↑$22
•	New York (NYC) to Atlanta (ATL), Mar 16 to Mar 18, $306
•	Atlanta (ATL) to New York (NYC), Mar 18, $153
•	New York (NYC) to Vienna (VIE), Apr 12 to Apr 16, $845
•	New York (NYC) to Amsterdam (AMS), Apr 12 to Apr 17, $831 ↓$8
•	New York (NYC) to Austin (AUS), Apr 19 to Apr 22, $302 ↓$13
•	New York (NYC) to London (LON), Apr 19 to Apr 25, $750 ↑$17
•	New York (NYC) to Seattle (SEA), May 3 to May 7, $320
•	New York (NYC) to Seattle (SEA), Jun 21 to Jun 25, $400
•	New York (NYC) to Salt Lake City (SLC), Jun 8 to Jun 10, $389 ↑$10
•	New York (NYC) to Bangor (BGR), Jul 17 to Jul 22, $230
•	New York (NYC) to Bangor (BGR), Jul 18 to Jul 23, $230
•	New York (NYC) to Portland (PWM), Jul 17 to Jul 23, $178 ↓$26
•	New York (NYC) to Memphis (MEM), Sep 1 to Sep 3, $115 ↓$49
•	New York (LGA) to Memphis (MEM), Nov 30 to Dec 2, $115 ↓$49
•	New York (NYC) to Tupelo (TUP), Sep 1 to Sep 3, $526
•	New York (NYC) to Montreal (YMQ), Sep 21 to Sep 24, $420
•	New York (NYC) to Akron (CAK), Sep 28 to Sep 30, $265
•	New York (LGA) to Albany (ALB), Oct 6 to Oct 7, $221
•	New York (LGA) to Chicago (CHI), Oct 12 to Oct 14, $220
•	New York (LGA) to Washington (DCA), Oct 27 to Oct 28, $377
•	New York (NYC) to Nashville (BNA), Nov 16 to Nov 18, $175 ↓$156

Holy G'moly --- look at the price for the Memphis trips!!!! LOOK!!

The airfare had plummeted yet another $49 to the unimaginable price of $115 round trip! Never in a million years did I think this would happen (rather, I must admit that usually check airfares after I've gotten a good deal to gain some peculiar satisfaction in seeing how the airfare went back up in price).

As I mentioned yesterday, all airfares, including non-refundable airfares, may be canceled within 24 hours of purchase. I quickly got on my computer and rebooked my two flights to Memphis for $115 round trip and canceled the $165 flights booked yesterday (note: I waited to actually cancel yesterday's flights until today's were firmly in place).

KAYAK is such a valuable planning tool. Thank you KAYAK. I love you.

(note: I am thrilled that I was able to share this knowledge with friends today, and that many were able to take advantage of this astronomical sale! This is exactly why I started writing this blog.)

NYC- AMEX "MIx-n-Match" Promo - spend $200, get $50 statement credit

2012-01-18T08:52:00.000-08:00

"Mix-n-Match" promo by NYC & Co. and American Express - here is the LINK:

The rules are pretty simple:

Spend a total of $200
in 2 places. Get $50 back.

Here's how:

Register any eligible American Express^® Card.
Use that registered Card to make purchases at two
or more participating merchants listed below from
February 1–29, 2012. Combined purchases must
total $200 or more.
Get a $50 statement credit.

The website has a link of participating merchants. I'm told the promo is limited to the first 10,000 enrollees, so hurry and register!

(thanks to Eugene Kang and Hideki Kinoshita for the tip!)

Why I Love KAYAK - aka big sale on flights from LGA to New Orleans and Memphis

2012-01-18T06:00:00.000-08:00

OK, so you know I love to travel and that I run marathons all over the place. I'm not an obsessive planner, but I do plan. Since I have already completed running a marathon in all 50 states, I do not plan my marathon schedule around "the states I need" but instead, I look at marathons I've heard good things about, places I want to visit or marathons my friends are planning to run.

One of my key travel tools is KAYAK. Whenever I am exploring the possibility (or probability) of a trip, I do a search for airfares on it (I also use KAYAK for hotels and car rentals, but the focus here is on airfares).

KAYAK has a feature where you can easily set up a price alert for the airfares you are watching. It will then send you a daily email notifying you of the prices that day. The default setting is for a weekly email, but I always switch it to daily notifications.

On any given day, I will receive a daily notification from KAYAK - with a listing of around 20 to 30 airfares. The notification indicates if the price has increased or decreased, and by how much.

This is very satisfying when there is a sudden drop of $200 in the price of a fare I'm watching. Conversely, it is less than satisfying when I see a trip I've already booked go into massive sale mode.

Today is a day I (mainly) love KAYAK, and here's why. I had a price watch on KAYAK for two trips to Memphis - because of two marathons I'm interested in running. The first was over Labor day weekend, for the Tupelo Marathon, and the second was the first weekend in December for the St. Jude Memphis Marathon.

Airfare for both of these trips was sitting in the high-300's. However, in the email I received from KAYAK today, it revealed a massive price drop - $165 round trip for LGA (my airport of choice) to MEM on United/Continental. I booked both trips.

I believe that all airlines allow you one day to cancel - even non-refundable flights. I will keep an eye on the airfare - particularly to see if Delta (the airline I fly most often) will join the sale.

On another note, I booked a March trip to New Orleans a few weeks ago for over $350 because I was fearful that prices would continue to rise. I cringed when I saw that airfare is today below $200 on United. It is not worth canceling (and paying a $150 fee), so I have no choice but to accept it.

What sales have you seen recently? How do you search for airfares?

Hotel Promos Galore - Including Hilton's 24-Hour Sale Today

2012-01-17T09:23:00.000-08:00

You may have noticed that there are suddenly a lot of hotel promotional sales. If you subscribe to the various hotel loyalty programs, then your email box, like mine, is overflowing with these notifications and offers.

A good summary of the current sales (though constantly changing) can be found on Loyalty Traveler on the Boarding Area here.

Hilton, in particular, has been announcing a lot of sales recently, some of which are eligible for "stacking." One such sale, is a one-day sale via a Facebook link that begins today at noon. It is the "Hilton 24-Hour, Any Weekend, Anywhere Sale" in which Hilton Honors members can save up to 33% off of Hilton stays (but more typically 20 - 25%) and earn a bonus of an additional 2,500 bonus points per booking (up to a maximum of 10,000 points).

Details and the mechanics of this promotion can be found on Loyalty Traveler here and on Points, Miles and Martinis on the Boarding Area here.

Analysis:

If you find a good hotel price and you are certain to be going to the event, then great - book it!

This happened last year, when Hilton ran a similar sale, and I was able to book the Doubletree Hotel in Overland Park, Kansas for the Gobblers' Grind Marathon for $60 per night!

However, in my experience, when my plan is to travel to a larger-scale marathon or other similar event in a larger city, sales such as this may not prove helpful.

Here are some reasons or considerations.

1. the sale is non-refundable.

2. if you are eligible for a special rate - such as a government, AAA or AARP rate, it might be less than the sale rate, and it would be refundable.

3. I have noticed that often hotels are excluded from the sale for the weekend of the city’s marathon.

4. Even if a hotel is not excluded from the sale on a marathon weekend, I would still want to first check as to whether the event’s host hotel(s) are better priced, or otherwise, better suited for my needs – does the host hotel offer a late checkout, a shuttle to the airport, and/or a shuttle to or from the marathon start or finish.

Having said that, I am going to now check the Hilton sale for any weekends I'm planning to travel to check on prices and availability.

New York Times Article - 19 Web Sites for Travel Planning

2012-01-11T06:18:00.000-08:00

This is the best comprehensive travel advice article I've seen in a long time. If you only have time to read one - read this article from the New York Times!

2011 in Review: Part II - I Earned 410,000 Points and Miles from Credit Card Bonuses!

2012-01-08T10:21:00.000-08:00

2011 Medals and Credit Cards

I'm sure you've heard it said that, in addition to actually flying and staying at hotels, the best way to earn miles and points, is through credit card bonuses.

In 2011, I earned a whopping 410,000 points/miles, merely from credit card sign-up bonuses - not counting points or miles accrued for purchases or miles flown. While my numbers may not approach those of some of the travel bloggers, they are nevertheless significant. With a new year, there are plenty of new deals on the horizon!

Here are my 2011 credit card stats:

1. British Airways Visa (Chase): 100,000 miles, $2,500 in spend requirements within 3 months, $95 annual fee (highlight: with the 100,000 points, I booked 2 RT economy tickets to Argentina next August for less than $150 in taxes per person, and one RT ticket to Montreal next September).

2. Capital One Venture Visa (Capital One): 110,000 points, $59 annual fee waived for first year (highlight: 2 points per dollar, no foreign transaction fees, useful for reimbursement of travel expenses).

3. Hyatt Visa (Chase): 2 free nights, annual fee $75 (highlight: no foreign transaction fees, Platinum status; and those 2 free nights are at any Hyatt hotel, including their most expensive and exclusive properties ~~ since I have Diamond status, those two free nights are for a Suite room! Hello - Park Hyatt Buenos Aires!).

4. Sapphire Preferred Visa (Chase): 50,000 Ultimate Rewards points, $3,000 in spend requirements in 3 months, $95 annual fee waived for first year (highlight: 2 points per dollar on all travel-related expenses, easily transferable to many airlines, no foreign transaction fees, and a superb shopping portal for extra points).

5. AAdvantage American Express (Citibank): 75,000 miles; $1,500 in spend requirements within 6 months, $75 annual fee waived for first year (highlight: primarily the free miles on the promo).

6. American Express Premier Rewards Gold: 75,000 Membership Rewards points, $1,500 in spend requirements in 3 months, $175 annual fee waived for first year (highlight: 3 points per dollar on airfare purchases, easily transferable to many airlines, often with bonuses).

Some of these cards I will keep for a second year - probably the Sapphire Preferred (it’s a great card, and its really really pretty too!) and the Hyatt card ($75 renewal gets a free category 1-4 hotel night) - some others I'll keep, some I’ll cancel or “trade-in” for a card without an annual fee.

Wishing you a wonderful new year! Next weekend, I’m off to Baton Rouge, Louisiana for the inaugural Louisiana Marathon. I’m psyched. I”ve never been to Baton Rouge, so, of course, I welcome any and all suggestions.

And I’m off and running again!

2011 in Review: Part I - Marathons and Travel

2012-01-07T17:20:00.000-08:00

I meant to write this before the close of the year, but life, work and travel got in the way. The trip to Houston was phenomenal: two nights in the Galleria Area and two nights in Humble (close to IAH airport). The weather was beautiful, and the BBQ was delicious. I highly recommend the Texas Marathon, which was held on New Years Day in Kingwood. Kudos and sincere thanks go to race directors Steve and Paula Boone! Much more on my trip in a later post.

During 2011, I completed 10 marathons (Charleston, SC; Miami, FL; Barcelona, Spain; Carey, North Carolina; Providence, RI; Storm Lake, IA; Appleton, WI, Hampton Beach, NH, New York, NY; Tucson, AZ) as well as one 50K ultra marathon on a tiny island near Bar Harbour, Maine (with a Lobsterfest at the end!). To get to these events, I traveled by plane, train, automobile, ferry, taxi, subway and bus!

The "running" highlight was completing my goal to run a marathon in all 50 States. I did this on a very stormy day in New Hampshire - when the only thing that kept me from dropping out was knowing that my friends and family would be waiting for me at the finish line. I think that they had already enjoyed a few beers by the time I crossed the finish line!

In addition to these "running" trips, I did quite a bit of "non-running" travel - among others, a whirlwind April weekend trip to Stockholm, Sweden, two trips to California, a summer trip to Colorado, and a Columbus weekend jaunt to Portland, Oregon..

In September, I attended an amazing trip with 150 frequent flyer junkies/professionals called the Star Alliance Mega Do! These fabulous people are as crazy about travel (especially points and miles) as my runner friends are about marathons! I loved them immediately! We met on day one in Chicago, gallivanted on day two to Montreal and soared on day three to Denver - aboard a chartered Continental flight. The people, the receptions and the tours and excursions were awesome. Hyatt, one of the sponsors, generously awarded all participants with Hyatt Diamond status for 2012. I won this trip via entry in a contest sponsored by The Points Guy, Brian Kelly, and had the honor, and the privilege, of being his seatmate on the flights (see announcement here). Am I a lucky girl, or what?

In 2011, I flew approximately 42,000 miles on Delta, and was able to maintain my Silver Medallion status for this year. I also flew at least 10,000 miles on Continental from the Star Alliance Mega Do and Oregon trips. As for hotels, I have kept Hilton Gold status for a few years, and by virtue of the Hyatt Diamond status (from the Star Alliance Mega Do trip discussed above), have gotten status matches or increases from a number of other hotel programs, such as Starwood (the loyalty program for brands such as Sheraton and Westin) and Priority Club (the loyalty program for brands such as Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza).

Some of My Best Sightseeing I've done on the Run

2011-12-27T18:41:00.000-08:00

I'm packing for my next marathon adventure, but thought I'd add some general travel and planning pointers that I've learned or realized.

1. Plan Ahead. First, and foremost, because it's fun. Its exciting to start planning. As soon as the idea is planted in my head that I might want to visit a city for a marathon or event, I go to www.Kayak.com and set up a price alert for flights - I always use the daily alert, not the weekly alert. Fares can change like the seasons, and in order to take advantage of a good rate you need to know about it.

2. Early Bookings can be Great Deals. I know we typically hear talk of "last minute bargains," but I find that some of the best bargains are found sooner rather than later. Some trips, especially for popular marathons in large cities, are best planned before the town wakes up and realizes that there is a big opportunity to make lots of money. Point in fact.... Last year, right after the Miami Marathon, I decided I want to go back again for the 2012 Miami Marathon. Miami hotel rates, especially for the marathon weekend, are very VERY expensive (as in other cities such as New York, Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles). But I looked around, and the Marriott Marquis downtown, a four star hotel very close to the start and finish of the marathon, had apparently not realized that the marathon was the last weekend in January. So, I booked a government rate (yes, I'm eligible for that rate - - one should always explore and exploit all of the rates they are eligible for) for less than $110 per night. Pretty incredible.

3. Flexibility. Remain flexible and don't commit if possible. Yes, I said plan ahead. But also recognize that you don't want to back yourself into a corner if you don't have to. Plans sometimes change, and its great to know you can change your destination, your hotel or your dates of travel. Hold hotel rooms, but don't opt for non-refundable if possible. For example - I'll cover it in another post, but knowing how to use Priceline can be great in planning trips. However, on at least two recent occasions, I got fabulous deals on Priceline for a Friday to Sunday stay, realizing, long after, that I'd prefer to go from Saturday to Monday, and I was stuck. A bargain is only a bargain, if you use it.

4. Keep checking. Hotels, Airfares and Car Rentals change. If you are renting a car, make a reservation early. They can nearly all be canceled without penalty. Often, car rental prices keep increasing - and if you placed a reservation early, you will have the benefit of that rate. On the other hand, if the price decreases (and you'll only know that if you check back), then you can cancel and take advantage of the lower rate. Point in fact, I reserved a car a number of months ago for this upcoming four-day trip to Houston. $120 sounded pretty awesome. Curiously, I checked back about a month ago, and the going rate had dropped to $107. Today, I checked and it was $93 with a number of companies. I checked my emails, and I had an offer from Hertz, to take $5 per day off. I called, and got the rental for under $90. The representative must have really liked me because she said she had a special deal for $40 off and applied the promo code - bringing the rate down to under $70 for the four days for a mid-size car. Wow.

5. Use all advantages you have. Read blogs and sign up for emails, and point and mile programs. Much more to follow on this. For example, based on a tip, I signed up for the frequent flyer program on Kingfisher Airlines. Nope, I never heard of them either. But, they were giving away "silver" elite status just for signing up. And since they are a future partner of American Airlines, and other One World Airlines, that may mean the ability to check bags for free (ok, I almost NEVER check bags, but still....) or perhaps even boarding a flight early or getting a better choice of seats. So... Hello Kingfisher.

6. Be persistent, but not annoying. Be nice. Be very nice. If you are dealing with a representative on the phone, and the conversation does not seem to be going in the desired direction, don't argue and don't plead. Hang up and try again. Because.... you never know!!!

7. Priceline and Hotline are your friends. Do not be afraid of sites such as Priceline or Hotline. You can get some amazing deals. There are lots of tricks to get the most out of these websites. (I love www.betterbidding.com - check it out!).

8. Loyalty is rewarded. Show some loyalty, if possible. If you can concentrate your flights on one airline, or hotel stays at one hotel brand, you may be able to get "status." Its not about snobbishness - its about good prices, good treatment, late checkouts, free wi-fi, etc. A late checkout is worth the difference between showering or not showering after a marathon. And to me, that's worth A LOT!

9. Take advantage of credit cards. Get some credit cards that have special offers. Don't just buy because the card has a good advertisement. Read up on the deals. Listen to the experts' reports on why one deal is good or not. In the past year, I obtained at least 4 cards that were amazing. More to follow!

That's enough for now - I have to PACK. But I'd love to hear your comments - any pointers or tips you have, or any questions or topics you'd like to see covered. Houston is the next trip, so expect a trip and marathon report!

INTRODUCTION

2011-12-22T19:18:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking about writing this blog for a while, and I'm so excited that the moment is here and now. Its a little rough around the edges, but I've begun - and that's epic.

So, what's this all about, anyway? This blog concerns two passions (or should I say, obsessions?) of mine - my love of endurance running (in particular, marathons) and my love for travel. I'm lucky that I figured out a way to put these loves together - by often mixing vacations with marathons, and marathons with vacations. I've run more than 75 marathons, including marathons in all of the 50 states, as well as marathons or half marathons in five countries on three continents. I don't run fast and I don't win awards, but I love running through new places, sightseeing with my shoelaces tied and a smile on my face. That is my award. And, in so doing, I've come to cherish both running and travel even more. I travel for pleasure. I also travel for fun. I usually travel with friends. I love to incorporate running in my travel plans, and often build a trip around a marathon. The running is part of the adventure, not the sole essence of it.

Travel planning is both a necessary evil and a necessary pleasure. My goal is to get the best and most I can for the least amount (which isn't always an easy task when there are 30,000 persons converging on the city on the given weekend). Another challenge is sometimes just getting to the place I'm planning to go to - which, given the unpredictability of weather, and the difficulty of getting to some of the more obscure venues, isn't as easy as it sounds. I've learned how to travel well. To attain some degree of status at hotels, and an elite level on at least one airline. I've learned to collect points and miles from travel and credit cards, and, in so doing, have enjoyed some wonderful perks from travel, which of course only feeds my frenzy making me want to travel even more. Am I snobbish? No, but its nice to be treated well for the same amount of money or less. And, it rocks to get upgrades to first class, free wi-fi, suites, breakfast or drinks....

I'm keen on following certain websites (such as Airfarewatchdog, Tripadvisor and Kayak) and lots of wonderful bloggers (the Points Guy, Mommy Points, the Loyalty Traveler, View from a Wing, the Weekly Flyer, and all of the blogs at the Boarding Area) as well as joining travel forums (thank you: Milepoint and Flyertalk), and, in so doing, have gotten credit cards with hundreds of thousands of miles, and learned of airfare sales that I wouldn't otherwise have known about. I've learned (and continue to learn) so much from these incredible people, many of whom I'm lucky enough to call friends.

Without question, runners and other people who travel for sport or hobby are different than other "frequent flyer" travelers. They don't typically travel for work, haven't attained elite status here and there, and haven't seen the inside of many airport lounges. In fact, in my conversations with other runners, I've learned that many have only one or two credit cards, and, when asked about miles or points, say either that they can't be bothered, or that any miles they might ever have acquired have since expired. Their eyes glaze over when I excitedly tell them about my $150 round trip flight to Stockholm last April, or start telling them that I'm planning nearly an entire trip to Argentina this summer, and staying in suites at the fanciest of hotels, almost entirely on miles and points (and, no, not to run any races).

I realized that I would really like to write a blog - to share with others who travel for sport or hobby. I want to share tips on how and when to best plan their trips, and share relevant information about points and miles, and special methods of planning that may prove advantageous. I think that my friends could benefit from this blog. So too, it would be fun if some runners would share their stories about their crazy passions here.

I've pondered the issue of the breadth of this blog. Should I keep it narrow, primarily focused on persons who travel the country or the globe to run races, or should it be broader in scope - catering not only to maniacal runners, such as myself, but also include, for example, those who quest to travel to every baseball stadium in the country, or those who want to visit all of the state capitals or eat pizza in every state, or those who (like my boyfriend), want to visit every Apple store in existence (even though the stores, to me, all look identical)? The possibilities are endless. The scope remains to be seen.

This is the beginning of this journey. Thank you for joining me.