Points and Miles Required Reading
I’ve reached a pinnacle I previously didn’t think possible. I’ve gotten to the fourth installment of Points and Miles Required Reading, where I can now include a “V” in the title. This is undoubtedly due to the resounding success of the first three articles in the series. Quite conveniently, I’m the one who assesses said success. How do I define that? Shawn hasn’t told me to stop. So let’s jump into my latest edition, where I scattershoot on a variety of points and miles topics probably not worthy of stand-alone pieces but definitely priceless together. You’re welcome.
The Simple Greatness of Hilton Arlington National Landing
Up until recently, I hadn’t found myself in need of an airport hotel near Washington National (DCA). But with a late arrival at DCA, my littler one and I preferred the closer location and lower award price of such a property. I booked the Hilton Arlington National Landing, a close, older property with a newer interior. Hotel shuttle pickup was seamless. While wandering the lobby, I met the delightful manager on duty, one who was clearly proud of the property. He mentioned that the hotel completed a $30 million total renovation of its interior about a year ago. Rooms and common areas like the lobby, restaurant, coffee counter, and fitness center were gleaming and spotless.
All hotel employees, particularly at the front desk, were eager to help. The Hilton elite daily food and beverage credit is a cinch to optimize here. Stick to the Marketplace, serving takeaway coffee and breakfast essentials; avoid the Landing restaurant’s overpriced buffet. For any additional available credit, guests can also charge items to the room at the store adjacent the front desk.
I’m not sure if I’ll need a DCA airport hotel again, but if I do, I’ll pick this one. It’s the perfect combination of location, quality, value, and elite recognition near DCA.
Choice Privileges Point Expiration
I’ll stick with hotels but now go in a different direction. Friendly reminder – Choice Privileges points expire. Have you ever wondered when yours do? Don’t look at the website, because you won’t find it there. I couldn’t, at least. Weird.
Instead, turn to the Choice Hotels app. After logging in, click on your name at the top. Membership details expand there, and you’ll see your points expiration just under your current balance.
How to Ensure You’re Booking the “New” Acela
Last month, I described a couple interesting Amtrak developments, including the arrival of the NextGen Acela trains. They debuted on the Northeast Corridor last week, and I’m excited to try out the new version sooner rather than later. But not all Acela schedules are currently served by the new trains, and as of my last writing, Amtrak hadn’t advised how to discern new from old. We now have an answer.
After obtaining your Amtrak.com search results, look for “NextGen” under the various train numbers and ensure to pick one appropriately denoted. Be careful with your selection, as I found only two of eight options offered the NextGen train on the mid-October dates I searched.
Chase Lyft Credit Reminder
I primarily focus on Uber for a variety of reasons, some related to Amex. But I can’t forget Lyft, where the sticker price is often cheaper. While many Chase cards offer Lyft benefits, the Sapphire Reserve (personal and business) and the J.P. Morgan Reserve cards each offer a monthly $10 credit on Lyft rides. This credit can come in particularly handy on short rides. For instance, it covered over 90% of our fare for a short ride in DC.
The credit also stacks with those three cards’ 5x Lyft earning for any ride portion covered out-of-pocket. Also stackable is the priority pickup certain cardholders can unlock with DoorDash DashPass.
Adidas Points Trending Up?
Adidas is my go-to sneaker brand. Along the way, I’ve earned plenty of points in the brand’s adiClub loyalty program – but never used one. That’ll be changing in the near future. Over the weekend, I received an Adidas email advising that coming soon, adiClub members will be able to redeem points for Amazon gift cards. Based on the email’s wording, it appears members will be able to redeem points for gift cards within the Adidas app.
Importantly, the redemption ratio hasn’t been announced. More importantly, pretty much anything is better than adiClub’s limited redemption options now. I’m keeping my eyes peeled and recommend any other adiClub members do the same.
Conclusion
I’m done with another well-rounded edition of Points and Miles Required Reading. Indeed, I’m not sure anyone could handle more awesomeness in one article. Readers, this is how much I care for you. And now I’m back on the lookout for more somewhat-but-not-very-useful nuggets to subsequently share. Until then, this series bids you goodbye.
What small points and miles bits have you picked up over the last few months? Share in the comments!
You can retrieve your point expiration date on the Choice website. After signing in, hit the arrow button next to your initials. You’ll see “Stays and activity”. Choose that and scroll down past “My account activity” until you come to “My points activity”. Click and a pop up will appear with your point expiration date listed under “Point forfeiture”. So you can actually retrieve the expiration date on both the website and the app.
F’n A, Bill! Well done. No way it should be this challenging to obtain on the website, though.