Author Archives: edwinandlisa

Travel Strategies #1: IHG Point Breaks – Hotel nights for cheap!

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IHG, InterContinental Hotels Group, has just released their next batch of IHG Point Breaks.  Basically, every quarter they offer up a listing of hotels that only “cost” 5,000 IHG points per night.  This is probably the best ongoing hotel promotion across all brands, and Lisa and I have taken full advantage when the opportunity fits.

We used Point Breaks a few weeks ago when we spent a weekend in Eugene for the James Taylor concert.  Our Holiday Inn, normally discounted to about $130 per night plus taxes, was one of the Point Break hotels for the May/June/July period.  10,000 points is all we paid, which works out to less than $70 total if we were to buy the points outright utilizing various purchase strategies.  We have plenty of IHG Rewards points so we just used up some of them.

IHG properties includes the top of the line InterContinental and Crowne Plaza; Holiday Inn Resorts, Holiday Inn Express and good old regular Holiday Inn; and then Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites.  There are even some other newer brands that IHG has introduced like Hotel Indigo, EVEN Hotels and Hualux Hotels.  Redeeming IHG points starts at 10,000 for Category 1 hotels, all the way up to 50,000 points at Category 9 properties.  Most of the time you’ll be paying around 30,000 points, so you can see that 5,000 points is really a super bargain.  Granted, the Point Break hotels are usually lower end properties or ones in obscure, out of the way places.  But every now and then you can score a great find, which is why I always look forward to the end of the quarter when IHG releases their new Point Breaks.

For this new Point Breaks for August 1st – October 31st, we were able to score a Holiday Inn just outside of Savannah, GA that we will stay at for a couple of nights as we do a mini-road trip up the Eastern coastline from Orlando to Charleston.  Closer to home, while there are no offers for Oregon, there are two Holiday Inn Express properties available for Washington in Burlington and in Oak Harbor.  Although we probably won’t book these local hotels for this go around, the promotion does provide us with fun and new possibilities every few months and for 5,000 points, it is a no-brainer.

For more information on the Point Breaks promotion, check out this web site.  And if you are interested in getting 60,000 IHG Reward points, check out their credit card offer.  We both have the IHG MasterCard, and with one free night awarded every year with only a $49 annual fee, this is probably the best credit card deal going for hotel credit cards!

Montreal Musings

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Before I forget our experiences in Montreal, here are some of our musings…

  • While on the train, we overheard some people saying that Montreal drivers are crazy and therefore refused to hire a car rental.  After three days of witnessing countless drivers cutting each other off, speeding through intersections as pedestrians attempted to cross, and the ceaseless honking of their horns, we concur!
  • Montreal has a wonderful and efficient public transportation system; the subway ran frequently and stretched out to many parts around the city
  • Chocolate-centric and dessert restaurants.  Juliette & Chocolat was the one that we tried, and set right below our hotel was Chocolats Favoris.  Not to mention plenty of French pastries and sweet breads available at restaurants, cafes and even grocery stores.  And crepes!  Enough said.
  • Yes, French is the primary language, though English is understood
  • Montreal is known as a city of festivals, and we were so lucky to have our stay coincide with the International Jazz Festival
  • Montreal Underground City:  much like Toronto’s “The Path,” Montreal has a series of underground tunnels and passageways that connect to shopping malls, transit stations, schools and more.  We didn’t really have time to explore, so this will be something we can do next time!
  • Panhandlers are numerous and a part of commuter life.  We saw the guys washing the windshields at red light stops.  We saw the people selling newspapers.  We saw the enterprising ones try to sell other products.  But mostly, panhandlers would politely ask us for spare change as we were exiting subways, restaurants and other buildings.
  • Churches galore!  We were impressed with the architecture and fine details of the numerous churches we found during our walks.
  • Finally, we had a great time in Montreal and can’t wait to try a New England cruise that goes to and from Boston and Montreal.

I Survived a Week with Kids!

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At long last the week is over.  TGIF!  I made it.  I survived.  I survived a week with 9 – 12 year old kids as an instructor for bicycle camp.  We had a few crashes, some tears, some scrapes — even a bee sting.  But no one was seriously hurt and all my campers stayed as safe as they could with the occasional “Stop riding in the middle of the street, stay to the right!” reminder from me or my co-instructor.  Whew.  That was tough.  But not as tough as teachers that do this for ten months out of the year.  Mad props and respect to them.  How can they do this?!  I am completely wiped.  Happy to finally just vege out on the couch and breathe a big sigh of relief.  Yes.  Now my vacation can really begin!