Been a couple of years since I posted on this......since I have a Hilton Amex they made me an offer for 150,000 points if I were to spend $3000....which I will because I need to purchase a new water heater in our rental ( $2000 ) plus we need some small repairs ( $1000 ) so that adds up to the mandatory amount to get all those points. 150,000 is good for at least a free week at any Hilton where if we paid out of pocket would be over $250 per night. Here's where it gets better.....I can write off the $3000 on my taxes and when I book 4 nights I get the 5th night FREE....it's all about strategy and using points for different things....Hotel, Cruises, Car Rentals, etc. We just booked a week through points at Embassy Suites in Myrtle Beach on Points ( stayed here before and it's great..usually a $260 per night if you pay out of pocket )....another CARD paid for our car rental for a week which is a Luxury Vehicle ( Mercedes thru SIXT )
There are so many ways to get FREE stuff thru CC's.....there are online Clubs that help members strategize as to what card is best for benefits and like I said years ago....I've yet to pay for any travels out of pocket and that includes TransAtlantic Cruises, Flights to Europe or Domestic and we get FREE points annually and can make purchases at a discount on Airline points....like Southwest will let me take off about 50% and I've accumulated enough points for the next 4 years to fly anywhere they go....including the Caribbean ( wife has her own card and points so at this point we nearly have 300K points combined...average flight costs about 18000 points each way from coast to coast ......depending when you choose to fly and some fares are more....some less. I've flown from Atlanta to LAX for 13000 points each way just as an example. last year we did a 21 day Cruise on Princess ( TA in a balcony cabin one way and then flew back from Venice one way FREE......total cost for this....on points....FREE! Had we chose to pay cash it would have been $6000 easy. We chose the best travel dates to spend the points and it was a trip of a lifetime......ports of call were Venice, Florence, Rome, Sicily, Greece, Croatia, Barcelona, Gibraltar, Marseille, Canne and Lisbon.
