Earn Points for Hotel stays via Social Media

I had not previously joined Foursquare because I’m not so keen on my colleagues knowing exactly where I am at all times, but I was enticed by the prospect of earning extra points at Sheraton Hotels.       -   ◑‿◐ - I found a way to turn off the Twitter blast and I did not hook up with many people on Foursquare so not everyone will know when I am out of town. Many people are afraid of thief’s breaking in to their homes if they blast out on social media that they are not at home but this can be avoided.

If you link your SPG and foursquare accounts you can earn  250 bonus Starpoints through July 31, . Plus, win Free Resort Night Awards, and more. I tried it and it’s easy to earn bonus hotel points for mobile check-ins when you connect your SPG® account with foursquare or Facebook.

I did not want to write about this till I had actually received the points and now I can attest that it does work seamlessly. I have received 250 points for one stay and am waiting for another stay to post the  regular stay points have posted but the 4sq have not yet. Not all SPG hotels are offering this special deal so be sure to check if your hotel is.

In addition to 4sq points, members at the Preferred Guest level earn two Starpoints for every eligible $ spent at over 1000 participating hotels or resorts booked through Starwood Web sites, hotels, call centers and their travel agent or corporate booking tool. Not off the discount travel sites like Travelzoo. Gold Preferred Guest® and Platinum elite Preferred Guest® members earn three Starpoints for every eligible U.S. dollar spent under the same booking criteria. Even without a stay, all members may earn Starpoints for eligible spend on food and beverage at participating hotels or resorts.

You earn the 250 bonus Starpoints when you check in via 4sq with a confirmed reservation at one of more than 1,000 Starwood hotels and resorts.Get started by signing in to your SPG account and download the cell phone app that uses the foursquareTM application that put the icon on my iPhone.

TSA, Don’t mess with Texas

The Texas house of Representatives has taken the initiative before any other State to protect travelers from being groped by the TSA. Below is a picture of a cute baby being harassed demonstrating just how ludicrous it has become.

TSA images were saved and were recognizable. This could have dire consequences.

I dislike flying more and more so it is a good thing that we can drive. Discover card is giving a 5% discount on Gas, hotels, movies and theme parks in July.

An elderly woman was asked to remove her adult diaper during a TSA search. Jean Weber filed a complaint with federal authorities over how her 95 year old mother in a wheelchair, was treated at Northwest Florida Regional Airport. When Jean started to cry the Homeland Security Rep said that crying was “suspicious behavior” and triggers an alarm. She was detained and extensively searched while trying to board a plane to fly to Michigan to be with family members during the final stages of her battle with leukemia.

Her mother, who was in a wheelchair, was asked to remove an adult diaper in order to complete a pat-down search as reported on newsherald.com

Fox26News said that a TSA spokeswoman said that “the agent acted according to procedure”.

Pity that TSA does not display any common sense and thankfully! … Governor Rick Perry does. He is the first to stand up for our rights. His bill to criminalize invasive TSA pat downs despite government threats to shut down the State's airports if the bill passes. The proposed law, sponsored by GOP state Rep. David Simpson and state Sen. Dan Patrick, would make it a felony for security officials to pat down a person's private areas without probable cause.

I am not surprised to hear that TSA alarms are triggered by wheelchairs because I experienced this when I was temperately in one myself at NYC airport. Another time I was chosen for a search because I was the only Anglo, harmless looking person in the line at Heathrow. I believe that the security person thought that I was the only person that they were not afraid to search. So TSA feels safer doing the opposite of what their job requires. See my criticism of the TSA pat downs.

EL AL Airline advertise that they are the “most secure airline in the sky to fly to 48 destinations worldwide”.  They are the most targeted airline by more enemies than any other country, yet they don’t target the elderly and toddlers. El Al does not perform invasive searches because they have sniffing dogs and question suspicious travelers. If we give up liberty at the airport …. Where next? Will we be groped at baseball games, shopping malls, cinemas and schools?

A quote by founding father Jefferson is pertinent: “he who is willing to give up his liberty for security, deserves neither”, it is a violation of civil rights if there is no probable cause for search.

Nothing can stop me from flying Lufthansa

The best airport lounge in the world that I have visited is the Lufthansa First class Lounge in Frankfurt. I could easily spend a week there in the Spa and eating the exquisite food. HEAVEN mmm…

Lufthansa has great fares to Europe and beyond this summer. Only $348 each way : - USA to Madrid via Germany. You can fly Business Class for as low as $999* (One-way based on round-trip purchase).

Sure I’m afraid of the illness in Germany but these days, illnesses spread globally FAST. E. coli is a common type of bacteria that can make you very sick. I had diarrhea and vomiting at the Marriott hotel in Guam from expired mayonnaise. All I had to eat that day was a fries with mayonnaise and I don’t think that the potatoes chips could have caused it.

The most important thing to beware of when traveling is to not become ill. I lived in Mexico for many years but I never contracted Montezuma's revenge (the colloquial term for traveler's diarrhea contracted by tourists) I always drank bottled water in restaurants and I distilled water at home.

ESSENTIAL Tips:

• Make sure that the waiter opens your drink bottles in front of you so you can hear the pop and know that it has not been filled with tap water.
• NO ice (It’s just frozen parasites)
• Don’t eat salad only cooked food.
• No fruit that you have not opened.(kitchen staff may not have washed hands)

Germany has now admitted that the E.coli outbreak was caused by bean sprouts, after pointing a finger at Spanish cucumber. CDC Investigators have determined that locally grown vegetable sprouts are the cause of the European E. coli Shiga toxin outbreak that has killed 31 people, causing kidney failure.The CDC is monitoring a large outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O104:H4 (STEC O104:H4) infections ongoing in Germany. The responsible strain shares virulence characteristics with enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC). As of June 6, 2011, case counts confirmed by Germany’s Robert Koch Institute* include 642 patients with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) – a type of kidney failure that is associated with E.coli or STEC infections.

An interesting Corporation has developed a way to capture the molecular diagnostics. CEO Jonathon Rothberg said that, “Life Technologies has a new machine that decoded the deadly strain. He said that the strain in Germany was a superbug with 14 different genes that gave it resistance to drugs. Life has developed a custom test (assay) to accurately detect the E. coli bacterium that has affected more than 2,100 worldwide. Shipments of the TaqMan® E. coli 0104 Detection Kit to test foods is a "A qPCR-based assay test is the most accurate method to detect harmful food borne pathogens. A positive result indicates the presence of that particular strain's DNA in the food sample.

I’m going to redeem Elite miles for an upgraded flight award from the Miles & More  Star Alliance airline program.

AClub Elite status at Sofitel Hotels is not only for A-list guests

Movie stars and VIP’s get free upgrades to the best room at a hotel. If you also want a suite, you should stay loyal to one hotel progam.
I have been upgraded to the Presidential suite at the Marriott Zurich, Marriott Seattle, Sheraton Austin and a few others. Intercontinental hotels and Sofitel hotels seldom upgrade Platinum Elite members to suites but they did upgrade IMF head, Dominique Strauss-Kahn to a $3,000 suite. He won’t be able to afford a room like that again after posting $1 Million bail. According to CNBC, he will get at least $250K a year for life from the IMF now that he has resigned. How do feel about that?... Please hit my comment button at the bottom.

It was a REAL LIFE ACTION CHASE, the kind you normally see on the screen. Strauss-Kahn, who is charged with the sexual attack of a maid at New York's Sofitel hotel has brought about a lot of press. Some are calling for the next IMF Chief to come from a developing Nation, but the USA pays most into the fund and want it abolished or have an American MD. 62-year-old DSK went from luxury at the Sofitel to Rikers Island jail, in a unit that normally houses inmates with contagious diseases because the police think that the Maid has HIV. The French, Jewish IMF MD was arrested while seated in his first-class Air France seat, before the flight took off.

The Sofitel New York is a 30-story midtown Manhattan hotel in limestone, decorated in Paris and New York motifs, located between 5th Ave and 6th Ave advertises rooms priced from $375 to $876 . DSK’s room goes for $3,000 a night but he only paid about $500. I like the Sofitel London St James U.K.. They are a French Chain so most of the Sofitel hotels that I have stayed at are in France and I only stay at a Sofitel if there is no Sheraton, Marriott or Hyatt in the area.

If you like Sofitel hotels you should join their AClub program to collect points for free stays.Your AClub membership upgrades automatically to Silver, Gold or Platinum status as soon as you reach the required number of nights or AClub points. Platinum is the highest Elite status and you attain Plat with a minimum of 60 nights or 25 000 points.

Plat benefits:

• 100% bonus points
• Get an exclusive welcome in Sofitel hotels, with a greeting drink and special gift.
• Guaranteed room availability with 3 days notice
• Room upgrade at check-in (but availability is not often)
• Late check-out until 4:00 pm
• Dedicated Customer Service

Get closer to Elite Plat upgrades with $39 fares

American Airlines is offering very low travel deals with fares quoted from $39* each way on domestic flights now through Thursday. fly Dallas DFW to Oklahoma city (OKC) for $39.
The deals are to many cities with fares quoted Each way, based on round-trip purchase. Some fares are a little more. For example El Paso To Dallas ( Ft. Worth) is $94*
Fly international from New York Kennedy airport To Manchester, U.K. for only $304* ask Ameriacn Airlines about the restrictions. Book by May 12, 2011, for travel through October 5, 2011, and save.
I also like to check the American Airlines last minute discount airfare offers for each weekend. An example for this weekend is a flight from Waco to DFW for $36
American has also extended their offer to buy miles at a 20% Discount has been extended. AAdvantage members can buy 1,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® miles for $27.50. Purchase the miles that you may need to reach your flight award and save 20% when you purchase 20,000 miles or more beginning May 1, 2011, through May 31, 2011.
I feel so lucky when I get a free upgrade but it’s not luck it’s the airline taking care of their best passengers. To qualify for AAdvantage elite status membership, you start off with Gold level then go higher to Platinum and attain the highest tier called "AAdvantage Executive Platinum®" the trick is to go straight into Executive Platinum if you are the top tier with another airline AA will match it. To qualify for AAdvantage Executive Platinum status, you have to fly 100 elite-qualifying segments on AA or OneWorld airlines or earn 100,000 qualifying miles or points during the calendar year.