Review: The Andaz Maui

Back in September of 2014, we took a trip to Hawaii and visited Honolulu and Maui. This trip was actually a continuation of a previous trip we took to Europe in November of 2013.  At the time, American Airlines allowed one stopover at a North American gateway city for international AAdvantage awards provided that itinerary be completed within one year of the first flight. Living in an American Airlines gateway city, this policy essentially gave us a free one-way to anywhere in the United States, including Hawaii, within one year of the original flight. So the return flight itinerary was basically Europe -> NYC (stopover for 10 months) -> Hawaii. In April 2014, American Airlines changed their policy and no longer allowed any free stopovers, killing the free one-ways. So luckily, we got to take advantage of it before it was gone. In this post, I will be reviewing the resort we stayed at in Maui, the Andaz Maui At Wailea.

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Review: The St. Regis Sanya Yalong Bay Resort

When I was looking for a place to stay in Sanya, I checked American Express Fine Hotel and Resorts (FHR) and decided on the St. Regis Sanya Yalong Bay Resort. I decided to use FHR for our booking due to the many benefits that were provided: fourth night free, complimentary room upgrade, daily breakfast for two, and the additional benefit this property provided was a free private one-way airport transfer. We decided to use the private airport transfer for when we arrived. It feels great not having to figure out transportation to your hotel after getting off from a long flight. When we landed, after going past immigration to the arrival area, our driver was waiting there holding a sign with my name on it.

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Park Hyatt Milan: Celebrating a Birthday

Our most recent trip to Italy landed around Margaret’s birthday. Emirates had a special offer in 2015 where 2 people can fly to Milan and back from New York for $800 total. We immediately booked the flights on my phone once we found out about it. After the flights were booked, it was time to figure out accommodations.

I had recently applied for the Hyatt credit card from Chase before booking the trip. The signup bonus for the credit card was 2 free nights at any Hyatt hotel. The Park Hyatt was the Hyatt brand’s luxury line of hotels and the Park Hyatt Milan was part of Hyatt’s top category hotels. So I decided to use the 2 free nights at that hotel during this trip.

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