Marriott

Marriott Bonvoy strategy, status, certificates, promotions, hotel reviews, and the practical realities of Marriott loyalty and stays.

New York City

Renaissance New York Midtown Hotel: An 85K Certificate Against a $1264 Room

Oct 9, 2026

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4 min read

Renaissance New York Midtown Hotel: An 85K Certificate Against a $1264 Room

An 85K Marriott Free Night Award plus 5000 points replaced a $1264 Manhattan hotel rate. This time, the hotel was actually pretty good.

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Hyatt

Sep 29, 2026

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1 min read

East, Central & West Berlin

AN EXPATVISTA COLLECTION

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Hotel Reviews

Sep 28, 2026

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4 min read

Moxy Washington, D.C. Downtown Review

A $165.92 room completed a $150 Amex Offer. What followed involved a few more moving parts.

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Amex Platinum

Sep 27, 2026

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1 min read

A Miami Stopover

AN EXPATVISTA COLLECTION

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Baltimore

Sep 27, 2026

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5 min read

Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Review

A rejected Nightly Upgrade Award, a harbor-view room anyway, and an unexpected All Blacks connection.

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Netherlands

Element Amsterdam Review: Better Connected Than It Looks

Sep 15, 2026

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6 min read

Element Amsterdam Review: Better Connected Than It Looks

A two-night Marriott Platinum stay in a suite near Amsterdam Zuid, and a location that worked better than I expected

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Netherlands

While We Were There: Art in an Amsterdam Shopping Mall

Sep 15, 2026

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3 min read

While We Were There: Art in an Amsterdam Shopping Mall

The day after visiting Moco Museum, we found KAWS, Erwin Wurm and Ai Weiwei somewhere unexpected.

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Netherlands

citizenM Amsterdam Amstel Review: I Get It Now

Sep 2, 2026

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7 min read

citizenM Amsterdam Amstel Review: I Get It Now

The room was tiny, the location was excellent, and after one night I understood why citizenM’s unusual hotel formula works.

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Amex Platinum

How I Stacked Amex FHR and Marriott Bonvoy on One Hotel Stay

Aug 31, 2026

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4 min read

How I Stacked Amex FHR and Marriott Bonvoy on One Hotel Stay

I prepaid Vedema Santorini with Amex Platinum, switched to Marriott Brilliant for the incidentals, and earned rewards from both programs.

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Rideshare

Putting My Remaining Citi Blacklane Credit to the Test

Aug 30, 2026

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3 min read

Putting My Remaining Citi Blacklane Credit to the Test

With $60 left and an early-morning ride to catch, this looked like an unusually good opportunity to use it.

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Netherlands

Three Expiring Marriott Certificates: A Different Optimization Problem

Aug 26, 2026

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7 min read

Three Expiring Marriott Certificates: A Different Optimization Problem

Three certificates nearing expiry, one Amsterdam weekend, and a new way to measure the value an expiring FNC is actually delivering.

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Santorini

Aug 24, 2026

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10 min read

Vedema Resort Santorini: A Luxury Hotel Built Into a Village

Marriott Platinum, Fine Hotels + Resorts and a Different Side of Santorini

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IHG

Jul 28, 2026

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4 min read

How I Built My Baltimore Rugby Weekend

What began as a hotel comparison gradually became a trip assembled from free-night certificates, Amex credits, statement offers and award opportunities.

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Amex Platinum

Three Santorini Resorts, Compared Side by Side

Jul 16, 2026

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7 min read

Three Santorini Resorts, Compared Side by Side

Why we chose three Fine Hotels + Resorts properties instead of one, and how pricing, loyalty programs and a little optimization shaped the weekend.

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IHG

The Hidden Challenge of Legacy Credit Cards

Jun 8, 2026

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4 min read

The Hidden Challenge of Legacy Credit Cards

What happens when a card is worth keeping but not worth using?

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Hotel Reviews

London Marriott Hotel Maida Vale, Revisited

May 24, 2026

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2 min read

London Marriott Hotel Maida Vale, Revisited

We needed to be in northwest London anyway. The question became whether a nearby apartment, dinner, drinks, breakfast, and revision space could beat the normal weekend spend.

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Hotel Reviews