Another terrific deal via FlyerTalk: save up to 50% when staying at an Intercontinental Hotel property (Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Candlewood Suites) as long as you book it between now and December 30th.
The link I’ll include in a moment will enable you to take advantage of Intercontinental’s “Friends and Family” rate – normally reserved for, well, friends and family members of Intercontinental employees.
Why is this rate “out there” on FlyerTalk? The decision to allow people to take advantage of this rate is apparently part of a viral marketing campaign. In any event, it works, and even if you were to book today and the campaign were to end tomorrow, your rate will be honored.
Note that you are instructed to fill out a simple form when you make your reservation. Many properties will not bother to ask for it; whether they do or not, it only requires a few moments to fill out.
To take advantage of this special rate, click on this link: Intercontinental Friends & Family or this link: IHG Friends & Family Both of these links are live as I write this on 12-1-09.
If you’d like to read the thread at FlyerTalk, click on the following link; I’ll link to the most relevant page in the thread: IHG Hotels – Friends and Family Promotion. Note that comment #72 links to the deal at FatWallet.com; comment #75 links to a much longer thread on this topic.
I have no connection with IHG. Although the promotion ends December 31, 2009, you can book rooms for stays during 2010. When you book a room using the F&F rate, you’re not supposed to receive points for the stay, but apparently many people are having points posted to their accounts; if you don’t have a Priority Club membership, it’d be wise to get one before booking. Good luck – and safe travels!
OP/TECH USA, manufacturers of the Absolute Strap for Tom Bihn, offer an interesting array of products for travelers and photographers.
Their Soft Wraps are lightweight foldable foam wraps that are secured with a hook and loop-type closure. Offered in varying sizes and colors, $11.95 to $13.95.
Although I’m not a big fan of adding weight to my bag, these would be handy for affording a bit more protection to music players and point and shoot cameras, especially when traveling with soft sided bags.
Check them out here: OP/TECH Soft Wraps
Please comment if you’ve used this or similar products. I have no connection with OP/TECH USA.
It’s probably obvious at this point that I’ve embarked upon a frequent flier mile kick, what with the British Airways 100K Visa sign on (times 2), the US Mint Presidential coin scheme, the 62,500 Hilton Honors Amex sign on bonus, and related posts. Just yesterday I came across a deal that – bottom line – will enable you to (in essence) buy frequent flyer miles for .7 cents per mile. That’s 7/10ths of a cent. Which is pretty amazing.
Put another way, spend $360, and get 50,000+ miles – enough for two domestic round trip tickets. Interested?
Rick Ingersoll, The Frugal Travel Guy, posted about it just yesterday. US Airways is running a Holiday partner promotion, “Shop Your Way to a Bigger Bonus.” Rick does a great job of explaining the promotion in his post, “A Big Win for US Airways Fans.” For a thorough description of the promo and how to best utilize it, read Rick’s post. Here’s my short and dirty version:
The basic premise of the promo is that by making 5 purchases with partner merchants during a specified timeframe, you’ll qualify for escalating frequent flyer mile bonuses based on your purchases. At 5 purchases, the bonus maxes out at 250% of miles earned.
To fully leverage the promotion, you need to make 4 purchases of nominal amounts with 4 US Airways partner merchants, then make a much larger purchase with US Airways partner merchant TrackItBack for your 5th purchase.
TrackItBack awards 40 miles per dollar spent. (Not a typo!) As mentioned above, with your 5th purchase in this promotion, a 250% miles bonus kicks in. If you spent $360 with TrackItBack as your 5th merchant in the promotion, you’d get 50,400 miles – enough for 2 domestic round trip tickets.
You can read about the promotion at the US Airways site by clicking here: Shop Your Way to a Bigger Bonus
From a FlyerTalk thread – prices up to 50% Off on selected Tumi items ranging from lightweight carry-ons to daypacks to small travel kits. A quote from FlyerTalk member Air Pirate:
The best deal is the lightweight international carry-on (20.75″), which is a relatively new model and looks pretty good in the brown. $248 is a steal for the bag, although I do have to warn that the Tumi light seems to me to be a “love it or hate it” proposition.
In order to register for the sale, click on this link: www.gilt.com/lxtv and register you are automatically a member. The sale lasts until noon on Monday, November 30.
Discovered at PointsWizard at BoardingArea.com, you can get a $25 Restaurant.com certificate for $2; expires 11/30/09.
Just visit the site, plug in your zip code in the area on the right…
…and a list of restaurants will appear when you click on the “Shop Now” button:
(Any conditions or exclusions will be listed in the blue boxes on the right.)
Input SAVE at checkout, and your net price will be $2. Restaurant.com
So… what does the TSA do with all those knives, scissors and multi-tools they confiscate at security checkpoints? I have no idea, but someone has a bunch of them and is auctioning “NTSA seizure” items on eBay.
The lot of 200 knives shown here is being auctioned at present, and the current high bid is less than $20 (the auction doesn’t end until 6 days from now).
In addition to a variety of knives – A LOT of knives (!), there are plenty of scissors, mulit-tools (Gerber and Leatherman), and a ton of Swiss Army knife/multi-tools. You can see a listing of all such auctions by clicking here or here. (Or just search eBay for NTSA.)
If you’ve been dying to buy a Finnish Fish Filet knife or a handmade 10″ hunting knife (who does these things??!), here’s your big chance… but please, just don’t try to bring it on a plane!
The Canon PowerShot D10 has been on my wish list for a while. My Nikon D80 is great for the images I take for the blog, and I will bring it on our trip to Italy next spring, but since my old Sony Cybershot died, I’ve been without a point and shoot.
What’s unique about the PowerShot D10? It’s a 12.1 megapixel camera that 
combines all the usual Canon quality and features in a package that’s shockproof, freezeproof, and watertight to 33 meters!
User reviews are positive (4.5 stars out of 5 at Canon’s website; 4.5 out of 5 at Amazon). The only complaints relate to low light performance and the fact that it’s thicker (particularly on the lens end) than most point and shoots. The D10 typically sells for ~$270.
How about you? Do you have a point and shoot camera that you love or would recommend? If yes, please share your experiences by commenting!
The Fine Print: I have no connection to Canon
I’m composing this post on Friday morning, which means: 1) my central nervous system successfully withstood massive doses of tryptophan yesterday, and 2) I am not out shopping. Why bother going out, anyway? There are plenty of deals to be had right from home. Just click on any of these images…
For my U.S. readers, I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and are able to enjoy it with your families. And to all of you, no matter where you live: thank you.
One of the things I’m thankful for this year is the success of this blog, and all the great people I’ve met through it. I hope you all have a great day!
The Highs: Rugged, works quickly, does not affect water flavor
The Lows: A bit large at 7¼” long
The Verdict: A great way for world travelers to ensure safe water
