With The Hyatt Credit Card, I receive a free night stay in a category 4 Hyatt hotel each year. I was quite the procrastinator, and I was coming in within one month of my night expiring. Time and budget constraints restricted me to traveling to a locale that was within a half a days drive for me. That limited to me the following destinations; Dallas, Omaha, and St. Louis. Omaha was the only city I had not traveled to before, so Omaha it was!

My first stop after a five and a half hour drive was the Durham Museum. The museum is located in the restored Union Station. The museum has one of the largest collections I have ever seen, and a surprisingly large collection of Abraham Lincoln memorabilia. The exhibits which drew me to the museum were the train cars. There were multiple Union Pacific train cars made available to walk through. The cars date back to mid last century.

My next stop in Omaha was the Joslyn Art Museum. This museum makes me wish I knew more about art. They have many paintings on display dating back five hundred years. The first thing you will notice about this museum when you enter it is that it is free. I'm not sure how Omaha makes this collection at no cost. A Monet exhibition is coming to the Philbrook Museum tomorrow, so I was very excited to see Monet's Small Country Farm at Bordighera in Omaha.

Omaha is known for it's steak, so can you guess what I had for lunch? I had pizza! Zio's Pizzeria was right around the corner from my hotel. This was legit pizza. The crust was actually tossed with hands, being crispy with the perfect texture. The pepperoni and sausage on the pizza tasted very fresh. It was very affordable. Two large slices and refillable drink set me back less than $8.00.

While out exploring, I bought a College World Series ticket from a scalper for a paltry amount of cash, $5.00. Being a general admission ticket, I had the pleasure of standing in line in the wonderful Omaha heat for about 45 minutes. By the time I got in the stadium, I had decided I wasn't going to stay the entire game. The first inning included a questionable call. By the time the second inning came around, the storm clouds rolled in and the game was soon delayed due to lightening. I wasn't going to wait, so I made a run to the hotel. 

I hung out at the Hyatt Place Old Market until the storm subsided. I recommend this property to anybody planning to stay in Omaha. The employees there all seem to enjoy their job. The lobby was filled with patrons who would rather be at a game which was rained out, but the employees made sure everyone was enjoying their self.

I met up with a Twitter friend, Steve, later at night for a drink. It's always nice to meet up with like-minded people. We both participate in a few of the same Twitter chats; #JAchat, #TNI, and #TravelSkills. If you haven't guessed yet, we both enjoy traveling!

I purchased an Aegean Airlines ticket via Priceline.com a couple of months ago. The flight originates in Istanbul, and will take me to Athens. The baggage police for Aegean Airlines posted on the Priceline website made me believe that I would have one free checked bag. 

After I purchased my ticket, I went to the Aegean Airlines site to see if I could select my seat for this flight. While doing this, I decided I would confirm what the fees would be for my flight. To my surprise, I discovered I would be required to pay baggage fees for my international flight. I contacted Aegean, and they clarified my suspicions. I get one free carry on, but I will pay for my checked bag.

Dear Mr. Eubanks,

We thank you for contacting the Customer Relations Department of Aegean.

Regarding your email kindly be informed that your ticket is of “go light” category. In this case passenger can carry on board the plane 1 piece of hand baggage, weighing no more than 8 kg and measuring no more than 56cm in length x 45cm in height x  25cm in width.

However, passengers who wish to carry additional bags or bags that exceed their weight allowance may prepay through the company's website, www.aegeanair.com , the mobile site (mobile.aegeanair.com), through the Aegean call center or a travel agent. Please note that these prepay charges are up to 43% lower than the amount charged in the event payment is made at the airport.


Mr. Eubanks, once again we thank you for the communication remaining at your disposal for any additional information you may need.

I decided to call Priceline customer service once receiving the above response from Aegean. I was informed by the agent that under the contract, Priceline is not responsible baggage fees. She also notified me there is a disclaimer on the website that baggage fees posted on the website may not be up to date. It's all kind of sketchy, but it is what I unknowingly agreed to. I retreated, and stopped seeking reimbursement for the baggage fees I will pay. All I wanted after that was for Priceline to update their site with the correct baggage fees information. The agent said their was no action she could take to make this happen.

It's been a month since I first contacted Priceline via phone. I've contacted them on Facebook and Twitter multiple times in attempt to get them to change the erroneous information on their website. I've gotten no response from them.

I wonder how many customers have purchased an Aegean ticket from Priceline this past under the impression they are getting one free checked bag. It only put me out 20 euros, but I'm put off by them knowingly deceiving customers. 

I've learned my lesson; read all the fine print and avoid doing business with Priceline.

I've got a serious case of the travel bug. I've widely explored the United States, my home country. At the age of 34, I finally embarked on my first trip across the ocean recently. I visited Budapest and Prague, both which are sometimes referred to as the "Paris of the East". I feel that it is my duty to decide which one of these gorgeous cities should hold that title, but I can't do that until I visit Paris!

There is one issue with Paris; it's an expensive city. I assumed the city would be cost prohibitive to me, but the apartments GowithOh offers would do an excellent job of defraying the lodging costs. If I was fortunate enough to be chosen as a GowithOh Guest Tester, my total room board would be 0 USD.

I ran into an immediately problem while searching for an apartment in Paris. For the life of me, I had no idea how I was going to choose one apartment when there was a choice of nearly 400 of them. Luckily, I ran into a single photo within a few minutes. My mind had made up where I would be staying.

This apartment has a lovely view of the Eiffel Tower. I'm already dreaming about staring at this view as I eat the breakfast I prepared for myself in the apartment's kitchen. 

The location is literally a few minutes from the the tower. I love walking along rivers, and this hotel is also a short walk from the Sienne. The Bir-Hakiem metro stop is nearby, so I would have the entire city at my finger tips.

I would go into details of what Paris has to offer, but that would be so overwhelming for anybody. Simply put, the city is full of wonderful history, art and architecture. I would love to be immersed in it.

After a long day of sightseeing, I can upload my photographs to my social networking sites while resting on the sofa bed.

If I win, expect a follow-up post of my experience in this apartment and in the city of Paris!

GowithOh offers apartments in 17 different cities. Which of those cities would you test an apartment in? You have until November 10 to enter to be a guest tester by writing a blog entry or by visiting the Gowithoh Facebook page.

Earlier this month, I traveled to Europe for the first time. I explored the cities of Budapest and Prague. Here are a few things I took away from there:

• I was told the Eastern Europeans were very cold, but most everyone I interacted with was very friendly.
• My first impression was that service is terrible, but that couldn't be further from the truth. You have to ask for your check, because they consider it rude to rush you out the door.
• It's easy to survive knowing only how to speak English.
• Wine and beer are often as cheap as water and soda.
• I can survive without mobile service.
• There are beautiful buildings most everywhere you look. It's impossible to soak it all in.
• Eating where the locals eat is much cheaper than eating where the tourists eat. Duh.
• Even the fast food tastes better than than in the U.S.
• Free walking tours are the way to go. You'll meet other friendly travelers. The guides love what they do, and they do not stick to a script.
• You might accidentally spend $70 on opera tickets when you intended to spend only $5, but it's still worth it.
• At least in the two cities I visited, people are very proud of the cities.
• Much of the last 100 years of history there is very depressing, but it's important to know.
• You have to pay to pee.
• You can clear customs and make a connection in less than 45 in Europe!
• Corn on the cob is sold as a snack.
• A Danube dinner cruise is a must.

If you missed my previous post, I was in a bit of a disagreement with American Express. 

To sum it up; I believed I was eligible to receive 15,000 SPG Starpoints as part of a promotion, but they believed that amount was 0. I was contacted today and given the details why I was not eligible for this promotion. It's plausible, maybe they're right, maybe I'm right. I don't know now. They gave me 7,500 points as a gesture of goodwill, which I consider very generous. I am somewhat pleased.

To avoid this situation in the future, I'm going to do the following when dealing with these types of promos:

• Create PDF files of any web applications I fill out.
• Create PDF files of terms and conditions.
• Keep any documentation I sent by snail mail.

I want to repeat what I said in my previous post, all the American Express representatives I dealt with were as polite as can be.

As of now, I am considering this situation resolved. American Express is a great business to deal with. In the 8 years we've been together, this has been our only disagreement. 

I've been an American Express member since 2005. If you've been around me since then, you will notice that I almost always pay with an American Express card. Last August and early September, American Express was running a promo for the Starwood Preferred Guest branded card. You would get 10,000 Starwood points after you first used the card, and an additional 20,000 points if you spent $5000 within 6 months. This was all over the travel blogosphere, the American Express website, and American Express emails. I was late to the game. I signed up when they were offering their more standard promo, 10,000 points for using the card, and 15,000 points if you spent $5000 within 6 months. 

If I were to purchase these points directly from Starwood right now, it would cost me $393.75 with the current 25% off sale. If you redeemed them for a room, they would be roughly the same value.

Let me recap: If you signed up this card online in September 2012, you were either eligible for a total bonus of 30,000 Starpoints (if you signed up before September 4) or a total bonus of 25,0000 Starpoints (if you signed up after September 4). There were no promo codes. Here's what you would have seen when you went to the American Express website:

I got the card. I kept track of my spending the moment I began using the card. I had no issue with the 10,000 Star points being deposited to my account. I reached the $5000 spending threshold in January. At that time, I asked American Express how long it would take my 15,000 points. They said between 8-12 weeks. 2 months had passed and I began getting a little antsy, so I began researching it on the FlyerTalk forum. I found out a lot of people are getting the shaft on this 15,000 point bonus. I contacted American Express three different times through email. Here is their last response:

I understand their position, but their position is wrong. They have a history of not linking the correct promotions to accounts. There were no other promotions available at the time I signed up but the one I have the screenshot for. I called American Express after receiving this response. The gentleman said my issue has been sent to research by their marketing team. It could take 4 to 5 weeks to get a response. I'm holding on to hope that my situation can be remedied correctly. It has been suggested to me that I cancel my card. I'm gong to be patient, but it is possible that I may eventually end my 8 year relationship with American Express over this matter. For the record, everyone at American Express that I have contacted has been very polite.

The Evolution of my Hotel Tastes

Back in 2001, my best buddy and I set out on an adventure to Detroit, Michigan. Being cheap, naive, and young, I booked a room at a Motel 6. This just wasn't any Motel 6, it was a Motel 6 in the middle of Eminem's neighborhood. I continued for a few years, staying at lodges in questionable areas, just to save a few dollars.

Things changed when I decided I was going to stay in the heart of downtown in Chicago. Still being very price conscious, I blindly landed (via Priceline Name Your Own Price) into a great property in the middle of Chi-town. Before arriving, I interacted with the hotel on Twitter. Upon arrival, I was greeted with a couple bottles of beer and gourmet popcorn. I continued to take my chance on Priceline to stay in above average rooms, in great locations, at great prices.

Fast forward to today. Price pays very little role in my decision of where I stay. Here's what's making lean towards staying at a certain hotel when I visit Seattle in spring; they interact with their customers on Twitter and Facebook, they offer a complimentary bicycle, and there is a pet goldfish in the room.