Awardmapper.com- An absurdly useful website

Some time ago I stumbled across Awardmapper, an absurdly simple and useful website:





Awardmapper's creator is active on Flyertalk and has said that he originally created the site for his own use after getting tired of opening multiple tabs to search for award rooms across multiple programs.  He later decided to make the site "live" with the hope that it would be useful to the miles & points community.  Well, it turns out he's created a marvelously useful trip planning tool.

Here's a sample screenshot of a search I just performed:

The site has a very simple interface.  You start at a search box that allows you to enter your destination (Arrow #1).  That will bring up the general geographic area that you'd like to go to and show all the available hotels.  You can then adjust the search area by dragging the screen, or zoom in by double-clicking or with your mouse's scroll wheel.  The page features a slider that allows you to adjust the points range that you'd like to search (Arrow #2), and a selectable list of the major chains that have rewards programs (Arrow #3).  Your search results show up as pins on the map and a list of hotels on the side of the screen (Arrow #4).  Clicking on a pin or a listed hotel takes you to the hotel's website where you can book your award stay.

The caveat is that Awardmapper only displays hotels and award rates.  It won't tell you whether the hotel has availability on any given night.  So, the site isn't a silver bullet for hotel award bookings, but it certainly takes a lot of work out of the process.  Thank you Awardmapper!

Hotel Tips & Tricks: Always check out the fitness center!

When traveling, there's often just not time (or sufficient motivation) to exercise.  But that's no excuse not to check out your hotel's fitness center.  Seasoned travelers know that many hotel fitness centers offer complimentary amenities that can enhance your stay.  So you'd like some bottled water, but can't bring yourself to pay the $4 mini-bar charge?  Why not check the fitness center?  You might find what I did during a recent hotel stay:

I apologize for the blurry cellphone picture!

Just inside the fitness center at the Ritz-Carlton Atlanta you'll find fresh fruit, bottled water, Powerade, and Vitamin Water.  That's the best offering I've ever come across, but bottled or filtered water is pretty common in hotel fitness centers.  Who knows, maybe you'll even be inspired to get a workout in!

IHG Rewards- Promotion Codes Produce Results

It's well known among the miles and points community that Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG, nee Priority Club) offers some really generous promotion codes that can be used periodically.  These codes are usually 4 digits and you can easily register for them prior to an upcoming IHG stay.  Other bloggers have covered this at length, so I'll just point you to a good link at "Head for Points" where the process of registering is covered.

I'd also like to share my personal results from a recent stay:

26,660 points from a single stay.  I value IHG points at approximately .5cpp, so that's around $133 in value.  Which, coincidentally, was the rate I paid for the room!

Unfortunately, this kind of result isn't endlessly repeatable, because many of the most lucrative bonuses (such as the "Elite Member Next Stay Bonus") are "one time use" codes.  Still, you can usually get this kind of result at least once a year and the bonuses will usually be triggered by any IHG stay, whether it's a $79 Holiday Inn Express stay, or $400 at an Intercontinental.