TravelBloggerBuzz

An eclectic journey through the Travel Miles/Points blogosphere

Enter TBB’s contest to win a $50 Marriott Gift Card!

By

Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise

UPDATE: I can not respond to all people who enter! Please leave me a way to get a hold of you in case you win; if not, your entry is ineligible. I can not have Anonymous win, there is a few! You will not be fed into my superb spam mailing list as…I don’t have one!

I see many bloggers doing contests. I assume they know what they are doing so here I am with the first ever TBB giveaway! Since I am making a killing with my blog (just look at my splashy ads, credit card landing page and embedded affiliate links in my posts…ok, that was a joke, please laugh…I am laughing, hahaha) I barely scraped enough to get by to offer a $50 Marriott Gift Card. No, this will not be yet another tax deduction for TBB. This was given by a kind reader and I gladly pass it along to my readers. My readers will always come first!

I will not require anyone to guess the number of languages I can speak, whether I prefer to be called Sir, Mister or dude, or post a pic and have a gazillion of your friends like it! No, none of that nonsense. It will be random entry. Since the quality of the platform is so outstanding and it does not number the posts, I will have my 10 year old daughter count all the posts and then I am going to do that random number generator thing!

Please enter once. If you enter multiple times I probably would not have a clue anyways, just don’t make it too obvious all right? I am talking to you Bob! Last day to enter is: January 25 2013 at at time I feel like it. Leave a way for me to get a hold of you. You will NOT be added to an email list, I don’t have one!

Of course, since I have this captive audience I would love you to read and try to answer any of the following questions. If not, no big deal at all. Like I said, it will be random!

I am planning a family trip in the summer. I already have my hotels reserved, the Fairmont Banff Springs and Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. 7 nights (4 from Fairmont Visa signing bonuses, 2 nights from $12k “spend” on each Visa, 1 Lifetime Platinum night).  I still need to book the flights! I am thinking then to drive a rental car one way from Calgary to Vancouver and fly back from there. Starting point could be Detroit or Chicago.

  • I would rather burn miles, I have too many! What is the best bang for my miles? Detroit (or Chicago) to Calgary?
  • Any recommended hotel in Calgary?  (near the airport)
  • The drive from Banff area to Vancouver? Is this nuts? Any must see places along the way or excellent recommended hotels?
  • Thinking to do two or three nights in Vancouver. Where to stay with points?Highly prefer best location for walking/public  transportation access.
  • Best bang for my miles from Vancouver to Detroit (or Chicago)?

Or you can tell me of a blog I think I should be looking at in my ongoing reviews (in case I missed it!)?

Or throw at me an insult if you don’t like what I do but please make it colorful and creative. I take all insults as an opportunity to grow and learn!  Or just make me laugh please!

Or any blogging advice is fine, especially on time management! Yes, I know I need to do something about the crappy look of my blog. I am not happy with it and it is starting to bother me now. I like to do things right and give it my best shot. I can do way better!

Oh, to heck with it! Comment on anything you want. It is random, it does not matter!

I started blogging November 9th. It has been very educational, very humbling, tons of fun and way more time sucky than I ever envisioned!

Thank you very much for allowing me to share my thoughts and my Buzz reviews with you!


Peace and love and Buzz!

George

P.S. I will not respond to the posts until after the end of the contest!

email: travelbloggerbuzz@gmail.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/FlyerTalkerinA2
Find me at FlyerTalk and Milepoint as: gpapadop

Filed Under: TBB

Comments

  10. Emm says

    Congrats on making it BIG with a giveaway n all! By the way, I know for a fact you speak at least two languages.

  13. Kidi says

    The Westin Grand in Vancouver (on Robson Street) is our favorite. Close to restaurants, shopping, and transit. Also within a block or two of BC Place if you want to catch a hockey game or other event. Right now at 10,000 points/night. Oh, and they are suite-style rooms with kitchenettes. BTW, I’ve been reading your blog since your first few days and I enjoy it. Thanks.

    • TravelBlogger Buzz says

      I am NOT deleting comments! I do NOT censor! Censoring or hand picking/even editing comments readers take the time to comment is…an awful practice!

      Of course I will delete pure spam (Google deletes them pretty fast). I will likely delete pure personal attacks since they do not add anything constructive. I have only deleted ONE such comment from a person you know ripping another prominent blogger. This person did it as a joke,apologized to me at FTU and was perfectly fine with me deleting his comment. I still felt bad for censoring!!!!!

      If you are referring to the comment above by Kasper family, if you read it closely, it says it was removed “by author”. My guess is they made a typo & recommented. Like I said, I do NOT delete/censor comments.

      It will be really funny if you win;-)

      Have a good day, glorious football games on tap!

    • greenflash says

      @Rick, Regarding the following: ” I’ll make: If you catch me in an “angries” blog or thread from this day forward, send me an email or note ASAP reminding me of my pledge and I’ll send you a $50 Marriott card for getting me out of the mosquito-infested woods.”, are you ready to live up to this? 🙂

    • The Artist Formerly Known as Anonymous says

      Wow, how pathetic is FTG?

      For a guy who made such a big fuss about staying away from the “angries”, he sure likes stalking your threads

      And he’s not even good at being bitter… even if you did delete the comment (which you didn’t making FTG’s post a colossal fail), does he really want to go down the “censoring” road?

      Maybe next he’ll criticize you for giving bad CC advice in a greedy attempt to line your pockets?

    • FrugalTravelGuy says

      GreenFlash: Of course I’ll send you the $50 gift card for reminding me. Just send me your snail mail address.

      BTW, the gift card your entering for is from my last time in the “angries nest” I sent it to George for my last time in the blog about two weeks ago. Glad to see there is now more “best of” then rants.

      Artist Formally: Are you really that bitter? I haven’t seen you say anything nice about anyone yet? This is the blog for you. Just sayin’

      And by the way, on MY blog, I do censor comments. It has been about 10-15 in the last 5 and a half years. And I will continue to do so. MY blog, My rules.

    • greenflash says

      That’s honorable of you, Rick. I sent you an email from my “arrow” account and will follow up with a snail mail address.

    • TravelBlogger Buzz says

      For the record: There have always been a heck of a lot more “Best of” than “Not so Best of”! I would love to see more “Best of” and less “Not so Best of”! It has been happening lately and that makes me feel good!

      I always took the position that each blogger can do what he/she wants in their own blog. We can still express our opinions on practices such as: comment censoring, overly aggressive sales pitching, etc in our OWN blogs. Same “MY blog. My rules.” principle applies. And TBB will continue to do so. I will never be rightly accused for censoring comments and for aggressive sales pitching…and you can take that to the bank (pun intended).

      Boy, did Tom Brady suck tonight!

  15. (Kathy) Will Run For Miles says

    I am thinking of a trip to Vancouver and the surrounding area this summer too, so I’m looking forward to all the responses and recommendations. congrats on your blog.

    Ξέρω ότι μιλάτε δύο γλώσσες, αλλά υποθέτω ότι θα μιλούν τρεις

  16. Anonymous says

    I haven’t been to Vancouver in years; but if you have an extra day or 2, head to Victoria.

    As for you Banff Canada trip, take good notes. One of these days we’re heading that way and I want to ‘steal’ your ideas the same way I did after reading your EZE report!
    dhammer

    • TravelBlogger Buzz says

      I ‘ll do my best but I have outsourced my family blog duties to my wife whose bloggins quality standards are not as high as mine:-) Unless she surprises me and finds a job soon! #developing

  18. BothofUs2 says

    Don’t know how much time you have, but I highly recommend an Ultimate Rewards redemption to Amtrak in a sleeping car to get there. Amtrak has a train called the Empire Builder that runs from Chicago to Seattle, but you would get off at Whitefish Montana. It’s a two day trip to Whitefish, just before arriving there the train skirts the south edge of Glacier National Park – very scenic. At Whitefish, you can rent a car, explore Glacier National Park, and drive further north to Banff/Lake Louise. Did this several years ago, beautiful scenery going this way, but it takes some extra time to get there by train obviously.

  21. Adam says

    Vancouver downtown is highly walkable. Best hotels are not with the big point chains, alas (Fairmont, Pan Pacific), but Westin Grand, Hampton Inn are in great spots.

  23. bluecat says

    We took our family a few years back to Calgary and Banff and really loved it. Some ideas for you: there is a hands-on living history museum in Calgary that your kid will really like (see is the right age). They have restored buildings from canada’s past, along with dressed up people. She can learnn to make ice cream by hand, etc. Definitely worth a visit (4 hours min)

    On Lake Moraine, rent some canoes and paddle around (good for one hour). The lake has an unbelievely blue-green color!

    In Banff, go on a dinnertime horseback ride. You ride for one hour and then stop for a steak BBQ. Best steaks I ever had! But my butt was sore from the ride. 🙂

    Finally, take a little float trip down the river in Banff. Fun for kids and not so kids.

    (I think that drive to Vancouver is too long,, btw, and would have you spend more time in Banff and Jasper)

  24. PatMike says

    In Vancouver (SPG), I like the Westin Grand (by the library). It’s close to the light rail from the airport. The other Westin is not. It’s also close to Costco !
    We have twice taken the Pacific Coach bus from Vancouver to Victoria. It’s a downtown to downtown bus and goes on the ferry through the Gulf Islands for spectacular scenery. You could then fly back from Victoria (great small airport).
    One of the few Marriott properties we frequent is the Victoria Marriott. Great location and they have a lounge. We matched status just for a stay there last July.
    The last 3 times we have been there, we rent a car our last day downtown. There is a Budget across the street, but I always got a better rate at Hertz, where they will pick you up or pay for a taxi. We then spend the afternoon driving around (good time to see it if you’ve never been to Buchart Gardens instead of an overpriced bus tour) and stay at either the Westin by the golf course or the 4 points by Costco for 1 night. We drive to the airport and drop off the car. It’s cheaper to get a car for 1 day than to get airport transportation from downtown.

    We have been churning Alaska credit cards for a few years now and it comes with a $99 companion fare. Usually use that for the Vancouver/Victoria trip. I know Avios makes more sense (and we have over 500K), but I am trying to build our Alaska balance so that we can afford an Emitates flight with a shower like Ben.

  26. Bikeguy says

    Cathay Toronto to Vancouver in C. Gotta do it, especially with this excess of miles. Bikeguy

  27. Bikeguy says

    Amtrak out, rental car, Cathay back! But your family will never let you stick them in Y again after treating them properly. And because I posted twice, if I win, pick again.

  28. Anonymous says

    What is this Fairmont Credit Card you speak of that comes with 2 free nights?

    I read FTG’s blog religiously, and have never seen any mention of this card.

    I did just pick up 30K Delta miles though thanks to his great advice!

    • TravelBlogger Buzz says

      to Anonymous: Fairmont Chase Cards are great if you like the hotels! I certainly find them a heck of a lot more valuable than 30k Delta miles.
      Go to:

      http://www.fairmont.com/promo/card/

      You get 2 complimentary nights (including breakfast for 2) after you spend $1k within 3 months of opening the account. The annual fee of $95 now applies (it was waived when the cards first came out). Another feature is that you get another complimentary night after you spend $12k in each anniversary year (so you will receive the voucher AFTER shortly after you pay the annual fee for the 2nd year). So…to recap, a couple can get the cards and get 4 complimentary nights, another 2 nights for spending $12k each on the card so that is 6 nights for $360. Looking to spend them all in Banff Springs and Lake Louise this summer. A quick look at the summer rates & you will quickly realize it is a fantastic value. I plan to keep my own Fairmont card as I get 1 complimentary night each year as a Lifetime Platinum member.

      Hope this helps. And you MUST pay off the credit card balances each month…if not, this game is not for you!

      Tom Brady is overrated:-)

  29. Barry92 says

    Just some travel suggestions:

    The drive from Banff/L. Louise to Vancouver is about 12-13 hours in good weather, and quite scenic. Another option is to take the Rocky Mountaineer scenic rail – http://www.rockymountaineer.com/en_CA_AB/routes_and_packages/canadian_rocky/first_passage_to_the_west I haven’t taken it myself, but the people who have love it.

    Calgary airport hotel – the area surrounding the airport is industrial, with scattered hotels and restaurants. The Delta Calgary Airport is actually across the street from the departures level.

  31. Mighty Mouse says

    Love your blog George.

    The drive from Banff to Vancouver is LONG. I’ve done it several times and vowed never to do it again. Beautiful… but just too long. I would fly to YVR and then drive up to Whistler if you are interested in a scenic drive. That’s only 1.5 hours.

    While in YYC, there is fabulous dim sum pretty close to the airport if the timing is right. You order off the menu and never have to say no to chicken feet. Forbidden City Restaurant at 999 NE 36th Street.

    And I would love to win the Marriott gift certificate. Thanks TBB reader for donating.

  33. Miles To The Wild says

    I wish I could help you with Vancouver but I haven’t been there in years. I have to find some way for us to amuse ourselves for 10 hours later this year during a layover. If you need help with Manokwari or Sorong, you know where to look! 😉

  36. cowgirrl3 says

    can’t offer useful info about Banff but I’d love to know. always wanted to explore/hike the area. that amtrak idea sure sounds like a fun adventure though!

  37. Anonymous says

    I don’t want to enter because I don’t like blogger contests. Besides I don’t stay at Marriott properties, and I am too busy planning a three week trip to Australia to enter……

  38. Anonymous says

    I can’t help you with travel advice because I’m an idiot. But I can tell you that I enjoy your blog and I am so happy you call out other travel blogs for linking to worse credit card offers for not letting readers know they have a financial interest in their links. It’s such a scummy thing to do. So thanks!
    twitter:@jagi3230 cause i’m cheap and wants monies.

  39. Anonymous says

    The suggestion of Amtrak is good and bad. Yes, it is a good ‘value’ as far as a redemption. 30K(ish? I forget) amtrak points books a sleeper halfway across the country, maybe up to 3 nights, meals included for 2+ ppl. But if you value your time highly, maybe not so great. We did this a couple years ago. It started out fun. Once the novelty wore off, somewhere < 24 hrs in, it started getting old. There is a lot to see on the west coast, in the rockies... But between the rockies and chicago, not a lot to see.. And the freaking train horn every few minutes for days on end. You'll hear it in your dreams for weeks. As far as blog advice- Quit telling us that you keep thinking about quitting the blog. We come here to get a quick summary of the travel blogs. As sweet brown says, ain’t nobody got time for that. 😉 In summary, pick me. Ripper3785

    • TravelBlogger Buzz says

      In August 2012 did the Amtrak sleeper from Chicago to LA to Seattle and really enjoyed it! Will research the train angle further.

      I LOVED the advice to stop posting about quitting the blog. I GET it. I won’t do it again. It must be annoying & I can clearly see it now. Thanks for bringing it to my attention!

  44. guera says

    Your blog is now the first thing I read in the mornings. I spend way too much time clicking on all your links. Thanks for doing this and keep up the good work.

  45. Anonymous says

    @Ripper, the sound of a train whistle is music to my ears. Believe it or not, my final resting spot is 2 tenths of a mile to the Metro North railroad tracks in New York.

    dhammer53

  51. Stacey - VeryGoodPoints says

    Any recommended hotel in Calgary? (near the airport) – I stay at the 4points at the airport. Cheap and clean. Nothing special, but it’s just an airport hotel, right?

    The drive from Banff area to Vancouver? Is this nuts? Any must see places along the way or excellent recommended hotels? – yes, this is nuts! It’s 12 hours. Drive from Calgary is so much easier.

    Thinking to do two or three nights in Vancouver. Where to stay with points?Highly prefer best location for walking/public transportation access. – I prefer the Westin’s and both are pretty much the same IMO

    If you’re going during the Calgary Stampede, you must check it out! The escargot at the Banff Springs Hotel is amazing.

  55. Anonymous says

    Joseph M.
    George I have been impressed by the quality and effort of you blog so far. I have no tips on Canada but am glad that I wass ableto help you with the AA expired miles. Continued good luck with the blog and hope to meet you at FTU.

  57. Jimmy Y. says

    If you have the AMEX Plat, I recommend doing a FHR booking at the Fairmont Waterfront. They give two breakfast buffets and $100 F&B credit so depending on the rate, you can get great value!

  60. Bluecat says

    OMG, I just figured out how to get my name and a little picture to appear! So happy! I’m calling it a day…G’night, everybody!

  61. TravelBlogger Buzz says

    Keep ’em coming. Thank you for reading & commenting, I read every single comment. I usually respond to every single one but…just won’t as I will let my daughter figure the correct entry contestants and it’s already getting quite mixed up in here:-)

  66. Sandeep says

    Thanks for the giveaway George!
    Vancouver is just amazing….walk into pretty much any restaurant and you are almost always gauranteed a treat. The food scene there is beyond any place I have experienced yet.

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