Like New York City, hotel nights in Paris can range from $250 to $500, and up, so if you’re headed to the city with a family or small group, renting an apartment is likely to be the only affordable option. I just returned from a 4-night stay at an incredible 3 bed/2 bath, 1200 square foot penthouse apartment in the French capital’s 4th arrondissement (an ideal location for tourists) — and the entire stay cost less than a single night in a comparable hotel suite. With five beds and an inflatable mattress borrowed from a French friend, the apartment was able to sleep eight New Yorkers very comfortably (at a cost of under $50 per person, per night).

I found the apartment on VRBO.com (Vacation Rental by Owner), which I’ve also used to successfully book apartment rentals in Hong Kong and Athens in the past. The unit was on the fifth and sixth floors of an elevator building (though the elevator is only large enough to accommodate three people without luggage), included a large, open kitchen, dining and living room on the second floor, along with a private furnished rooftop terrace, with views of the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame (just a 10 minute walk), and Sacre Coeur. Advertised rates range from €300-350 for four people, depending on the season, but from my experience, rates can be negotiated significantly lower during the low season (non summer/holiday months).

Click “read more” for more photos and information about this apartment.

The apartment offers a fully equipped kitchen, with stove, dishwasher, convection oven, two refrigerators, freezer, and electric grill.

The third bedroom is very large, and includes a twin trundle bed.

A somewhat-obstructed view from the rooftop terrace, which also offers (unobstructed, yet distant) views of the Eiffel Tower, Nortre Dame, and Sacre Coeur.

*All photos were taken from the apartment listing, but accurately represent the unit.

I’m giving posting by email a try, since Beijing doesn’t seem to like my blog. Or Twitter, or Facebook. This post is out of order (I have two left from Korea), but I couldn’t go another hour without sharing today’s incredible visit to IKEA.

You may remember an LA Times article from last year, titled Beijing Loves IKEA — But Not for Shopping. In summary, the article revealed why there’s a line to get in the front door of the Beijing IKEA, but not one to check out. (Note: there wasn’t actually a line to get in during my visit today.) The picture above tells part of the story — just as many locals visit IKEA to sleep — on chairs, sofas, and occasionally beds — as come for the $2 plates of lox and $1 plate of Swedish meatballs. Oh, and a few actually purchase furniture as well. I thought it might be a bit much to post pictures of kids sleeping, so I blurred out this little guy’s face.

This is the scene when you walk in the door.

Click the “read more” link for more hilarious photos!

This lady is reading a newspaper, while her friend (I assume) sleeps on the adjacent sofa.

Shoppers ignore the non-shoppers. People didn’t even seem to notice as others slept on the piece of furniture they were examining for purchase.

Close-up of the sleeping man in the image above.

(Left to right) reading a newspaper, resting, and fast asleep.

I assume (hope) that this baby’s parents were keeping an eye on her from somewhere nearby.

Pillow talk.

I’m sure the next person to sleep here would be pleased to know that this guy was thoughtful enough to keep his shoes off the bed.

I would at least have switched off the lamps. Getting a tan, perhaps?

Close-up.

Big red.

Bargain shopper.
Reader caption: “Color coordination… I knows it.”

Expensive taste! This mattress has a price tag of $2,999 CNY (about $450).
Reader caption: “Mom, that guy snores… don’t make us sleep here.”

This looks comfortable! Any takers?

Some people really are there to shop…

And finally, before you get too excited, it’s important to note that everyone has to head home when the store closes every night at 10, so don’t plan on skipping the hotel during your next visit to Beijing.

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In addition to its pristine beaches, Bermuda is also known for its pricey hotels. Tourists not visiting the island by cruise ship have many more options, however, thanks to bed and breakfast booking sites like bermudarentals.com.

I stayed in Hamilton Parish at the home of Ms. Janet Jackson — yes, that’s her real name — a lovely British woman who rents spare rooms by the night. A three-night stay is typically required, but I was able to stay just one night by paying a surcharge, bringing the total to $110. By comparison, some hotels cost upwards of $500 per night, and are much further from the airport, resulting in sky-high taxi fares (my fare was just $14 with tip). With a minimum three-night stay, a room in Ms. Jackson’s house rents for $85 or $120 per night, depending on the number of guests. Bermuda has an excellent bus system and there are plenty of rentable scooters on the island, so there’s no reason to stay far from the airport if you’re only visiting for a few days. I was able to travel to the Dockyard in about 40 minutes, which is located at the opposite end of the island.

I also discovered that Ms. Jackson’s home is on the market for US $2.4 million, and has been for three years, thanks to a recent Bermudian law restricting property sales to residents. The government wouldn’t even make an exception for Oprah, who reportedly wanted to drop $45 million on a hilltop estate.

Will I be able to stay within my budget? I won’t know for certain until after I hit the blackjack tables during my three-day trip to Las Vegas (that’s a joke) towards the end of the month, but if I’m able to keep costs down in Costa Rica, Phoenix, Syracuse, Bermuda, Denver, Seattle, San Francisco, Vegas, and Bogota, then anything is possible! I’m traveling with or staying with friends whenever practical to minimize expenses, and using hotel rewards points for one exception (Seattle) and Airbnb.com for another (San Francisco). Check back often as I recap each day’s activities (and progress towards my budget). To the rest of my JetBlue AYCJers — I wish you an incredible month, and look forward to meeting many of you beginning tomorrow morning!

The Conrad Maldives Rangali Island resort in the Alif Dhaal Atoll is now accepting reservations for a night in its one-of-a-kind underwater dining room, which the hotel is willing to convert to a spacious underwater hotel room — for a mere $11,710 per night. It’s of course important to note that that rate includes dinner (in the underwater restaurant, I presume), along with breakfast in bed. I wonder if there’s a discount if you order the catch of the day?

//Via ShermansTravel//

Here are the basic steps (read on further below for a bit more detail):

1. Sign up (and be accepted) for the Starwood Preferred Guest American Express card using the referral link I send (Email me for the link).
2. Email me a screenshot of your account statement once your 10,000 Starwood points post (6-8 weeks after you first sign up for the card).
3. For every 20 referrals, I will have someone in that group of 20 randomly select an iPad winner (more details below). If there are fewer than 20 referrals but more than 10, an iPod touch will be awarded. If there are 40 referrals, two iPads will be awarded, etc. If there are fewer than 10, a random gadget of my choosing will be awarded. The winner can also select a $500 cash prize in place of the iPad. Basically, the more friends you tell about the contest, the better your chances of winning!

Now the fine print:

My good friends know how much I love the Starwood Preferred Guest card (and my iPad), and several of them have the card themselves (thanks to me) and love it just as much as I do. Points I’ve earned from my SPG card have paid for trips to Peru and Japan in their entirety. But truth be told, I’m not simply offering this contest out of the goodness of my heart… SPG will award me 5,000 points per referral, and if enough people sign up for me to award four iPads, then I’ll be able to take my family on an awesome vacation!

The first person in each group of 20 will be contacted to select a winner based on a random number assignment (each email account will be assigned a random number, and the first person in each group will simply select a number between 1 and 20).

This contest is in absolutely no way affiliated with my employer.

You can email a screenshot of the points in your account to enter, but each winner will be required to provide me with temporary access to their online SPG account (not the AMEX credit card account) so I can verify that the promotion rules were followed correctly. (So no submitting screenshots!)

Though this contest appears to be in compliance with the SPG promotion rules, if SPG decides to cancel the promotion or my account at any time, then I will be unable to award a prize. Each cardholder will receive 10,000 Starwood points just for signing up for the card, however (20,000 points is typically enough for one roundtrip domestic airline ticket). The SPG AMEX is a credit card, so use your best judgment before signing up for the card. There is a $45 annual fee AFTER the first year, though you may cancel the card at any time after your 10,000 points have been applied. Please read all the fine print when signing up for the card.

Please feel free to contact me with questions.

Good luck!

Zach

Just 30 minutes to the north, Punta Sal is an oasis in the department of Tumbes, offering some of the cleanest beaches I’ve seen anywhere in the world, let alone in Peru. While other beaches in the department are very unsafe and littered with garbage, Punta Sal is simply gorgeous. I spent two nights at Club Punta Sal, which was incredibly inexpensive by American standards ($84 per night for a suite, including meals), but out of reach for most Peruvians. It can be difficult to get to the hotel (the nearest airport in Tumbes requires a connection in Lima and is located an hour to the north), but it’s definitely worth the trip if you’re able to stay for several days. Club Punta Sal is far nicer and less expensive than any resorts I’ve visited in Mexico or the Caribbean, with excellent service and amenities.

Yes, it’s true, you too can “earn” free miles just by calling your rewards card provider. If you’re the god-fearing will-not-ever-tell-a-white-lie-never-ever type, then this is not the post for you—please go read this article on unicorns instead, and ignore that first bit about them being mythical creatures. If, however, you’re only a few miles away from that trip to Timbuktu, please good sir, do read on.

From my years of experience working with creditors to pad my rewards accounts with freebie points, I’ve become quite good at “working the system.” Banks tend to want to hold on to their cardholders, assuming they pay their bills on time and all that fun stuff, so it’s become common practice to offer an incentive to dissatisfied cardholders, or, in my case, satisfied cardholders claiming to be dissatisfied cardholders. Over the years, I’ve received enough extra points for a few roundtrip international flights (no, I’m not exaggerating), and it takes little more than a couple phone calls a year, and perhaps occasionally closing and re-opening your card account.

In the case of [[redacted national airline]], for example, customer service representatives will offer you one of four retention incentives if you call requesting to close your account. I’ve done this a handful of times, so I pretty much have the routine down. On your first call, the rep will likely offer a $50 account credit, or 2,500 miles. If you choose the account credit (likely the better value), you can call again the following month and receive a $100 account credit. Then you can call again for the 2,500 miles. When you call a fourth time, the airline will offer to either close your account no questions asked, or provide you with double miles for the next 6 months, up to 5,000 additional miles. I went through this entire process three times, closing my account on the fifth call each time, and reopening it a month later to take advantage of the 25,000 bonus miles offer yet again.

Please note: by calling to close your account, you do in fact run the risk that a CSR will actually honor your request right off the bat, though this has never happened to me. Closing card accounts can negatively affect your credit, so use caution if you expect to apply for a mortgage in the next few years.

Since I joined several years ago, I have enjoyed dozens of free nights at Sheraton and Westin hotels around the country, and have transferred points for free flights around the country. I fell in love with the card all over again when I discovered that it would cover my trip to Ecuador and Peru next month, including roundtrip direct flights from JFK to Guayaquil on LAN Airlines, and two nights in the Guayaquil Sheraton, all for only 26,000 points (about 4 months of hotel stays and purchases). My only expenses are a roundtrip bus ticket and a few nights at an inexpensive hotel in Peru. I’ll admit, the card is not for everyone—there is a $45 annual fee, and if you tend to carry a balance, then you’ll surely be turned off by the 13% APY interest rate—but if you’re not pleased with your current rewards card, it’s certainly worth a try. And you get 25,000 points when you sign up, enough for a free domestic flight and hotel stay.