Starwood Consumer Amex Signup Linky
Starwood Business Amex Signup Linky

There are 2 separate cards, the Starwood consumer and business card, however I will lump them together for this review due to their similarities.

The Starwood Consumer card is the best card to use for everyday spending, period. (As far as I can tell only the consumer card, not the business card, has the 90 day return privilege as outlined below.)

I ranked the Starwood card as follows in the following categories:
Best Credit Cards To Use And Spend To Earn Miles: #1 and #2
Best Credit Cards To Have For Miscellaneous Benefits: #4 and #5
Credit Cards Good For A One-Time Bonus: Tie-#3

Key facts:
-Signup Bonus: 10,000 points for the consumer card and 10,000 points for the business card.
-Annual fee: None for 1 year, $30 subsequent years.
-Signup Bonus Earned: After first purchase.
-Maximum points that can be earned in 1 year from spending: Unlimited.

Before applying for the Starwood card you should first become a Starwood Preferred Guest Member

Reasons for the #1 ranking in “Cards To Use And Spend To Earn Miles” category :
1. Points can be transferred into almost any mileage program in the world! Instead of having your miles tied into 1 airline, you can have the flexibility to move them into any airline right when you need to travel!!
2. You get 25% bonus miles when transferring at least 20,000 points into miles, i.e. 20,000 starwood points=25,000 miles on an airline of your choice!!
3. How do you get 20,000 points? Just apply for the consumer and business card and you’ll have the 20,000 points!
4. Unlike on most airline cards, the Starwood card has no limit to the amount of points that can be earned in a year.
5. Free hotel nights start at just 2,000 points!
6. (Almost) Anything you buy has a 90 day return privilege! Not happy with it? Return to Amex and get your money back!!!
7. (Almost) Anything you buy will get a free additional year of warranty support from Amex.
8. (Almost) Anything you buy will have a 90 day protection against accidental damage and theft.

Reasons for the #3 and #4 ranking in “Miscellaneous Benefits” category:
-90 Day return privilege for the consumer card.
-When you have the card you get Preferred Plus status in the Starwood Guest Program, which gets you:
-Guaranteed 4pm checkouts at any starwood property (sheraton, westin, etc.)
-Free point transfers between household starwood accounts
-A complimentary upgrade to a Preferred Room when available at check-in!
-4 miles per dollar spent at Starwood hotels.
-Spend $30,000 in a calandar year and get Starwood Gold status.

Reason for being ranked #3 in the “Credit Cards Good For A One-Time Bonus” category:
-Even if you don’t want to use the card, applying for the 2 cards will give you a free ticket on airline that you want!

Other facts:
-The starwood card is one of the only avenues for Americans to earn miles from a credit card on Cathay Pacific.
Cathay Pacific has some of the cheapest mileage awards in the industry, charging just 60,000 miles to go from New York to Europe in business class on its’ OneWorld partner, British Airways.
-You can get another 2,500 free points by calling up Amex after you get the card to add an additional fee-free cardholder to your account!

©2006 Ctownbochur.com
Questions, Suggestions, Errors? Please leave a comment!
Please do not post this article on any other website without explicit prior permission. Thank You!

LAN Argentina is starting to fly non-stop from EZE to GRU on December 4th and is kicking it off with an amazing sale!
Let me tell you, there’s nothing in the world quite like Rodizio-hopping in Brazil!!!
Book at lan.com

I usually don’t post contests here, but 2,500,000 miles and $25,000 cash is one cool prize!
Win Delta Tickets For Life Contest Linky

Starwood Consumer Amex Signup Linky
Starwood Business Amex Signup Linky

There are 2 separate cards, the Starwood consumer and business card, however I will lump them together for this review due to their similarities.

The Starwood Consumer card is the best card to use for everyday spending, period. (As far as I can tell only the consumer card, not the business card, has the 90 day return privilege as outlined below.)

I ranked the Starwood card as follows in the following categories:
Best Credit Cards To Use And Spend To Earn Miles: #1 and #2
Best Credit Cards To Have For Miscellaneous Benefits: #4 and #5
Credit Cards Good For A One-Time Bonus: Tie-#3

Key facts:
-Signup Bonus: 10,000 points for the consumer card and 10,000 points for the business card.
-Annual fee: None for 1 year, $30 subsequent years.
-Signup Bonus Earned: After first purchase.
-Maximum points that can be earned in 1 year from spending: Unlimited.

Before applying for the Starwood card you should first become a Starwood Preferred Guest Member

Reasons for the #1 ranking in “Cards To Use And Spend To Earn Miles” category :
1. Points can be transferred into almost any mileage program in the world! Instead of having your miles tied into 1 airline, you can have the flexibility to move them into any airline right when you need to travel!!
2. You get 25% bonus miles when transferring at least 20,000 points into miles, i.e. 20,000 starwood points=25,000 miles on an airline of your choice!!
3. How do you get 20,000 points? Just apply for the consumer and business card and you’ll have the 20,000 points!
4. Unlike on most airline cards, the Starwood card has no limit to the amount of points that can be earned in a year.
5. Free hotel nights start at just 2,000 points!
6. (Almost) Anything you buy has a 90 day return privilege! Not happy with it? Return to Amex and get your money back!!!
7. (Almost) Anything you buy will get a free additional year of warranty support from Amex.
8. (Almost) Anything you buy will have a 90 day protection against accidental damage and theft.

Reasons for the #3 and #4 ranking in “Miscellaneous Benefits” category:
-90 Day return privilege for the consumer card.
-When you have the card you get Preferred Plus status in the Starwood Guest Program, which gets you:
-Guaranteed 4pm checkouts at any starwood property (sheraton, westin, etc.)
-Free point transfers between household starwood accounts
-A complimentary upgrade to a Preferred Room when available at check-in!
-4 miles per dollar spent at Starwood hotels.
-Spend $30,000 in a calandar year and get Starwood Gold status.

Reason for being ranked #3 in the “Credit Cards Good For A One-Time Bonus” category:
-Even if you don’t want to use the card, applying for the 2 cards will give you a free ticket on airline that you want!

Other facts:
-The starwood card is one of the only avenues for Americans to earn miles from a credit card on Cathay Pacific.
Cathay Pacific has some of the cheapest mileage awards in the industry, charging just 60,000 miles to go from New York to Europe in business class on its’ OneWorld partner, British Airways.
-You can get another 2,500 free points by calling up Amex after you get the card to add an additional fee-free cardholder to your account!

©2006 Ctownbochur.com
Questions, Suggestions, Errors? Please leave a comment!
Please do not post this article on any other website without explicit prior permission. Thank You!

Update: The credit card offers in this post have expired!

Last Updated 10/30:12:30pm
Over the next week I will iy”h go through the details of each of these categories and the cards within them, and make a post on the best strategy on how to cancel the cards. But for now, as promised, here is the list!

Best Credit Cards To Use And Spend To Earn Miles:
1. Starwood Consumer Amex
2. Starwood Business Amex
3. Amex Business Platinum Charge Card
4. American AAdvantage Citibank Consumer MC
T4. American AAdvantage Citibank Business MC
6. Jetblue Business Amex
7. Jetblue Consumer Amex
8. Delta Consumer Amex
9. Delta Business Amex

Best Credit Cards To Have For Miscellaneous Benefits:
1. Amex Business Platinum Charge Card
2. American AAdvantage Citibank Consumer MC
3. American AAdvantage Citibank Business MC
4. Starwood Consumer Amex
5. Starwood Business Amex
6. Jetblue Business Amex
7. Jetblue Consumer Amex
8. Continental Business Chase MC
9. Continental Consumer Chase MC
10. Delta Business Amex

Credit Cards Good For A One-Time Bonus:
1. Delta Consumer Amex
2. Delta Business Amex
T3. Starwood Consumer Amex
T3. Starwood Business Amex
5. Jetblue Business Amex
6. Jetblue Consumer Amex

The following airfares, valid both directions, have been published today at historically low prices:
Available Now:
United: Boston-Phoenix=$118+RT
United: Charlotte-Phoenix=$118+RT
Available Soon!
Continental: Pittsburgh-Dallas=$138+RT
United: NYC-Burbank=$178+RT
Look up valid dates above, and book at united.com or continental.com

Per Yankydoodle’s request, here’s our requisite odometer picture…

Pittsburgh-Las Vegas: $118+ RT
Pittsburgh-Phoenix: $118+ RT
Philadelphia-Las Vegas: $118+ RT
Check valid dates by clicking above. Book at united.com

Coupon Linky

AA has just matched the $36 deal as well!
Valid to/from Chicago/ORD to all 3 NYC airports-LGA, JFK, and EWR!!!!
Fare rules are the same as Jetblue’s:
Tickets must be booked by October 27, 11:59 PM MT.
Travel is good between 01/04/07 and 02/15/07
Bookable now at aa.com
The Chicago-NYC deal is now valid on American, ATA, Airtran, And Jetblue!

Airtran and ATA have both matched Jetblue’s $36 sale.
Airtran flies from Chicago Midway(MDW) to Newark(EWR)
Now bookable at airtran.com
ATA flies from Chicago Midway(MDW)to New York/LGA
ata.com
Both have the exact same fare rules as Jetblue.

As more airlines get their matches in, Ctownbochur.com will be the first site on the web to let you know!

As I wrote exactly 3 weeks ago on October 5th:
“Prediction: Expect big Chicago-New York fare wars to erupt in the coming weeks!”

Several airlines have just filed for fare matches to go into effect in the next few hours to join into the Chicago fun, stay tuned for the latest info!

Update 2: I booked a ticket from ord to lgb from 01/21 to 01/28, the round-trip price including tax was just $90!
Update: Dates are getting sold out quickly, hurry up and book now!
Jetblue is offering $36+ one way fares to or from Chicago O’ Hare(ORD) and Long Beach, CA(LGB) or NYC/JFK.
Tickets must be booked by October 27, 11:59 PM MT.
Travel is good between 01/04/07 and 02/15/07
Cheap tickets are also good between jfk and lgb by booking 2 seperate tickets, one from lgb-ord and one from ord-jfk.
-this post sent from my treo, more details to come…

Coupon Linky

Just send a text message saying “World” to 88398
Limit 1 code per cell phone number.
Code rules:
Book by 12/19/06
Travel by 3/31/07
Valid on any ticket $150 or more.
Valid one time for up to 6 passengers.

Yesterday UA published a fare from nyc to dfw, an aa fortress hub for $118.
Does AA match that?
No.
They publish a $118 into DEN, a UA hub…
Bookable now at aa.com with the same fare rules as the nyc-dfw $118 ticket…

Valid through end of schedule.
21 days advance purchase required.
Valid only from/to LGA.
No min/max stay.
Bookable now at united.com

All auctions listings are only .20 today only!
Be sure to always go to ebay (whenever buying or selling!) through the ebay link in the right sidebar of this site!
Thanks for your support!

Firefox 2.0 Linky
IE7 was content with playing catch-up to the features of firefox 1.5
That doesn’t mean you have to be content with IE7!
Browse the internet with a more secure and faster internet browser!!!
Here’s Cnet’s take on Firefox 2,
“The bottom line: Mozilla Firefox 2 is a winner, beating Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 on security, features, and overall cool factor and deserving our Editors’ Choice award.”
Cnet Firefox 2 Review And Video Of New Features Linky
Previous Post On Some Of Firefox 2’s Amazing New Features

Google Checkout $10 Off $30 Tutorial Linky
120 GB External Hard Drive Linky
$20 Rebate Linky

Google Checkout $10 Off $30 Tutorial Linky
1 GB Mini-SD Card Linky
$10 Rebate Linky

Subscription Linky
Click on the above link and go to deal of the day.
The cost is free+$4.19 processing for a 1 year subscription.
Use the following code for 15% off: PXCJ1029

Jetblue has a whole bunch of $31 one way tickets for travel on 10/31 only.
Orlando-Aguadilla, Puerto Rico
Fares in-between any of the following cities are just $31 as well:
All fares may sell out at any time!
Boston
Buffalo
Columbus
Nashville
JFK
Pittsburgh
Raleigh/Durham
Richmond
Washington D.C.

Valid every day through the end of schedule!
Booking Linky

Ipod Linky

Google Checkout $10 Off $30 Tutorial Linky
512 MB SD Card Linky
$19 Rebate Linky

This may only affect some 12% of regular web users, but 2 out every 3 visitors to ctownbochur.com are savvy enough to know to use firefox…
And Firefox 2 is even more amazing than the original!
Some of the new features that I’ve noticed in beta testing (besides for all the great features of firefox 1 that it builds on) include:
-The inline spell checking-it’s unbelievably helpful!!!
-The ability to reopen closed tabs!
-Automatic session restore-if your computer freezes/crashes and you have to restart, firefox remembers exactly what you were working on in each tab and brings it back to life again!
Cnet Video Of Some Of The New Features Of The Beta Version Of Firefox 2

The bluetooth headset was $70, and is on sale for $16.99
The 512 SD card and the 512 MB USB drive are both $12.95 each.
Unfortunately if you pick the headset and 1 memory device you are .06 short of the $10 google coupon.
So i included a “filler” below for $1.50 to bring you over the $30 threshold.
$16.99+$12.95+$1.50=$31.44-$10 coupon=$21.44

So select the headset and one of the memory devices and the filler and then checkout with google to get them for just $21.44…
Google Checkout $10 Off $30 Tutorial Linky
IOGear Bluetooth Headset Linky
512 MB SD Card Linky
512 MB USB Flash Drive Linky
$1.50 Filler Linky

Update 3-10/23-1:00am: This fare is back again!
Update 2: DEAD!!!
Update-10/12-12pm: Now Bookable, check available dates at farecompare.com and then go directly to united.com to book.
Why do airlines like Pittsburgh so much?
Or are they just doing these PITiful folk a community service by trying to let them escape?
At any rate United has filed a $129+ fare from PIT To TUS.
The fare is valid for travel any day that you want, through the end of schedule, with very few restrictions.
It should be available to book at the absolute worst airline site there is, united.com within a couple hours. (It’s no wonder United still offers 1,000 bonus miles for booking at their site when everyone else has gone down to 500..)

NWA Offer Linky
-Earn 1,000 Bonus Miles: complete your first flight (one-way or roundtrip)
-Earn 5,000 Bonus Miles: complete a second flight (roundtrip only)
-Earn 1,000 Bonus Miles: subscribe to NWA E-mail for two consecutive months.

In response to the poll and comment results:
You may post comments on deals as normal right here at ctownbochur.com once again.
I will no longer keep creating a new thread on every new deal at ctownforums.

I will leave ctownforums.com open on a trial basis simply to see what form, if any, that it takes.
If you have a request for a deal, I’d like for it to be posted in the brand new board i created at ctownforums specifically for deal requests.
If you would like to share a deal not posted here please feel free to post it there as well.
Also if you have a question on a deal more than a week old, it would be a good idea to post it on ctownforums as most people don’t read comments any older than that…

Coupon Linky
Expires: 6 days from time of printing!!!

Free Travel Mug Linky
Use code: WMGOHO-2006

Stickied: This will remain at the top. Please scroll down for new deals!
Ctownforums Poll Linky
Almost 48 hours ago I created ctownforums.com in response to numerous requests for a better forum in which people can comment and discuss deals.
There are many advantages to the forum format, however only about 15% of readers actually went over there, and only 40 some actually signed up.
As one person emailed me, he just wants to get all of the info at one place.
So, i set up a poll at ctownforums, but you do have to be registered to vote there.
Please feel free to comment on this thread if you do not feel like registering there.

Here are the options for ctownforums:
1. Should i get rid of comments on ctownbochur.com, thereby forcing anyone who wants to read more info or ask questions to the thread on ctownforums?

2. Should i keep the format exactly as is, and allow those who want to comment on ctownbochur at ctownbochur, and those who would rather post at ctownforums to post at ctownforums?

3 .Should i keep ctownforums open, but not in the current manner. I would guess it would be a place where people would be able to share deals more openly and start topics going more in depth into specific deals and advice?

4.Should i not change what wasn’t broken and just delete ctownforums?.

Survey Linky
HT to the nanojew…

Discuss This At Ctownforums!
Ahh…The oldest trick in the book: Hidden-city ticketing.
What is it?
Airlines routinely charge a premium for a non-stop flight to their hub. However if you go to another city via the hub it can be much cheaper.

Examples:
1.
-A one-way ticket on October 28 on Continental airlines flight 334 at 12:30AM from LAX non-stop to its’ fortress hub in CLE will set you back $329.
-A one-way ticket on October 28 on Continental airlines flight 334 at 12:30AM from LAX non-stop into CLE and connecting to Continental airlines flight 8757 from CLE to PIT is only $119!!!

2.
-A one-way ticket on October 28 on Airtran flight 475 at 11:43AM from BWI non-stop to its’ hub in ATL will cost you $154
-A one-way ticket on October 28 on Airtran flight 475 at 11:43AM from BWI non-stop to ATL and connecting to Airtran flight 144 from ATL-DTW is only $59!!!

The difference?
“Hidden-City Ticketing” is against the terms and conditions of every major airline, but lucky for you the LCC’s all allow it!

Now if you have no luggage there’s not much that Continental can do to you if you get off in CLE, but if you do have luggage it’s going to PIT…
However if you have a return ticket and you skip the CLE-PIT segment the rest of your ticket is automatically forfeited to Continental’s bean counters…

Lucky for you Airtran will actually let you buy that ticket from BWI to DTW and get off in ATL.
Have luggage? When checking in just tell the Airtran Agent that you are getting off at ATL, and they will route your bags to ATL for you!

Airport Codes:
LAX-Los Angeles
CLE-Cleveland
PIT-Pittsburgh
BWI-Baltimore
ATL-Atlanta
DTW-Detroit
Fares obtained from airtran.com and continental.com at 1AM on 10/20.
©2006 Ctownbochur.com
Questions, Suggestions, Errors? Please leave a comment!
Please do not post this article on any other website without explicit prior permission. Thank You!

Discuss This At Ctownforums!
Go to farecompare.com to find valid dates and then book directly at usairways.com…

Discuss This At Ctownforums!
Pentax M20 Buy.com Linky
Google Checkout $10 Off $30 Tutorial Linky

For pictures of the camera check it out at amazon:
Pentax M20 Amazon Linky

Stickied: This will remain at the top. Please scroll down for new deals!
Discuss This At Ctownforums.com!
You asked, I listened.
Now it’s up to you!
I have opened a forum to better facilitate the discussion of deals.
Every deal I post here will include a direct link to the thread at ctownforums.com concerning that deal.
This is only a test to see how it goes and is totally open to feedback.
If it catches on and works, great.
If it doesn’t I will simply get rid of it, no big deal.
Please take a minute and register yourself at ctownforums.com and share your own 2 cents!

Stickied: This will remain at the top. Please scroll down for new deals!
One of my favorite things has always been to help people save money. As any of my friends can tell you, it really bothers me when someone buys a 512 MB SD card at Best Buy for $50, pays $400 to get from L.A. to NYC, or gets locked into a bad cell phone plan for 2 years.

That being said, I have really enjoyed personally answering everyone’s emails over the past few years about every kind of question under the sun, however due to:
-The growth of this site,
-The ever increasing amount of emails, (literally dozens per day now, or even hundreds when i post a “contact me” deal)
-My current highly limited time constraints,
I will unfortunately be unable to personally answer any more of these emails.

The only exception for the time being is to get a “contact me” deal, like for the sero email address.

You can always leave a comment under the most recently posted deal (please don’t post it on a deal from last month!) and hopefully some of my helpful readers will post a response and if I have the time I will chime in as well.

Thanks in advance for your understanding!