Known to be the home of Starbucks, Seattle has always been surrounded by this romantic and classy aroma. In this week’s recipe, let’s fly to this beautiful city and have a cup of Starbucks coffee on top of the Space Needle, the landmark of Seattle. What’s better than a cup of free coffee? Free plane tickets and hotel nights for your vacation!
Recipe objective: Using 3 credit card promotions to create a three-night trip to Seattle, Washington with free flight and 3 hotel nights, as well as a guide to have a great time in the city (visiting fun places and having great food)!
Ingredients:
- A good 2+ years credit history with no blemishes
- 720+ FICO score
Main Dish Preparation Steps:
Step1: Apply for: United MileagePlus Explorer Card
- 25,000 bonus miles after your first purchase—enough for a roundtrip to Seattle.
- 5,000 more bonus miles after adding an authorized user.
- No Annual Fee for first year ($95 after).
Step 2: Apply for: American Express Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card
- Get 10,000 Starpoints after your first purchase--enough for staying at Sheraton Salt Lake Hotel (category 2 hotel) for 2 weekday nights or 3 weekend nights.
- You get 20,000 additional Starpoints if you spend $4,500 in the first 3 months.
- No annual fee for the first year.
Step 3: Make flight reservation with United
- Search for flights from you city to Seattle, WA.
- It will cost you 25,000 miles for a round trip.
Step 4: Make hotel reservation at Four Points by Sheraton Downtown Seattle Center.
- This is a category 2 hotel. 10,000 will suffice 3 weekend nights (3,000 each), but only 2 weekday nights (4,000 each).
- This is a new hotel that will open on August 11, 2011!
- If you travel with your husband/wife/boyfriend/girlfriend/etc. and each gets on the same deal, you have twice the number of hotel nights!
- If you plan on keeping the card, note that you can also earn 2 Starwood points (instead of 1) for every dollar you spend at Starwood hotels and resorts.
Here’s a comparison table between paying for the vacation yourself and using this recipe for a sample trip:
- From August 26th to 29nd (Friday-Sunday)
- Fly a roundtrip with United from San Francisco to Seattle
- Stay at Four Points by Sheraton Downtown Seattle Center for 3 nights
| |
Paying out of your own pocket |
Using this recipe |
| Annual Fee |
$0 |
Free 1st year |
| Plane Ticket |
$242 |
Use Mileage Explorer Card for anything |
| Hotel Stay |
$367 |
Use Starwood Card for anything |
| Total Cost |
$609 |
2 minor purchases |
Meat-Lovers Side Dishes Preparation Steps::
Step1: Consider purchasing the 2011 Entertainment Book for Seattle (a really good deal!)
- Over $10,000 worth of Seattle coupons; ideal if you plan on exploring the city!
- Only $9.99 instead of $35.
- The 2011 book expires on 11/1/1. But you can always get the new version for 2012.
Step 2: Rent your car at Travelocity:
- Simply enter your pick-up and drop-off date and location, Travelocity will show you the best deals for all categories.
Vegetarian Side Dishes Preparation Steps:
No matter what, make sure to visit these top attractions in Seattle—no trip to Seattle would be complete without these places!
- Space Needle: Climb 520 feet to the observation deck of Seattle's signature building, which is actually 605 feet tall, for spectacular views of the city. Also check out SkyCity, the tower's rotating restaurant that offers the most special dining experience.
- Washington State Ferries: Seattle depends on the State ferry system to provide access to local islands etc. Go for a fun short ride!
- Blue Sky Outfitters Whitewater Rafting: You get to pick the river to raft! All equipments and steak BBQ are included; book early.
- First Starbucks: It opened its first store in 1971 in the Pike Place Market in downtown Seattle. Because the Market is a historic district with design guidelines, the store retains its original look.
Dessert: Chocolate Chip Brownies
As always, an enjoyable trip is not complete without trying the best food in the city. Here are some best restaurants of different cuisines based on ratings in Seattle:
- Paseo Caribbean Restaurant (Fremont): Cuban; best known for their Tofu Delight and Cuban Toast.
- La Carta de Oaxaca: Mexican; best known for their tacos.
- Pink Door: Italian; live entertainment included.
- Kingfish Café: Southern; people run to there for their Crab & Catfish Cakes.
- Caffe Presse: French; best known for their Baguette with Rhubarb compote and Brown Trout.
Alternatives and Cautions:
- If you want to go to any other cities or countries, you can do your flight research here.
- Similarly, for other Starwood participating hotels, the conversion table between Starpoints and redeemable hotel nights for hotels in different categories will show you how many nights you can redeem.
- Note that depending on the category of some hotels, the 10,000 points may not be enough for 3 nights.
- If you choose to stay at a category 1 hotel on a weekend instead, 10,000 points can be redeemed for 4 nights!
- Check out this complete guide for visiting Seattle.
Summary of steps:
- Check your credit history and score.
- Apply for United MileagePlus Explorer Card (at least 25,000 bonus miles).
- Apply for American Express Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express (10,000 bonus points).
- Make a purchase with both cards on anything.
- Book your plane ticket.
- Book your hotel rooms.
- Select certain (or all!) side dishes to make a plan for your trip to Seattle. Take lots of pictures!
- Cancel your cards or keep them to earn points to your convenience.Check your credit history and score.
(Photo: dherrera_96)
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