Stay at Hilton and get triple Virgin Flying Club miles

There is nothing quite like the invigorating energy in NYC in the spring! I treat myself to Luxury at the St. Regis or the The Waldorf. The Waldorf Astoria is the embodiment of luxury and splendor with art-deco touches that make me imagine what it looked like when the guests patronized the grand hotel in the 1920s. You can use HHhonors points to stay at this magnificent establishment or pay Sale rates for Suites from $319 (request Plan Code SPCST in order to book). It is in walking distance of Radio City Music Hall, Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and shopping on Fifth Avenue. If you book a stay at any one of over 3,800 participating hotels from the Hilton Worldwide portfolio of brands between April 1 and June 30, 2011, you can get triple Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles. All you need to do is register before your stay. If you become a Hilton HHonors member, you’ll be able to add to your Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles or many other airline frequent flyer programs. All the HHonors points you earn with Hilton Worldwide can be transferred into your Virgin or other Airline account but the most cost effective use of the points is to use it for stays.
You only have 1 day left to get up to a 100% bonus when you buy USAirways Dividend miles. Though I must point out that miles purchased or earned do not count towards Dividend Miles Preferred elite status. With the Dividend Miles program, Preferred members get everything smart travelers love. They are a Star Alliance member and Chairman's Preferred elite level is the highest to aim for to get upgrades. You need a steep 100'000 Preferred-qualifying miles for Chairman's level.

Points earning Boutique hotels

If you have not been able to accumulate enough nights to make elite with your preferred hotel chain, you may want to try a different kind of loyalty program. Many hotel loyalty programs give you a second year at the same elite level even if you don’t quite make the number of nights to qualify but it is also worth trying this new program.
It is a U.S. based hotel loyalty program , called Stash Hotel Rewards, started in May last year and has about 90 affiliated hotels mainly in cities like Boston, Chicago, LA, NYC, Seattle and Washington. The hotels include spas and resorts and are all properties with ratings of three stars and above. Membership is complimentary as it is with most loyalty programs.
I’m not so keen on Boutique hotels because I like to know what to expect for a Category or Star level.
But brands are not sticking to their core offerings anymore. Previously one could count on getting standard services like ; A/C, room-service, a bath-tub, swimming pool and a health club at a 4 star and up hotel. However, now days, brands are not true to their brands so you have to waste time to research each hotel before booking. I used to like staying at Marriott hotels because I knew the layout of the room and could feel at home because every room was the same. The bathroom with a tub is always to the side of the passageway, there was a full length mirror, coffee machine, hairdryer and mini bar fridge.
Boutique hotels are so fashionable that this year you can earn & redeem Marriott Rewards points at new hotel brands around the globe, like EDITIONSM, Autograph® and, The Ritz-Carlton®.
Edition hotels are luxury boutique hotels with attitude and style. Each distinctive property in places like Waikiki, Istanbul and Mexico City. Istanbul has a debut offer for € 265 per night for a room.
The Stash program allows travelers to earn points at a variety of hotels without limiting you to one chain. You earn , five points for every dollar spent at participating hotels:

Stash have a deal till July 2011 if you stay at Affinia Hotels in New York and Chicago: Members who are first time guests of Affinia properties receive 2,000 bonus points and another promotion is to earn 2k points at Lenox Hotel At On The Ave in NYC you get an upgrade to the next best available room category till the end of April, Valid when booking any room type.
Larkspur Hotels are 23 hotels within 3 distinct brands that you can earn stash point at and get a free night at any of their 9 hotels if you pay for 2 nights.

We drove along the California coast and had a pleasurable stop at Larkspurs Casa Munras, in Monterey, CA. I love the hacienda décor and fireplace-adorned rooms