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Hotel Minibars / InterContinental Hotels / InterContinental Royal Ambassadors / The Points Guy / → All Tags

InterContinental's Royal Ambassadors Have Been Cut Down in Vegas

Last month, the erstwhile Points Guy aka Brian Kelly let us in on a little-known perk of InterContinental Hotels' upper echelon loyalty program tier, Royal Ambassadors--raiding the minibar.

Brian demonstrated the perk while in Vegas at The Palazzo, which is actually now a part of InterContinental. Because he's a Royal Ambassador, that means he's allowed to clear out the minibar totally free of charge and yes, that includes all the alcohol.

While we debated the ethics of doing this sort of pillaging, it turns out the powers that be at The Palazzo and The Venetian (also a part of InterContie) took notice of this free-for-all. And then effectively put a stop to it.

Commenter RicGarrido let us know of the new minibar policy for Royal Ambassadors when staying in Vegas:

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Hotel Minibars / InterContinental Hotels / InterContinental Royal Ambassadors / The Points Guy / → All Tags

The Points Guy Asks, 'Is It Wrong To Clean Out the Hotel Minibar?'

The Points Guy aka Brian Kelly has long been a favorite hotel and travel expert of ours, especially since he's a whiz at figuring out how to get the most out of your credit card points, frequent flyer miles, hotel rewards and other loyalty programs when you travel.

And because he's such a genius at navigating the extremely confusing waters of loyalty program promotions, Brian has seen and done some pretty cool things this past year, one of them being obtaining Royal Ambassador status at InterContinental Hotels.

Aside from getting numerous perks upon arrival at an InterContinental Hotel such as room upgrades, instant check-in, fresh fruit and mineral water at arrival, VIP greeting, in-room welcome gift, one free pay TV movie per stay, complimentary newspaper and a late check-out, Ambassadors are also given free reign of the minibar. Meaning they can clean it out and not get charged a single penny.

But is that wrong? Allow Brian to show us exactly what he's struggling with in the video below.

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Hotel Gifts / Hotel Swag / Hotel Gift Cards / Hotel Bathrobes / Hotel Blankets / Hotel Scents / Hotel Keychains / The Points Guy / → All Tags

10 Holiday Gift Ideas For The Hotel Lover in Your Life

You've got 12 days until Christmas and if you're still struggling to find the perfect gift for the hotel lover in your life, we've got some good gift ideas for you. Once again, we've gone through some of our favorite hotel products from the past year and picked out the ones we'd like to receive er, we think would make great gifts--whether for stocking stuffers or to open on Christmas morn. So let's get shopping!

1. Keychains from "Hotel" Marc: : We kicked off 2010 coveting, and eventually owning, these Hotel Marc keychains from fashion designer Marc Jacobs. Sadly, there is no Hotel Marc...yet but with the proliferation of fashion hotels these days, we don't think Hotel MJ is far behind. Until then, you can buy leather versions for just $13. You can choose from the script lettering or the bolder print. Both keyrings say "Since 1984" on the back.
Where to Buy: MarcJacobs.com.

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Ritz-Carlton Rewards / Loyalty Program News / Ritz-Carlton Hotels / The Points Guy / Hotel News / → All Tags

How Does the New Ritz-Carlton Rewards Program Stack Up? We Ask The Points Guy

Last week, Ritz-Carlton took a huge step forward in announcing a loyalty program for its guests. While we noted that the program was free and painless to join and that there was already an easy-to-get free night being offered, there have been some grumblings from existing Marriott Rewards members about the creation of Ritz-Carlton Rewards.

So we thought it best to leave analysis of this program to The Points Guy aka Brian Kelly, whose specialty in maximizing frequent flyer miles and hotel points continually amazes us. Here he is, in his own words, dishing on Ritz-Carlton Rewards:

For a new program, it is surprisingly comprehensive, including an elite status program, exclusive partners and robust introductory promotions. With such a full-blown loyalty points program, it’s only a matter of time before their competitors (I’m talking about you Four Seasons and Mandarin Oriental) step up to the plate and start offering their top customers points for their loyalty.

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Interviews / Hotel Loyalty Programs / The Points Guy / Brian Kelly / → All Tags

The Points Guy: Our Own Personal Ryan Bingham

Where: 8401 W. Sunset Blvd. [map], West Hollywood, CA, United States, 90069

The other week we spent a Saturday afternoon lounging in the sun with our friend, Brian Kelly, at the rooftop pool of the Andaz West Hollywood. As usual, he had somehow managed to score a sweet suite at the hotel for the same price as a discounted standard room, and had flown out on special fare where he was earning thousands and thousands of bonus miles for a single trip.

Yes, Brian is basically Ryan Bingham from Up in the Air, except he isn't traveling the country firing people. Instead, he's helping people consolidate their scattered loyalty program points to get them the dream trips or hotel stays they actually want, and for less!

We decided to pick Brian's brain about the best rewards programs out there, what the average consumer can do to increase his rewards power, and some of the common mistakes we all make--all questions that have become even more important thanks to the tough economy.

After all, we all still want to take trips, we just might not have the cash flow to do so. Perfect timing, it turns out, too, since Brian has just launched his own consulting business to answer such questions: The Points Guy.

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