Deal of the Day

February 7, 2012 - FrugalTravelGuy

First off, the winners from our Hyatt giveaway. Each person gets 22,000 points!# 1 — Jen – We loved staying at the Hyatt Key West Spa & Resort; would go back in a second! Thanks for the contest!#2 — Brian L PH Tokyo

#3 — Cindy R. Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort and Spa for a neighbor island getaway

Please email rick@frugaltravelguy.com your full name, Hyatt Gold Passport # or username, and the email address registered with Hyatt Gold Passport.

Now for some deals:

Stay at the Wyndham Rio Mar in Puerto Rico from $449/person including air.

Stay at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas from $79/night including lots of extras such as free drinks and upgraded room.

The Citi Thank You Premier Card once again has a 50,000 point bonus!

Similar to our promotion yesterday, Gary at View from the Wing is giving away 66,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points!

emily

is the monster power adapter a converter too for international outlets or does it work with a converter?
Howie

@emily – The Power Adapter is NOT a converter, but it works with converters without issue. I use a Kensington 33117 International All-in-One Travel Plug Adapter (http://www.amazon.com/Kensington-33117-International-Travel-Adapter/dp/B0002H4YUI) when international
Anonymous

What about taking pics of your receipts with your smartphone & submitting the printed pic of receipts for reim? The IRS accepts this & some companies are finally moving to the 21st century
Howie

@anonymous – HAHA! I wish. Originals still required

That said, I do scan and keep a copy of every receipt / expense report submitted just in case.
Anonymous

Add a small LED flashlight, as a first responder you have no idea how handy these little lifesavers are until you REALLY need one. Ive been in several situations including once on an aircraft that it really helped.
Howie

@Anonymous – I keep one in my rollaboard … forgot to mention that last week. They are brilliant; good call.
Anonymous

The only problem with keeping it in a rollaboard is if the lights go out you have to find it. If you keep a small clip on on you you'll never have to look for it. But I am glad you keep one with you!!
CatJo

I think a portable battery pack that charges USB devices would be very helpful; I have this New Trend IMP70D (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002D4IHYM) which can charge an iPhone 4 ~2-3 times, enough juice for an iPad too, and can do two devices at a time. Great when you're not near an outlet (inflight without power maybe?)!
Rich (arizona)

Have you ever weighed that bag? Geez that is a ton of stuff and I thought I over pack at times.
Justin

How in the hell does your back/shoulder not hurt?

I travel for business almost as much as you do, in the past 4 months I have only been home for about 4-5 weeks, and this is all that is in my bag:

- Apple Macbook Air – Work-provided laptop, some personal stuff
- Apple iPad 2 – Mostly personal, games, reading, movies
- Apple iPhone – Personal phone, work email on it
- Apple MagicMouse
- Apple Macbook Air Power Adapter
- Apple Macbook Air USB -> Ethernet adapter – gotta be wired sometimes
- 2x Apple iPhone/iPad cables
- 2x Apple USB Power adapters
- 10' Network cable
- Ballpoint Pen
- Business Cards

And it all fits in a SMALL bag that weighs less than 5 lbs fully packed.

Moral of the story, carrying 2 (or multiple) of any device is just a waste of energy for me
Marc

Which other power adapter/surge protectors have you tried and why do you like the Monster one better? I've been considering getting the Belkin Mini.
Anonymous

seems like overboard.. way too many things.
Anonymous

sounds like backbreaking redundancy….also that amex business card your plugging is crap, high annual fee (not waived) and high spend requirement for minimal points….a waste of time unless you have had EVERY other Amex version and still looking for a sign up bonus.
Anonymous

Dang, I am being left behind, did not even know that so many gadgets existed. But that is the result of retiring, and moving away from the rat race!
Howie

@CatJo – while I don't carry one of these I know a few that do and swear by it (saw it used twice last week in fact). I'm tempted to grab one especially as having a working smartphone is always number one for me.

@Rich (arizona) – I haven't weighed the beast. I will when I get home and will post it. The saving grace is that I don't often actually carry it. It sits on top of my rollaboard as i move around.

@Justin – Thanks for the breakdown. I love seeing all the Apple products; I'm working my way there I think.

@Marc – I've tried two Belkins (http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-Mini-Surge-Protector-Charger/dp/B0015DYMVO and http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-F9H220-TVL-Travel-Protector-Hidden/dp/B0006OCFFS) and a Monster 4 outlet (http://www.amazon.com/Monster-MP-OTG400-BK-Outlets/dp/B000F9YN2M).

Three + USB seems to fit me perfectly. Laptop, iPad + BlackBerry + something on USB.

@Anonymous – I try to keep it off my back and do pretty well. The only times I really have to carry the bag is going up / down stairs.

Regarding the Amex, I thought it was interesting as Amex never gives signup bonuses (except targeted) on the Platinum card. It is expensive, but the benefits definitely pay for the annual fee … and the signup bonus makes it worthwhile if you're looking for an Amex and have the others (as you indicated).
Anonymous

Hey the AMEX personal card has a 50,000 bonus offer. Plus it requires only $3,00 in spending!! Chck it out!! https://www304.americanexpress.com/personal-card-application/platinum-charge-card/45000-343-0-2C03E565B03A5B3DAB13D29976C43096F630B68437904BAA-10938?csi=platinum-charge-card/45000-343-0-2C03E565B03A5B3DAB13D29976C43096F630B68437904BAA-10938
Jeanna

With all of your portable devices, you should check out scottevest.com

They have awesome travel wear (vests, coats, etc.) with hidden pockets for all of your stuff!
Charlotte

The only two things I would add would be a small flashlight (already mentioned) and an ethernet cable (I travel in some rural areas where wifi is not so good).
Anonymous

why would you ever buy a playbook? what a waste
Howie

@Anonymous – price was right (free), and I need it for my job. With OS 2.0 coming this month it'll get some more use with native email finally. IMO, its the best OS experience I've had with any tablet … that said I've only had limited functionality, so we'll see what comes with the OS update.
ChrisB

+1 on the NewTrent backup battery. My IMP70D is a lifesaver at tradeshows and general business travel.

Deal of the Day

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