- Another Way Mandatory Resort Fees are Deceptive by The Gate. I think if a charge is mandatory it should be included in the original price, I really hate mandatory fees. I think it’s pretty ridiculous that these don’t earn points at Marriott. I hope that OTAs do what Mike L suggest in the comments and require hotels to pay commission on these fees.
- DP of somebody getting bonuses on two different Wells Fargo cards when applying on the same day, bypassing the 16 month rule.
- Rite Aid replaces $500 VGC with $200 VGC by Miles Per Day. Ouch, anybody know if this is nationwide? Buying GC with CC has been YMMV but working in a lot of areas.
- Beware of Security by Press Release by Krebs On Security. Interesting article for those interested in this sort of thing (yes I realize that doesn’t make a lot of sense)
New personal policy: mandatory resort fee means an automatic 40% deduction on all hotel surveys, TripAdvisor reviews I write, etc. So an otherwise perfect 5 star review (or 10 out of 10) becomes a 3 star (or 6)
In Vegas, I take 5X the resort fee and reduce my gambling budget by that much. So their $35 daily resort fee translates to $175 in lost casino income. I guess I should thank them.
That’s a good rule of thumb.
i always knew RA VGC w/ CC was SUPER YMMV but i didnt know it was on the west coast in Washington. damn. oh well, doesnt matter to me. i have never found a RA in CA that allowed VGC with CC.
I put a data point of receiving two Wells Fargo sign up bonuses with applications one day apart (while never having had a Wells Fargo card before and also having a Wells checking account) here: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/wells-fargo-one-bonus-per-16-month-rule/
Thanks, Brian.
Greek Peak Ski Resort in upstate NY charges an 8% resort fee on everything–not just lodging. You pay the fee on lift tickets, food and beverage, water park tickets, ski rentals, zip line tours, etc. It is deceptive, not advertised until you reach the point of sale, and I question the legality of it. However, Greek Peak has been charging the fee for several years, increasing it every year or so.
How do they justify that? That’s ridiculous.
I also hate resort fees. Silver lining, I might manage to avoid them on two upcoming Hilton resort stays in December since I’m paying with all points. Even though the booking states the resort fees apply, when I called the hhonors diamond line, they said they aren’t due if you pay with 100% points (so they would still apply if you paid with points+cash). Still have to pay parking though. 🙂