MODERNHAUS pretends to be a travel blogger, part II

Furniture and hipster jokes are still my "wheel house" as the husband would say. I didn't plan to write more about travel today, but I think this deal is kind of super good and it's expiring soon AND it doesn't involve opening lines of credit, so everyone can do it! So I feel obligated, nay driven, to share. Civic duty is my middle name. And Eve. That's also my middle name. You wanna make something of it?

Gratuitous furniture link here.

Gratuitous hipster link here:



And now the fun stuff:

I never paid attention to hotel rewards, because I mostly hate chain hotels and they're the only ones running these programs. I like renting apartments. It makes me feel cosmopolitan, and also I have to keep coffee close to me at all times. Needing to put on mascara and go outside somewhere and speak a foreign language after an eleven hour flight just to get a thimble of coffee (WHY don't other countries make bigger coffees???) is NOT my wheel house.

"Hola, bonjour, si, I would like 24 of your tiny coffees, poured into your biggest soup bowl please." Spoken in my best loud English. (I don't REALLY do that...in fact, before I go anywhere I learn how to order wine, beer, and coffee in the native language. "Kava, prosim." That's Czech!])

But for a short stay, renting an apartment is not very cost-effective (apartment rentals charge less per night for a week stay, and usually have a hefty cleaning fee that only makes sense amortized over a week...yes, amortized). And there are some places, I'm sure, where AirBnB has no apartments. Cuzco, where we're planning to go soon, for instance.

Also, free nights at some ritzy Paris hotel? Yeah, wheel house. Read on.

Bear with me, 'cuz you're gonna think I've lost my ever-lovin' mind for a moment.

-Use this link to join TGIFridays. OMG, I know. Just close your eyes and do it.

-Then use this link to join Club Carlson, and enter your TGIFridays account number to get 4,500 extra points.

-Then register your Club Carlson account in this promotion.

-Make your spouse/travel partner/trained monkey assistant do the same. Or just do it for them, b/c stealing the identity of one you love is legal.

-Then book ONE NIGHT EACH at the cheapest Radisson hotel you can find before December 30. Book it through the Radisson website, not a secondary booking site. Don't worry...the lowest prices are available on their site so you're not overpaying. It has to be a Radisson, too. Not one of their other properties.

*Oh my gosh you guys, UPDATE: Book using this link for 25% off lowest rate at Radisson, and it qualifies for the promotion!!

(Make sure you and your partner book one night each, using each of your Club Carlson numbers)

Ideally, you actually NEED a hotel room in the next two weeks, but if not, just call it a spontaneous getaway or pretend it's your gift to the love of your life instead of what it really is: greedy, brilliant points hoarding.

Some crazy hoarders actually book the rooms and check in, but don't even stay. It's called a mattress run. People do this.

Net points: 100,000 + 9,000 bonus points for that TGIFriday thing = 109,000

Seriously. 109,000 points that you can redeem to stay at any of their hotels (not just Radissons) anywhere in the world, and redemptions start at 9,000 per night. That's TWELVE FREE NIGHTS if you don't mind "slumming it" at a basic hotel. Most people use these mega bonuses for two nights at really fabulous hotels they could never otherwise afford. Your call.

We are staying at the Radisson Newport Beach in a few days to get our bonuses. It was something like $79 a night with tax. So, for around $160 we get a two-night getaway in a really upscale beach town, AND up to twelve future nights free. That's fourteen nights for $160. According my calculations that translates to $11.42 per night.

You can squeeze way more value out if by using your free nights to stay at some of their $500-700/night properties around the world. That would mean that a $1400 hotel stay would only cost you $160. Also not shabby.

The best part may be that you never actually have to eat at TGIFridays. Bonus!

So, what do you think? Are you going to do it?

*Note: I am NOT being sponsored by Chase, TGIFriday, Radisson, Club Carlson, or the words "wheel house."