Yesterday’s Winner and Day 9 of Giveaways for the TPG Awards

Yesterday’s Winner and Day 9 of Giveaways for the TPG Awards

We’re down to the final two days of our “10 Days of Travel” contest leading up to the inaugural TPG Awards, and the last two prizes are the best yet. To enter for a chance to win, all you need to do is complete the secure Google poll to let us know which credit cards, airlines and hotel programs deserved to be honored in December. You’ll be automatically added to the list to win today’s prize and all future prizes. If you enter today, one of the final two prizes could be yours.

Yesterday’s prize offered one lucky reader a one-way JetBlue Mint flight for two travelers (or a round-trip Mint flight for one). After once again using Random.org, the winner selected was Trevin R. from Pennsylvania. He should enjoy a terrific flight across the country or to the Caribbean in Mint, a product that continues to expand to new routes.

Today’s giveaway comes in three parts: if selected, you’ll win tickets to the TPG Awards ceremony plus round-trip (economy) airfare from the US to New York City and hotel accommodations. You’ll be there live to witness the honorees accepting their awards. But the only way to win is to ensure you case your vote before midnight tonight. With an appearance by Captain “Sully” Sullenberger, you’ll surely have a terrific time.

Here’s a complete list of the prizes through the “10 Days of Travel” contest:

Day 1 (Oct. 23) — TPG pays the annual fee for one year on any one of your credit cards (Winner: Maggie O.)
Day 2 (Oct. 24) — $500 Southwest Airlines gift card (Winner: Hans M.)
Day 3 (Oct. 25) — $500 Delta Air Lines gift card (Winner: Tyler E.)
Day 4 (Oct. 26) — 50,000 Marriott Rewards points (Winner: Stuart S.)
Day 5 (Oct. 27) — 1 Hilton Weekend Night (Winner: Adam H.)
Day 6 (Oct. 28) — $1,000 David Yurman gift card (Winner: Jason L.)
Day 7 (Oct. 29) — Dinner party in NYC hosted by the TPG team for you and eight of your friends (Winner: Joe M.)
Day 8 (Oct. 30) — One-way JetBlue Mint flight for you and a guest (Winner: Trevin R.)
Day 9 (Oct. 31) — Attend the TPG Awards in NYC, including tickets, hotel and economy airfare
Day 10 (Nov. 1) — GRAND PRIZE: Emirates First Class round-trip for one person (or one-way for two people)

All giveaways are subject to TPG‘s official sweepstakes rules, which can be found here.

If you haven’t already voted, please click here to access the poll. Note that you must sign into your Google account to ensure that each reader only votes once, but once you do, you’ll be on your way to helping select the award winners — and your chance to take home a terrific prize in the process.

How to Enroll in Priority Pass (With Eligible Credit Cards)

A Priority Pass Select membership has long been one of the most valuable perks that comes with certain travel rewards cards, and 2018 has seen that value skyrocket. Priority Pass has expanded from their core lounge concept and begun partnering with restaurants to offer free food to members. They’re now up to 26 partner restaurants at US airports and have recently begun rolling out money-saving offers for airport shopping, and the growth shows no sign of stopping.

While Priority Pass memberships come complimentary with a number of premium credit cards, in most cases you will actually need to enroll your membership before you begin using it. This is a relatively simple process that can be done online or by calling your card issuer, but today we’ll walk through the steps you need to take with the major card issuers to begin enjoying your free lounge access.

Chase

To activate a Priority Pass membership with your eligible Chase card (such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve or recently discontinued Ritz Carlton Rewards Card), you’ll want to make sure you’re on the Ultimate Rewards half of the Chase website, not the account page. You can do this by logging in directly at ultimaterewardspoints.chase.com or by clicking on your point total in the bottom left hand of your account page.

You’ll then want to click on the card that you’re trying to enroll.

Next you click on “card benefits” in the top right corner

As you can see, I’ve already activated my membership but if you hadn’t you’d just click the “activate now” button and follow the instructions on the screen.

While you’re here you should also explore some of the other great benefits of the Chase Sapphire Reserve, like access to the Luxury Hotel & Resorts Collection for elite-like benefits on your next hotel stay.

Amex

Once you’re logged into your Amex online account, you’ll want to make sure that you’ve selected the right card. As you can see from the top right of the image below, I’m currently viewing the page for The Platinum Card® from American Express. Click on “benefits” to see all the perks that come with your card.

Given the sheer number of perks that come with an Amex Platinum Card, you might have to scroll down a little until you find “The American Express Global Lounge Collection.”

From there you’ll see a full description of the incredibly comprehensive lounge access that comes with the Amex Platinum, including access to Amex Centurion lounges and Delta SkyClubs when flying Delta. Note that you can also enroll in Priority Pass by calling Amex or chatting with an agent online or on mobile.

Citi

The only Citi credit card to offer a Priority Pass membership is the recently refreshed Citi Prestige Card, and it has the most customer-friendly policy of all. We reached out to Citi to confirm the particulars.  Citi Prestige cardholders will be automatically enrolled in Priority Pass, so they can simply sit tight and wait for their card to arrive in the mail. It doesn’t get much easier than that!

Bottom Line

Valuable perks such as airport lounge access are the easiest ways to justify paying $400+ annual fees for premium credit cards, but if you forget to take advantage of them the math starts to work against you. Enrolling (and renewing, when necessary) your Priority Pass membership won’t take more than 5 minutes, and it can save you the embarrassment of arriving at a foreign airport with a long layover only to realize that you don’t have the lounge access you expected. Many credit cards now allow you to use a digital Priority Pass card as well, meaning you can even leave the plastic card at home and travel hassle free.