Travel TLDR - February 15, 2021 Travel News and Updates
New Requirements for COVID-19 Testing for International Travel
Effective on January 26, 2021, the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) advised they will require all air passengers who are entering the United States to produce a negative COVID-19 test taken within the last 72 hours or three days. There is a caveat where the CDC will also allow proof of recovery from COVID-19 within the last 90 days or 3 months, which could include a doctor's note. These new requirements must be met by everyone from visitors to U.S. Citizens and legal residents of the United States of America. The airlines are required to deny boarding of passengers who do not provide documentation of a negative test or recovery. See more about these new requirements here.
No New Changes to Domestic Travel within the United States
Last week the internet was buzzing about the Biden Administration’s consideration of implementing new domestic air travel restrictions due to the several reports of a newer highly contagious COVID-19 strain within the United States. Despite the recent reports, there has been no official announcement. The Whitehouse Press Secretary Jen Psaki advised that "no decisions have been made around additional public health measures that would change domestic travel". See more about the domestic travel rumors here.
Moxy Miami South Beach Grand Opening!
Moxy Miami South Beach Grand Opening was on Thursday, February 11th! Video Tour and Review coming soon! The brand new Moxy Hotel is located at 916 Washington Ave, just a few blocks away from South Beach's muscle beach. The Moxy South Beach has a large second-story rooftop lap pool, as well as a 7th-floor rooftop dip pool which has views of the Atlantic Ocean and even a makeshift outdoor movie theatre. The Moxy South Beach has a few restaurants currently open including Los Buenos, Serena, and the Bar Moxy, and several more to come in spring. If you are considering traveling to South Beach, Miami this Spring Break, make sure you check all the local COVID-19 restrictions so you know exactly what to expect on your vacation. See more on Miami's travel restrictions here.
Platinum Card from American Express Credit
The Platinum Card from American Express offers cardholders $30 per month in statement credits when they pay using PayPal but via their Platinum Cards. It sounds technical, but all you need to do is add your Platinum Card to your PayPal account and select it as your payment method at checkout with a merchant that accepts PayPal!
No need to activate this benefit, it’s automatic.
Cardholders will receive a $30 per month statement credit from January to June which equates to $180 in total credits.
You can use these credits at big brand stores like Walmart, Target, and Best Buy, but we are going to try to support small businesses with our PayPal credits!
February 2021 Amex Offers
Make sure you activate these Amex Offers!
Home Depot and Best Buy: Spend $50 or more, get $50 back, up to 2x (total of $100). This offer is for online only! Make sure when reading your Amex Offers you always read the small fine print.
We used the Best Buy Amex Offer to purchase a $150 printer online via Bestbuy.com and received the full $100 back in statement credit for this offer. Be careful results for this offer may vary.
The Container Store: Spend $150 or more, get $50 back. Up to 2x (total of $100). This offer is for online and in-store.
The Motley Fool: Spend $99 or more, get $99 back. The Motley Fool has an annual subscription for $99 so this is an easy one to redeem. Just make sure you cancel in a year if you do not want to renew.
Don't have the Platinum Card from American Express yet? Check out our full deep-dive article here.
Targeted Amex Offer for Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant and American Express Gold Card: Marriott Bonvoy - Spend $200 or more at a Marriott Bonvoy Property and get back $50.
Marriott Bonvoy Promotions and Elite Night Bonus for 2021
Earn Double points and double Elite Night Credits on each stay of two nights or more between February 16th through Aprile 27th, 2021. There is no limit on the earnings, you just have to register for the promotion here.
If you haven't checked your Marriott Bonvoy account lately, you may be in for a surprise waiting for you. Marriott Bonvoy has deposited 50% of the nights required to earn the elite status you had in 2020 into your account to help jump-start your 2021.
For example, if you were achieved Platinum Elite Status in 2020, you should have been issued 25 elite night credits into your account.
The best way to hack the Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status without having to stay 50+ nights a year is by holding two of the American Express Marriott Bonvoy Credit Cards. Both the Personal Marriot Bonvoy Brilliant American Express card, and the Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express card issue 15 Marriott Bonvoy Elite Night Credits per card every year. If you have both cards, you will be issued 30 total nights per year getting you very close to reaching at least Platinum Elite. In 2021, thanks to being Platinum Elite in 2020, I was issued 25 extra night credits which brought me to 55 Elite Night Credits before even staying at a hotel. This also starts an interesting and simpler road to Titanium Elite Status for 2021 and 2022.
If you are thinking about applying for a credit card please feel free to Direct Message us on Instagram and we will be happy to help you make a decision!
That wraps up the very first Points Passport Travel TLDR, or Too Long Didn't Read! Hope you all enjoyed it and come back next week for Travel TLDR Episode 2, for the week of February 22, 202! We would love to hear your feedback or any topics you would like us to cover in future episodes. The best way to get in touch with us is on Instagram by DMing us, but you can also contact us on our Facebook and make sure you subscribe to our YouTube.