Southwest is having a fare sale. The base fare from Philadelphia to Boston is $39, total round trip including all taxes and fees is under $100. I learned about this low fare from an email from airfarewatchdog.com. Since I have a Southwest Companion Pass for my husband, we pay only $5.00 for the security fee for him to fly free with me. To pay for our flights to Boston (under $105), I used some of the Southwest credit from our planned trip to Florida in March. We canceled our flights due to rainy weather and got a full Southwest credit for the cost of those flights.

The Sheraton Boston has the cash and points rate available of $60 plus 4,000 points per night for each night for the weekend in Boston. This hotel has a club lounge, so breakfast, beverages and evening snacks will be included in the price, since I am a platinum member of the Starwood program.

At the end month I will start my stays at the Jersey shore to again qualify for platinum status with Starwood. With their Stay Three, Getaway Free promotion Free Nights, I will be earning free nights and Starwood points for my stays at the shore. We also enjoy the 4 p.m. check out. After a few hours on the beach it is great to take a shower before the ride home. In addition I will be getting my nights to keep my Platinum membership, so I may continue to receive free upgrades and free food. Starwood just sent me an email giving me a $25 hotel credit for being a platinum member again in 2011. Thank you Starwood!

Now I need to learn how to use foursquare on a dumb phone or is it finally time for me to upgrade to a smart phone? Then I will be able earn an additional 250 Starwood points for each of my stays through July 31st. Here is the link.
SPG Foursquare