My account has been showing 3K estimated bonus all month. Then it changed to 2K around September 27 or 28. Then I got the banner about a known problem. Points became available this morning with the surprise of a full bonus.

Since I'll get a million "how?!" comments. I do a combination of my own searches and suggested searches throughout the day. Some days it's mostly suggested, others it's mostly my own. When I search, I'm looking for complex answers, e.g. "how do I do X in software Y?" or "what is this thing doing XYZ called?" Hilariously, Bing fails frequently, so I have to waste time with a few queries before switching to Google to get what I need. My suggested searches are "cards" from city/animal/TV show details in daily and news on the mobile app.

I don't think anyone has posted a confirmation since the back-and-forth of policy changes. I booked 3 blocks of 2 nights in one transaction, of which 4 nights were back-to-back reservations at a Kimpton by IHG. All $750 of credits posted within 2 days. There's a small claw back of points for price match on the other hotel. The 6K points ($750×8) were also removed from pending points, but aren't reflected otherwise.

I don't care for the other $100 property credit or the upgrade this time because there was a sale on a premium room type. The trip is later in the fall, so that data point isn't coming for a while.

I booked 3 × 2-night stays last night (4 nights at an Edit hotel and 2 nights at a cheaper boutique hotel). The boutique hotel had 4-5 unique rooms all priced the same and nonrefundable rate.

At the time of the booking, I didn't even think of checking prices elsewhere. A few hours later, the lightbulb went off about a potentially lower price elsewhere, and I found that Hotels.com price for the boutique hotel was about $20/night cheaper. I saved the entire hotel offer as PDF and filed the claim. I wasn't expecting approval because the exact room I had booked wasn't listed as available, but Chase approved a refund.

I'm thinking of submitting price match requests for the Edit hotel just in case, but, despite all complaints about prices, Chase's nonrefundable rate is cheaper than IHG's non-member refundable rate (non-refundable and member rates are lower).

Takeaway 1: When booking boutique hotels through Chase Travel, check prices before completing the order and save better offers for PM claim.

Takeaway 2: It never hurts trying to request a price match.

Screenshots:

• Price Match approval notice
• How PM-enabled trips are displayed in My Trips
• Multiple PM-eligible stays under one booking and individual PM request buttons

I had an unplanned layover at LAX last week because of a weather-related rebooking while flying United and got to see the Maple Leaf Lounge.

The lounge entrance is a bit past gate 65, which is past mid-pont of the concourse and is a bit confusing to find because the elevator entrance is facing bathrooms. There are signs pointing toward the lounge except for its very entrance.

The space is tiny. I didn't see a capacity sign, but it felt like there was seating for 50-60 people max. We arrived shortly after 3pm, right before a flight to Toronto (4:30pm departure) so it was a bit crowded, but quiet. As soon as boarding started for that flight, the lounge emptied out.

I had a guest with me. Old CSR + United boarding passes worked perfectly fine, but the front desk tablet was acting up so the attendant asked us to wait a few minutes to allow for a reboot.

The food selection was basic. There was rice, butter chicken, and tofu paneer for hot options, a salad bar, and a couple of desserts. Hard liquor didn't have anything special, but the tap had some seasonal mango wheat beer.

We arrived at gate 77 and were flying out of gate 86, both of which are at the very end of T7 and T8. There was about 90 minutes between deplaning and the start of boarding. It took us just over 10 minutes to get to the lounge and at least 15 minutes to get to the gate and we walked on the slower end.

So this turned out to be a good option to spend time while on a domestic layover. Unfortunately, it'll remain the only option for flights at T6, T7, and T8 until construction at T5 is complete because it blocks quick pedestrian airside access to TBIT where the Sapphire Lounge is opening soon.

I was just lurking around the app to see if another Sapphire lounge had reservation options and saw this pop-up when checking out the PHX lounge. I hope this is a result of reduced traffic from Priority Pass. When I was there a few months ago, the wait time was brutal.