May 7, 2021|Autoslash, Bonvoy, Frontier, Hertz, Priority Pass

Earlier this week I moved my son out of college in Tampa, FL.   I’ll review the flight, hotel, car rental, as well as the amazing restaurant where we ate.

Flight

I flew Frontier out of Newark.   Being 50K Elite from their status match program, I was able to get a bulkhead seat and free carry-on bag.   The flight there had no issues and arrived 40 minutes early.   On the return, I purchased the a separate ticket so my son and I could be on the same record.  This would allow him to get a free bulkhead seat as well.   He had 2 suitcases and a carry-on, so I purchased the bundle Frontier offered online for $49 per person for a carry-on and checked-bag per person.   I charged this $98 to an AMEX Platinum card where I designated Frontier as the preferred Airline.   This got me the $98 credited back by AMEX as part of the annual $200 Airline Credit.   Each flight cost approx $25, so for me flying there and the two of us flying home for $50, the total cost was $75.  SInce the airfare was so low, somehow one of the airfare purchases triggered the Airline credit as well so I received a credit of $16.01 which was the remaining amount left for airline credits on one of my Platinum cards.

The Tampa airport has a restaurant which accepts the Priority Pass Lounge card.  My Chase Sapphire Reserve card provides Priority Pass access.  The restaurant named The Cafe by Mise en Place is located in Airside Terminal F.  As our flight was in Terminal E, we had to go to the airport information desk to get passes to enter the Terminal F monorail.  Once in Terminal F, we had to clear security.  In Tampa, you don’t have to show your boarding pass to TSA.   You just insert your drivers license into a machine.  Very easy.  Even though we were not flying in this terminal, we were still able to use the TSA pre-check line.

Upon sitting at our table in the restaurant, I showed my mobile priority pass card (from the Priority Pass app) to the waiter who scanned it in.  He then told me we had a $28 per per person credit to be spent on food and drinks (alcohol included).   We had lunch and didn’t even use the entire credit.   The credit could not be used for gratuity so I put that on a a credit card.    The food and drink were decent.

After lunch, we took the monorail back to the main terminal and then took the other monorail back to Terminal E where our flight was.   We had to go through TSA security again, but it was quick.

The flight home was fine and was 30 minutes early.

Car Rental

Given the car rental apocalypse taking place, car rentals were expensive.   I used autoslash.com to come up with the best rate.   I ended up using Hertz, where I have Gold status.   I did have a backup reservation with Thrifty in case cars weren’t available.  I canceled the reservation once I was all set.   In Tampa, you pick the car you want from the Gold section.  By coincidence, I had the exact same car I had there six weeks earlier.   The car also only had 7/8 tank full of gas.  This was a bit annoying as I would have to try to guess when I hit 7/8 upon returning the car.  Upon exiting, they couldn’t get the contract to attach to the reservation.  It took two people and 20 minutes to sort this out.   Perhaps I should have used Thrifty instead.

Hotel

I stayed at the beautiful brand-new JW Marriott Water Street.  I booked the reservation using a AAA rate which also came with a $25 property credit.   I had an AMEX offer for $50 off $200 spend at Marriott properties that was going to expire prior to my stay. I called the hotel and they let me pre-pay $200 in order to get the $50 back from AMEX.  They were very accomodating.     A few days prior to arrival I received an email from the property asking if I needed anything.  I responded saying I was Bonvoy Titanium and asked if an upgrade to a suite would be available.  Later that day I received an email saying they upgraded me to their best suite available.   I saw that this room was selling for about $600 more per night than the room for which I was paying.  Upon arrival, I was told that I had a choice of points or $10 food and beverage credit as my Bonvoy welcome gift.  I opted for the credit.  I was also told that since the lounge was not yet completed, I would also receive a $10 per person credit toward breakfast in one of the two restaurants that served breakfast.    Upon being seated for breakfast, I was told I could either have a continental breakfast or a $10 credit off any other items on the menu.      I did notice on the ‘What to Expect’ section of the Marriott website, it mentioned the food credit would be $15 per person.  I inquired at the front desk and was told the website was incorrect.   I thought this was odd.

The 714 square foot suite was amazing — it was a one bedroom corner room with gorgeous views of the bay from both sides.  The living room had a couch, table, and large screen TV.  In the foyer, there was a coffee maker with coffee and free bottles of water.  The bedroom had a king-size bed and TV.   The bathroom was huge.  It had a free-standing bathtub, a shower, vanity area, as well as a private toilet.   The bathroom was stocked with Aromatherapy Associates amenities.

The 6th floor of the hotel has a rooftop pool and restaurant/bar.   I had a nice lunch in the restaurant.   The pool had attendants who gave out towels and waiter service if you wanted to order something at the bar.   It had a great vibe.

However, there were a few areas that had room for improvement:

– I had called down for the car valet to have the car brought around.  There was no answer on the valet phone so the front desk said they would care of it.  When I got down to the valet, they said the message had just come through, so it would be a few minutes for the car.   As they were charging $32 a day plus tax for the card, I was hoping for a smoother process.

– The morning of checkout, the bill was placed under the door.  I was told the internet was not working, so viewing the bill on the TV was not available.  I noticed the $25 AAA credit was not applied.  I called the front desk and they adjusted the bill.

– The bathroom in the room was huge.  However, for an upscale hotel, I think they should provide oversized bath towels, not standard sized ones.

– Upon checkout, there was a huge line in the lobby for the front desk.   There was no Bonvoy Elite line.    We had to wait 10-15 minutes to check out.

– After I checked out, I was curious about the $10 vs $15 food credit discrepancy so I direct messaged Bonvoy Assist on Twitter asking if they knew anything about it.  They said they would reach out to management.   Later that day, I received a nice email from the hotel saying they would discuss the error with their marketing manager.  As a nice surprise, they gave me 10,000 Bonvoy points.

In general, the hotel was fantastic and the service was great.    It was definitely many steps up from the Sheraton and Courtyard hotels I previously stayed at in downtown Tampa and would definitely be my property of choice in the future.

Restaurant

We wanted to eat at Bern’s Steakhouse.   There were no reservations available.  I called the AMEX Platinum concierge and they came up with nothing either but they said they would keep trying.   The day before, I finally saw an opening on Open Table and grabbed it.

The restaurant has a capacity of 740.  It is made up of many rooms.  The inside decor looks like the Elevator Room in the Haunted Mansion in Disney World.   The food was excellent and a great deal for a steakhouse as the steaks came with a salad, french onion soup, loaded baked potato, onion rings, and string beans.    For dessert, you go up to the second floor to the ‘dessert room’.   We sat in our own little private booth area  within the room.   It was pretty cool and the desserts were tasty.

If you are in Tampa, be sure to eat here.

Overall, it was a great overnight trip to Tampa.

If you would like to sign-up for an AMEX card, there are some great sign-up bonuses included 100,000 points on a Platinum Business card and 70,000 points on a Gold card and 125,000 points and $200 in restaurant statement credits on a Bonvoy Brilliant card.  Click here.