Points with a crew Weekly roundup 1/6/14-1/12/14

In case you missed it, here are the posts that appeared on Points with a Crew this week:

Beginners Guide

How do Credit Card signups affect your credit? – Part 2 – includes a site that will give you your free credit score.
Demand Schedule – what is it, and why is it important? – why knowing where you’re going can help you get up to 50% more travel for the same amount of points

Airlines

United Airlines
– How using United can get you 3 destinations for the price of 1

Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards points

– Southwest can be a good source of value for domestic flights – an introduction to Rapid Rewards points

Hotel chains

Hilton HHonors – including MiniBreaks – introduction to the Hilton HHonors program along with information on their MiniBreaks program which purports to allow a 2nd (kids) room for 50% off

Hilton Weekender sweepstakes – enter once a day to win a chance at 24 free Hilton nights and 1.2 million American Airlines points

Bank points

Barclay Arrival, Citi Thank you, and CapitalOne Venture – points that count as cash – What cash-back cards are, and when you should use them

Chase Ultimate Rewards – flexible points that can transfer into several different programs

Other

How to handle long flights with (many) kids – what would you do if you were flying and someone slapped your child?

Award Mapper – finding hotel rooms – Free online tool to locate hotels for award stays

Infographic: Why Airlines Have Weather Cancellations

Baby it’s COLD outside!