Don't care about the $500....but love to share my travel tip; be nice, be very nice. It pays to be nice to the folks who are trying to make your journey a more pleasant one. These folks who deal day in and day out with obnixous idiots, are the not highest payed in the world but they try their hardest to serve us the travellers. (Mind you they are not servants as some people like to think.)

By being nice to them, they become even better at serving me. Several examples of "nice rewards;" Upgraded on flights, (no miles, $$ required,) Upgraded hotel rooms, and upgraded rental cars. And if you travel to the same locale often enough, you become one of their favorite customers, often called by first name!

Be nice, be very nice....The rewards for being a decent human being pay off with dividends you couldn't afford to buy on your own, and worth a lot more than $500!