Save Big On Your Next Vacation, Here's How

When you are planning your trip, sometimes it's hard to use miles and points. Depending on where you want to go or if there are certain flights you want or very specific days you want to travel, it may be nearly impossible to use your points and miles.
So what do you do?
A great credit card to have in your toolbox is the Barclays Arrival Plus. Right now, you get 50,000 points bonus for signing up and spending $3000 in the first 90 days which is like a $500 travel credit. Then you get 5% back every time you use the card on travel purchases like airbnb, fees and taxes for airlines, hotels, train ticket etc.
So when we traveled to Costa Rica a few years back, we needed to fly on a certain flight on a certain day. Plus we were going with extended family and they wanted to all fly on the same Delta airlines flight. Delta is not my favorite airline and I don't usually collect miles or points for Delta.
But since I won't pay full price for plane ticket, I had to find a go around.
Here's where the Barclays card came in. I could buy 2 plane tickets and essentially get the 3rd ticket FREE with the bonus and 10% back in travel credit.
My mother in law opened a card too and knocked thousands off the cost of the trip since she picked up many of the hotels and meals.
It's been 2 years since I've had the Barclays card so I just signed up again. Plan to put my property taxes on the card to reach the minimum spend. Even though I will be charged 3% in credit card fees, it's worth it to get a $500 travel credit since I think I will have to buy my husband a one way ticket next summer to meet us in Europe.
That's how you do it....almost FREE family travel!

Using the right credit card to maximize earnings

Once you apply for a few credit cards, it's important to use the right credit card to maximize the points earned. For example, the Chase FREEDOM card changes bonus categories every quarter. Right now, if you use the card at wholesale club stores like Costco, you earn 5x Chase Ultimate Rewards Points. Those points can be used for cash back, gift cards or travel. The travel is a little tricky since you need to have the Chase Sapphire Preferred to be eligible to transfer rewards points to airlines.
But earning 5x rewards points is huge!
The Chase Ink card Business Cash offers 5% cash back on office supply store, internet, cable and phone bills. So you should always auto pay those bills to your Chase Ink card to maximize earnings.
Starwood Points are super valuable because you can transfer them to lots of different airlines and get a bonus so I use this card as my default. American Express offers savings on their website so check those out every once in a while and add them to your card.
Especially helps during holiday shopping. Always, always use a portal when you do your online holiday shopping. I check a variety of them i.e. cash back and airline before I purchase.
In January, I may start using my Southwest card again to collect points towards a companion pass.
And for the rest of this year, I'll use my Marriott card since I'm hoping to buy a Marriott Vacation Package in January and gain a Southwest Airlines companion pass. Check my previous blog post to read about how to do this.
There are other cards that have bonus categories and some cards that are co-branded that will give you a bonus if you use that card to stay at the hotel or buy plane tickets on that particular airline.
I actually mark the physical card with the bonus category so I remember which card to use. Good luck!

How to save money on airline taxes and fees

Had dinner with a friend the other night and he was telling me how he scored 4 round trip tickets from the US to Italy in business class with points.  I got really excited because I love when people travel for almost free. But then he said he paid almost $2500 in airline taxes and fees. Bummer! 

Here's the lesson. You don't have to use your miles on the airline that you earned them on. For example, my friend had Avios points. Now he could have used those Avios points on a partner airline and avoided the fees. British Airways has one of the highest fees and taxes in the industry especially if you stop over in London. But British Airways is in the One World Alliance so it partners with American Airlines, Iberia Airlines and dozens of other airlines so he could have used those Avios to book on another airline and saved a ton of money in fees and taxes. 

When I went to Peru this past summer, I used my Avios to book plane tickets on LAN Airlines. This is great use for Avios because most flights in South America are considered short haul. Short haul flights cost just 7,500 Avios. So  for 37,500 Avios my family of 5 was able to fly from Cuzco to Lima. If I had paid for this flight, it would have cost me at least $650. I earned 100,000 Avios by applying for the British Airways credit card when they offered their bonus last year. 

Remember using your points is often like playing a game of detective, but it can pay off huge. 

Raise Money For Your Kid's School For FREE

So I love to save money on my family's budget by using cash back portals and cash back rewards credit cards. But did you know that you can use a new app called Benefit to raise money the same way for your child's school or a non profit.
It's so easy and right now for every 10 people who open a new account by November 30, Benefit will send $100 to your designated school.
Here's how it works:
1. Download the app to your phone or tablet
2. Sign up for new account

3. Designate your child's school or a non profit as the beneficiary
4. Then buy any giftcards like you normally would through the vendor's website. There are dozens of vendors including Starbucks, Home Depot etc.
5. The first time you use this app, you will need to register your credit card. The app will charge a small amount to the card and ask you to verify that amount. This could take 24 hours, but it only happens the first time. Once you verify, you can instantly purchase any gift card.
6. You will instantly see a egift card that you can transfer to a current gift card or present at the store for redemption.
7. After you use the gift card, you will see the percentage transferred to your beneficiary.

This app works with Escrip.com 
Easy!

United Changes Its Carry On Rules

Getty Images

People watch as a United Airlines jet passes the air traffic control tower at Los Angles International Airport (LAX) during take-off in Los Angeles, California.

United Continental will become the first major U.S. airline to limit low-fare customers to one carry-on bag that fits under a seat, and it will defer dozens of aircraft deliveries from Boeing in an array of initiatives to boost profit, the company said on Tuesday.

The announcement may frustrate flyers who already feel burdened with travel restrictions and fees from airlines.

United said customers who buy its cheapest fares will not be assigned seats until the day of departure, meaning people on the same ticket may be split apart. United will also prohibit these travelers from carrying on bags that can only fit in overhead bins, and they will not accrue miles toward elite status.

The company expects the new moves will add $4.8 billion to its operating income per year by 2020, though the figure does not include rising wages. Fare initiatives like "Basic Economy" will account for $1 billion of this, as more customers pay to check bags or select higher fares that give them two free carry-ons.

It was unclear if the move by United — No.3 in the United States by passenger traffic — would prompt similar bag limits from rivals. However, airlines have frequently copied each other in the past, like when they added fees for checked luggage.

"Customers have told us that they want more choice and Basic Economy delivers just that," said Julia Haywood, United's chief commercial officer, in a news release.

The boarding process will also be faster because fewer customers will be searching for overhead bin space, United said.

credit Reuters

How to book your European vacation for Almost FREE

Family cooking class in Cuzco, Peru

Travelling does not have to be expensive! With a little advance planning and strategy, your entire family can travel for almost free. You can even travel to Europe, Asia or South America OR anywhere else you want to go.
I just booked my family on flights to Europe for next summer for about $350. We paid just taxes and fees for all of our flights.
So how did I do it? That's what I want to share here because you can do it too.
I picked Europe because my daughter says we have traveled to lots of exotic places and she would really like to see London and Paris. I had enough miles on United for 3 one way tickets to Europe, but we are family of 5. Now my husband will actually join us halfway into the trip so I will book his flight a bit later.
United is part of the Star Alliance so I checked out who else is part of that alliance and would allow me to book one way tickets. Singapore Air seemed like the best fit. I can book one way tickets using miles. Their mileage program is called Krisflyer. So then I looked at the 4 big general mileage clubs - Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi Thank You Points, Starwood Preferred Guest and American Express Membership Rewards to figure out how I could get 165,000 Krisflyer miles.
Unfortunately due to the 5/24 Chase rule, I am not eligible for the Chase United Explorer card or any other Chase cards. I already have a few Starwood cards so I focused my research on American Express Membership Rewards. 
My husband and I each signed up for the Premier card with a bonus of 40,000 points with a minimum spend of $2,000. Then I could transfer Starwood points to Krisflyer directly to flush out the remaining points. Because Starwood gives you a 5,000 bonus for every 20,000 you transfer, I needed just 70,000 Starwood points to reach 165,000 Krisflyer miles.
As soon as the American Express Membership Rewards posted, I started to transfer all the miles/points into my Krisflyer account and book flights.
Yesterday I booked 4.5 round trip flights to Europe for $350. Woohoo!

Here are the simple steps I follow:

1. Where do you want to go?
2. Which airlines and partners fly there?
3. What mileage programs do they use and who do they partner with?
4. How many miles do you need?
5. How can you get those miles?

Then put your plan in action and cross your fingers.

Get A FREE $10 Towards Holiday Shopping!

One of the easiest ways to save money on your holiday shopping is to use the cash back portal Ebates.com. And if you join for FREE by 12/31/2016, you will get $10 cash back just for joining. And if you use the portal when you do your online shopping, you will get a big fat check. 

I got a check last month for $41.57. 

Now that's not going to buy me a round trip flight anywhere, but it paid for my dinner out last night. A friend of mine says she has received $16,000 cash back so far this year! Wow. she is a big online shopper. And the more you shop, the more you earn. Better yet, this is money you would have left on the table. So make your money work harder for you! You can use any discount codes, coupons or promo codes too!

The only time I don't use the cash back portal is when I need to reset or accumulate airline miles and then I'll use that airlines portal. 

To get the $10 bonus, you need to use my link to Ebates.com. 

Happy Shopping! 

How To Get FREE Airline Gift Cards

One of the benefits is a $100 airline credit each calendar year! 

Okay, here's one to put on your to do list before the end of the year. If you have the American Express Premier Rewards Credit Card, you can get FREE gift cards on the airline of your choice. One of the benefits of the Premier Rewards card is $100 airline fee credit each calendar year.
This fee can be used for incidentals like baggage and other fees. However, you may be able to get credit for buying gift cards online.
So it may be worth a try.
Here's how you do it. Before you buy anything, you need to log into your American Express account, click on benefits and link the card to the airline of your choice.
I picked Southwest Airlines, but there are dozens of airlines to choose from.
Then wait a few days for the link to go through.
This is important. The first gift card I bought did not credit. The second one though posted a credit within a few days.
Then log into your chosen airline account and buy the gift card using your Premier Rewards Credit Card. I recommend buying the gift cards in small amounts i.e. $25, $40. Then within a few days, you should see a credit posted to your account.
Nice!

Book A European Vacation For Almost FREE!

Here's the dilemma: You want to take a European vacation next summer with your family of 5. BUT you have maxed out your 5/24 rule on Chase, you have enough miles for 3 one way tickets on United, and lots of Starwood points, but those have a terrible transfer ratio to United.
So what do you do?

Here's my plan:

1. My husband and I each applied for the American Express Premier Gold card for a bonus of 40,000 miles for a $2000 spend. He added me as an authorized user.
2. Transfer those American Express membership rewards to Krisflyer (The frequent flier club for Singapore Airlines). I chose Krisflyer because they will let you book one way tickets on Star Alliance partner airlines including United. Since I'm an authorized user on my husband's Amex, he can transfer his rewards to my Krisflyer account.
3. Top off my KrisFlyer account with Starwood points which transfer 1:1 with a 5,000 bonus for every 20,000 Starwood points, Spouses can share Starwood points so to maximize the bonus, my husband transferred 35,000 Starwood points to my account. Then I transferred those to my Krisflyer account.

And fingers crossed, if all works out and the transfers go through, we will have 9 one way tickets on Star Alliance partner airlines booked with points.

So did it work? YES! BAM! 4.5 round trip flights from LAX to Europe for almost FREE! We paid taxes and fees plus a $25 booking fee from United because I booked 2 tickets by phone to make sure we were all on the same flights. Did it take a little bit of work, yes. Was it worth it? Of course, we are headed to Europe for almost FREE. If we had paid for these flights, they would have cost us at least $5000 probably more. Woohoo!