What's Your 2018 Travel Resolution?

Machu Picchu

What's your travel resolution for 2018? I have a friend who is planning to visit her 50th state this year. I am planning to visit my 50th country. Another friend is visiting his last continent. Another friend who wants to volunteer on a goat farm this year. So what's your travel resolution?

And then how can you make it happen?

Sandboarding in the deserts in Peru

Besides visiting my 50th country, I am planning to publish a video series this year that will make it easier for families to jump in, start collecting miles and points and travel. There is so much information out there, perhaps it's time to go back to the basics. 

Holding a sloth in the Amazon

I have written about it before, but I believe that travel is amazing for families and children. One of the best reasons to travel is getting a chance to spend great quality family time without electronic devices and distractions. But another reason is the understanding and appreciation for different cultures, peoples and traditions that comes with travel. 

Relaxing at the pool in Peru

And then, of course, there is the history and the confidence that comes along with travelling in a foreign country with different money, language and food. 

My children understand the politics of Africa, the economics of South America, how to navigate public transportation in Asia and the history and architecture in Europe. 

So where are you headed in 2018?

And more importantly, how are you going to get there?

Thank you for supporting our blog and following Almost FREE family Travel. 

We look forward to travelling the road with you again in 2018. 

Happy Holidays And Happy Travel!

From everyone here at Almost FREE Family Travel, have a safe and happy holiday season! 

Heading To Berlin? Try The New Fast Train

If you are heading to Berlin or Munich in 2018, you should check out the new high speed train called ICE. Now you can travel between those cities in just under 4 hours. A big improvement over the 6 hours plus it used to take by regular train. 

The inaugural run of this train did not go very well, but we assume they will work out the kinks quickly. 

Ticket prices are about $78 each way in 2nd class. 

www.seat61.com is the guru of train travel. He has a great writeup about how to travel on the new ICE trains in Germany. Which routes have ICE trains and how to book tickets.

www.seat61.com recommends buying your ticket through the DB Bahn and I found the prices to be much less expensive than buying through Rail Europe. 

The site is easy to navigate. Enter your departure city and train station and then enter your arrival city and train station.

 DB Bahn  will give you all the available times/prices for that date. You can pay for your ticket right from the website. You will either be able to print your ticket from home or they will email you a ticket. 

Remember to use a credit card that does not charge foreign transaction fees. 

The train is an experience in itself for children so sit back, enjoy and bring some snacks. 

How I Made A Rookie Mistake

Even the experienced travel hacker can make a rookie mistake. Travel hacking is not an exact science and sometimes even the experienced get nabbed. It happened to me this week. Actually, I made the mistake in June 2017 when I applied for the Citi Advantage Platinum Select credit card. I am not even going to put the link here because I am so mad.
I was approved immediately. The card had a 60,000 bonus offer for $3,000 minimum spend. The annual fee was waived for the first year.
I spent the $3,000 that month and waited for my bonus to clear.
Usually I am a lot more on top of the bonus clearing, but we had a busy summer and my daughter left for college so I didn't check.
This month as I was performing my end of year review, I realized that I had not received the bonus. I called Citi and they informed me that you can only get this bonus once for any Advantage credit card within 24 months.
Since I had received a bonus with a Gold Advantage card back in September 2015, I was not eligible. I was 3 months short of my 24 month period. Argh!
I argued and told the rep how I had called to make sure I was eligible for the bonus before I applied, but she wouldn't budge.
I asked for a supervisor who told me the same thing.
She did offer me 5,000 American miles for my trouble.
Bottom line, be very careful with the fine print and keep good records.

Flightaware and Gateguru - track flights

With all the flying over the holidays, two websites that I find invaluable are www.flightaware.com and www.gateguru.com. 

These two websites make it easy to track any flight anywhere. You use the live tracking feature or you can track estimated take off time, arrival time and gate status. 

On the home page, enter the name of the airline and the flight number. The site will find the plane and all the information including departure, arrival and gate information. 

Obviously over the holidays with weather and high traffic volume, this can be extremely helpful.

Hope this helps makes your holiday travel just a little bit easier. 

How To Get 3 FREE Nights At An All Inclusive Resort

Wyndham Viva Dominicus Beach in the Dominican Republic 

Wyndham has brought back its 45,000 point credit card offer! Woohoo! This is one of my favorite offers out there for almost FREE family travel. That's because Wyndham offers every room in its 7500+ hotels at 15,000 points per night. Many of these hotels offer complimentary breakfast and some are even all inclusive.
Wyndham has two offers out there right now.
1. No fee card for 18,000 points You are awarded 15,000 points after your first purchase and 3,000 more points after a minimum spend of $1,000
2. $75 annual fee not waived for 45,000 points. You are awarded 30,000 points after your first purchase and 15,000 points more after a minimum spend of $2,000

Wyndham reward points are easy to redeem through the website. We used 15,000 points per night per room to stay for 2 nights in the Ramada Prague City Center.  This hotel is blocks from the clock tower and main square. It includes a buffet breakfast that will fill you up for the whole day. Amazing! The rooms are comfortable and clean. If you paid for this hotel, you would pay approximately $200 per night per room. We were able to book 2 rooms for 2 nights since we are a family of 5 on points saving us approximately $800.

Wyndham also has 8 hotels called Viva which are all inclusive and are located in the Caribbean and Mexico. One of those hotels is Wyndham Viva Dominicus Beach. They have just changed their rules so 2 adults are included in the 15,000 points per night, but you will need to pay extra for children. Children under 13 years old are charged at a child's price and over 13 are charged as adults. There is also a 3 night minimum. However, if both spouse opened the 45,000 point Wyndham card, you could book 2 rooms which would cover a family of 4. If you are family of 5, obviously pay for the youngest family member and you have a great trip for a couple hundred dollars. Woohoo!

Exploring Warsaw Poland With Teens

Bean bags to relax on in the old town

The old town of Warsaw was completely destroyed during World War 2. However, the government has rebuilt an exact replica of the old town. It is fascinating to see the photos of before and after. The Royal Castle is the only building that was not destroyed. In fact, it was set to be bombed, but at the last minute, the Nazis called off the bombing. They realized that if they bombed the castle, they would be trapped.  You can still see the holes that were packed with dynamite. The Royal Castle is FREE on Sundays and you can buy an audio guide for a few zloty. 

One of the rooms inside the Royal Castle Of Warsaw

 You could spend a whole day inside the Royal Lazienki park in Warsaw. Either by foot or bike, there are lakes, paths and even a fancy waffle and ice cream place inside the park called Trou Madame. You can also take a small boat around the lake in front of the palace.

The palace on the water in Royal Lazienki park 

 In the summer, there are FREE Chopin concerts in the park and on Saturdays, there are FREE yoga and mediation classes.

Fancy waffle and ice cream place inside the park

Poland is cheap for food, transportation and hotels. We used points to stay at the Hampton Hilton City Centre. 10,000 Hilton points per night per room including breakfast. The hotel is located across from the train station just minutes by bus from old town. We found a traditional Polish restaurant called Radio Cafe around the corner from the hotel and ate there both nights. Be sure to try the pierogies, potato pancakes and apple pancakes. The owner is a hoot and has a very colorful history.
That's how we do almost FREE family travel!

How To Get 100,000 Hilton Points

The Hilton Honors Surpass card from American Express is transferring to the Ascend card on January 18th 2018 so you may want to jump on this offer now.
The Surpass card nets you 100,000 Hilton points for a $3,000 spend and another 25,000 points for an additional $1,000 spend. You get 10 priority hotel club passes too. The annual fee is $75.
We don't know yet what the offer will be for the Ascend card, but we do know that the club passes will not be a part of it. We also know the annual fee will be $95, but there will be no foreign transaction fees.
So what can you do with 100,000 Hilton points? Check out some top hotels from our friends at the Points Guy. Other properties that we like include:

1. 3 nights in Krakow, Poland for 5,000 Hilton points per room per night at the Hampton Inn Krakow. The room included breakfast - 30,000 points
2. 1 night in Warsaw, Poland for 10,000 Hilton points per room per night at the Hampton Inn Warsaw City Centre. The room included breakfast. - 20,000 points

Other great category 1 or 2 Hiltons are located in Kuala Lumpur, Panama City, Cairo, Beijing, Oman and Mexico City.

This is an amazing way to travel almost FREE with your family!

How To Split Payments On Airbnb

One of the frustrations, I have had with airbnb.com is when I travel with another family or with my parents, we can't split the payment. In the past, one of us puts it on the credit card and then the other has to send money or write a check to pay the other back. 

It's tedious and who wants to chase down their friend or family member for payment. 

Now www.airbnb.com has added a way to split the payment. Since www.airbnb.com acquired a social payment startup, Tilt, it is now able to offer split payments. 

When the organizer books a listing that allows for split payments, the reservation is essentially put on hold for 72 hours until all parties make a payment. 

There can be up to 16 different parties making payments. 

If any of the parties do not make the payment within 72 hours, then all monies are refunded and the booking cancelled. 

Hope this helps when you try almost free family travel! 

*please use my airbnb.com link if you plan to travel 

and you will get $40 travel credit the first time you book. 

Should I cancel my Citi Hilton Credit Card?

Citi is transferring all Hilton Honors card holders to new American Express Hilton Honors cards in January. You should have received a letter in the mail alerting you to the change. Citi ended its relationship with Visa and is launching a new relationship with American Express. 

So the question is should you let the transfer happen or cancel your card?

The Visa card is a no fee card and as far as we know the American Express card will be no fee as well. 

There are currently 2 American Express Hilton Honors cards available. We suspect a third premium card will be added next year. 

The no fee card offers 7x points on Hilton purchases and no foreign transaction fees starting in January. 

The Hilton Surpass card will be changing to the Ascend card next year and offer a few more perks like 12x points on Hilton purchases, 10 complimentary lounge passes and if you spend $15,000 in a year, you will earn a free night at any Hilton property. 

That card has a $95 fee and next year no foreign transaction fees. 

American Express and Hilton are gearing up to offer a premium card next year too which will have a $450 annual fee and include perks like a $250 airline credit and $250 Hilton credit on your cardmember anniversary, unlimited lounge access, 14X points on Hilton purchases and a free night on your anniversary.  

We don't know about sign up bonuses for these cards yet so you will need to look at your own situation and decide if it's worth keeping your current Hilton Honors Visa card. I cancelled mine so I could take advantage of whatever is coming  in 2018. 

How to find FREE shipping for holiday shopping

Shipping charges are the #1 reason online carts are abandoned before the purchase is completed. But you can find FREE shipping during the holidays. 

Here's how:

1. do a google search for coupon codes

2. try signing up for www.shoprunner.com - you join for free and then get free shipping at a dozen or so stores. 

3. use a cash back portal like ebates.com and they will list all the promotions being offered right now by that particular store

4. use an airline shopping portal and again, it will list the promotions being offered right now by that particular store

5. increase your minimum spend in order to get the free shipping. Sometimes if you buy another $10 worth of product, your shipping is free so it's worth it. I would rather have more stuff than pay for shipping. 

6. Ship to store and pick it up there

Don't waste your hard earned money on shipping charges, instead spend it on almost FREE family travel. And remember to use the right credit card to maximize those points! 

Get FREE Netflix From Tmobile

If you are a Tmobile subscriber or if you are thinking about becoming one, here's an added perk. 

Tmobile is giving everyone who qualifies Netflix for FREE. 

The fine print says you must have at least 2 active lines on a Tmobile ONE tax inclusive voice plan. The Netflix subscription is a standard one. You can upgrade to premium, but you will need to pay the difference. You must also use the same credit card as your Tmobile autopay. 

From Tmobile:

Before you can get Netflix On Us, you'll need to opt in to it on your T-Mobile account.

To opt in from the T-Mobile app:

1. Make sure that you or someone else isn't currently logged into Netflix. Even if you're creating a new Netflix account, logging out of Netflix will ensure that you're linking to your Netflix account, rather than to someone else's account that might be currently logged into Netflix.
2. Open the T-Mobile app.
3. Tap the menu (the three stacked lines in the upper left).
4. Tap USAGE & PLANS.
5. Scroll down to your name and tap View line details.
6. Scroll down to the Services section and tap Manage Services.
7. Tap the + next to Family and Entertainment, and select the box next to Fam with Netflix ($10.99 value).
   Note: If you don't see the Netflix option, you'll need to change your plan to qualify for Netflix On Us. To go through the process, tap the menu, tap USAGE & PLANS, and then tap Change Plan. (Or, you can contact T-Mobile customer service for assistance.)
8. From the Order Confirmation page, tap the Continue to Sign Up button below Your Account's Now Ready for Netflix!
9. On the next page, tap the Sign Up For Netflix button.
10. You'll be rerouted to Netflix to continue the process:
    • If you're completing this process from a device that you've already streamed Netflix on before, it'll default to an existing customer sign-in page. Or, you can create a new account by selecting the Not yet a Member? Sign Up link.
    • If you're completing this process from a device that you haven’t streamed Netflix on before, it'll default to a new customer account creation page. Or, you can use an existing account by selecting the Already a member? Sign in link.
      Note: If needed, customers may also delete their browser cookies and cache and start this process over.

To opt in through your computer or a browser on your device:

1. Make sure that you or someone else isn't currently logged into Netflix. Even if you're creating a new Netflix account, logging out of Netflix will ensure that you're linking to your Netflix account, rather than to someone else's account that might be currently logged into Netflix.
2. Go to My T-Mobile and log in to your T-Mobile account.
3. Click PLAN.
4. Scroll down to your line and click CHANGE SERVICES.
5. Under Family and Entertainment, click the + to expand the Fam with Netflix ($10.99 value) section. 
   Note: If you don't see the Netflix option, you'll need to change your plan to qualify for Netflix On Us. To go through the process, tap the menu, tap USAGE & PLANS, and then click Change Plan. (Or, you can contact T-Mobile customer service for assistance.)
6. Select the box to add the Fam with Netflix ($10.99 value) feature to your account.
7. From the Order Confirmation page, click the Continue to Sign Up button below Your Account's Now Ready for Netflix!
8. On the next page, click the Sign Up For Netflix button.
9. You'll be rerouted to Netflix to continue the process:
   • If you're completing this process from a device that you've already streamed Netflix on before, it'll default to an existing customer sign-in page. Or, you can create a new account by selecting the Not yet a Member? Sign Up link.
   • If you're completing this process from a device that you haven’t streamed Netflix on before, it'll default to a new customer account creation page. Or, you can use an existing account by selecting the Already a member? Sign in link.
     Note: If needed, customers may also delete their browser cookies and cache and start this process over.

Canceling your Netflix subscription

If you need help canceling your Netflix subscription billed through T-Mobile, or if you've recently transferred your line between T-Mobile accounts, contact T-Mobile customer service for assistance. If you remove Netflix On Us, you'll need to contact Netflix to update your method of payment to avoid a lapse in streaming service.

Best Websites To Use To Find Additional Black Friday Savings

The countdown is on to Black Friday! Do you have your list ready? You may not need to wait til Friday to nab the best deals. In the last post, we talked about the 5 best products to buy this week. Now let's talk about the best websites to use to layer additional savings.



1. Check out ebates.com to see a lot of the Black Friday ads early so you can plan your shopping. Some of the stores offering deals on the products you want may surprise you. Remember when you shop online, sign into your ebates.com account first and then click to the store you want. Ebates.com will offer you a percentage in cash back. The percentage will be range from 2% to 15%. 

2. Groupon.com  - Over the years, I have liked and disliked Groupon.com. Right now, I put them in the like column again. They offer spectacular savings on products and services. Plus they are listed on Ebates.com so you can spend less and get cash back. Wow! 




3. Airline Shopping Portals - Most airlines offer a shopping portal. Check the earn miles section of the frequent fliers club website for that specific airline. This week in honor of Black Friday, they are offering extra miles for your purchases. 

4. Travel deals - The airlines don't want to be left out of Black Friday so our friends at Skyscanner.com will be posting all the deals so you can nab some great affordable travel. Again, check ebates.com to see if that airline is listed for additional savings. 


Happy shopping and let us know about the great deals you find. That's how we do it at almost FREE family travel. 

How You Can Nab A $99 Fare To Europe

Discount airline WOW Air is starting its Black Friday sale early this year with $99 fares to select cities in Europe. The $99 fares are from cities on the East Coast like Boston, Pittsburgh, Chicago and Miami. WOW Air is offering $129 fares from cities on the West Coast like Los Angeles and San Francisco.
European cities include London, Brussels, Dublin and Amsterdam. Travel can be for anytime Dec. 2017 through May 15 2018 with limited offers from Miami.
I did a quick search for fares from Los Angeles to Dublin and came up with just a couple of dates in April with the low fares. Most of the fares were $219 unless you signed up for a WOW pass. However, I could not find any information about how much the Wow pass costs.
WOW air allows stopovers on your return flight in Iceland so that's a bonus.
Watch out for extra fees for baggage and seat reservations. Plus remember there is no in flight entertainment or food/drink included though they will sell it onboard.
Bottom line, if you can nab a $99 fare, it may be worth it. But remember this is a discount airline, so pack light and lower your expectations.

5 Best Products To Buy Pre Black Friday

You don't have to wait til the day after Thanksgiving to get the best deals. The pre Black Friday sales are sometimes actually better than the ones offered on Black Friday and you don't have to fight the crowds. Only 53% of consumers think Black Friday deals are good. 

So here are the top 5 products to keep your eye out for: 

1. Electronics - every year, it's the best deal and this one is no different. Check around to see who is offering the lowest price. 

2. Computers and laptops 

3. Appliances 

4. Books, movies and music 

5. Video Games

Check out this graphic from our friends at Wallethub.com  

Next post, I'll talk about some great websites that offer additional deals and how to layer them to get even more savings. 

Top 5 Portals To Use For Your Holiday Shopping

One of the best ways to earn airline miles or cash back is with shopping portals. And now as we head into the holiday season, the portals are offering bonus miles so it's easy to earn free plane tickets and hotel rooms. 

Here are my top 5 shopping portals:

1. American Airlines shopping portal - right now, you can earn up to 4,000 bonus miles if you spend $1200 by November 19th. 

2. United Airlines shopping portal - right now you can earn up to 5,000 bonus miles if you spend $1500 by November 19th. 

3. Southwest Airlines shopping portal - right now, you can earn up to 3,000 bonus miles if you spend $1,000 by November 20th. 

4. Dining reward programs where you link your credit card to the dining program offered by an airline like United or Southwest. Any time you dine at a particular restaurant that is in the program, you earn bonus points. 

5. Ebates.com for cash back on purchases. When we went returned home from Europe, ebates.com sent me a check for $54. Nice. 

Remember, always set your credit cards on autopay and pay them off each and every month in full. That's how we do almost FREE family travel. 

Starbucks: Load $20, Get 300 FREE Stars

Through our friends at Doctor of Credit,  we discovered Starbucks is offering 300 FREE stars if you load $20 onto your card through the Starbucks app and pay with Chase Pay.
Chase Pay is similar to Visa Checkout and other type services. You will need to link a credit card to use it.

Offer is valid November 15-21.

Here's the fine print:

Promotional Offer Terms: Offer valid 11/15/17 – 11/21/17. Starbucks Rewards™ Members load your Starbucks Card/App using Chase Pay® and collect three hundred (300) Bonus Stars. Bonus Stars will be automatically loaded to this Starbucks Rewards™ account within 24 hours. These Bonus Stars cannot be combined with other offers, promotions or discounts. Bonus Stars do not apply towards Star Dashes. This offer is exclusively for Starbucks Rewards™ Members. Limit one per person. Offer good in the U.S. only.

Promotion Period: The Promotion Period runs from 12:01 AM PST on 11/15/17 and ends at 11:59 PM PST on 11/21/17.

Eligibility: This offer is open to residents of the 50 United States and D.C. who have a valid Chase Pay® account.

This offer is not from Chase. Chase is not responsible for the provision of or failure to provide the stated benefits and services.

*Bonus stars will be loaded onto your account within 24 hours of purchase

Buy An Easy 1,000 United Miles For $1

Buy an easy 1,000 United miles for just $1 and get a digital subscription to the Wall Street Journal. Offer ends November 16th. And be sure to make the cancellation by date on your calendar so you don't get charged $36.99 per month for the subscription after the trial ends.
This is a good way to top off an account or to reset an expiration date. You can only get this offer once in a lifetime.
That's how we do almost FREE family travel.

Why You Might Want To Shop At Walmart This Holiday Season

One of top reasons to have a Chase Freedom credit card are the rotating bonus categories each quarter. This Q4 2017, the bonus categories include 5% cash back at Walmart.com. So if you are doing some holiday shopping at Walmart.com, you should put those purchases on your Chase Freedom card. The bonus caps at $1500 cash back. 

There are two Chase Freedom cards to pick from: Chase Freedom and Chase Freedom Unlimited. Both have bonus categories. Both have no annual fees. Both come with a 15,000 point bonus for making a minimum of $500 spend in the first 3 months. The Unlimited earns an additional 1.5% cash back on purchases. 

The drawback to this card is that you cannot transfer points to airlines or hotels. It is strictly a cash back card. If you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Ink card, then you can transfer points to travel partners. 

Win A Volunteer Travel Trip From Jet Blue #checkinforgood

Jet Blue is offering all expenses paid weekend volunteer trips to Montego Bay, Jamaica, Houston, Texas and Nassau, Bahamas. It's part of the airlines month long humanitarian mission called Jet Blue For Good
To be considered, you need to fill out a short questionaire and write a short essay. 22 winners and their guests will be chosen.
The humanitarian trip is scheduled for 11/27-11/29/2017 and the fine print indicates you are responsible for transportation to and from JFK in New York City. Jet Blue will also give participants a $250 gift card for any items not covered.
Good luck! Let us know if you win.

New Rules Make It Harder For Americans To Visit Cuba

Starting tomorrow, it's going to be harder for Americans to travel to Cuba. President Trump once again issues tighter restrictions on travel and business with Cuba. US tourists and companies will no longer be able to do business with a long list of hotels, shops, rum producers and real estate firms who allegedly do business with the government. 

US tourists will also no longer be able to visit the island nation on people to people exchange programs. They must now travel with a sponsored program or American University or group. 

Any contracts signed before tomorrow will be allowed to proceed. The new travel restrictions do no apply to anyone who booked people to people trips before Trump's speech back in June or educational or humanitarian travel before Nov. 9th

If you have a trip planned for Cuba, be sure to keep your paperwork handy just in case you face an issue.  

Wow.....120,000 Marriott Point Offer Goes Public

If you have some big purchases coming up and you are not over Chase 5/24 rule, this might be a good option for you. This offer was targetted, but was released this week to the public. 

Here's how it works:

For every $1 you spend, you get 10 Marriott points. You can charge up to $12,000 on the card in the first year which would translate to 120,000 Marriott points. The $85 fee is waived the first year. You can add an authorized user for another 7,500 Marriott points. 

As always be sure to check the fine print especially on this offer since the points vary depending on what you are purchasing. 

What can you do with 120,000 Marriott points? You can use them for Marriott brand hotels, of course. Or you can transfer them to Starwood at 3:1 and then transfer them to dozens of airlines and get the 5,000 bonus for each 20,000 you transfer. So you could be looking at 50,000 airline miles. 

It's a high spend to get the full 120,000, however, you could spend less and still take part of the bonus. If you spend $1,000, you earn 10,000 Marriott points and so on. 

That's how we do almost FREE family travel. 

How To Get Bonus Miles With Shopping Portals

The holiday bonus offers are starting early this year! American Airlines, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines are all offering bonus miles if you use their shopping portals. Shopping portals are online marketplaces that earn you extra miles when you shop. Remember we at almost FREE family travel do NOT support manufactured spend. Instead, let's maximize the power of what you are going to spend anyways.
For example, instead of typing in Old Navy in the search bar and shopping there, type in American Airlines shopping portal, log in with your Advantage membership information and then click on Old Navy in the marketplace. American will reward you with a few miles for each dollar spent. Plus if you spend enough before 11/20, they will give you bonus miles. The prices are the same, you are just harnessing the power or using leveraged spending.

Here are the details of each offer:

American 

Spend $150 for 500 bonus miles 

Spend $600 for 2000 bonus miles 

Spend $1200 for 4000 bonus miles 

United 

Spend $150 for 500 bonus miles 

Spend $750 for 2500 bonus miles 

Spend $1500 for 5000 bonus miles 

Both airlines are offering the bonus for shopping done between 10/30 and 11/19. 

Southwest is also in the game with its new shopping portal. Here are the details of their offer:

Spend $150 for 500 bonus miles 

Spend $500 for 1000 bonus miles 

Spend $1000 for 3000 bonus miles 

The bonus is for shopping done between 10/30 and 11/20. 

So if you are trying to top off your accounts, my recommendation is to pick one airline portal and stick with it. You might buy a few holiday gifts early and earn a few miles on the side. 

That's how we do it at almost free family travel.