United LAX - Singapore For $177

United just announced today its new non stop flight on the Dreamliner LAX to Singapore. In honor of this 18 hour flight, it is offering $177 one way on Tuesdays and Wednesdays next month. 

The return is $208. Flight leaves at 8:55pm and arrives in Singapore at 6:50am the following day. 

It's amazing deal if you would like to hop over to Singapore or use it as a gateway to Southeast Asia. 

The Dreamliner is an amazing plane with tinted windows and all the latest gadgets and technology. 

Plus the Singapore Airport is a great place to spend some time. It has a movie theatre, butterfly garden, children's play area, massage chairs, koi pond and many restaurants. 

We spent a full 8 hours in the airport a few years ago. Check out the photo below. 

Massage chairs 

Koi pond

If you are thinking about heading to Singapore or Southeast Asia, jump on this one. It will sell out quickly. That's how we do almost FREE family travel!

IHG Point Break List Announced Today

Every quarter, IHG announces a select list of point break hotels.  Point break hotels are offered at 5,000 points per night. You have to move fast because they sell out, but you can cancel the reservation and get your points back. 

Check out the new list for October 30, 2017 - January 31, 2018. If one of these hotels falls inside your travel plans, it's a great deal. IHG hotels include Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express and Candlewood Suites. Some of these hotels include breakfast. 

I was able to book a point break hotel earlier this year in Edison New Jersey when we visited Rutgers University. No breakfast, but it only cost me 5,000 points. I had collected the points over the years by staying in a few random hotels and participating in a contest. 

You can get 80,000 IHG points by applying for the credit card. There is a $2,000 minimum spend and the $49 annual fee is waived the first year. 

Obviously, if you used 80,000 points on a point break hotel at 5,000 points per night, you are talking 16 nights in a hotel. Wow! That's how we do almost FREE family travel.

45,000 Starwood Bonus Offer Ends 11/1

The Starwood American Express Business card is one of my favorites. Starwood points are the most valuable out there because you can transfer them to 30 different airlines and Marriott hotels plus you can use them for Starwood hotels. If that's not enough, when you transfer 20,000 points to most of the airlines, you are awarded a 5,000 bonus. United Airlines is the exception. The transfer for that airline is 3:1 so I do not recommend using the points on United. That being said there are workarounds if you like to fly United.
The latest offer ending 11/1 is for 45,000 Starwood points. My previous blog post I wrote about ways to use those 45,000 points in New York City. But you can use those points anywhere in the world.
The other perk of the business card is free access to the Sheraton Club anywhere in the world. The club offers complimentary breakfast and happy hour. The happy hour is so generous that we have eaten dinner there.
Figure if your hotel is paid with points and you get FREE breakfast and dinner, that's what I call a good deal.
The spend is a bit high 25,000 Starwood points for $6,000 minimum spend and another 10,000 points for an additional $4,000 spend. If you completed the $10,000 spend, you would earn 45,000 Starwood points. The $95 annual fee is not waived.
But if you have your property taxes coming up or tuition payments or any other big purchases on the horizon, this might be a good deal for you.
By the way, any business will qualify. If you sell items on Ebay or rent your house on Airbnb or anything else, you will most likely qualify.

**If you decide to apply for this card, please use my referral link. Thank you for your support.

How To Stay For FREE In New York City!

New York is a great place to visit with so much to do, but for family travel, it is one expensive city! So if New York City is on your bucket list, here are some great options to cut the price. One option is to take advantage of the Starwood American Express Business card. The offer ends November 1st so don't delay on this one. The offer is for 25,000 points for $6,000 spend and if you spend another $4,000 in 6 months, you get another 10,000 points plus the 10,000 that you earned. So you would end up with 45,000 Starwood points. The annual fee of $95 is waived for the first year. 

It's a big spend, but if you have property taxes coming up or other big expenses like college tuition payments, this might be a good deal for you. 

What does 45,000 Starwood points get you in New York City? Since my focus is on family travel, I look at hotels that offer value like 4 or 5 people in a room and breakfast. 

My first choice here would be to use the points for the Sheraton Times Square. Each night costs 12,000 Starwood points. A perk of the American Express business card is access to the club which offers free breakfast and happy hour. The happy hour usually includes beer, wine and heavy appetizers.  Our family has used the happy hour several times as dinner. If you use 12,000 points for a hotel, breakfast and dinner in New York City for the entire family, that's almost FREE family travel. 

Starwood points also transfer to dozens of airlines and to Marriott at 1:3. I used awardmapper.com to check out hotels in New York City. Marriott hotels were around 40,000-80,000 points per night. If you transferred the 45,000 Starwood points to Marriott, you would have 135,000 Marriott points. If you found a hotel for 40,000 points per night, you would have 3 nights paid for. 

The other option is to transfer the 45,000 Starwood points to an airline. Most of the airline partners offer a bonus of 5,000 points for every 20,000 Starwood points that you transfer. So your 45,000 Starwood points could net you 55,000 American Airlines points for example. 

That's enough points for 2 round trip tickets from LAX to New York City. 

That's how we do it at almost FREE family travel! 

*If you decide to apply for the Starwood American Express Business card, please use my referral link. It's the same offer you would find online, but you will be supporting my blog and my mission to help families travel for almost FREE. Thank you! 

24 Hours In Niagara Falls With Teens

Niagara Falls is one of the world's three great waterfalls and should be on everyone's bucket list. More than 3,000 tons of water pours over the falls every second. Four of the five great lakes drain into the Niagara River. The city of Niagara has gone through a metamorphisis of circus atmosphere to souvenir central to national park. 

Be sure to check out Niagara Falls at night. You can see Toronto, Canada in the background. We did not cross the border, but I would highly recommend spending an extra few days in Toronto. 

We found a hole in the wall stuffed burger place called Rock Burger.  If you like crazy burgers, then this is your place. 

There are a lot of inexpensive hotels in the city of Niagara. Check awardmapper.com to see if it's worth using points. All the major chains are in Niagara. We stayed at the Wingate by Wyndham Niagara Falls which included breakfast and cost $100. It was quite nice and a few blocks from the falls. We paid for the room instead of using points because Wyndham was running a promotion where you stayed for 2 nights and earned 15,000 points. The nights did not have to be consecutive or even at the same hotel. 

There are tons of activities in Niagara Falls from the Maid of the Mist (boat tour of the falls), walking tour of Goat Island (top of the falls), Canadian side of the falls, American side of the falls and The Cave Of The Winds (self guided walking under the falls). You know us well enough to know that's what we decided to do. 

We got there early because we were worried that would be a line, but apparently we were the only ones who were concerned. Before you head to the falls, there is a nice exhibit demonstrating the history of the falls. There is also a short movie. Then the fun begins. The tour includes ponchos and sandals. 

You take the elevator down to the bottom of the falls and then walk and get wet, really, really wet. Best bet wear your bathing suit. 

The tour lasts about 1 hour and costs Adult: $17 Youth (Ages 6-12): $14. You cannot buy tickets online. If you plan to experience several activities, take a look at the Discovery Pass.  You can look at the falls from several sides for FREE. 

Southwest Holiday Promotion Targetted Offer

The holiday season is starting and that means extra miles and points so get ready! Southwest sent out this targetted offer this morning. Though it's only a 2,000 bonus, you might as well activate the offer. They give you 3 months to spend $4,000 so if you aren't working towards other bonuses or if you need to top off your account or if you are pushing for a companion pass, it might make sense for you.
If you were to buy 2,000 points from Southwest, you would spend $60.
Remember you will get the 2,000 bonus plus 4,000 for the spend.
Make every purchase count, that's how we do it at almost free family travel.

Alaska Airlines West Coast 2 Day Sale

One of my favorite travel deal sites is Travelzoo and today the site launched a 2 day west coast sale with Alaska Airlines. I checked a couple of same fares and the deals are pretty good. 

San Diego - Newark $119 one way

Los Angeles - Las Vegas $42 one way 

This particular sale ends Oct. 18th.

NEWSFLASH™ - VIP Edition

From the Travelzoo Newsdesk

SoCal 2-Day Flight Sale, from $37 (One Way)

By Jessica McNally

Alaska Airlines launched a two-day fare sale with flights from southern California starting at $37 one way. Deals for one-way flights include: Burbank to San Jose from $37 Orange County to San Francisco from $49 Burbank to Portland from $52 LAX to Cabo from $99 LAX to Baltimore from $109 San Diego to Newark or Baltimore from $119  Travel from Nov. 1 - Dec. 13 (blackout dates: Nov. 16-28).  Book by Oct. 18. Check out it out and even better join their mailing list so you are the first one to know about great sales. If you are not sitting on a pile of points or if you need to get the last few family members flights, this might be the deal for you.

Southwest Flys To Hawaii - Aloha!

Southwest announced plans to fly from the mainland to Hawaii in 2018 at the . Tickets will go on sale in 2018. Right now, Southwest is starting the process to request permission to fly to Hawaii. Southwest is able to do this because Boeing was able to create the 737 MAX plane that can handle longer routes.
The governor of Hawaii called it a game changer.
Southwest also launched a new reservation system recently that can handle more complicated bookings and overnight flights.
The approval process can take up to 18 months.
For almost free family travel, start planning how to earn that companion pass next year so you can say Aloha!

Watch For A Special Offer For A Southwest Companion Pass With Just One Purchase!

 One of the best ways to get almost free family travel is to earn a Southwest companion pass. You receive a BOGO pass when you earn 110,000 miles in a calendar year. The BOGO pass is valid for the year you earn it and the following year. I have had a pass for the past 2 1/2 years and been able to take my kids with me for FREE on lots of trips.
Now we heard today that some of our readers in California, Phoenix, Atlanta and Denver are receiving a targetted email offering a credit card that comes with a BOGO companion pass valid until Dec. 31, 2018 with just one purchase and a $69 annual fee.
Amazing offer.
There is a lot of fine print so read carefully.

But if you qualify, this is a pretty good one! Let us know how it works out.

Southwest Launches Biggest Sale Of The Year!

Southwest launched its biggest sale of the year this morning. Flights from $49. Fares below $100. The sale is launched this morning and lasts until Thursday. Fares are good for travel between Oct. 31 and Dec 19 and Jan 3 through Feb. 14.
For Florida and Nevada, sale flights are only good on certain days.
International flights are blacked out Nov. 21 and 22.

I checked out a few sample fares and found:

San Diego - Cabo San Lucas $100 each way
Orlando - Washington DC $55 each way


Check it out and let us know what you do. If you have the companion pass, this could mean almost free family travel - woohoo!

Explore Krakow With Teens

Main square in Krakow

The Barbican sits just outside the old city walls

 Next stop, Krakow, Poland.
Poland has been at the top of my list since I was kicked off the train en route to the country 30 years ago. That's a whole other story.
And I must say, Poland lived up to my expectations.
Krakow like Prague is quaint and historical. Unlike Prague, Krakow was destroyed in World War 2. It has been rebuilt to look exactly like it did before the war. The Poles like the Czechs have been governed by many different countries and the architecture, food and culture reflect that mix.

Wawel Castle 

 The old city is small walkable area from the main gate to the castle. There are carriages with horses and a nice trolley system to get around. We stayed at the Hilton Hampton Suites Krakow .  The hotel served a wonderful breakfast, clean rooms and secure location and the best part is it costs just 5,000 Hilton points per room per night. If you pay for a room, it costs just $75 per room per night including buffet breakfast.
The one negative is that this hotel is NOT walking distance from the old city. It is on a trolley route that leads directly to the old city and train station.
But if location is key for you then this may not be the right hotel. The trolley is very inexpensive and runs often. Food in Poland is cheap as well. Polish food is very good and there are lots of inexpensive Polish restaurants.

Locks on the bridge near the Jewish Quarter

For teens, I highly recommend the Wieliczka Salt Mines. It's approximately a 3 mile walk deep underground through the mines. Parts of the mines have been formed into huge ballrooms, pools with monuments and much more. You can book your tickets online and take the train or bus from the Glowny main train station. They are having reduced train in Fall 2017 so you can check this website for updates. 

Inside the main ballroom of the Salt Mine

By Cezary p at the Polish language Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2810301

The other day trip from Krakow is a visit to Auschwitz. Auschwitz was the main concentration camp during World War 2. The tour is approximately 3 hours long and the bus ride is 1.5 hours each way so this is an all day excursion. It is sold as a day tour from Krakow, but you can easily do this one on your own and save a ton of money.
I recommend buying your entry tickets online in advance so you get the time that you want and you don't have to wait in line at the entrance. You will choose your time and language when you buy tickets. The tour guides are trained for at least 1 year so they are very knowledgable. The tour is heavy, but moving and really, everyone should visit at least once.
You can reach Auschwitz by public bus from the bus station behind the Glowny train station. The cost is about 15-20 Zloty.

Poland is off the beaten track and wonderfully affordable. That's how we do it at almost free family travel.

FatWallet Shutting Down

Cash back site Fatwallet.com is closing down as of October 9th. I received this email today: 

It's never easy to say goodbye.

Thank you for shopping FatWallet. With sadness, we must inform you that we will be closing our site on Monday October 9th. For over 17 years, it has been our absolute pleasure to help millions of deal hunters like you save money, and we're grateful for your business. While the FatWallet site won't be around anymore, we'll still be helping you find discounts and earn cash back on things you buy every day at our sister site, Ebates.com. It's free to join, so check it out — we know you'll love it. Please immediately request payment for your remaining Cash Back balance. FatWallet's Cash Back program ended May 10, 2016. In accordance with our Terms & Conditions maintenance fees began on June 1, 2017 for any Cash Back balance remaining in an inactive account. If you have not requested payment, FatWallet will deduct an account maintenance fee of $2.00 a month until you have requested payment or your account balance is zero. If you used Fatwallet.com as your cash back shopping portal, cash out now. If you are not using a cash back portal, check out my blog posts on shopping portals.

If If you

BofA posts new rules to slow down churners

From Doctor of Credit, DoC has confirmation from a reliable source that Bank of America has introduced a new limitation on card approvals to slow down churners. The new rules are:

No more than 2 BoA cards in a two month time

No more than 3 BoA cards in a year

No more than 4 BoA cards in 24 months

The good news, is that unlike 5/24, BoA appears to only be looking at their own cards not those from other issuers. 4 cards every two years should still allow us to get a fair amount of value out of BoA.

Personally, this isn't surprising considering that number of cards some people had been getting from BoA. A couple of years back bloggers were openly advertising the fact that you could literally get dozens of BoA Alaska Airlines Visa Signature cards or Cash Back Rewards cards. No more trips to Necker Island financed solely off of BoA.

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/httpswww-doctorofcredit-combank-america-312-rule-credit-card-approvals-contribute-data-points/

New Airline Flies From Carlsbad To Vegas

There's a new airline in town! Cal Jet by Elite Airways will fly from Carlsbad, California to Las Vegas, Nevada. Prices start at $69 one way. Created primarily for business travelers, Cal Jet promotes a beach day for people living in Nevada and a night in Vegas for people living in San Diego. 

There are 4 night packages available as well through Cal Jet's website. Right now, they are offering 4 nights including airfare at the Flamingo Hotel for $179. 

The dates for the packages were Sunday-Thursday or Monday - Friday. But when we put in dates for the following weekend, we were offered a $299 per person package including flights and 4 nights at the Flamingo. If we put in dates for the following month, we were offered the $179 per person package. 

It's another option and depending on what else is available, it could be a good deal.