How To Get Started With Miles And Points

For the past 5 years, I have been talking to you about how to travel as a family using points and miles. This weekend, I traveled to New York City last minute. Check my blog post on how to travel last minute with points and miles. 

But on the way home, I sat next to a young woman whose mom had just passed away suddenly. 

So she is now flying every few weeks from San Diego to Chicago to resettle her father and pack up her mother's belongings. A tragic story in itself. 

 I asked her if she is using points and miles to buy her plane tickets, she said no. I said you do have a frequent flier number so you are at least collecting miles? Yes, she said. Do you always fly the same airline? She said no and added that she had to pay $70 for checked bags. She told me she even looked into flying Spirit. 

I told her about the blog and she said she was just thinking that she should open a credit card. I'm writing this article to help her get started. I don't know her name so I'll call her Sarah. 

In this situation, there are a few ways to go. I call it leveraged spending which to me means that you are making every purchase, purchases that you would make anyway, work as hard as you are. So for Sarah, she is buying plane tickets every few weeks so how can we leverage that spending to get her a few free tickets or collect points/miles for an awesome trip in the future. 

1. Apply for a Capital One Venture card with a 50,000 sign up bonus for a $3,000 minimum spend and a $95 annual fee waived for the first year. Sarah should charge everything to this card including her next few flights. She will get the bonus and then can use it to "erase" at least one flight if not two flights to Chicago.  When you log into your Capital One account, you will see any travel charges listed and the points needed to "erase" them. If you fly various airlines or use trains or airbnb, then this card will do the trick. 

2. If Sarah decides to stick to a particular airline, she may want to try a co-branded credit card like the Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select credit card. She would get 40,000 bonus miles with a $2,000 minimum spend and the $95 annual fee is waived the first year. She would get a FREE checked bag and preferred boarding. United Airlines and Southwest also offer co-branded cards. 

3. Another option may be to open a Starwood American Express or Chase Sapphire Preferred.  Both of these cards come with bonus offers for a minium spend. You can use the points to transfer to dozens of airlines for FREE flights or hotels for FREE rooms. 

I hope Sarah reads this. Though I didn't get her name, I did give her my website address. Prayers and hugs go out to Sarah and her family. 

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

How To Find The Best Shopping Portal

Shopping online used to be new and different, but now we use it to buy lots of things. But are you using shopping portals to maximize the value when you online shop?

If not, you are leaving FREE money or miles on the table. 

Here's the idea. When you shop online, you can go straight to the store's website and make your purchase OR you can go to a marketplace, find the same store and earn cash back or miles on the same purchase. 

It doesn't cost you any extra money, but can save you lots! 

Try cashbackmonitor.com to check the number of miles, points or cash back you will earn on a variety of portals from Southwest, United, American, Ebates and more. 

Then pick your favorite and start shopping! 

It's that easy. Around the holidays, shopping portals will offer bonus miles/points if you make a certain dollar amount worth of purchases so watch for those and watch the miles/points/cash back add up quickly. When I checked the site for this article, I noticed even Amazon was listed offering up to 10% cash back through Ebates.com. Crazy! If you use my link, for Ebates.com, you will earn $10 for signing up and making a purchase for at least $25. 

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

Take Advantage Of Hotel Promotions To Score Extra Points

Hotel promotions are an easy way to increase your points quickly for FREE hotel stays. If you have upcoming stays, be sure to look at the currrent promotions for any brands that you collect points. 

Right now, Hilton is offering up to 3x points on stays booked through its website for stays Sept. 10 - Jan. 3. You must register before you book your stay.  Look for the Moments Made Bigger promotion.

Marriott/SPG is also offering a promotion right now. The 29 Ways To Stay with a daily game and prizes of points and stays. So far, I have won 50 points. It is also offering its Megabonus where you earn 2,000 bonus points for stays of 2 nights or more and 1,000 points per brand starting with your second brand. To register, log into your account and check the promotions page. You must register by Jan. 7, 2019 and stay between Sept. 26 and Jan. 31, 2019. 

That's how we do it here at almost FREE family travel. Spend smart to travel for FREE. 

Get A FREE Ride To The Polls On Election Day!

Uber and Lyft are offering FREE rides on Election Day to urge people to head to the polls. In partnership with #votetogether and Democracy Works, Uber will offer FREE rides and poll locations via its app. 

Lyft will offer free and discounted rides. You can find promo codes on vote.org, Nonprofit Vote and Turbovote. 

In separate media releases, both companies have stated that they are not encouraging people to vote for a specific party or candidate, they are just helping people get to the polls. 

Exercise your right, vote! 

See America's National Parks For FREE

Once again, fourth graders can enter the national parks for FREE. Just go on this website, answer some questions about your trip and print your pass. 

• The pass expires August 31, 2019. 
• You must bring a printed paper version of your pass, no electronic versions
• The pass is good for kids under 16 and 3 adults
• You still need to pay for parking fees and tours. 

Have fun and enjoy! 

Southwest May Fly To Hawaii Sooner Thank We Thought

You may be able to fly to Hawaii on Southwest as soon as October or November 2018. We have just received word that the airline submitted in flight operations and procedures documentation for ETOPS (government) approval.  That move puts them one step closer to adding routes. 

Another clue is that all airlines including Hawaiian Airlines are offering $142 one way flights to Hawaii from the west coast. That low fare signals that they are preparing for competition from Southwest.

Southwest plans to offer service from several west coast cities to Honolulu and Maui. The airline may offer intra island service as well. 

We will keep you posted! 

Top 5 Things To See And Do In Trinidad, Cuba

Trinidad is considered the jewel of Cuba with cobblestone streets and colonial old town. It lives up to its name. You only need a few days to explore Trinidad. You can take a shared taxi from Havana for about $35 per person. You can book an Airbnb.com online which is more expensive than Havana, but still only $30 per night. Find a casa particulares that is close to the old city center so you can walk and has air conditioning like Casa de Yash. Be sure to pay the extra $4-$5 for breakfast and enjoy one dinner $10 per person at the casa.

Top 5 things to see in Trinidad:

1.  I urge you to start with a FREE walking tour that starts in the plaza opposite the Historical Museum. 

2. Nightlife centers around the steps with live music playing every evening courtesy of Casa De La Musica. Here's a tip if you sit above the steps before 7pm, it's FREE. After 7pm, you will pay a few CUC to enter. 

3. There is also a club in cave near the radio tower. We did not hike up there because we heard mixed reviews. But if you are into that stuff, it may be worth the hike and your $5 CUC. 

One of the most popular day trips from Trinidad is to visit the waterfall via horseback. Tours cost $20-$35 per person. Dozens of tourists will board their horses on the outskirt of town for the all-day tour. You can hike if you prefer, but it is a long walk. Even on horseback, you will walk the last 30 minutes so wear closed toed shoes. 

4. The waterfall is well worth it. 

5. And on the way, you will visit a coffee and cigar farm which is interesting. Our tour also stopped at a restaurant where we could eat lunch or enjoy a drink. 

Trinidad is a delightful place to spend a few days. The people are friendly and welcoming. The town is also close to the coast if you want to enjoy the beach. 

IHG Point Break Hotels Are Selling Out Fast

Every quarter, IHG announces list of "point break" hotels. This means you can book these hotels for just a fraction of the points needed normally. They are offered as low as 5,000 points per night to 15,000 points per night. 

Usually, these are hotels that IHG is trying to promote or fill up or are in offseason. But it's always interesting to look at the list and see if it may fit into your plans. 

Last year, I was touring colleges with my daughter. There was a hotel located near one of the campuses and I was able to book it for 5,000 points saving me about $100. 

So it's always worth a check. That's how we do it at almostfreefamilytravel.com