New IHG Point Break List Goes Live

IHG otherwise known as Intercontinental Hotel Group may be one of those overlooked rewards programs. I'll break it down for you in another post. But one of the unique perks of the reward program is their PointBreaks. 

This quarterly list of hotels is offered reduced points for that quarter. 

Now, this used to be a very robust list and I once snagged a Crowne Plaza in Newark, NJ for just 5,000 points per night. What a deal. 

In the last year, the list of hotels participating has dwindled. However, if there is one on the list that makes sense with your travel plans, you could get quite a deal. 

For example, the list released this week features a Crowne Plaza in the Dominican Republic. It's not all-inclusive, but rooms usually sell for 25,000 points per night. It is listed on the PointBreaks list for just 10,000 points per night. 

It's like getting 2 for 1 at the hotel. Sweet. 

There are 97 hotels listed, IHG will remove them when there is no more availability. 47 are international and 50 are in the US. 

IHG is also running a bonus offer right now when you buy points. I ran the numbers for the same DR hotel and I would save about $75 if I bought the points and used the point break offer rather than just buying the rooms at the current rate. Right now, I only have 830 IHG points so it's not a huge savings. But if you have a stash of IHG points or you are ready to open an IHG credit card that comes with an 80,000 bonus, then it might be a winner! 

Southwest Gets The Verbal Thumbs Up For Flights To Hawaii

Southwest could be days away from offering flights to Hawaii. The airline got a verbal thumbs up from the FAA this week. Formal written approval should follow this week now that the airline has completed a series of test flights. 

Tickets are not for sale yet on the website, but keep checking with flights to follow about a month later. So, save those points and working on your companion pass. Once ticket sales start, then get ready because it will be game on. 

Why You Might Want To Book Your Wyndham All Inclusive Now

Wyndham Dominicus Beach 

One of the best ways to get the most value out of Wyndham hotel points is to book one of its all-inclusive resorts. Since you can redeem 15,000 points for any room at any Wyndham, the all-inclusive hotel gets you the most bang for your buck. 

But, alas, all good things must come to an end.  So on April 3rd, Wyndham is going to a three-tier redemption system for its points. The tiers will be

•  7,500
• 15,000
• 30,000

Now, this is good news if you want to use Wyndham points for the lower end hotels. And Wyndham, whose brands include Days Inn, Microtel, Ramada, Super 8 and soon to be La Quinta, has more than 6,000 hotels that can be classified as budget. Wyndham has not released a list of which hotels will be in which tier, but we can only assume that budget hotels will be in the 7,500 tier, medium hotels will be in the 15,000 tier and all-inclusive will increase to the 30,000 tier. 

Now Wyndham says if you book a hotel now and stay after April 3rd and the hotel moves to the lower tier, you will get a credit for the point difference. 

On the opposite end, if you book a stay for after April 3rd at an all-inclusive, you will NOT be charged the difference when the hotel moves to the 30,000 tier. 

Personally, I am looking at the all-inclusive in the Dominican Republic for a summer getaway so I may book now to lock in the lower rates. I can always cancel up to the day before my stay and get my points back. Be sure to check the cancellation policy for the individual hotel. 

That's how we do it here at almostFREEfamilytravel.com 

My Visit To The Indigenous Village In Panama

Children in the Embera Village

There are several day trips that you may want to do while in Panama City. The Panama Canal is an obvious one and I reviewed a few ways to do that trip in my last blog post.  Another day trip you may want to add is a visit to the Indigenous tribal Embera village. The Embera tribe live in traditional villages deep in the rainforest. My first thought was, tourist trap. But this village didn't feel like that at all. In fact, the day trip was a highlight of our vacation. 

The Embera invite you into the village to experience their way of life, culture, handicrafts, and traditions. The children love showing off their school, playground and of course, borrowing our sunglasses and posing for photos. 

The Embera Village

There are dozens of tour companies offering day trips to the Embera village. We chose the Real Panama Tours. The owner, Soraya, is so personable that she makes the trip even better. Soraya picked us up at our hotel bright and early and we started the 1.5 hour car ride to the Chagres River. The ride is a bit rough at the end. We made one stop at a fruit stand where Soraya showed us unique Panama fruits like passion fruit and how to choose a ripe pineapple. 

We also stopped at the Chagres National Park Visitor Center which features tons of information about the park and river. 

Then we boarded the canoes for a 20 minute ride to the village. 

Riding in a canoe on the Chagres River

There are actually three Embera villages on this part of the river. Soraya said she liked the furthest one because she felt like they enjoyed sharing their culture. The villages rely on the money from the tours to sustain their way of life. 

The tribe welcomed us with a song and then dance. They continued to explain their traditions, culture, family life, education and answered questions. 

Then they served us lunch of fried fish and plantains. We also ate the pineapple and fruit that Soraya brought. Afterwards, we took a tour of the village with the children. They showed us their school, their homes, and playground. 

Lunch at the Embera Village

After the village, we hopped back in the canoes and headed to a nearby waterfall for a swim. 

Waterfall near the Embera Village

The cost for the day was $585 for a family of 5, but we put the tour on our Capital One Venture card and erased part of it. Woohoo! That's how we do it at almostFREEfamilytravel.com 

United Airlines New Promotion Bonus Up To 10,000 Miles (Targeted)

I opened my email this morning and found this new promotion from United Airlines in my inbox. MilePlay appears to be targeted and has several different offers depending on who is receiving. My offer was 4,200 miles if I take 1 trip by March 10, 2019 that cost more than $125.
Our friends over at Million Mile Secrets say they received several different offers:

• 6,000 bonus miles for 1 flight that costs at least $175
• 3,500 bonus miles for completing 1 flight that costs at least $175 plus complete various other tasks for 500-1,000 miles and get a bonus 5,000 miles. 
• 900 bonus miles if you fly in Economy Plus 1 time by March 10th

I checked various flights from San Diego (my home base) to see if it would be worth it to do a run to collect the miles.

• San Diego to San Francisco round trip costs $134 so that would qualify. 
• San Diego to Las Vegas round trip $154, but stops in San Francisco 
• San Diego to Los Angeles round trip $291

If you have a trip planned or need the miles to top off your account for a FREE flight, this might make sense. However, I could buy 4,000 United miles for $140 and I wouldn't have to spend 6 hours of my time flying. 

Marriott Bonvoy Giving New Members A FREE Stay

It's official Starwood and Marriott are now united as Marriott Bonvoy. Whatever you think of the name, the new brand is here. And it is awarding new members with a FREE night stay when you join and stay for 2 nights at any hotel between now and June 28, 2019. 

If you are already a member of Marriott or Starwood, you are out of luck on this one. But if you have a family member or friend that isn't a member yet, they may want to jump on this offer. 

The free night is good for any category 4 or less hotel and valued at 25,000 points. 

The FREE night certificate will be valid for one year from issue. 

You can sign up through this link. 

Good luck! 

How To Score A Major Bonus When You Send Valentine's Flowers

What are you going to send to your Valentine on Thursday? Chocolates? Candy? If you are thinking flowers, you could score a lot of bonus miles. All the shopping portals are offering huge bonuses and discounts when you send those flowers. 
Check it out. 

Southwest Shopping Portal is offering 1,750 bonus points if you use the code SW63. 
American Airlines Shopping Portal is offering 40% off and double miles at 20 miles per dollar. 
United Airlines Shopping Portal is offering the same deal. 

Ebates.com is offering up to 20% cash back. And if you use my referral link, you will get an additional $10 back. Woohoo! 

Remember, never buy anything online without using a shopping portal. You can rack up lots of points this way. That's how we do it at almostFREEfamilytravel.com. 

Last Day To Apply For The Starwood American Express Card

Today is the last day to apply for The Starwood American Express card. This used to be my hands down a favorite credit card. I have a personal card and the business version. The only reason I didn't jump on the new luxury card is that I wanted to apply for two Chase Southwest credit cards and it would mess up my 5/24. 

But since the merger of Starwood and Marriott last August, this card has lost its luster for me. The points were devalued and the business version lost the perk of free club access in hotels. 

BUT there is one perk left that still causes me to recommend this card for those looking to fly FREE. Starwood (soon to be Bonvoy) points can be converted to dozens of airlines at a 3:1 ratio plus a bonus of 15,000 points per 60,000 points transferred. 

So, for example, if you have 60,000 Starwood points, you can transfer them to American Airlines and get 25,000 Advantage miles. 

So you have until February 12th to apply for this card and then it will be closed forever to new applications. Right now, you can search the web for offers of a 75,000 point bonus for $3,000 minimum spend. It's a good bonus offer on its own and it doesn't stop you from earning other bonuses in the future since it will be a discontinued product. The official American Express application page is not currently showing the 75,000 offer so I would call American Express before you apply. I would also screenshot along the way so if you have to argue to get the bonus, you will have some proof. 

The annual fee is waived the first year, it will be $95 the second year and $125 the third year. It also comes with an annual night hotel certificate up to 35,000 points, and 6x points on spend at Marriott hotels. 

Once this card is discontinued, all Marriott cards will be issued by Chase so if you are over on 5/24, you might want to hop on this. 

Remember, last day to apply is February 12th. 

Last Day To Apply For The Southwest Companion Pass Offer

Today is the last day to take advantage of the Southwest Companion Pass offer. The Southwest Companion Pass is my favorite travel perk! We have saved thousands of dollars flying a companion for FREE over the past 4 years.

Now through February 11th, Southwest is offering an amazing deal and I don't want you to get left out. Sign up for ONE Southwest credit card, spend $4,000 in 3 months and you earn the companion pass plus 30,000 points. Wow!
Southwest has never offered this type of deal before and who knows if they will offer it again. Usually, you need to earn 110,000 Southwest points in a single calendar year to earn the pass. Which means, you probably have to open two Southwest credit cards and earn the bonus on each of them. 
For this deal, you have your choice of the Southwest Plus card, Southwest Priority card or the Southwest Premier card and I'll go over the differences for you.
The difference in the three cards is the annual fee and what you get for it. 

• The Plus has a $69 annual fee
•  The Premier has a $99 annual fee
•  The Priority has a $149 annual fee.

Before you cheap out and go for the Plus, consider the perks of each card. 

• The Priority actually offers you a $75 credit on Southwest, 7,500-anniversary points, 4 upgraded boardings valued at $15 each and 20% off WIFI and drinks. 
• The Premier offers you 6,000 anniversary points for $99. 
• The Plus offers you 3,000 anniversary points for $69. 

Now the one catch and there's always one, the pass is only good through the end of 2019 instead of being good for 2 years which is the norm. But if you are planning some travel this year and especially if Hawaii is on the agenda this year, it might be worth it. 

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

Did You Get Your Southwest Companion Pass Yet? Last Day Is Feb. 11

The Southwest Companion Pass is my favorite travel perk! We have saved thousands of dollars flying a companion for FREE over the past 4 years. I took my daughter on a college search trip twice on the East Coast, and then took her to college in New York, flew to visit her at the New York college for family weekend, took my son to Boston, San Francisco and Washington DC, and took my husband to Cuba.  Whew, you get the idea.

Now through February 11th, Southwest is offering an amazing deal and I don't want you to get left out. Sign up for ONE Southwest credit card, spend $4,000 in 3 months and you earn the companion pass plus 30,000 points. Wow!
Southwest has never offered this type of deal before and who knows if they will offer it again. Usually, you need to earn 110,000 Southwest points in a single calendar year to earn the pass. Which means, you probably have to open two Southwest credit cards and earn the bonus on each of them. 
For this deal, you have your choice of the Southwest Plus card, Southwest Priority card or the Southwest Premier card and I'll go over the differences for you.
The difference in the three cards is the annual fee and what you get for it. 

• The Plus has a $69 annual fee
•  The Premier has a $99 annual fee
•  The Priority has a $149 annual fee.

Before you cheap out and go for the Plus, consider the perks of each card. 

• The Priority actually offers you a $75 credit on Southwest, 7,500-anniversary points, 4 upgraded boardings valued at $15 each and 20% off WIFI and drinks. 
• The Premier offers you 6,000 anniversary points for $99. 
• The Plus offers you 3,000 anniversary points for $69. 

Now the one catch and there's always one, the pass is only good through the end of 2019 instead of being good for 2 years which is the norm. But if you are planning some travel this year and especially if Hawaii is on the agenda this year, it might be worth it. 

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

Last Few Days To Apply For The Starwood Amex

The Starwood American Express used to be my hands down a favorite credit card. I have a personal card and the business version. The only reason I didn't jump on the new luxury card is that I wanted to apply for two Chase Southwest credit cards and it would mess up my 5/24. 

But since the merger of Starwood and Marriott last August, this card has lost its luster for me. The points were devalued and the business version lost the perk of free club access in hotels. 

BUT there is one perk left that still causes me to recommend this card for those looking to fly FREE. Starwood (soon to be Bonvoy) points can be converted to dozens of airlines at a 3:1 ratio plus a bonus of 15,000 points per 60,000 points transferred. 

So, for example, if you have 60,000 Starwood points, you can transfer them to American Airlines and get 25,000 Advantage miles. 

So you have until February 12th to apply for this card and then it will be closed forever to new applications. Right now, you can search the web for offers of a 75,000 point bonus for $3,000 minimum spend. It's a good bonus offer on its own and it doesn't stop you from earning other bonuses in the future since it will be a discontinued product. The official American Express application page is not currently showing the 75,000 offer so I would call American Express before you apply. I would also screenshot along the way so if you have to argue to get the bonus, you will have some proof. 

The annual fee is waived the first year, it will be $95 the second year and $125 the third year. It also comes with an annual night hotel certificate up to 35,000 points, and 6x points on spend at Marriott hotels. 

Once this card is discontinued, all Marriott cards will be issued by Chase so if you are over on 5/24, you might want to hop on this. 

Remember, last day to apply is February 12th.