Giving Gratitude When You Travel

My daughter handing out stickers to the children in the Zambia village

On this Thanksgiving Day, I feel thankful that I get to travel and help my children experience the world, history, traditions, other cultures, and people. But I also get to show them that no matter where we go we can give back to others. 

When we traveled to South Africa, we brought along stickers, toys and pencils for the children in the township and villages. When we were in Panama, we brought arts and crafts for the children in the Embera village. When we were in Cuba, we brought towels, socks and chocolates for the families there. 

In our own small way, we become not just tourists, but agents of goodwill and we model that for our children. I am also blessed to educate families about how they can afford to travel the world and have the same experiences. 

On this Thanksgiving, I am thankful for the blessings I experience and the ones I am able to bestow on others. 

Black Friday And Cyber Monday Travel Deals

Get ready for the biggest shopping days of the year, Black Friday or the day after Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, the Monday following Thanksgiving. 

Though these shopping days traditionally focus on retail deals, travel won't be left out of the mix. 

Here are our top 5 places to look for travel deals:

1. Southwest Vacation Packages - already you can check out the site and offers range from $250 off to an extra night FREE. We did a quick search for a San Diego vacation and it came up with 3 nights at Paradise Point Resort with flights for two people for $662. When I checked, rooms at Paradise Point for those dates were going for about $160 per night and flights on Southwest were going for $295.92 for two people. So the vacation package is a savings of about $125. Not too bad. 

2. Cruises - like Celebrity Cruises are promising good deals starting on Nov. 26th. You can check those out here.  

3. Amtrak is promising a super sale going live on Nov. 29th. We don't know what type of deals the company will be offering at this point. 

4. Airline Deals - According to Hopper.com, look for flight deals from Aer Lingus, Air France, Cathay Pacific, Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines and TAP Portugal. 

5. Legoland New York - will be opening July 2020, but on Black Friday, the resort will be offering 50% off an annual pass so the price will be $99. And the best part is that the pass will be good for 30 other Merlin Entertainment parks around the country. 

In addition to these top deals, you might want to check out hotels.com which will be offering scratch off card discounts and Priceline.com which will offer daily deals. 

And if that's not enough, Travel Deal Tuesday is December 3rd. Travel experts say the best deals actually fall on Tuesday as travel operators try to entice procrastinators to book a winter getaway. 

Good luck and happy travels! 

Early Black Friday Deal: Cash Back At Amazon!

If you do most of your shopping on Amazon, it's hard to find cash back deals on that platform. Amazon does not participate in most of the shopping portals. And as you know, I love shopping portals because it's a great way to double or even triple your miles/cash back from a single purchase. You can check out this past post on how to use shopping portals.
Now Rakuten, formerly Ebates, is offering up to 5% cash back on Amazon.

When you click on the Amazon link from Rakuten, there is a quick list of the cash back offers in different categories. Here's a look at that list and you can see it varies greatly, but it's better than zero which is the norm for Amazon.

If you use my referral link to Rakuten, you will get an additional $10 off your first purchase of at least $25. Happy shopping!

How To Upgrade For FREE On Southwest

        One of the perks of the Southwest Priority card is 4 upgrades on flights per year. So is this perk worth it? And how does it work?
        Southwest has a different kind of boarding plan. When you check-in 24 hours before your flight, you are assigned a boarding group and a number. The number is your place in line to board. Then once you are on the flight, it is open seating. When you check-in, if you get boarding group A, then you are styling. But if you get boarding group C, then you might want to think about using your upgrades if you like window or aisle seats or if you are concerned that the overhead luggage bins may fill up.

If you are a family with children under the age of 5, disabled or military, Southwest has special boarding between the A and B groups. However, the upgrade is good for spots A6-A15 which could make a difference.
With the Southwest Priority credit card, you get four upgrades per year. You can use them for yourself, family members or friends. You can use them all at once or one at a time. Upgrade typically costs between $30-$50 and you buy it from the counter at the gate.
On a recent flight from Las Vegas, NV to Buffalo, NY, we noticed the flight was very full.
Even though I had boarding group B23, there were a lot of children waiting to board.
And the upgrades are use it or lose it, they refresh on your anniversary.
So I decided to test it out. The charge to upgrade on this flight was $50 per person and I upgraded both my daughter and I because my anniversary is in November. Use it or lose it!

We upgraded from B23 to A10. So there was plenty of space on the plane to choose from when we got on board. We were able to sit in one of the first few rows and we were able to secure an entire row which was nice so my daughter could sleep on the late-night flight.
You need to pay for the upgrade with your Southwest Priority credit card and because my daughter was flying with me on a companion pass, she had to run it as two transactions.
The Southwest employee told me that the credit wouldn't go through until my anniversary date, but it actually went through immediately.

Here are the details on the  Southwest Priority  credit card

• $149 annual fee for the first year
• $75 Southwest credit 
• 7,500 anniversary points annually
• 2x on Southwest purchases
• 1x on everything else
• 4 FREE upgrades 

If you decide to apply for this card, please consider using my referral link. Same deal for you, but it helps me continue to bring you tips and advice on how to travel for almost FREE. 

How I Flew To London r/t For Just $350

My daughter and I in front of Buckingham Palace

     When my daughter finished the entire series of Harry Potter, six months faster than I anticipated, I started thinking about a quick fall trip across the pond.
     And guess what? Best decision ever.
     October is what they call in the travel biz, low season or off-peak. That means great deals for you if you can adjust your schedule. Usually, I use points to travel, but this trip, I was able to find a flight for $125 from JFK to London Gatwick on Norwegian Airlines. I reviewed what it was like to fly on  Norwegian Airlines in this post. For that price, it's worth it just to pay cash. I purchased the flight with my Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card since I was trying to reach the minimum spend on that one plus travel earns 3x points so it's a win-win. This is my new favorite card and you can check out the reasons why here. If you decide that the Reserve is too steep, then check out the Preferred and use my link. 

London offers so many awesome things to do

      On the return, I looked at flying back to JFK, but found that flights all the way to Los Angeles cost the same price about $225. So why waste time and Southwest points to get from New York to the west coast.
      So for $350 per person, we got two round trip tickets to London. Since the Sapphire Reserve includes a $300 travel credit, we actually spent just less than $500 for the flights. Plus made a dent in the minimum spend and got 1,500 Chase Ultimate Reward points. I talk about how to use those points for incredible savings in this post.
      I'll talk about some great things to do with tweens in London in a future post, but the bottom line is if you can swing an off-peak trip to Europe, it will save you a ton of money and miles.
       If you decide to apply for the Sapphire Preferred, please use my referral link. It will help support this blog. 

Why Priority Pass Lounge Access Is Great For Family Travel

       

We added a slice of cheesecake at Bobby Vans

         My new favorite credit card is the Chase Sapphire Reserve. I have been waiting almost a year to drop under 5/24 so I could be approved for this card. Chase limits you to five credit cards every 24 months. This includes all credit cards not just Chase cards. So you have to be strategic when applying for cards. I reached my 5/24 limit a year ago when I applied for two Southwest credit cards in order to secure the companion pass.
          But recently I dropped below again as some old cards began to fall off. Woohoo!
You can check out my past post comparing the Sapphire Reserve vs the Preferred if you are interested and consider using my referral link if you decide to apply.
One of the perks included in the Sapphire Reserve card is FREE membership to the Priority Pass Lounge network. The network has 1200 lounges in 143 countries.

         You have to activate your membership, but it's a simple online process. Then you will receive your card in the mail. You do need to carry your card with you if you plan to use the lounge network. You can also enroll in the mobile app.
         You can check the website to see what lounges are available in different cities around the world.
Some airports offer a variety of lounge access in different terminals with snacks, wifi, drinks even showers.
         But here's the best part, some airports offer credits at specific restaurants. On the website, you will see the restaurant, menu, credit offered, hours and any other pertinent information. On a recent flight from JFK to London, we saw that Bobby Vans Steakhouse was on the lounge site.

          The restaurant was past security in terminal 8  so you need a valid boarding pass and be sure to leave enough time to go back through security again in your flight terminal. But the restaurant offered $28 per person credit. With the Sapphire Reserve, your membership is good for you and a guest. Most entrees at Bobby Vans run about $15-$30 so it's very generous. You will still need to pay tax and gratuity.


       
       My daughter and I enjoyed Ahi Tuna Burgers, Baked Mac And Cheese and a slice of cheesecake for dessert. The bill came to $63 dollars and then they deducted the $56 credit. Pretty sweet! And sure beat the dinner served onboard our flight to London.

The Grain Cafe in London Gatwick

         On our way home from London Gatwick, we noticed the Grain Cafe was also included in the Priority Pass Lounge network. This cafe is located on the second floor after you pass through the security while you are waiting for your gate to be announced on the board so it's super convenient.
          The cafe has sandwiches, baked goods, salad, coffee, tea and much more. The 15 pound per person credit goes a long way. We actually asked for everything we wanted and the sales person told us we will had 5 pounds left and stuck a few croissants in our bag. YUM!

Grain Cafe Staff Puts Extra Croissants In Our Bag

        Since we took away here, there was no tax or gratuity so they just handed us our food and off we went.  The value of this perk on this trip was approximately $100. Even though the annual fee is $450 on this card, the perks make this card totally worth it.
In a future post, I'll review the Chase Travel Portal and how my daughter flew to New Orleans for $45.
That's how we do it at almost FREE family travel.

What I Thought About My First Time Flying With Norwegian Airlines

I have to be honest with you, I was a little nervous about flying on Norwegian Air on my recent flight from JFK to London. I had never flown on the airline before and since it is a discount airline, I wanted to make sure I followed all of their rules so I didn't end up paying with my wallet. 

I booked a "lowfare plus" ticket online so I could choose my seat because I was flying with my 13-year-old and we wanted to sit together. If you don't upgrade, the airline will assign you a seat at check-in. But even with the upgrade, the ticket cost me $125 per person. You can't beat that!

Be sure to join Norwegian's Loyalty program, you will earn a few miles and you can apply them to any future flight. The upgrade also came with meals onboard and we got to choose if we wanted regular, vegetarian or vegan.  

My small carryon bag got approved! 

          After seat selection, the next item discount airlines try to upcharge you for is luggage. Norwegian allows all passengers one small carry on and one personal item. If you upgrade to lowfare plus, you get a checked bag for FREE. If you typically check a bag, I highly recommend this upgrade when you book your ticket. Don't try to pay at check-in! It gets really expensive. We saw people at check-in paying hundreds of dollars for their suitcases. 

       You get a small carry on for FREE, BUT the airline takes this very seriously. They actually do it by weight and not size at check-in. Your bag has to weigh less than 10 kg. The service rep told me if it's slightly over, she will pass it through anyway. But when my bag weighed 11.2 kg, she said no way and asked me to pay $100, ouch. 

And here's the kicker, it's not just your carryon bag, they put your personal item on the scale too. Needless to say, once she did that I was pretty far over 10kg.

           The rep was helpful and suggested I take things out of my suitcase like my shoes and toiletries to bring the weight down. 

Now I'm standing at the counter with my shoes, laptop and toiletries in my arms, but we did it and she approved my bags without charging me. 

Once we left the counter, of course, I stuffed all of the items back in the suitcase. Not sure what this process proved, but consider yourself warned. 

On the return flight from London Gatwick, they actually checked bags again at the secondary security. This time they had a bin and seemed concerned about the size of the bag. 

Boarding the airplane was another experience. Each boarding pass has a letter on it assigning you to a group. However, there is no signage about where to line up like Southwest Airlines and the reps just call out the groups and a mass of people crowd toward the door. 

Everyone has an assigned seat, but I think people were concerned about overhead bin space. 

It took a long time to get everyone on the plane.

Once we were onboard, the plane was quite nice. It was a Dreamliner so my teen had a great time dimming the windows. I thought there could have been more legroom, but I flew Southwest this past weekend and I think it was about the same. The flight crew was super nice and attentive. I didn't eat the meals because we visited the Priority Pass Lounge. I'll be writing a blog post about this perk that you will need to check out. The entertainment system offered a decent movie selection too. 

One thing that surprised me in the week leading up to the flight, I received several emails like this one offering me a chance to bid on upgrades. Apparently several airlines including Aer Lingus offer auctions for upgrades. Some passengers report scoring an upgrade for the minimum bid, but it seems like many are denied. It all depends on how many empty seats are on the plane. 

Would I fly Norwegian Air again? Definitely. It cost me $350 round trip JFK-London-LAX. Yep, I would say that's worth it. That's how we do it at almost FREE family travel. 

Visit The National Parks For FREE On Monday

Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone is stunning

This past summer, we visited three National Parks in one week, Glacier, Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. I'm tired just thinking about it, but it was an amazing trip. You can check out how we did it by reading my post. 

And this Monday, November 11th, you can visit any National Park for FREE. 

The US Park Service allows FREE entry five days a year and Veteran's Day is one of them. 

Here are the FREE entry dates for 2020: 

• January 20 - Martin Luther King Jr. Day 
• April 18 - National Park Day
• August 25 - National Park Service Birthday 
• September 26 - National Public Service Day 
• November 11 - Veterans Day 

The park entrance fee varies from $20-$35 depending on which park you visit. If you can't make it on the FREE day, it might be worth it to pick up a National Park Annual Pass for $80. You can buy it online or pick it up at the entrance to any park. It is good for the month you buy it and the next eleven months so plan carefully. Each park we visited this past summer would have cost us $35 to enter so we broke even quickly. 

There are more than 400 parks to choose from so whether you go for the day or a few days, it's a beautiful way to get into nature and leave the city noise behind. 

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

How To Get Bonus Miles On Your Holiday Shopping

        The holidays are just six weeks away so the countdown has begun. Most Americans spend about $1,000 a year on holiday gifts. You can take the sting out of the spend by earning miles and points for your next trip.
        Plus if you plan it right, you can double or even triple dip!
       Shopping portals also offer extra miles per dollar spent at your favorite store. 
        Right now, United and American Airlines have launched holiday bonus promotions.

For United, you can earn up to 5,000 bonus miles. 

• Spend $150, earn 500 bonus miles 
• Spend $750, earn 2,500 bonus miles 
• Spend $1,500 earn 5,000 bonus miles 

You do not have to spend the total in one purchase, it can include multiple purchases at different stores. You do need to do your shopping through the United shopping portal so it is tracked by the system and you need to reach the total by 11/21. 

For American, you can earn up to 3,500 bonus miles. 

• Spend $150, earn 500 bonus miles 
• Spend $600, earn 1,500 bonus miles 
• Spend $1,200, earn 3,500 bonus miles 

This promotion also ends by 11/21. 
To use a portal, click on the airline above, login to your account (be sure you are logged in) and click on your favorite store. Triple check that when you are ready to place the order, you are still on the link from the portal. 
Depending on whether you prefer American or United will decide which shopping portal you use. If you need to top off one account versus the other, that could be a deciding factor as well. Remember to use the right credit card as well for your holiday shopping so you can double or triple dip. 
That's how we do it at almost FREE family travel. 

Now Is The Time To Plan For Summer 2020

Believe it or not, now is the perfect time to plan your summer 2020 vacation if you want to travel on points or miles. If it seems overwhelming, take a step back, look at the big picture and let's walk it through step by step.

Six years ago when my family and I spent almost a month in Thailand, there were several times in the planning process that I thought we just weren't going to be able to go. But I persisted and managed to get all five of us to Thailand for almost FREE. We stayed for almost FREE and actually ended up making money on the trip. To top it all off, I got kissed by an elephant. Woohoo!

Finding five seats on the same flight and finding hotels that can accommodate five people is not easy, but traveling as a family is worth it. Besides the memories, studies show that children who are exposed to other cultures, learning outside the classroom and collecting experiences are more flexible, empathetic and better global citizens. 

So here's the process:

1. Decide where you want to go. What's on your bucket list? Think big, but definitely keep in mind how old your kids are, how adventurous they are, what kind of travel they like. We went to Europe a few years ago. Although we enjoyed the trip, my children agreed that they prefer a balance of culture and nature and our Europe trip was way too much culture. On the flip side, our last trip to the National Parks was enjoyable, but some of the kids felt like it was too much nature. 

2. Take a look at which airlines fly to that destination and which alliance they partner with. 

3. Then look at the points and miles you have already. Do you have miles and points with a specific airline like United, Delta or American AND/OR do you have transferable points like Chase Ultimate Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy or American Express points?

Now the puzzle begins. Look at your dates, remember to be flexible, and figure out approximately how many points/miles you may need to book each seat and which airline you are targetting. Then look for the best bonus credit card offers available that will get you as close as possible to your goal. Remember to look at that specific airline's credit card offers and the transferable point credit cards. I used a combination of Amex points and American miles to get our family to Thailand. 
Apply for the cards. Remember to have your spouse apply too. Property tax time is coming up so now is a great time to use that payment to reach those minimum spends. And as soon as the bonus comes through, book your flights. Have patience, try different airlines and routes. I have booked two tickets through United before and three through Singapore Airlines to get five seats on the same flight with points/miles. On one trip, we even got a bonus stopover in Tokyo. 

The best part of travel is the adventure and sometimes that starts with the planning process.