Delta Extensions, Chase Sapphire Extensions, Alaska Officially Joins

 

So much travel related news today, I just had to send you another email this morning. As travel rebounds, airlines and travel credit cards are luring people back to the sky. Today, Delta, Chase Sapphire and Alaska Airlines all made big announcements so here you go:

1. Delta - extends travel voucher expiration dates to Dec. 2022. All voluntarily cancelled flight tickets purchases anytime this year will also be extended to Dec. 2022. Delta will resume booking the middle seat May 1st and resume snack and drink service April 14th. 

2. Chase Sapphire Preferred and Reserve extends its pay yourself back feature through September 2021, it was set to expire in June. Plus the travel credit can be used for grocery and gas purchases through Dec. 2021. 

3. Chase FREEDOM, FLEX and INK adopted a similar Pay Yourself Back feature for charitable donations and it's extended to December 2021. 

4. Alaska officially joined OneWorld Alliance today so you can now search the British Airways website for Alaska Airlines flights. You can use British Airways Avios to buy Alaska flights which for short haul trips usually offer a better value. 

5. Southwest Airlines is set to release flights through November  5th. Look for that to happen anytime. 

Chase Sapphire Preferred is offering a bonus right now of 80,000 Ultimate Reward Points, that's a $1,000 value plus a $50 grocery credit. It's a $4,000 minimum spend in the first 3 months. The annual $95 fee is not waived. 

If you decide to apply for this card, please use my referral link. You get the same great offer and I get a little bonus for referring you. 

As usual, I'll keep you posted on all the news. Watch for lots more to come as people get back to traveling. 

CA Theme Parks Start To Reopen April 1st

 

After being closed for about a year, California's theme parks are set to reopen starting April 1st. The parks will limit capacity and only allow California residents to participate. So here's the rundown of opening dates for our most popular parks:

• SeaWorld in San Diego - already open due to being classified as a zoo
• Six Flags Magic Mountain, Southern CA - open April 1st
• Six Flags Discovery Kingdom - Northern CA - open April 1st
• Universal Studios - open April 16th, preview day for annual pass members April 15th, tickets go on sale April 8th
• Disneyland - April 30th
• Knott's Berry Farm - reopen in May, no exact date has been announced yet 

Advance reservations will be required for all the parks and capacity will be limited. Tickets are only available to California residents. The parks are using a new GPS system that will verify residency. 

We will keep you posted as ticket purchase information becomes available. 

How You Can Earn 20% Bonus Southwest Points - Targeted Promotion

 

Just a reminder, if you have not registered for this Southwest promotion yet, get moving! This is an easy way to earn 20% more points on every purchase. It is a targeted promotion so check your account or your inbox for an email with the subject line "Register for a 20% bonus". The best part, the points count towards the companion pass which is by far the move valuable travel perk out there. It's a buy one, get one FREE companion pass for every flight you fly for up to two years.

I have had the pass for about 6 years and have saved thousands of dollars. 

For this promotion, you just need to register your credit card and then the bonus points will apply automatically to every purchase you make through May 31, 2021. 

Pretty sweet.

Amazing Bonus Offer From Chase Sapphire Preferred

One of my favorite travel credit cards is offering the largest bonus I've ever seen. If you don't have a Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card yet, now may be the time to press the button.

Chase Sapphire Preferred is offering a bonus right now of 80,000 Ultimate Reward Points, that's a $1,000 value plus a $50 grocery credit. It's a $4,000 minimum spend in the first 3 months. The annual $95 fee is not waived. 

Let me tell you why this is my favorite card....Ultimate Reward points are the most flexible points out there. You can transfer them to dozens of airlines even Southwest and hotels. You can use them in the Chase travel portal at 1:1.25 plus you can utilize the pay yourself back feature and cash them out. 

This card earns extra points on dining and travel plus includes travel insurance. 

No foreign transaction fees either. 

If you decide to apply for this card, please use my referral link. You get the same great offer and I get a little bonus for referring you. 

 

Time To Activate Your Q2 Chase Bonus Categories

 

So it's that time, time to activate your Chase Bonus categories for the second quarter. Several Chase credit cards offer rotating bonus categories. They are Chase Freedom (no longer available) and the Chase Freedom Flex. You can register from March 15th - June 14th. The 5x bonus is retroactive, but I recommend registering your cards now. If you have both cards, register both and you can earn the bonus twice. 

Q2 Bonus Categories

This quarter the bonus is for gas and home improvement purchases. It is 5x points per dollar so you can rack extra Chase Ultimate Reward points pretty quickly. 

The bonus maxes out at $1,500, but that's a lot of gas. 

If you are planning a bit of road tripping for Spring Break, why not earn some bonus points while you are at it. 

Why I love Chase Ultimate Reward Points

Chase Ultimate Reward points are one of my favorites due to their flexibility. You can transfer them to more than a dozen different airlines and three hotel chains. You can also use the points in the Chase travel portal if you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Reserve card. Chase is also still offering the pay yourself back feature so you can cash your points out. If you do that, your points increase in value to 1:1.25 or 1:1.5. Pretty sweet! 

If you don't have the FREEDOM FLEX card yet, you can get a $200 bonus when you reach the $500 minimum spend. This card has no annual fee and earns 5% cash back on the rotating categories plus 5% back on travel purchased in the Chase Travel Portal, 3% on drugstore and dining and 1% everywhere else. Please consider using my referral link if you decide to apply for this card. 

How You Can Earn A Bonus 1,000 American Miles Fast

 

Shopping portals are one of the best ways to earn miles without stepping on an airplane. Most of the major airlines and hotels have them. There are also a few cashback portals like Rakuten.com. Think of shopping portals as an online marketplace of retailers. Every retailer agrees to give you a discount so it can be included in the marketplace. It's a win-win for you and the retailer. 

The retailer gives you a discount in the form of miles or cash back. 

It doesn't cost you anything and it's a great way to earn miles without flying. 

Sometimes, the portals will add bonuses in the form of extra miles per purchase or per total money spent. 

How You Can Earn A Bonus 1,000 American Miles Fast

Right now, American Airlines is offering a Spring Cleaning Bonus. 

Spend $100, earn 500 bonus miles 

Spend $300, earn 1,000 bonus miles 

Pretty sweet! This offer ends March 16th. You don't even need to spend the $100 at the same store or even in the same purchase. You just need to spend a total of $100 before the deadline. 

Rakuten.com which used to be Ebates just launched a new credit card with a bonus offer of $30. The card earns 3% bonus back on all purchases through the Rakuten.com shopping portal and 1% back everywhere else. Now I wouldn't recommend this because you don't want to waste a credit pull on a small bonus like this. There are a lot of more valuable bonus offers out there and better long-term credit cards in my opinion. But if you are a big Rakuten.com fan or just looking for cash back, maybe this is an option for you. 

If you do shop at Rakuten.com, please use my referral link, you will get a bonus $20 back on your first $20 purchase. 

Earn 1,000 United Bonus Miles With Just One $25 Purchase

 

Want 1,000 bonus United miles fast? Just download the United Shopping Chrome extension, make one $25 purchase, and bam, 1,000 bonus miles. Pretty easy. Just make sure you do it by March 15th. 

Shopping portals are one of the easiest ways to earn miles and points without flying. More than 900 retailers agree to be listed in the marketplace in return for offering bonus miles when you purchase items. These are purchases you would make anyway so why not get the extra miles. 

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

Southwest Companion Pass Bonus Offer Ends March 10th

 

Hurry, the amazing offer from Chase and Southwest ends March 10th! The offer is good on any of the personal Southwest credit cards, the Plus, Premier and Priority. I'll break down the pros and cons of each card below. 

Regardless of the card you choose, the offer is:

• Spend a minimum of $5,000 within 3 months 
• Earn 30,000 Southwest points 
• Earn a Companion Pass good thru Feb. 2022

The Companion Pass is one of the best perks in travel. It is good for BOGO travel on any Southwest flight for the length of the pass. In this case, it's BOGO travel through February 2022. 

Think trip to Hawaii and take your spouse, child, friend for FREE. You can use it as many times as you want and you can change your companion three times. I have had the companion pass for the past 6 years and it has saved me thousands of dollars. 

Normally, you need to earn 125,000 Southwest Rapid Rewards points in a single calendar year to earn the pass. 

So which credit card should you choose?

• Plus Card: $69 annual fee, 3,000 points on your anniversary, 
• Premier Card: $99 annual fee, 6,000 points on your anniversary,  no foreign transaction fees
• Priority Card: $149  annual fee, 7,500 points on your anniversary,  $75 Southwest credit, 4 upgraded boardings, 20% discount on drinks, Wifi on board Southwest, no foreign transaction fees

All the cards earn 2x points on Southwest purchases and 1x points on everything else.

Personally, I think the Priority card is the best deal since you get the $75 credit, the annual fee is actually reduced to just $75 which is less than the Premier. However, you get more points on your anniversary plus the upgraded boarding passes.

If you decide to jump on this offer, please use my referral link. It doesn't cost you anything and it will help me continue to bring you amazing travel tips. 

A Touch Of Disney Extended At Least Another Two Weeks

 

If you have been missing fun times at Disneyland, there may be an opportunity soon if you have some patience.

Disney is opening California Adventure for A Taste of Disney. Taste is a ticket-only event opening March 18th. No rides and no shows. But for $75, you can eat at the restaurants, visit with the characters, buy merchandise and take photos. Parking, food and beverage is included. 

Some of the popular California Adventure restaurants will be open and you can book reservations at others. Disney will even bring a few popular food items from Disneyland over for sale at the event. 

A Taste Of Disney will start on March 18th and run Thursday-Monday from 12pm-8pm. 

Everyone 3 years old and up needs a ticket.  

Tickets went on sale today and quickly sold out. However, Disney has announced it will extend the run and tickets will become available on a rolling basis. 

Disneyland closed on March 12, 2020 and only just reopened the parking lot as a vaccination super station. 

So if you are really missing the Disney experience, you can have a taste if you have some patience and persistence. 

Live In California? Alaska Airlines Wants To Give You A FREE Flight

 

If you are a California resident and do NOT have an Alaska Airlines mileage plan yet, you are in luck! If you are one of the first 25,000 to sign up by March 3rd, 2021, Alaska Airlines will give you a FREE flight almost anywhere in California. 

According to the website, all you have to do is pay taxes and fees from $15 each way. 

Joining the Mileage Plan is FREE so there is no downside. 

I already have an Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan account, but my daughter does not. So I registered her with her email and bam, success. Alaska says to keep an eye on my inbox for the discount code to arrive on March 5th, 2021. I'll keep you posted. 

Alaska says it will email a discount code to those who sign up and are qualified on March 5th. The FREE flight ticket is only good for the person who opened the Mileage plan account. The code is valid for travel through May 26th, 2021 Monday - Thursday only and only for flights within California. 

Once ticketed, the flight cannot be canceled or changed or it will be forfeited. 

If you are already an Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan member and a California resident, you are eligible for the Safety Dance promotion which is 30% off coach base fares or 10% off First Class fares listed on alaskaair.com. You must purchase your ticket by 11:59pm on March 3rd, 2021. Travel is valid between March 22nd and May 26th, 2021.  The discount is valid on all flights except Hawaii. You can use the discount for up to 7 people traveling together.