Two Promotions You Need To Know About - Hilton and Wyndham

 

Two interesting promotions that you should know about. They are not earth-shattering, but may be helpful depending on your travel plans. 

Two Promotions You Need To Know About - Hilton and Wyndham

The first is a Hilton promotion where you can buy points and get a 100% match. Hilton does this promotion about 2-3 times a year and it is tempting. With the promotion, the points are valued at .05 cents each. You are allowed to buy a minimum of 20,000 points for $200 up to 80,000 points for $800. So you could max it out at $800 for 160,000 points. 

What can you get for 160,000 points? That's the real question. 

Well, the photo above is from our Eastern Europe trip a few years back. We used Hilton points to stay at Hampton by Hilton hotels across Poland. Even now, on the Hilton website, the hotel lists a standard room at 10,000 points per night or approximately $119. This includes breakfast. 

A year later, we stayed at the Hampton by Hilton in Panama City, Panama for 10,000 points per night. 

So if you had 160,000 Hilton points, that's 16 nights and at least a $1,600 value. Now I'm not a big fan of buying points, but if you know your travel plans and you can squeeze the value out of it, it could make sense. This promotion ends July 29th. 

Two Promotions You Need To Know About - Hilton and Wyndham

The second promotion is from Wyndham. It is offering a stay 2 nights, get 1 FREE promotion. This one is a bit misleading because the hotel chain is not giving you a FREE night instead it is giving you a bonus 6,500 points. 

Wyndham rates its hotels in three-point categories, 7,500, 15,000, and 30,000 points. So the bonus plus the hotel stays will only give you 7,500 points enough for one night at the lowest tier category. 

Wyndham used to be one of my favorite hidden gems because you could find awesome hotels for just 15,000 points when they only had one-tier. Now, a lot of those hotels are priced at 30,000 points, ouch. 

So what can you get for 7,500 points? You can stay at the Tryp in Panama City and a few other international locations. Domestically, the 7,500 hotels are mostly Super 8 type budget hotels. Perhaps good for a college road trip or other driving trip. 

I would look at this one closely before booking to see if you can squeeze value out of it. You must book by September 2nd and complete the stay by September 6th. You can earn the bonus up to three times. 

Get Up To 2,500 Miles FREE On United, Southwest, Alaska and American

 

Even when you are not traveling, there are still ways to earn points and miles. One of the best is to use online shopping portals for your everyday purchases. You are going to make these purchases anyway, so why not earn some miles and points towards your next vacay. 

Right now, the online shopping portals are sweetening the deal by offering bonus points. Alaska, Southwest, American, and United are all offering bonuses if you spend a certain dollar amount by a certain date. 

You DO NOT have to spend the total in one purchase. The portal will add up your purchases during the time period and reward you for the total. 

So here are the bonus deals: 

Southwest Airlines - deadline August 15th

spend $125, earn 250 bonus

spend $300, earn 900 bonus 

spend $550, earn 2,000 bonus 

Alaska Airlines - deadline August 8th 

spend $150, earn 300 bonus 

spend $300, earn 600 bonus 

spend $500, earn 1,200 bonus 

American Airlines - deadline August 15th

spend $150, earn 500 bonus 

spend $300, earn 1,000 bonus 

spend $500, earn 2,000 bonus 

United Airlines - deadline August 15th

spend $100, earn 500 bonus 

spend $350, earn 1,500 bonus 

spend $600, earn 2,500 bonus 

Yes, it's one extra step, but if it means FREE travel, it's worth it. That's how we do it, here at almost FREE family travel. 

Get $250 FREE To Visit Tennessee

 

If you have ever thought about visiting the state of Tennessee, now might be the time. The state is luring tourists back by offering a $250 airline voucher if you book a hotel package through this website. 

Get $250 FREE To Visit Tennessee 

You can choose any of the five major cities, Nashville, Knoxville, Memphis, Chatanooga, or Tri-cities. You need to be among the first 10,000 and book a minimum of 2 nights in a participating hotel including a Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday night. Reservations must be booked by September 15th and travel must occur by December 30th, 2021. 

If you do all of that, you will receive an airline voucher good for $250 on American, Southwest, or Delta Airlines. The voucher will arrive in 4 business days. A quick search showed flights ranging from $250-$500 rt to Nashville from various cities. 

A quick search showed 25 hotels in Nashville ranging from $498-$1100 for two nights and included Holiday Inn, Fairfield Inn, and Suites, Hyatt, and more. In Memphis, there were 11 hotels available ranging from $354-$800 for two nights and included Embassy Suites, Moxy, Hyatt, and Doubletree. 

Remember you have to book this by September 15th and it is first-come, first-serve. 

Last Day To Apply For the 65,000 Southwest Bonus Point Offer

 

It's the last day to apply for a Southwest credit card and get a 65,000 point bonus. The bonus applies to any Southwest personal credit card. You can only apply for one. But you can apply for both a business card and a personal card at the same time. If you do this, you will earn enough points to qualify for the Southwest companion pass which is a BOGO airline pass. You can even change your companion up to three times per calendar year. The pass is good for the rest of this calendar year and next year. Woohoo! 

Last Day To Apply For the 65,000 Southwest Bonus Point Offer 

I usually recommend trying to earn the pass in January so you can maximize the two years, but this bonus offer is too sweet to pass up. 

The cards range from a $69-$149 annual fee depending on whether you choose the Plus, Premier, or Priority. Look at them carefully, I think the Priority though it carries the highest fee actually offers the best value. 

If you decide to apply for any of the Southwest credit cards, please consider using my referral link. 

OMG....More 100,000 Bonus Credit Card Offers

 

Where can 100,000 bonus points take you? Anywhere! Yep, This is me in Peru at Machu Picchu, all on points. I think I made money on the trip. Amazing. It's not hard but does take some planning and strategy. So here's a tip. When credit cards offer 100,000 bonus points, you need to jump at the offer. 

I told you about four great offers and now we have three more. British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Iberia all offer Chase co-branded credit cards and all three are offering 100,000 bonus points right now. 

It's a $5,000 minimum spend and a $95 annual fee.

You can use Avios on any of these three airlines plus they are part of the One World Alliance which includes Alaska Airlines and American Airlines. You might think that Avios are the best way to fly to London, but they are actually very handy for short-haul trips anywhere in the world since they calculate points on the actual miles flown. 

For example, a flight that is less than 650 miles (San Diego to San Francisco) would cost just 4,000 Avios off-peak. 

Use the British Airways website to play around with how to best use Avios. If you use them on Aer Lingus, you can often snag round-trip tickets to Europe from the US for just 26,000 Avios. 

So 100,000 Avios may be able to get a family of four to Europe! Woohoo! 

Happy Holiday! Time To Think FREEDOM

 

On this fourth of July, let's talk FREEDOM. What does it mean? What does it mean to you? In the aftermath of the pandemic, FREEDOM may have changed meanings and become more basic. For example, if you are on lockdown, then FREEDOM may mean just leaving your home. 

If you are FREE to leave your home, FREEDOM may mean leaving your city, county, or state. 

Or maybe it's a more abstract meaning like freedom of choice and thoughts. 

This July 4th, we celebrate FREEDOM. Hopefully, one day soon, the idea that FREEDOM can and should exist for all people of all colors, races, and religions. FREEDOM for everyone to travel and to live peacefully in harmony and prosperity. 

Enjoy the day and spend just a few minutes wondering what FREEDOM means to you. 

So Many 100,000 Plus Bonus Offers Right Now

What if you could stay at hotels in Europe for FREE? We did it. Three years ago, four weeks, lots of hotels and all FREE. 

How do we do it? We take advantage of the bonus offers on credit cards. And right now, credit cards are coming out strong to lure you into applying. Currently, there are 100,000 plus bonus offers from Chase Sapphire Preferred, Hilton, IHG, and Capital One Venture. So the question is should you jump in and if so, which one?

I'm going to break it down for you and try to make it as simple as possible so you can take advantage of these amazing offers to get FREE travel down the road for your family. 

So Many 100,00 Plus Bonus Offers Right Now 

Okay here goes. Yes, you definitely should jump in and apply. That's a no-brainer. These offers are too good to pass up, some are the highest bonus offers we have ever seen. And bonus offers translate into FREE travel so yes, do it. 

Now, which card or cards should you apply for? That one is more difficult so let me help you. 

My number one go-to card is the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card. So if you don't really know where you want to travel or have a specific need, then apply for this card first. 100,000 Ultimate Reward points equal approximately $1250 in FREE travel or cashback. You can get more value from these points too if you transfer them to more than a dozen airline partners or hotel partners Or if you use them to buy travel through the Chase Travel Portal. 

Which one should you choose 

The second choice would be a tie for me between the Hilton American Express Surpass card or the Capital One Venture card. Both carry a $95 annual fee, but obviously, the Hilton card earns Hilton points good at only Hilton brand hotels. On our last few trips to Eastern Europe and Panama, we stayed in Hampton by Hilton. This brand is great for families because you can easily get 5 people in a room (2 double/queen beds and a sofa pullout) plus it includes breakfast. Our breakfast in Panama City, Panama and Krakow, Poland were phenomenal. And the price tag for these hotels is 5,000-10,000 per night. Wow! 

Now the Capital One Venture card earns Capital One points which are great because you can use them to essentially erase any travel purchase. So there is no fuss with this card. No need to transfer points to partners. You just use the card to make the purchase and then log into your account and erase it. You can erase the whole purchase or a part of it. Super easy. The minimum spend for this one is hefty so be prepared. 

You can only get the Capital One Venture card once in your lifetime. If you had the Hilton Ascend card, you are not eligible for the Surpass. American Express will only approve you for two cards in a 90 day period. American Express also offers a tool that will tell you when you apply if you qualify for the bonus before you submit. 

My number one choice

The IHG card would be my last choice, but I know people who love IHG and will buy points when they go on sale with the 100% match. IHG points are good within the IHG brand which includes Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express. 

You can check out the benefits for each card which may sway you one way or the other. 

• IHG waives the $89 fee for the first year and the bonus is 150,000 points. The rest of the cards carry a $95 annual fee. It has a $3,000 minimum spend. 
• Hilton Surpass card has a $3,000 minimum spend and a 130,000 bonus offer. Check a few different links. 
• Capital One Venture has a $20,000 minimum spend to get the full 100,000 bonus. You get 50,000 points for the first $3,000 spend. This card also carries a $95 annual fee. 
• The Chase Sapphire Preferred  has a $4,000 minimum spend to get the 100,000 bonus. It also carries a $95 annual fee. 

For me, the Chase Sapphire Preferred is my number one choice! If you decide to apply for one of these cards, please consider using my referral link. You get an awesome deal and I get a few points for referring you.