Hate those pesky travel credits you get when you pay cash for a Southwest flight and then cancel or adjust the rate? Yep me too. Actually I always use points to fly so I avoid those credits. You should too, but that's a story for another day. 

If you do pay cash for Southwest flights, then listen up! Southwest Airlines announced today that flight credits issued on or after July 28th 2022 will not expire.....ever! Woohoo! 

No More Expiration Date For Southwest Travel Credits - Woohoo! 

You will notice that within a few days the flight credits will have a dummy date attached in the year 2030. 

This new policy does not apply to Southwest LUV vouchers. Those will still have an expiration date. A LUV voucher is compensation from the airline for a missing bag, delayed flight or other situation. 

Flight credits still can only be used for the person listed as the passenger on the original booking. That's why we recommend that you only use Southwest points to book flights. Points will be returned to your account if you cancel or adjust your flight and then you can use them for anyone. 

If you think you have a travel credit, you can find it by logging into your account. If you don't see it at the top of your account, then you can click here and enter the confirmation number attached to the credit. 

 

Just returned from two weeks in Ireland, amazing! In the photo, you can see my family and I on a five mile hike along the top of the Cliffs of Moher. Fabulous! We also spent time in Dublin, stayed the night in a castle and took the Black Taxicab Tour in Belfast. 

And guess what? The trip from soup to nuts cost approximately $1,000 for all four of us. Yep, that includes flights, hotels, rental car, food and tours. 

I am going to break it down for you step by step so you can see how we did it. 

• Flights - erased with Capital One points and Chase Ultimate Rewards 
• Hotels - IHG points and a FREE night certificate, Marriott points, erased Airbnb.com reservations with Chase Ultimate Rewards points and Capital One Venture X $300 promotion credit
• Tours - Erased some with Capital One points 
• Dining - Erased with Chase Ultimate Reward points 
• Parking - Erased with the Chase Sapphire Reserve travel credit 

My goal is to teach everyone how to fly and stay for FREE so travel is accessible for all families. 

My Two Week Family Trip To Ireland Cost Only $1,000 

Step1 

The first thing I work on when planning a trip are the flights. Now that may seem so logical to you, but I have met people who book their hotels first. Wrong! 

You have to book the flights first because sometimes in order to get FREE flights, you have to be flexible with your dates/times and even destination. For example, it might be cheaper to fly to Paris and then catch a budget airline over to Dublin than to fly directly. 

For this trip to Ireland, we knew we wanted to leave around the end of June. Aer Lingus is the obvious airline of choice and usually it offers the best points deals. I had earned the 100,000 Avios bonus a few months back and planned to use those points to get us there. 

But when I started searching up flights, the fuel charges were so outrageous, it would have cost me 50,000 points plus $282 for each ticket. That's not FREE. 

So I checked American Airlines, Delta and United, but it was the same problem. Outrageous fuel charges. 

My next step was to look at the travel portals. Both Chase and Capital One offer travel portals where you can use points to "buy" your flights. 

Each portal works a bit differently and you can read about them here. 

After researching both portals, my best option was to book tickets for my husband and myself through the Capital One travel portal and "erase" the purchase with points. Those tickets cost us 55,000 points each, but no fuel charges. My husband had earned the points through the 100,000 bonus points Capital One Venture X credit card offer. Read about my ultimate Capital One Travel Portal hack here! 

And to buy my daughter's flight through the Chase Travel Portal on my Sapphire Reserve account with points. Since the Sapphire Reserve offers 50% bonus on points when you book through the portal, her round trip ticket cost 33,000 points. Read about the what you need to do before you book your flight through the Chase Travel Portal. 

My son was already in Europe. 

My Two Week Family Trip To Ireland Cost Only $1,000 

Step 2

Now that we have flights secured, we move onto hotels. I use awardmapper.com to check the areas for hotel chains. I notice there is a Holiday Inn Express Dublin City Centre that has rooms available. I cash in a FREE night certificate for the first night and then book three nights on points. IHG offers buy 3 nights with points and get a 4th night FREE. Now we have the first 5 nights covered for 89,000 points. We had earned those IHG points a few years back with a bonus on the IHG credit card. 

Back to awardmapper.com to check Belfast for hotels and bam, an AC Hotel by Marriott offers rooms for just 21,000 points per night. I'll take two nights there please. 

The rest of the nights, I book on Airbnb.com using my Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card which is running a promotion where you can use points to erase Airbnb.com purchases. 

The Capital One Venture X also came with a $300 credit on Airbnb.com so I used that to pay for the night in the castle.  

Now all the hotels are FREE. 

My Two Week Family Trip To Ireland Cost Only $1,000 

Step 3

I book the rental car and due to a technical issue at pick up end up paying for it on the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card so I'll end up paying for that one. 

Step 4

While on the actual trip, I use the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card to pay for all parking and dining. This card comes with a $300 travel credit so as we charge travel, it's erasing the charges. It also earns 3x points on dining and then when I return home, I erase another $700 worth of purchases with the pay myself back program.  Some may argue that you can get more value out of the points by transferring them to an airline, but it all depends on your travel plans. 

My Two Week Family Trip To Ireland Cost Only $1,000 

Step 5

I rent my house when I go on vacation and use those funds to pay for the trip too so that covers almost all the rest of the purchases less $1,000. 

Does it take some work and some planning, yep, is it worth it? Family time, memories and a chance to visit a beautiful country. I think so! 

If you want your entire trip to be FREE, you need to plan in advance and I recommend joining me at Families Fly FREE. We have teamed up with my friend and national travel blogger Lyn. She has created a simple system to help families fly free. 

If you would like to check them out, click here and let Lyn know I sent you. :)

If you are thinking about applying for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, please use my referral link. 

If you are thinking about applying for the Capital One Venture X credit card, please use my referral link. 

 

Last Chance To Get 5 FREE Nights At Marriott

 

It's the last day to apply for this huge bonus offer from Marriott Bonvoy! The offer is for the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless credit card and includes 5 FREE nights with a $5,000 minimum spend. 

The annual fee is just $95. 

The offer ends on July 21st at 7am EST so apply today if this offer makes sense for you. 

There are a few details about this offer to think about:

• The offer is for 5 FREE night certificates valued at 50,000 points each and not points. So you will want to plan accordingly to maximize the value out of this offer. 
• You cannot apply if you have a Marriott Premier, Boundless or Bold credit card or have received a bonus in the past 24 months. 
• You cannot apply if you have or had what was previously a Starwood Business Amex credit card in the past 30-90 days
• The FREE night certificates will expire in one year
• You can't transfer the points to airlines or hotels

Personally, I prefer points rather than FREE night certificates since the certificates expire, you can't transfer them to airlines or hotels and you can't break them up to get more value, BUT if you are planning a trip and the certificates can help you get 5 nights FREE, then this is a great offer for you. 

How You Can Spend The Night In An Irish Castle For FREE

 

Want to spend the night in an Irish castle? This is me with my crown and goblet sitting in the bathtub in a real Irish castle near Galway, Ireland. And guess what? It was FREE. I'll give you a tour of the castle and describe the experience and then I'll show you how to stay here for FREE. Don't worry, the owner of the castle got paid. 

This castle is Pete's passion project. This British born, Ireland raised former fashion designer told me his lifelong dream was to live in a castle. Really, who doesn't want to live in a castle? 

He found this former castle in ruins back in 2010 and spent the next 5 years renovating and rebuilding the structure himself. Super impressive, in fact, Pete shared the photos of the build with us. 

This castle is truly a labor of love and it shows. 

Pete actually lived in the castle for a few years with his family until a friend urged him to turn it into an Airbnb to provide an income for his family. 

Pete keeps the price reasonable, he says, to attract the type of person who will enjoy this authentic and quirky castle experience. 

Pete greets every guest at the door and gives them a personalized tour of the castle. It takes about an hour and he shares the history of the project, his story and the unique quirks of the home like the bathtub in the floor. He's had more than 3,000 guests from all over the world stay at the castle.

Check out this video as you walk in the front door of the castle and up the steps to the rooms. The first two floors are bedrooms for Pete's children, the top two floors are available for guests. There is a rope to help with the steps, but obviously, this space is not suitable for those who can't manage lots of steps in a small space. The living space (kitchen, bathroom, living room) is on the third floor and the master bedroom and loft is on the fourth floor. There is also roof access and a few quirky surprises up there that I'm not going to share with you. 

The living room 

The master bedroom and loft above

The kitchen 

The bathroom

Pete reminds his guests constantly that this is an old castle so it's dusty and has spiders and he is right. But it is quirky and unique and so fun! Pete provides electric blankets so it's warm and cozy. There are two double beds plus the couch which my son said was very comfortable. Pete also has air mattresses available if you need them. 

The bathtub is in the living room so keep that in mind. Pete says young kids and couples love it. Families with teens, not so much, except to take photos for Instagram. 

The kitchen is functional. We cooked up dinner at the castle and enjoyed a cozy night of board games. 

One word of warning, Pete told us the toilet seat broke and he decided not to get a new one. The stone on the toilet is what you would expect in a castle - COLD! While at the castle, save some time to explore the grounds. Pete has planted more than 500 trees including a Sequoia and of course, there are cows next door. I won't share most of the surprises Pete has in store for his guests, but he does offer every guest a chance to sculpt their names into the castle. 

Pete's castle is a true treasure and one of a kind experience. On Airbnb, a night in this castle will run you approximately $300. If you decide to go, let Pete know I sent you. 

Now how can you stay at Pete's castle for FREE? Through September 30th 2022, you can use your Chase Ultimate Reward points to erase Airbnb purchases. It's called Pay Yourself Back. 

If you have a Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card, you will get 25% more points value and if you have a Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card, you will get 50% more points value. 

So that $300 night in Pete's castle will cost you approximately 21,000 points with your Chase Sapphire Reserve and 25,000 with your Preferred card. 

For more on this program and how you can use it for statement credits, to erase dining, membership fees, click here. 

The great thing about this program is that it is not connected to when you stay at the airbnb, it is connected to when you PAY for the Airbnb. So make your reservation now, pay now and use your points to erase the charge and then stay at the Airbnb next month, next year or whenever. I've already erased several Airbnb reservations for next year. 

That's how we do it at almostfreefamilytravel.com 

If you decide to apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card, it's my favorite, please use my referral link. 

 

This is what the Dublin Airport looked like last Thursday at 7am. Yikes! Hundreds of people were waiting in line three hours before their flight. This line is for just two Air Canada flights from Dublin to Montreal and Toronto. Air Canada has online check in. 

So my question was why are all these people waiting in line?

I started to look around, listen and ask people what they were waiting in line for. 

The #1 answer: check in baggage

WHAT? 

The #1 Way To Make Your Trip To Europe Go Smoothly This Summer

The Air Canada supervisor told me it looks like this everyday. Oh no. On the other hand, I checked in online for the same flight and had just a carry on bag. Yep, I spent two weeks in Ireland with a carry on bag. 

And I arrived at the airport three hours early, got through security in 15 minutes and had time to visit the Chase Priority Pass Lounge for a bite to eat. No stress, no lines. 

What a difference, right?

But I know what you are thinking. You are probably thinking that you can't even imagine travelling with just a carryon. So I'm going to show you how I do it and then I'm going to share a hack with you. 

In the video, I mention packing cubes, you can find those on Amazon. You can also find small travel size bottles for your toiletries (lotion, sunscreen etc.) and remember you can take as many small bottles as you want so take a few filled with sunscreen. 

But my number one tip is to plan to do a load of laundry on your trip. Most Airbnb's have a washer and dryer and if you are staying at hotels, some offer laundry service or relax in a laundry mat for a couple of hours. No big deal. 

The #1 Way To Make Your Trip To Europe Go Smoothly This Summer

Believe me, spending a few hours doing laundry will save you some major headaches at the airport this summer or worse looking for lost luggage. 

If you do decide to check baggage, use the right credit card to buy the flights and or pay for the luggage. Some credit cards like my favorite Chase Sapphire Preferred and Reserve offer lost or delayed baggage coverage. 

If you don't have this credit card yet, it's my favorite. Right now, you can get a 60,000 point bonus with a $4,000 minimum spend. Those 60,000 points are worth $750 towards travel. Use my referral link to apply. 

In my next post, I'll show you how I used the Chase Ultimate Rewards points to stay and eat for FREE in Ireland. 

Got the Southwest Credit Card with the 75,000 point bonus? Great job. Now you need to work on earning the companion pass and you are almost there! 

Got The Southwest Credit Card, Now Get The Companion Pass 

What's the Southwest Companion Pass? It's the best travel perk in the business. You get to take a friend on all your trips for FREE for two years. Do you need to read that again?

Yep, it's the best travel deal out there! 

And I'm going to help you earn it. Right now is the best time to earn it since Southwest just announced a 75,000 bonus offer on all of their personal credit cards. 

How You Can Earn A BOGO Pass On Southwest Airlines....Fast! 

I have had the Southwest Companion Pass for the past 8 years. I have used it to take family members to the East Coast many, many times for college trips, family events, vacation and more. 

Plus my husband and I went to Cuba with Southwest. 

You can go to the Caribbean, Belize and Costa Rica too. 

Anywhere Southwest flies, you can bring a friend for FREE. 

Amazing, right?

And with sky high airline prices right now, this is a huge deal! 

Okay, so what do you need to do to get the pass? All you need to do is collect 125,000 Southwest points in a single calendar year and bam!

But you are probably saying, wow, that's a lot of travel. 

But here's the rub, you don't need to travel to collect points. There are lots of ways to collect points without ever stepping on a plane. 

The easiest way is to apply for the Southwest personal credit card and earn that 75,000 bonus offer. To earn the offer, you need to spend $5,000 on the credit card within 3 months. If you have any big purchases coming up, property taxes, tuition payments etc., put them on that card. You MUST pay off your credit card though otherwise this doesn't make any sense. We do NOT build up debt here! 

You are eligible to apply for this card IF you do not currently hold a Southwest personal card and have not earned a bonus in the past 24 months. If you do currently have a card, then there is a work around. Cancel your personal card, I know it's tough, wait, 30 days and apply for a new card. Easy!

Not sure which Southwest personal card to apply for, I review all the cards here and give you my choice!

Once you reach the minimum on the personal card, there are lots of ways to earn the rest of the points. FYI, you cannot buy points to earn the companion pass. 

Here are the ways:

1. The easiest and quickest way is to open a Southwest Business card. You must spend $4,000 in the first 3 months to earn the bonus 60,000 or 80,000 points. 

2. Fly on Southwest

3. Use the Southwest Shopping Portal - Look for bonus offers at the stores you shop at anyway. Read more to find out how I navigate these portals! 

4. Refer a friend to the Southwest Credit Card 75,000 Bonus Offer = 20,000 points 

5. Answer a survey

6. Use Southwest hotels or Rocketmiles to earn bonus points on hotel stays 

7. Book a rental car through Southwest 

With all of these ways though, be sure you are not overspending just to earn points. Keep in mind with any travel bonus points, the points won't post to your account until you take the trip. 

There you go, FREE BOGO on Southwest for the rest of this year and next year! 

You must start with the 75,000 bonus offer though and that offer ends July 11th so don't wait. 

Please use my referral link to apply for your card so I can earn the companion pass and bring you amazing travel tips!