How To Visit National Parks With Points and Miles

 

Feeling uneasy about traveling internationally right now, there are so many beautiful places to visit right here in the US including National Parks. And yes, you can use points and miles to visit them. 

Recently, I visited Joshua Tree National Park, it is the 6th most visited park in the US with 3 million visitors every year. The park is located approximately 45 minutes from Palm Springs in the Hi Desert.

The top 10 most popular National Parks are: Great Smoky Mountains, Grand Canyon, Zion, Yellowstone, Rocky Mountain, Yosemite, Acadia, Grand Teton, Joshua Tree and Olympic. 

And those are just the most popular ones. Some of the smaller yet amazing National Parks include: Canyonlands, Lassen Volcanic, Big Bend, Channel Islands and North Cascades. 332 million people visit the National Parks each year. 

You will need to pay the entry for each park so if you plan to visit 2-3 of them, you should look into purchasing the America The Beautiful annual pass for $80. For seniors, it's just $20 for an annual pass and $80 for a lifetime pass. The pass is FREE for military and fourth graders and their families. 

You could pay a lot to stay inside some of the parks OR there are a handful of hotel chains that are typically located just outside the entrances to the parks. Those chains include Fairfield Inn and Suites by Marriott, Holiday Inn Express by IHG and Sure Stay Plus by Best Western. These hotels usually qualify for FREE night certificates like Marriott's FREE night for 35,000 points. In addition, Holiday Inn is a stay 3, get the 4th night FREE and Marriott is stay 4, get the 5th night FREE. 

If there is no chain near the entrance or you don't have a FREE night certificate, you can also look in the Chase Travel Portal or the Capital One Travel Portal or you can "erase" the hotel with your Capital One Venture credit card. 

For Joshua Tree National Park, I used a FREE night certificate to stay at the Fairfield Inn and Suites in Twenty Nine Palms. It is located about seven minutes outside the park entrance. There is a grocery store across the street from the hotel and a few restaurants nearby including a Chipotle and Starbucks. I prefer the Fairfield Inn and Suites hotels because the rooms can accommodate up to 6 people, there is a pool and includes breakfast. 

Most of these parks are located within driving distance from a city where Southwest flies so you can use points and your Southwest Companion Pass. For example, Joshua Tree National Park is approximately 30 minutes from Palm Springs, 1.5 hours from Ontario Airport and 2.5 hours from Los Angeles, Burbank, John Wayne Airport and San Diego. 

Yellowstone is located a few hours from Salt Lake City and Boise, Idaho. Yosemite is located a few hours from Oakland, San Francisco, San Jose and Fresno. The Grand Canyon, Zion and Bryce are located a few hours from Las Vegas. You can also fly into Phoenix to visit the Grand Canyon. 

The biggest expense with a National Park trip is usually renting a car, but if you charge this purchase to your Capital One Venture or Venture X credit card, you get rental insurance and can "erase" the purchase with points. Right now, the Capital One Venture credit card is offering 100,000 bonus points through my special link. You might also try booking your rental car through the Chase or Capital One Travel portal, but I usually find Costco has better rates. 

One of my clients told me she finds great rates through airline offers when she books her flights. But however you make the reservation, be sure to pay for the rental car with a credit card that earns bonus points for travel. Or use a credit card that you are working to earn a bonus offer like the Chase Sapphire Preferred 100,000 point offer or that you can erase the rental with points. 

Food options can be limited near the National Parks so it's a good idea to carry a cooler with you and stop at a grocery store on the way. Keep plenty of water with you as well since many of the parks can be hot and have long lines during the busy season. 

Some of the parks like Joshua Tree National Park offer ranger tours like the one I took to Keys Ranch, an original homestead inside the park. We spent two hours in a private area inside the park that is only accessible on the tour. The original house, equipment and cars are on the property and Ranger Tom had lots of stories about the miners and park back in the 1930's. The tour is only available October - April and costs $20 per person. 

If you are looking to stay closer to home or in the US this summer, National Parks offer a great escape from the city and are super affordable with points and miles. 

Want more personal help using points and miles for almost FREE travel? Join my Travel Coaching Program and we will design your personal strategy to travel for almost FREE and guide you through the process. Right now, you can use the promo code "FREETRAVEL" to get $50 off the program. I would love to help you make priceless family memories affordable. 

New $1,000 Bonus Travel Offer On Capital One Venture

 

Great new offer from Capital One! 

Apply for the Capital One Venture credit card and get $250 to use as a travel credit in the Capital One travel portal plus 75,000 points. That's $1,000 in free travel. Wow! The minimum spend is still $4,000 and the annual fee is just $95. 

This offer is equivalent to the Venture X offer, but the annual fee is $300 less. Amazing! 

Read here about my hack to use travel purchases to reach the minimum spend and erase them BEFORE you have to pay. It's crazy!

This is my go to credit card for any purchases that don't earn bonus points on the Chase FREEDOM or Sapphire Reserve credit cards. The Capital One Venture card earns 2x points on all purchases. The beauty of these flexible points is you can transfer points to a dozen different airlines including my new fave FlyingBlue.com, a few hotel chains and of course, you can erase travel purchases. 

The travel credit is only good for travel purchases made in the Capital One Travel portal, but I have found that the portal has improved and is actually quite reliable and easy to use. 

I actually got this card when we were going on a family trip to Costa Rica. By family, I mean extended family trip, you know, like a group of 20 people. The deal was everyone had to pay for their own airfare, but then once in Costa Rica, the trip would be a gift. Pretty sweet! The only other catch is we all had to fly on the same Delta flight. Since I didn't have enough Delta miles for 5 round trip airline tickets, my husband and I each applied for the Capital One Venture card. We charged the plane tickets and everything else to those cards to meet the minimum spend and we ended up getting three of the tickets FREE. 

Now I still like this card, however, I like the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Reserve cards better. Here's why:

• Capital One every purchase earns 2 points per dollar
• Chase Sapphire Preferred and Reserve - most purchases earn 1:1, but dining and travel earn 2:1 and there are categories where you can earn 5:1 if you have Chase FREEDOM, FLEX or INK cards. 
• Capital One points value are 1:1 when you use them to erase purchases
• Chase Sapphire Preferred values points at 1:1.25 if you use them in the travel portal or as a statement credit
• Chase Sapphire Reserve values points at 1:1.5 if you use them in the travel portal or as a statement credit 
• Capital One and Chase offer 1:1 transfer values to airline miles, but Chase offers way more partner airlines and hotels. 

I still think the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Reserve offer more flexibility than the Capital One.  But if you already have the Sapphire cards or the airline partners on the Capital One list work better for you, this is a great option. 

If you decide to give this one a go, consider using my referral link. You get the same great bonus offer and I get a little something for referring you and can use it to bring you more great ideas on how to travel for Almost FREE. 

If you would like to join my travel coaching program, you can use this link.   I would love to help you and your family travel for almost FREE. Use the promo code FREETRAVEL for $50 off. 

How You Can Get Your Next Tour or Airbnb For FREE

 

Some places that you travel to like Diamond Beach in Iceland do not have chain hotels that you can book on points like Marriott, Hyatt or Hilton. Or maybe like our family of five, hotels are not a good choice because you need two rooms or you will be forced to eat out for every meal. 

How You Can Get Your Tour or Airbnb For FREE

So how can you get your Airbnb, Bed and Breakfasts and tours for FREE if you can't use points?

The secret is in the Capital One Venture credit card.  Current bonus offer ends Sept. 9th so read carefully. 

The Capital One Venture and Venture X credit cards include a travel eraser and travel credit through the Capital One Travel Portal. 

 

Let's explain: 

1. Travel Eraser - When you log into your Capital One account and click view rewards, cover travel purchases, you will see a list of qualified purchases. Any purchase that codes as travel will qualify to be erased like Airbnb, tours, rental cars etc. You can erase the whole purchase or just part of it. You can even erase some of the purchase and then when you have more points, erase the rest. You have three months to erase the purchase so start with the oldest ones first. The value is 1:1 so some would argue you can get more value out of your points by transferring them to an airline, but I believe this is personal to your strategy and goals. For example, I erased the hotel charge for our 5th person in Tahiti. We already had our flights and over water bungalow covered so this was a random travel purchase we could get for FREE. Worth it! 

2. Travel Credit in the Portal - The Venture credit card comes with a $250 travel credit with the current bonus offer which ends Sept. 9th and the Venture X always comes with a $300 travel credit when you purchase hotels or flights through the Capital One Travel Portal. In order to use this credit, you must book your hotel or flight through the Capital One Travel Portal which works great for independent hotels and bed and breakfasts. In the booking process, the portal will ask if you want to use your travel credit to cover the purchase. You do not have to use the entire credit on a single purchase.  

 

Some people are hesitant to book travel through third parties like the Capital One Travel Portal, but I have found it to work quite well. Even when my flight was cancelled due to weather last summer, I was notified by both the airline and Capital One of the cancellation and how to reschedule. 

Ending Sept. 9th, Capital One Venture credit card is offering a $250 travel credit, $100 Global Entry credit and 75,000 bonus points when you sign up. There is a $4,000 minimum spend and a $95 annual fee. So with the travel credit, you are actually making money on this card approximately $1,000. You can only get this bonus once every 4 years. We do not know how long this offer is going to last so don't wait. 

The Capital One Venture X card is a good option if you want airport lounge access for you and your authorized users. The current offer is 75,000 bonus points for a $4,000 minimum spend and a $395 annual fee, but it includes a $300 travel credit. 

If you need some help figuring out if this card will help you reach your travel goals, join my Travel Coaching Program. The next cohort launches September 15th and it's my personal goal to help my clients collectively save more than $100,000 in 2025. 

A Secret Gateway To Affordable Globetrotting – Language School!

This past summer, I tried something different in my travel journey....attending a language school. Yep, call it a short study abroad program at the Isla Spanish Language school in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Language Schools are a great way to deep dive into the culture and community of a country and they are super affordable. This was my second time attending one and I have already enrolled in a third.

 

Why San Juan? Well, the flight from the East Coast is short and cheap. Plus Puerto Rico intrigues me. It's a US territory, but its neighboring islands are independent countries. How did that happen? What is it like to be in a place that straddles both the US and the Caribbean? A place that is part of the US, but labeled a territory and not a state? Puerto Rico also has a huge problem with stray animals so I thought I might be able to lend a hand. You can read about that here. 

A Secret Gateway To Affordable Globetrotting – Language School!

San Juan is a US territory so you do not need a passport to visit just a drivers license to fly. Puerto Riquenos have US passports and are US Citizens, but residents of Puerto Rico cannot vote for the President of the United States and they have no representation in Congress. 

Isla Spanish Language School is located in the financial district of San Juan away from the tourist areas. The school conducts a placement interview before your arrival so they can put you in the appropriate class, beginner to advanced. The students were of all ages and included professionals, Spanish teachers, second generation Puerto Riquenos and ex pats. 

A Secret Gateway To Affordable Globetrotting – Language School!

At most schools, classes run 9am-12pm Monday through Friday with additional private classes offered in the afternoon. And the schools offer FREE cultural activities several times during the week. Cultural activities include dancing or cooking classes or excursions to a local site or art museum. 

Besides the classes, the schools offer a variety of affordable accommodations for approximately $330 per week including meals and laundry. There is a discount if you enroll for multiple weeks. You can choose from homestay with a local family, a dorm or private apartment. I opted to stay with a local family and it was lovely. Nayza is a widow and has been housing students for years creating an income stream for her. 

I had my own room with air conditioning and a shared bathroom. Nayza's home was within walking distance of the school. I had access to the kitchen and refrigerator, but not the stove. 

Reflecting on the experience, my language ability increased dramatically, but even more importantly, I felt like a local in San Juan and welcomed into the community. More like a traveler than a tourist. 

A Secret Gateway To Affordable Globetrotting – Language School!

Of course, we can make this experience even more affordable by using points and miles for the flights. Most language schools will not code as a travel so you cannot "erase" the purchase, however, I paid for the school with Paypal during the 5x bonus category with my Chase FREEDOM FLEX so at least I used the purchase to earn lots of points towards future travel. 

And while in San Juan, I booked tours of the rainforest, kayak in the biobay and snorkeled with the turtles and was able to "erase" all of these tours with points. 

If you would like help planning your next travel journey with points and miles, consider joining my travel coaching program. I would love to help you! 

How You Can Use Capital One Points To Erase Travel Purchases

 

Oh yes, the island of Moorea in French Polynesia is the picture of that perfect vacation. And what makes it even better is when you pay with points and it's almost FREE. 

If you would pay cash for this vacation, it would really put a dent in your wallet. 

Hopefully you have been following along as I walk through using points and miles for our family of 5 to spend a few weeks in French Polynesia. 

How You Can Use Capital One Points To Erase Travel Purchases 

First we secured flights for FREE for all five of us, then we secured the over the water bungalow and garden room. Next, we worked on the airbnb.com and tours. 

Now, we paid for the rental car using points. 

And this time, I used one of my favorite tricks. The travel eraser by Capital One. 

Some will say this is not the best use of your points since it really is a statement credit. But I believe that the value of points and miles is in the eye of the beholder and if I can get a $1,300 charge for the rental car down to $0, then it's worth it to me. 

How You Can Use Capital One Points To Erase Travel Purchases 

And the best part is that I never even paid for this purchase. Keep reading and I'll show you this trick. 

So we are assuming that you have already earned the bonus on the Capital One Venture or Venture X or Venture X Business cards and the points are in your account. You can access them by logging into your Capitalone.com online account and clicking on view rewards. 

If you scroll down, you will see "cover travel purchases." If you click there, you will see your travel purchases for the past 90 days that are eligible to be erased. It is a 1:1 value. 

You can choose to erase the entire purchase or just a portion. It can take a few days for the credit to post to your statement. If you can time the credit after the purchase and before the statement closes, you actually never pay for the purchase at all.

How You Can Use Capital One Points To Erase Travel Purchases 

If you look below, I made the purchase for the rental car on Feb. 2nd and then erased it on Feb. 4th and the credit posted on Feb. 6th. The statement closed on Feb. 8th with a balance minus the credit. 😊

Since I thought I would pay for the rental car closer to the actual trip, I had used some of my points to erase ferry tickets. But to get a $950 discount on the rental car, it's worth it. 

This is just one of the reasons why I love flex points like Capital One and Chase. 

If this interests you, but seems confusing, let me help you. Enroll in my travel coaching program. We will explore your travel goals, review your credit cards and make a plan. Then you can join our monthly live coaching sessions for more support. 

Point Triumph: Turning Capital One Rewards into a Mind-Blowing Free Tour!

 

While you are shopping for those holiday gifts, make each one count towards FREE travel. In my previous post, I shared my strategy planning for our trip to Tahiti next year. 

So far, I have the flights, the overwater bungalow and garden room, plus 3.5 days in the Airbnb for FREE. 

Though I earmarked the Capital One bonus points for the car rental, I still have more than 6 months to earn more points to erase that purchase. 

So when I saw an additional 10% off on the Lava Tube Canyoneering day tour we want to do while there, I jumped on it and then decided to go ahead and use Capital One points to erase it. 

Let's walk through that process so I can show you how valuable these points are. Some will argue you can get more value out of the points by transferring them to airlines or hotels, but my theory is like beauty, value is in the eye of the beholder. For me, erasing a $500 day tour is a good value. 

So how do you do it? First, you need to use your Capital One Venture X card to buy the tour or travel. Wait until the purchase is no longer pending and then you can click on "view rewards" and "cover purchases". 

The nice thing about Capital One is that you do not have to pay for the purchase to be able to erase it. In fact, you can erase the purchase before you pay for it. AND you can use the welcome bonus BEFORE you even pay the credit card balance that helped you earn the bonus. Quite a hack. 

It means you can use travel to earn the bonus and then erase the travel purchases with the bonus before you ever pay the bill. Crazy! 

When you click cover purchases, all of your travel purchases will come up. You have 90 days to erase them with points. You can erase the whole purchase or part of it, but in this case, I'll erase the entire tour purchase. 

It will take a few days for the purchase to drop off. You can keep ticking away at your travel purchases to get that almost FREE travel. 

For me, I will be using my Capital One Venture X card for all everyday purchases because it earns 2x points to earn enough points to erase the car rental. 

If you think the Capital One Venture X credit card should be part of your travel FREE strategy, please use my referral link. You will get an extra 15,000 bonus points for a total of 90,000 bonus points or $900 in FREE travel plus $300 travel credit, $100 Global Entry credit and Priority Pass Lounge Access. 

Now if this is confusing or scary or you just want some help deciding if this card is right for you and your travel goals, join my travel coaching program! I am launching the second cohort now and offering a Black Friday special of just $99. This is an incredible deal because it includes the video modules, the custom points and miles tracker, a 1:1 meeting with me and our monthly group coaching sessions for life. There are limited spaces available so don't wait! 

Reminder on How to Travel Smart and Save Big This Cyber Week!

 

Just a reminder, be sure to check any tours, flights and hotels for Cyber and Travel Tuesday deals right now that may give you a discount or earn you bonus points and miles. These can be discounts on new reservations or existing ones that you modify. 

For example, I had been watching a Lavatube Tour for our trip to Tahiti next year. I checked and the company added a 10% off Cyber deal if you book now. 

So I went ahead and booked it even though it's early. Plus I paid for it with my Capital One Venture X credit card and plan to erase the entire purchase.  To learn how to erase travel purchases with your Capital One Venture X credit card, click here. 

Before you make any purchase, be sure to check cashbackmonitor.com for offers in shopping portals, Chase and Capital One offers to see if you can stack the purchase and save even more or earn bonus points and miles. 

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

If you want support planning your next trip, join my new Travel Coaching Program, we are enrolling for cohort #2 right now. And right now, we are offering our own Cyber deal. It's just $99 for the entire program (video modules, custom tracker, 1:1 consult and live group coaching forever). I would love to help you travel for almost FREE. 

Woohoo! Got The Capital One 90,000 Point Bonus

 Update, the 90,000 bonus is no longer being offered, but you can still get a 75,000 bonus using my referral link 

You might think it's strange that I'm celebrating that I spent $4,675 on my credit card! But look at the rewards, 98,563. Yep, I already got the 90,000 point bonus from Capital One Venture X and I haven't even paid the card yet. 

Here's a hack, Capital One gives you the bonus BEFORE you even pay off the credit card. Now we always pay the full balance every month when it is due. 

But here's an interesting hack, you can actually use the bonus to erase the purchases you made to reach the minimum spend. Are you following me?

Let's say that part of that $4,675 was a purchase of two airline flights. As soon as you see the bonus come through, you need to follow the steps to erase the travel purchase. If you can do it before your statement closes, you won't have to pay for the purchase. Instead you are using the bonus to pay for it. Pretty good hack. 

In this case, I will pay the balance and keep adding points so that I can erase my rental car in Tahiti. Woohoo! 

I like the Capital One Venture X credit card because you earn 2x points on all purchases, you get $100 Global Entry credit, you get Priority Pass lounge membership for you and your authorized users which you can add for FREE plus you can transfer the Capital One points to dozens of airlines, and a few hotels and you can use them in the Capital One portal and just use them to erase ANY travel purchase. Annual fee is $395, but you get a $300 travel credit in the portal. 

You can get the 90,000 bonus offer too by using my referral link here. 

Now if this is confusing or scary or you just want some help deciding if this card is right for you and your travel goals, join my travel coaching program! I am launching the second cohort now and offering a Black Friday special of just $99. This is an incredible deal because it includes the video modules, the custom points and miles tracker, a 1:1 meeting with me and our monthly group coaching sessions for life. There are limited spaces available so don't wait! 

How I Booked Overwater Bungalows and Flights In Tahiti for $140

When I asked my children where they wanted to celebrate their graduations,
they decided on Tahiti. I was a bit surprised since my first thought was that’s where you honeymoon. But I was game. And they added, we would love to stay in those over the water bungalows. Makes sense!

So how do you get a family of 5 an almost FREE trip to Tahiti? It takes a lot of planning and time. I wanted to walk you through my process so you can see the strategy in action. 

And I need to mention that if you are looking for help planning your next trip, I just launched the second cohort of my Travel Coaching Program. There are still a few spots open. And right now, I am donating 15% of all the proceeds to the Israel Emergency Fund.

But I'll share my process here so if you want to do it on your own, you can. Because my goal is that everyone can travel for almost FREE and enjoy those priceless experiences.

I start with research:

• Who flies to Tahiti
• Which islands should we visit
• What is there to do there
• Do we need a car
• Where will we stay

And of course, the most important question of all: which over the water bungalows do we want to stay in. 

After doing the research, I decided for this trip: 

• We should fly American Airlines - 70,000-80,000 miles per round trip
• We will visit Tahiti and Moorea - we can take a short ferry between these islands. 
• We will need a car on both islands
• Besides the OWB, seems to be most cost effective for our family of 5 to stay in Airbnb

Now this is the way, we travel, but you might make different choices for your family. Now the fun part, earning all the points. For this trip, we will need approximately: 

• 400,000 American Airlines miles for 5 r/t tickets
• 299,000 Chase Ultimate Reward points for 2 nights in an OWB bungalow and a garden room (we need two rooms for 5 people)
• Capital One points to erase the Airbnb, rental cars and tours

It sounds like a lot, but let’s break it down:

• Barclays American Aviator bonus offer 70,000 miles for $99 annual fee and one purchase - my partner and I each opened one of these
• Chase Ink Business Preferred bonus offer 100,000 Ultimate Rewards for a $95 annual fee and $8,000 minimum spend - my partner and I each opened one of these
• Several friends opened the Chase Ink Business Preferred using my referral link - bonus 40,000 Chase Ultimate Reward points for each one
• American Airlines Online Shopping portal
• Chase Ultimate Rewards Shopping portal
• Capital One points using my partners Capital One Venture X card and my new Capital One Venture X bonus. 

So what did all of this get us:

• 240,000 American Airlines miles netted 3 round trip flights
• 128,000 Chase Ultimate Reward points netted 2 round trip flights
• 299,000 Chase Ultimate Reward points netted 2 nights in the OWB and 2 nights in the garden room
• 74,000 Capital One points netted 3.5 days in the Airbnb

So right now, I estimate the amount I saved using points and miles at approximately $11,000. Pretty good. I have spent $400 on annual fees and $340 on taxes, fees.

Between now and the actual trip, I will continue to earn Capital One points so I can erase the Airbnb, tours and rental cars.

And when I’m relaxing on the beach in Tahiti, I’ll enjoy it just a bit more because I didn’t spend an arm and a leg to have this dream vacation.

If this sounds amazing, but you are confused about where to start and how to get your next trip for almost FREE then join the second cohort in my Travel Coaching program. Sign up by November 1st. 

How You Can Snorkel The Great Barrier Reef Using Points and Miles

 

Wow! The Great Barrier Reef is extraordinary. The blue water, the coral, the marine life is absolutely amazing. It is truly a bucket list experience. So the question is can you do this trip with points and miles? The answer is yes. 

The snorkel day trips out to the reef are EXPENSIVE! You can book the tours through our partner Viator.com. But how can you get the tour for FREE? or can you? Yes, you can using the Capital One Venture X travel erase tool or you can use the purchase to reach a minimum spend for future travel. 

• You can use the Capital One Venture X credit card to pay for this tour. Then erase a portion of it with the Capital One points and travel credit. Plus activate the discount offer when you book through Viator.com
• You can also use the purchase to reach the minimum spend on the credit card you are working on. I used it to reach the minimum needed to earn the Southwest Companion Pass. 

How You Can Snorkel The Great Barrier Reef Using Points and Miles 

So yes, I paid for the trip, but I used the purchase to earn FREE flights for the next two years. 

The tours to the reef leave from Cairns and Port Douglas. You can fly on the budget airlines JetStar or you can use American Airlines miles on Qantas. Both great options. We flew on JetStar due to limited award availability on Qantas. I paid for the flights with my Capital One Venture X card and erased the purchase with points. So it was FREE. 

The unique luggage carousel at the Cairns Airport. So cute! By the way, we flew Qantas from Cairns to Darwin, Australia for a mere 10,000 American Airlines miles per person. So that's a good option for travel within Australia. And Australia is huge!

How You Can Snorkel The Great Barrier Reef Using Points and Miles 

It is actually as big as the United States so you will be flying. Something to consider is the Barclays Aviator Red Mastercard which is offering a bonus of 50,000 American Airlines miles with just one purchase and a $99 annual fee. 

This was the view from the balcony at the Doubletree Cairns. The hotel was offering standard rooms for 40,000 Hilton Honors points per night. If you have Gold or Diamond status with Hilton, then the room comes with FREE breakfast at the buffet. 

The buffet includes breakfast pastries, granola, yogurt, salads, meats, cheese and much more. The hotel is located right on the main road and just minutes away from harbor. You can earn 150,000 Hilton Honors points right now by opening the Hilton Honors American Express Business card. You can read all about it here. 

That's how we do it here at almostFREEfamilytravel. 

Visiting Sydney Australia On Points and Miles

Welcome to Sydney, Australia. I wasn't really sure what to expect from Sydney and I was pleasantly surprised. This cosmopolitan city reminded me of my hometown of San Diego, but with a twist. Full of modern buildings and beautiful waterfront, Sydney feels like it could be in California until you see a package of Vegemite.

It's quite easy to stay in Sydney on points and miles. There are dozens of hotels with lots of award availability. We chose the Four Points Sheraton in Chippendale for 25,000 Marriott Bonvoy points for one night and 1 FREE night certificate. It was in a great central location with a Starbucks and local coffee house across the street. However, it did not offer FREE breakfast, but the hotel did leave some yummy chocolates in our room for Easter.

The highlights and most touristy, but must see sights in Sydney are: 

1. The Opera House - I recommend booking the official tour. You must buy tickets in advance. Tours cost $43 per adult and $23 per child. There is a family ticket that includes two adults and two children for $109. The tour is offered multiple times per day in various languages. You can purchase this tour with your Capital One Venture X credit card and erase it with points. 

2. The Sydney Harbour Bridge - You can opt to do the Bridge Climb which is expensive, but I hear an amazing experience. We opted for the FREE walk across the bridge. You can find the trail alongside the entrance to the bridge on the Rocks side. Once you walk to the middle the bridge, there is a lookout and museum for an entry of $20 per person. 

3. The Rocks - The first settlement in Sydney is now a shopping district with some historical sites so it's definitely worth a walk through. 

4. The Royal Botanic Garden - This garden is FREE and absolutely stunning. You can also get an amazing view of the Opera House from here.  You can also get a close up view of the Australian White Ibis, otherwise known as the trash chicken and rubbish rooster that roam all over the city. 

The good news is you can see all four of these sights in the same day even with jet lag. You can find other Sydney tours and experiences here. Plus be sure to look at FREE walking tours. I love FREE walking tours and we try to take at least one of them right when we arrive to get an overview and history. 

A museum that you won't find on the top sights list, but I think it should be is the Hyde Park Barracks. It is FREE entry and on the day we visited, there was a craft you could make at the exit. The barracks were the holding buildings for the first prisoners brought to Australia and not only tell their story, but also that of the Indigenous People who were affected and displaced by their arrival. It's a well presented story of all peoples. 

After you check out the sights, you might want to grab a bite to eat. There are plenty of places and types of food to choose from on the harbor and in the Rocks area. We found a wonderful hidden street with food stalls featuring dishes from all over Asia. It's called Spice Alley and it's located in Chippendale. 

If you are hoping to see kangaroos and koalas, you will have to head to the Sydney Zoo or Featherdale Sydney Wildlife Park either by car or with a day tour. We chose the Blue Mountains Day Trip which we booked through Viator with the Capital One Venture X card and activated the offer of 12% discount. You could also apply the $300 credit to this purchase to erase it. 

It was a bus tour, which we usually avoid, but you have two options to visit the Blue Mountains and Featherdale. You can rent a car or take a day trip bus tour. 

For us, the bus tour made the most sense. 

The first stop on the tour was Featherdale Wildlife Park. You can buy some kangaroo food on the way in. Look for the kiosk which operates on an honor code so you can just drop a dollar or two in the box. The park is full of animals, some roaming free and others in enclosures that are all found in Australia. 

The second stop was at a small town for lunch. There were several take away restaurants to choose from. 

The third stop was at Scenic World which offers sky views of the Blue Mountains, Three Sisters, various waterfalls and a walk on an elevated boardwalk through the Rainforest. 

You can also ride the world's steepest railway. It used to be used to reach the coal mine, now you can ride it down to the rainforest. But watch out it's steep! 

The Blue Mountains tour ends at the ferry dock where the company gives you a ticket or cash to buy a ticket to get back to the harbor via ferry. Sounds touristy, but the ferry is used by locals to commute and super enjoyable. 

Sydney is a great city that you can easily do on points and miles. Enjoy!