Watch those interest rates!

Got this warning from Mint.com this morning for my credit cards. Since the interest rate increase announced this past week, this is a consequence of that decision.
So if you decide to play the points/miles game, I always advise people to pay off the credit cards each month anyway so the rate change shouldn't affect you. But it's worth noting anyway.

Remember when you open a credit card, there are several steps to follow:
1. Open the card, take a photo of the offer so you have proof
2. Write down on your calendar the date you need to reach the minimum and the date about a month before your one year anniversary. This date is important because you want to review the card and decide if you want to pay the annual fee to keep it or cancel it.
3. Set up an online account and put the card on auto pay.
4. Enter the card on a spreadsheet with the date opened, points you will earn, minimum spend, last 4 digits of the card.

If you follow these steps, you will be organized and on your way to almost free family travel.

Secrets to getting good deals on hotels

I promised tips from the San Diego Travel And Adventure show and here's one from CBS Travel Reporter Peter Greenberg, The Travel Detective. 
According to Greenberg, the internet is the worst place to find a bargain on hotels. He advises people to call the manager on duty and ask for thing to be thrown in like free Wifi, parking, resort fees etc. These are the types of charges that can really add up.
My recommendation, find the hotel online, book it through a cash back or points portal and then call and try to get the upgrades and add ons thrown in.
It's old fashioned, but works for the Travel Detective.

Property Taxes Are Coming Up....To Charge or not to charge?

It's a fact of life .... property taxes. Twice a year, we are faced with this looming tax on our homes. But what if you could turn that tax around and make it work for you to earn free travel?
Now it's not quite so bad, right?
You can pay your taxes online with a credit card, yes, you will incur a fee of 2-3%, but even if you pay a $100 in fees, if the charge nets you two roundtrip plane tickets to Europe, it's worth it.
Now with a big expense like this, I like to put it on a brand new credit card to help reach the minimum spend.
You could just put it on a card you already have but you will probably earn just 1 mile/point per $1 spent which is okay, but if you get a bonus by charging this expense, now we are talking some serious bank.
For example, we just applied for a Starwood Business American Express card with the increased bonus of 35,000 points for $5,000 spend in 3 months and an additional $3,000 spend in the first 6 months. Our property taxes will net us almost the entire $5,000 spend and then with just regular spending, we can earn the 35,000 points.
35,000 Starwood points are the most valuable points out there. They can get us multiple hotel stays or we can transfer them to airlines and get the additional bonus 5,000 miles for airlines tickets. Starwood merged with Marriott recently so you can transfer Starwood points to Marriott at 1:3.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is another favorite of mine. Right now, you can spend $4,000 and get 50,000 ultimate rewards points. The $95 fee is waived for the first year. You can use these for hotels, airlines, experiences, cash back and gift cards. Add an authorized user and get another 5,000 points.
Another idea would be the American Express Gold Business Card.  With a $5,000 minimum spend, you earn 50,000 American Express membership points. Fee is waived for the first year. OR try the American Express Gold Personal Card with a $2,000 minimum spend and a bonus of 25,000 points. Fee is waived for the first year. I have seen higher bonus offers for this card so it may not be the best option.
Property taxes are a fact of life, but at least there's a silver lining and you can travel for free!

Audience Rewards - Starwood

You know how much I love shopping, cash back and airline portals. So now if you are a theatre goer, you can rack up the Starwood, United, American and Amtrak miles and points. It's called Audience Rewards.  You can collect Audience Reward points to use on future shows or you can collect Starwood points which I value higher. You can do the same thing to earn American Airlines or United miles or Amtrak guest rewards. Here's how it works:

For example, for Starwood, use the Audience Reward Starwood partner website , click on the city you want and the show you want to see how many Starwood points you will earn if you buy your ticket. Be careful with days and show times because the points vary.
Obviously if you can attend a show mid week or a matinee, you could earn more points.
You can also check featured offers to see if there are any bonus points to be earned.

This can be another way to rack up points on things you are spending money on anyway. Try it and see how it works for you. Here's the link for all the partners. 

Starwood Personal or Business Card?

Starwood increased credit card offer to 35,000 points ends April 5th 2017. The increase is good for both the personal and business card so which one should you apply for? Both cards award you 25,000 points for meeting minimum spend and an additional 10,000 points for meeting the second minimum spend. 

Here are some of the differences:

1. Personal card only has a $3,000 spend compared with the business card which has a $5,000 spend. 

2. Both cards waive the $95 fee for the first year

3. To get the additional spend on the personal card, you need to spend $2,000 and on the business card, you need to spend $3,000.

4. The business card has the added perk of FREE club access at Starwood hotels worldwide. This is huge for me because you get breakfast. And if you follow my blog, you know I love hotels that include breakfast. 

5. The business card has protection for luggage and car rental loss. 

So the bottom line is if you can swing the minimum spend, get both cards. Since Starwood merged with Marriott, we do not know how long Starwood will be offering deals. Plus 70,000 Starwood points can go a long way, but it's a big minimum spend too. 

Great New Travel Planner Site

Great new travel planning site! Rome2Rio is a free tool to add to your travel planning toolbelt. You enter where you would like to travel from and to and it will give you all your options, prices and links. 

Check it out! When I enter Berlin Germany to Prague in the Czech Republic, Rome2Rio returns transportation options by train, bus, rideshare, drive and flights. You can see price options and then if you click on the option, it will show you actual times with a link to the ticket office to book.
No more checking various websites, taking notes and comparing. Now it's all in one place.
They offer an accommodations and rental car search as well.
The accommodations tab took me to Booking.com so not too impressive.
The rental car search returned no results for cars in Chicago, but returned a nice list for car rentals in Krakow Poland.
Add this one to your toolbox and get set for some almostfreefamilytravel!

Starwood Targeted Offer 5,000

If you have a Starwood American Express credit card, you may have been targeted for this great offer! Here's the deal:
1. Enroll your card in the offer. If you didn't get an email, log in to your account and see if the offer is listed.
2. Spend $5,000 on your card by the end date. This offer ends May 31st 2017.
3. Starwood will match your 5000 points with another 5000 points.

That's 10,000 points for a $5,000 spend. Nice. What can you do with 10,000 Starwood points? Well, some hotels cost 10,000 points per night, but other category 1 hotels cost just 3,000 points per night. So you could nab 3 nights in a hotel. OR transfer the 10,000 points to Marriott for 30,000 Marriott points OR transfer it to more than 30 airlines. If you have 10,000 Starwood points in your account, add the new 10,000 Starwood points and transfer both to an airline, Starwood will give you a 5,000 bonus.