Best Hotel Deal In Chicago!

Chicago, the windy city, is a great place to visit! So when my daughter wanted to tour a college in Indiana, we took the opportunity to spend 15 hours in the windy city. Here's the almost free family travel way to tour Chicago. We dropped our rental car off at Midway Airport. No need for a car in the city plus parking rates are outrageous. The orange line runs directly from Midway Airport to downtown Chicago. Cost $3 per person each way. Took 30 minutes. I found a hotel at the State/Lake train stop so we wouldn't have to drag our suitcases very far. The Comfort Suites on Michigan Avenue was $110 per night including breakfast. If you follow my blog at all, you know how much I love breakfast included. Now Comfort Suites is part of the Choice Brand. I am not usually a customer at this brand, but always sign up for the loyalty program if you stay outside of your chosen brand. You never know.

This hotel is a phenomenal deal. It's a suite so you have a pull out couch, kitchenette plus a bedroom with queen bed. Hot breakfast with waffles, eggs and yogurt was served in the morning. The location is amazing. 4 block walk from The Bean, right on Michigan Avenue so blocks from Garrett's, 1 block to the river and 5 blocks from the theatre where Hamilton is being performed.
I checked awardmapper.com, of course, when I started looking for hotels in Chicago, but you needed a lot of points for Starwood, Marriott and Hilton hotels in the area. So I started looking for more budget hotels near the State/Lake train stop since we had an early morning flight and I didn't want to drag a suitcase across town.
This hotel seemed perfect on paper and in reality was even better.
Other suggestions while in Chicago, Pizano's for deep dish Chicago pizza, Garrett's for carmel cheese popcorn, check out The Bean in Millenial Park, boat ride on the river and the giant statues on Michigan Ave. Of course, if you can score Hamilton tickets, definitely go see the show. The trick there is to wait until the last minute and prices drop on the resale sites. Good luck and enjoy the windy city!

Last Chance For 35,000 Starwood Points!

The increased bonus from Starwood American Express ends this Wednesday April 5th. If you have been thinking about getting this card, now is the time. Since Starwood merged with Marriott, we are not sure how long these offers will be coming around. And Starwood points are the most valuable out there.
The offer is to spend $3,000 in 3 months for the personal card and another $2,000 in 6 months to get the entire 35,000 points. The $95 annual fee is waived the first year.
For the business card, the minimum spend is $5,000 in 3 months and another $3,000 in 6 months. The $95 annual fee is waived for the first year. 
What can you do with 35,000 points? Where should I begin. For starters, Starwood is partners with dozens of airlines with most of them at a 1:1 transfer for points to miles. Plus some of them will give you a bonus 5,000 airline miles when you transfer 20,000 Starwood points. So 35,000 points is actually 40,000 airline miles plus you spend another $5,000 so you actually have 40,000 points that you can turn into 50,000 airline miles. 50,000 airline miles are worth 2 tickets to Hawaii, South America even Europe off season.
How about hotels? Category 1 Starwood hotel run only 3,000 points so you could have 15 nights at a hotel including the buy 4 nights, get the 5th free. Like Marriott hotels better, transfer your Starwood points to Marriott at 1:3 easily online.
Don't miss out on this bonus offer! It's the highest we have seen and it ends Wednesday! 

Car Rental Tips

On a recent trip back East, we rented a number of cars. Car rental is relatively easy these days. You can do an internet search for the best rate, book it, add your frequent flier number and confirm. You can even modify and cancel online easily. Just watch out for the nasty $50 cancellation fee.

But here are a few tips to get the most out of renting your car.
1. When you do the internet search, check portals to see if you can get a miles or points bonus for your rental. But it doesn't always make sense to pay a higher rate to get points. Southwest car rental rates are way higher than Costco car rental rates so why would it make sense to pay so much extra for Southwest points.
2. When you arrive at the counter, confirm that your frequent flier number is on the reservation. It's way easier to have it on the reservation than try to add it later. All the rental car agencies will give you frequent flier points.
3. If the car rental agency offers to pre-pay your gas before you return, it's usually a good deal. I always ask the price per gallon and so far, it's been worth it every time. Plus if you don't have to stop to fill up the car right before you return, it saves you time.
4. If the car rental agency offers you an EZ Pass, take it. I have learned this one the hard way. If they offer it, that means you may run across toll roads on your drive. Toll roads only take cash or EZ Pass. Some don't even take cash anymore at all. Plus some are not obvious. I missed one and arrived home to a letter informing me of a ticket for failing to pay the toll. The EZ Pass is not extra, it just charges the tolls to your credit card automatically. Awesome!
5. Pay close attention to your pick up and drop off time. Car rental agencies now give you a 29 minute grace period and then start charging you an hourly rate. Ouch.
6. Last, remember to charge your rental car to the right credit card. Are you trying to reach a minimum spend, do you want cash back or travel credit i.e. Barclays Arrival card?

Remember it's all about leveraging your spending on the things you are going to buy anyways to get almost free family travel!

Two 100K Offers To Choose From

Two new 100K point offers are on the table so which one to choose, if any?

Hilton HHonors Surpass Credit Card from American Express just launched a brand new bonus offer for 100,000 points with a $3,000 minimum spend in the first 3 months. The card does have an annual fee of $75 which is not waived the first year.
This card comes with a free hotel night each year on your anniversary.
It's something to consider. Now HHonors points are interesting because each point has very little value.
But what can you get for 100,000 points?
I stayed at the Doubletree in Paracas Peru for 1 night and it cost me 50,000 points. If I had paid for the hotel, it would have cost me about $225 per night. Now the nice thing is I can fit 5 in a room here so that's a bonus, but no breakfast included.
Lots of chocolate chip cookies though!

The other 100K offer right now is for the Marriott Rewards Premier card and if you add an authorized user you will get another 7500 points. The card has a minimum spending requirement of $5,000 in the first 3 months and an $85 annual fee that is not waived. But since Marriott and Starwood merged last year, you can transfer these points to Starwood for 3:1 and then to dozens of airlines. You also get a free night at any category 1-4 Marriott every year on your anniversary.

So plan ahead and see if either of these offers will help you meet your goals!

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!