Get 250 Bonus Starbucks Stars

Nice treat this morning when I checked my email and saw this from Starbucks. You can do it too if you are a Starbucks Gold member. Everyone should be a Starbucks Gold member because last year, if you made one purchase during a certain time period, they gave you automatic gold.
If you are a gold member, load $10 onto your Starbucks app and pay with Chase Pay and you will be rewarded with 250 bonus stars. Those stars are good for 2 FREE drinks.
When you open the app, choose reload, paying with Chase Pay. You may have to click on payment methods to click Chase Pay.
If you already have a linked credit card to Chase Pay, it's easy. Otherwise, you will be prompted to link a credit card in order to pay with Chase Pay. You do not need a Chase checking account, but you do need to be a Chase cardholder. Chase Pay is similar to Visa Checkout or Paypal.
Offer ends 6/7.
Good luck!

New Family Pooling From Norweigan Airlines

Norweigan Airlines launched their new family pooling program this weekend. It's just a BETA program right now, but they are inviting members to try it. I went ahead and enrolled myself as captain and my 3 kids into the account. We will be flying Norweigian Airlines this summer. I had already enrolled all of us in the frequent flier program, but of course, we are only flying two legs in Europe so we would not collect very many miles. 

So this family pooling caught my eye because if all of our flights are pooled together, well, then perhaps we would collect enough miles to do something. You can include family members and friends in your pooled account. 

Now Norweigian Airlines is a discount carrier and the rewards program is revenue based so their points or miles are not very valuable to begin with. But you can cash them in to cover luggage fees, combine them with cash to pay for flights and seat reservations. 

Most airlines do not offer family pooling at all. In fact, if you want to transfer miles to someone, you usually have to pay a fee. Some hotel chains like Starwood will allow you to transfer to a family member without charging a fee, but others do not permit it at all. 

I'll keep you posted. 

Easy Way To Earn The Southwest Companion Pass

If you do not have a Southwest Airlines companion pass yet, here's an easy way to get one. It's one of the most valuable perks out there. You earn the companion pass if you earn 120,000 Southwest points in a single calendar year. You can do that by flying, spending on your Southwest credit card or by earning the bonus. You used to be able to do it by transferring points from Marriott, but earlier this year, Southwest closed that loophole.
However, right now, Southwest Airlines is offering 60,000 bonus points when you open the credit card, spend $2,000 and pay the annual fee ($69 for the Plus and $99 for the Premium). Usually the bonus is 40,000 so this 60,000 offer is huge.
Plus here's the real bonus, if you were to open two of these cards (there are 3 total), you will earn 124,000 points and BAM, you will earn the companion pass. The pass is good for the rest of this year and all of next year. The pass means anywhere you fly, you can take a guest for FREE. The guest must fly on the same flight with you and you can only change your guest three times in a year. But, wow!
I had the pass for the past two years and flew to DC, East Coast, San Francisco and Seattle. Well worth it.
This year I have the pass again and will fly to the East Coast 3 times plus to Cuba.
It's a huge savings. Now you can only apply for these cards if you have not had them in the past two years.
Good luck and that's how you do almost FREE family travel!

20% Bonus on Gift Cards With Amex Offers

Have some extra American Express Reward points laying around? If so, you could use them for gift cards and right now American Express Membership Rewards is offering a 20% bonus on some of the cards.
For example, usually a Home Depot gift card for $25 will cost you 2,500 points, but through June 30th, that same card will only cost you 2,000 points.
A $50 gift card usually costs 5,000 points, but right now it will only cost you 4,000 points.
Now normally this is not the best value for membership rewards points, but with the 20% bonus, it gets closer to being a good value especially if you have some leftover points that you don't know what to do with or you plan to close an account.
You must use the points before you close your account. Use them or lose them!

Are you leveraging your spending for FREE travel?

I was in Trader Joes yesterday and everyone around me was paying with their debit card. Nothing makes me more frustrated than to see people paying for everyday items with cash or their debit card. Why you ask?
When you spend $5 on a coffee and pay with a debit card or cash, the money is just gone. Sure, you get the coffee so you are satisfied. But what if by spending that $5, you are now one step closer to a trip to Europe. What if you earn 3% cash back when you spend that $5. Wow, right?
Same $5, but now it's working for you. You are one step closer to almost free family travel or you just got a discount on that coffee. Both are a win.
I ask people why they pay with cash or debit and they respond with either I like to track what I spend or it hurts more when I pay with cash.
Those are great reasons, but when you pay with cash or debit, you are just spending. Imagine what life would be like if instead of just spending money, your money was actually working for you.
That's what I call leveraged spending.
Sure it's a bit of a change of mindset and habits, but it's worth it and anyone can do it.

Here's what you need to do to get started:
1. decide if you want cash back or if you want to travel and if you want to travel, where do you want to go. Then look at the top credit card offers out there and apply to 1 card to start. I recommend starting with the Starwood American Express, Southwest Rapid Rewards or the Chase Sapphire Preferred for travel and the Capital One or Chase Freedom card for cash back.
2. Once you get the card, set up the online account and put the card on auto pay. You do not want to incur late fees and you do not want to carry a balance.
3. Mark on your calendar the date 10 months from the day you opened the card. This is when you will need to review the card to decide if it's worth keeping or you want to cancel it.
4. Then start charging everything. Like my friend's husband told her "don't even pay cash for a pack of gum."

And you are on your way. Remember, if you want to travel on awards, book early! If you are earning cash back, look for the credits coming back to you or the check in the mail.
And if you shop online, be sure to utilize a cash back or airline portal so you can double dip. Good luck!

100,000 Hilton Bonus Points Offer

Hilton Honors is offering a 100,000 bonus through July 27th 2017 when you open the American Express Hilton Honors card . Now Hilton points are not the most valuable out there, but you can get some sweet deals. This deal was supposed to end on May 31st, but it was extended.
I scored this bonus a few years ago and have used my points to stay in Quito Ecuador at the downtown Hilton for 20,000 points per night, 1 night in Paracas Peru at the Doubletree Hilton for 30,000 point per night, 2 nights in Krakow Poland for 5,000 points per night and one night in Warsaw Poland for 10,000 points per night. Plus I still have 30,000 points left.
Pretty sweet.
Minimum spend is $3,000 and the $75 annual fee is not waived.
Depending on where you are planning to go, this card might help you get there with almost free family travel.

What do I do with leftover Amex Rewards?

American Express Rewards is a super flexible program with airline partners, hotel partners and more. You can even buy gift cards, donate to charity and travel with your points. So what to do if you have some leftover points sitting in your account? You need to spend them before you close your card or you will lose them.
So here are some options:
1. You can use your points to buy a gift card. The point values are a bit strange and differ depending on each store. For example, a $25 Starbucks gift card cost 3,571 points and a $50 cost 7,143. But a $50 Nordstrom gift card cost 5,882. So you will have to search around to find your best value. No matter what you do, it's less than a penny per point. Gift cards range from retail to travel to entertainment to dining.
2. You can transfer your points to about a dozen different airlines including Delta, British Airways, Jet Blue, Aero Mexico, Hawaiian Airlines, Iberia and a few more. Most are 1,000 Amex Rewards = 1,000 in miles, but some of the programs are not equal so be sure to look carefully. For example, 250 American Express points equals 200 British Avios.
3. You can transfer your points to Hilton and Starwood. Hilton is 1,000 American Express rewards to 1,500 Hilton points. The number of Hilton points needed for a free night stay varies from 5,000 to 80,000 depending on the location. For example, I am staying in a Hilton in Krakow Poland for 5,000 points per night this summer. Last year, I stayed in a Hilton in Quito Ecuador for 20,000 points per night. Starwood gives you 333 points per 1,000 American Express rewards which might not be the best option unless you are trying to top off your account. However, you can transfer from Starwood to Marriott at 1:3 so those American Express reward points actually transfer to Marriott at 1:1. And remember, once you transfer to Starwood, you can transfer to dozens of airlines and for every 20,000 points you transfer, you will earn a 5,000 bonus.
4. You can use your American Express rewards points to book flights and hotels. You can even pay cash and points.
5. You can link your Amazon account to your rewards account and use your points to pay for your purchases.

Bottom line, there are lots of ways to use these points so don't lose them. Just figure out what's the best value for you and your family. That's how we do it at almost free family travel.