New Rules Make It Harder For Americans To Visit Cuba

Starting tomorrow, it's going to be harder for Americans to travel to Cuba. President Trump once again issues tighter restrictions on travel and business with Cuba. US tourists and companies will no longer be able to do business with a long list of hotels, shops, rum producers and real estate firms who allegedly do business with the government. 

US tourists will also no longer be able to visit the island nation on people to people exchange programs. They must now travel with a sponsored program or American University or group. 

Any contracts signed before tomorrow will be allowed to proceed. The new travel restrictions do no apply to anyone who booked people to people trips before Trump's speech back in June or educational or humanitarian travel before Nov. 9th

If you have a trip planned for Cuba, be sure to keep your paperwork handy just in case you face an issue.  

Wow.....120,000 Marriott Point Offer Goes Public

If you have some big purchases coming up and you are not over Chase 5/24 rule, this might be a good option for you. This offer was targetted, but was released this week to the public. 

Here's how it works:

For every $1 you spend, you get 10 Marriott points. You can charge up to $12,000 on the card in the first year which would translate to 120,000 Marriott points. The $85 fee is waived the first year. You can add an authorized user for another 7,500 Marriott points. 

As always be sure to check the fine print especially on this offer since the points vary depending on what you are purchasing. 

What can you do with 120,000 Marriott points? You can use them for Marriott brand hotels, of course. Or you can transfer them to Starwood at 3:1 and then transfer them to dozens of airlines and get the 5,000 bonus for each 20,000 you transfer. So you could be looking at 50,000 airline miles. 

It's a high spend to get the full 120,000, however, you could spend less and still take part of the bonus. If you spend $1,000, you earn 10,000 Marriott points and so on. 

That's how we do almost FREE family travel. 

How To Get Bonus Miles With Shopping Portals

The holiday bonus offers are starting early this year! American Airlines, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines are all offering bonus miles if you use their shopping portals. Shopping portals are online marketplaces that earn you extra miles when you shop. Remember we at almost FREE family travel do NOT support manufactured spend. Instead, let's maximize the power of what you are going to spend anyways.
For example, instead of typing in Old Navy in the search bar and shopping there, type in American Airlines shopping portal, log in with your Advantage membership information and then click on Old Navy in the marketplace. American will reward you with a few miles for each dollar spent. Plus if you spend enough before 11/20, they will give you bonus miles. The prices are the same, you are just harnessing the power or using leveraged spending.

Here are the details of each offer:

American 

Spend $150 for 500 bonus miles 

Spend $600 for 2000 bonus miles 

Spend $1200 for 4000 bonus miles 

United 

Spend $150 for 500 bonus miles 

Spend $750 for 2500 bonus miles 

Spend $1500 for 5000 bonus miles 

Both airlines are offering the bonus for shopping done between 10/30 and 11/19. 

Southwest is also in the game with its new shopping portal. Here are the details of their offer:

Spend $150 for 500 bonus miles 

Spend $500 for 1000 bonus miles 

Spend $1000 for 3000 bonus miles 

The bonus is for shopping done between 10/30 and 11/20. 

So if you are trying to top off your accounts, my recommendation is to pick one airline portal and stick with it. You might buy a few holiday gifts early and earn a few miles on the side. 

That's how we do it at almost free family travel. 

Get $10 Off Amazon With Your Citi Card

Some people are reporting that they are seeing this targetted offer when they open the Amazon app. The offer has been extended to December 15th if you are one of the lucky ones to be targetted.
Be sure to read the fine print since only items bought from Amazon are eligible and only certain Citi cards are included in the offer.
Good luck!

Win Southwest Miles In California Drawing!

Beginning today, Southwest Airlines is giving away millions of points, but just to California residents. If you live in California, you should register. There is a daily drawing that increases every day and week. 
The giveaway lasts for the next 30 days and you can spin the wheel every day. Plus they are promising local events with additional point giveaways. 
Here's the fine print

All Rapid Rewards® rules and regulations apply. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Open to legal residents of CA, 18 + who are Rapid Rewards® Members. Ends 11/30/17 at 11:58 p.m. PT. Click here for Official Rules, including multiple methods of entry, odds, and prize descriptions. Void where prohibited.

I received notice of this by targetted email, but here's the link to register. 

Good luck! 

Earn Airline Miles With Groupon!

Add Groupon purchases to the list of ways to earn airline and hotel miles. This offer came through email today. A check of the Groupon website and I couldn't find the program. But if you go to the specific airline or hotel website and check the shopping portal, Groupon will be listed. 

The offer is to earn 3 miles per dollar spent on Groupon. But check the fine print for exclusions. This is the fine print from American Airlines. 

Not eligible on purchases through Groupon Freebies, Groupon Coupons, Groupon Invitation Only Deals, Donations deals and Student discount offers. Other restrictions may apply. Not eligible on orders placed through Groupon mobile app. Offer eligible on Getaways at time of travel. Not eligible on Beats By Dre, Apple iPad and Bassboomz Portable Speaker purchases. Not eligible on FANDANGO, Starbucks, Sam’s Club or HP promotions. Not eligible on MRKET Picks and Student Program Discounts. Not eligible on shipping, handling, gift­wrapping or packaging fees, taxes, rebates, credit card processing fees, and other charges. Not eligible on chargebacks. Not eligible on purchases made with coupon or discount codes that are not found on this site.

Airlines included are Alaska, American, Jet Blue and United. Hotels included are Choice, IHG and La Quinta. 

As you know, I love shopping portals so this is just another way to earn miles for purchases you would make anyway. It's free money and it's how we do it at almost FREE family travel! 

**If you do not have a Groupon account yet, please use my referral link. Thank you for your support. 

United LAX - Singapore For $177

United just announced today its new non stop flight on the Dreamliner LAX to Singapore. In honor of this 18 hour flight, it is offering $177 one way on Tuesdays and Wednesdays next month. 

The return is $208. Flight leaves at 8:55pm and arrives in Singapore at 6:50am the following day. 

It's amazing deal if you would like to hop over to Singapore or use it as a gateway to Southeast Asia. 

The Dreamliner is an amazing plane with tinted windows and all the latest gadgets and technology. 

Plus the Singapore Airport is a great place to spend some time. It has a movie theatre, butterfly garden, children's play area, massage chairs, koi pond and many restaurants. 

We spent a full 8 hours in the airport a few years ago. Check out the photo below. 

Massage chairs 

Koi pond

If you are thinking about heading to Singapore or Southeast Asia, jump on this one. It will sell out quickly. That's how we do almost FREE family travel!