Rack Up The Points March Madness On Shopping Portals

If you have been following my blog for any time at all, you know how much I love shopping portals. It's an easy way to double dip on points, miles and cash back on your everyday shopping. In honor of March Madness, the portals are offering bonus miles.



United.com and American.com are offering bonus miles for $150 spend. Check the deadlines on each portal. Southwest.com is offering extra points at a variety of stores. Ebates.com is offering double cash back at a variety of stores.

For example, Ebates.com is offering:
Walmart is offering up to 10% cash back
New Balance is offering up to 10% cash back

For example, Southwest.com is offering:
Macys is offering 4 points per $1 instead of 2
Personalcreations.com is offering 9 points per $1 instead of 6




Anytime you buy online, check the portals. It's free money and translates into almost FREE family travel.

Lime Bikes Are Popping Up Everywhere

You may have seen these lime bikes popping up around your neighborhood. They are the latest craze in the sharing economy. Lime Bike execs say the idea is to provide smart mobility. The idea is that you can use the app to locate a bike, scan the bike and start riding. It's very similar to zipcar, the former car sharing company. Lime Bike is getting mixed reviews. Riders seem to love it, residents seem to be upset over the bikes littering sidewalks. 

The pricing is around $1 per 30 minutes and half price for students. The company offers memberships for $29.95 per month. So it's very inexpensive. You will need to provide your own helmet. Happy riding! 

Southwest Airlines Is Giving Away Millions Of Miles

It's back! Southwest California Millions starts today. You have to register by entering your email, zip and membership number. This game is only for California residents. Then you can spin the wheel once a day to win points. If you refer friends to play the game, you win an extra spin. The game starts today and ends April 10th. 

However, this year, Southwest is offering a little something for non CA residents too. Non CA residents can register for a 100K point giveaway. 

For the 100K sweepstakes, you need to register and then you are entered. You can only enter once.  Sweepstakes starts today and ends on April 10.

Southwest Airlines is great for family travel because you can change your flights without penalty. Southwest is gearing up to fly to Hawaii sometime this fall.

New Bonus Categories For Chase Freedom

The Chase Freedom card is one of my go-to cards that I have had in wallet forever. It is a no-fee card earns 1% back everywhere. But each quarter, Chase announces 5% cash back categories. You can spend in these categories up to $1,500 for combined cash back. So that's $75 each quarter if you take advantage. Cashback categories have included grocery stores, gas stations, Amazon, department stores, internet, cable and more. Now a reader is reporting that a Chase rep told him the Q2 categories will be grocery stores, Chase Pay and Apple Pay. 

You do need to register your card, but you can do it anytime during the quarter and rewards will be retroactive.  The cash back will come in as Chase Ultimate Reward Points. 

We will let you know when the official announcement is made. 

New Way To Use Wyndham Points!

Wyndham hotel group just bought Americinn Hotels. There are about 200 locations of these budget friendly hotels. They offer free breakfast. Wyndham also bought La Quinta, but we don't know the details of that deal yet. 

However, Americinn Hotel loyalty reward program is now merged with Wyndham. So what does that mean? It means for every 1 point you have with Americinn, you will get 1,500 Wyndham points sometime in March. 

Right now, though, you can stay twice at Americinn Hotels and earn a free night at any Wyndham. 

Wyndham hotels are not my favorite as they are very low budget, but there are some all inclusive and international locations that are nice and great deals. 

Last summer, we spent 3 nights at the Ramada in Prague for just 15,000 points each night. It was a steal since Prague can be very expensive in the summer peak season. 

So for almost free family travel, think about staying twice at a budget Wyndham when you are traveling in the US and earning a FREE stay for your next beach or European vacation. 

Amazon Visa Gives 5% Back At Whole Foods

We are starting to find out what types of perks come with the merger of Amazon and Whole Foods. So here's the latest one.....earn 5% back on anything you buy at Whole Foods with your Amazon Visa. That's pretty sweet. 

The Amazon Rewards Visa Signature is a Chase Bank card so you do need to keep your 5/24 status in mind if you apply for this card. 

But it comes with a $50 Amazon gift card upon approval, no annual fees and you will earn 5% cash back at Amazon and Whole Foods if you are a Prime member. If not, you will earn 3% cash back at Amazon and Whole Foods, 2% at gas stations, drugstores and restaurants and 1% everywhere else. 

If you have certain types of Prime memberships i.e. student, then you are not eligible for 5% cash back. 

Though I prefer collecting miles and points, this may be a good option if you shop at Whole Foods and Amazon. 

Deal Alert To Hawaii

Deal alert! United, American, Delta and Hawaiian are offering $326+ round trip in economy to Hawaii for dates February - May and August - January 2019. For family travel, some of those August dates may work before the kids head back to school or winter break.
You can try google.com/flights/ to get an idea of price/airline and then book through Expedia.com or directly with the airline.
The prices are for flights around the US Mainland to Hawaii so even if you live on the East Coast, give it a shot. Check out my blog post about how to travel in Maui as a family on a budget for ideas once you get your flights booked!
Good Luck!