Airbnb Changes It's Strict Booking Policy

One of the secrets to Almost FREE Family Travel is to rent your house out while you are on vacation. It's your biggest asset and if it's sitting empty while you are away, then it's money left on the table. 

You can check my previous posts about how to rent your house. 

Airbnb.com announced this week that it is making changes to the strict cancellation policy. 

This change will affect both hosts and guests. 

When you travel as a family, it's always good practice to check airbnb.com or other vacation rental sites to see if that may be a better option than paying for or using points at a hotel. 

In an email announcement sent to hosts, the new policy reads:

We’re adding a 48-hour grace period to the Strict policy to boost bookings

Earlier this year, we tested a feature that allowed guests to cancel penalty-free within 48 hours of booking listings with a Strict cancellation policy.

The results were overwhelmingly positive for both hosts and guests—hosts were booked more often because guests felt confident making plans that could be changed.

Because of these benefits, we’re updating our Strict cancellation policy in order to make the 48-hour grace period available to all hosts and guests.

This means that guests will receive a full refund if they cancel within 48 hours of booking, as long as their check-in date is at least 14 days away. After this 48-hour window, the regular cancellation policy applies.

The updated Strict cancellation policy will come into effect Apr 05 and will apply to all reservations booked on or after that date. So look for that change starting April 5, 2018. If you decide to use airbnb.com for accomodations or to host, please use my link. You will get $40 off your first reservation!

United Airlines Is Holding My Credit Hostage

United Airlines is getting a lot of flack these days for their pet travel policy and problems transporting pets. But here's another one to add to the list, change fees. I have a flight booked from Washington DC to Syracuse and I need to cancel it. The airline said they would issue a credit for the price of the ticket $300 and I would have one year to use it. 

However, in order to use my credit, the airline will charge me $200. 

What????

When I check the policy online, it reads:

The fee is $110 for award flights. There's no fee to change or cancel a flight ticketed within 24 hours, so long as the reservation was made at least 7 days prior to departure. United Airlines charges change fees of $200 for domestic flights and as much as $400 or more for international itineraries.

There is a workaround. The flight is still a few weeks out so I'm waiting to see if there is a schedule change. If the airline changes the flight (the time, the route), you can tell them it doesn't work for you and they will cancel without penalty. 

Remember, if you book two one ways, you will be charged the change fee both ways. 

I tend to book United for international flights with award miles since the airline is part of the Star Alliance and allows you to book one way. This cancellation policy is disappointing, to say the least. Just another reason to stick with Southwest.

Southwest Cancelled My Flight Just Hours Before

I love Southwest Airlines. I love the companion pass (see past posts for how to earn a companion pass). I love that I can change or cancel flights whenever without penalty. I love their casual vibe onboard. 

So imagine my surprise when just 2 hours before my flight, I receive an email announcing my flight had been canceled. 

I clicked on the link and Southwest prompted me to buy a day of ticket for a later flight. The cheapest ticket left was priced at $175. I had paid $69 for my flight originally. When I continued through the booking process, the website was going to apply my $69 towards my flight. 
I called Southwest and a nice operator answered and proceeded to book me on another flight. She offered a 9pm flight, but when I asked her about the 1:30pm earlier flight listed on the website, she agreed to rebook me on that flight. 
What about the price difference. She checked with her manager and was able to rebook me on my original $69 ticket. 
So the bottom line is sometimes it helps to call and talk to a real live person. And by the way, I still love Southwest. Next post, United's horrible cancellation policy. 

Ditch The Car, Use Lyft?

The famed pink mustached rideshare company, Lyft.com, is offering monthly subscriptions to certain customers in specific markets as a test. For some, this could mean the end of car ownership. Subscriptions start at $199 a month for 30 rides at $15 or less. If you max it out, each ride costs approximately $6. For example, it is approximately 6 miles from my home to my husband's workplace. Lyft.com estimates the fare to be $14. So if you opted for the monthly plan and used it to commute to work and back, it would cost you $12 per day instead of $28. That's a 50% savings. 

You could drop your car insurance and registration fees. It's a equivalent to a car payment without having to pay insurance and registration.

Not a bad idea for those with a flex schedule. If you had to commute 5 days a week, you would opt for the $399 plan which includes 60 rides. 

This is an experimental program so we have yet to see whether it catches on. 

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.