New Elite Status Revealed With SPG And Marriott

We knew this day was coming and now more details are being revealed. The Starwood Preferred Guest program and Marriott Rewards move closer to the final merger on August 1,2018, Emails are being sent out to customers of both programs describing how the yet to be named combined program will look. 

Highlights include: 

• New Elite Status - Marriott says now it will be easier to obtain Elite status and member perks. If you are a frequent traveler, that might be true. If you are a casual family traveler like me, not so much. If you stay between 0-9 nights at any of the 29 brands, you earn Silver status. But that doesn't get you much. You need to stay a minimum of 50 nights to earn lounge access which includes free breakfast. 
• New Award Redemption - Check out the chart. Award redemptions will start at 7,500 standard in August and then move to a peak and off-peak rate in early 2019. You can still pay for 4 nights and get a 5th night FREE. 
• Combined Points - Your SPG points will be combined with your Marriott points into one new balance in August. You will receive 3 Marriott points for every SPG point. 
• Transfer to airlines - There will be 40 airline transfer partners. For every 60,000 points you transfer, Marriott will give you 15,000 bonus. This is the same as SPG existing policy. Though new airline partners include Jet Blue. 
• Earn Points- If you use your SPG credit card at any of the 29 brands, you will earn 10X points for the stay. 5X points at Element, Residence Inn and Townsplace Suites. 
• Credit Cards - The SPG credit card benefits are changing. You will earn 6x points at SPG and Marriott hotels for the basic card and 2X for everything else. With the business card, you earn the same plus 4X at gas stations, restaurants and for wireless services. And the new luxury card, you earn 6x on hotel stays, 3x on gas and airline purchases and 2x everywhere else. All the cards will come with the anniversary award of one FREE award night at a redemption level of 50,000 points or less. 

We will continue to unpack the changes as we move closer to August 1, 2018. But the best advice right now is to load up spending on your SPG card and book any hotels on awards now rather than later. 

Need Hilton Points? Take Advantage Of This Offer

If you need to top off your Hilton points, you may want to take advantage of this offer by Hilton. Through June 7th, Hilton is offering to match 100% when you purchase 5,000+ points. 

If you follow my blog, you will see there are lots of Hilton brand hotels where you only need 5,000-10,000 points per night per room. The Ramada and Hampton Inn brands even include breakfast. We stayed throughout Eastern Europe in Prague, Krakow, and Warsaw last summer at Hilton brand hotels for 5,000-10,000 points including breakfast. All the hotels were fabulous with location and breakfast. 

We are traveling to Panama City, Panama later this year. I have my eye on the Hampton Inn Panama City. Rooms cost 10,000 points per night and now that my kids are older, we need two rooms. We will be in Panama City for 5 nights before we hop on a catamaran for 4 nights. 

5 nights x 2 rooms x 10,000 points per night = 100,000 points 

5 nights x 2 rooms x $119 per night = $1190 if we paid 

We have 76,000 points right now so if we buy 13,000 points and Hilton matches those points, we will have more than we need for all 5 nights. Total cost = $130 to buy the points.
If we used the points we had, we could have stayed for 3 nights, but we would have spent $476 for the additional 2 nights.
Buying points is not always a good deal so do your math. But in this case, it's a huge savings.

eMiles Shutting Down June 15th

From our friends at FrequentMiler, eMiles is reportedly shutting down on June 15th, 2018. It's not a huge loss since the points you earned were not easily spent anyways. The theory was that you earned points for watching marketing videos and exchanged them for airline points and gift cards. But it never really found its niche. 

But if you have any points on this platform, you need to transfer them or cash them out asap. You should have received an email from the website on June 1st. 

Double Cash Back Through Ebates Shopping Portal

Ebates.com announced today that they are doubling cash back at dozens of stores. Ebates.com is a cash back shopping portal. There are several out there that I like, but Ebates.com tops my list. It usually has the best cash back deals.
As you know, I love shopping portals! It's free money or airline miles.
Here's how it works:
Whenever you shop online, go to the portal (Ebates, United, American, Southwest) and then click through to the store.
There will be a percentage listed or a number of airline miles that you will earn just by clicking through to the website.
Now it will lead you to the same website you would have gone to if you had searched the store. So you can still use your coupons or discount codes or whatever, but you get a bonus cash back or extra miles for your purchase. Amazing!
Ebates.com will send you a check for your cash back. The airline portals will drop the miles into your account.
If you use my link to open your account at Ebates.com, you will earn an extra $10 cash back. Woohoo!
That's how we do it at almost FREE family travel!

Earn 100,000 Marriott Points With This New Card

The first offer after the merger between Starwood and Marriott is here and it's pretty good. Open a Marriott Rewards Premier Plus credit card and earn 100,000 Marriott points. 

Here are the details: 

1. Spend $5,000 in the first 3 months

2. $95 annual fee not waived the first year

3. free hotel night on your anniversary (offsets the $95)

4. Earn 6 points per dollar at any Marriott and SPG

5. Earn 2 points per dollar everywhere else

6. silver staus 

However, if you have or have had a Marriott Premier or Premier Plus card in the past 24 months, you are not eligible.

Buying Flowers For Mom - Get 26% Cash Back!

If you follow my blog, you know how much I LOVE shopping portals! Cashback, miles, points, Loyalty Shopping Dollars, I LOVE them all. You know why? Because it is FREE money. Yep, money that you would spend anyway comes right back to you in the form of cash back, free trips or free products.

In honor of its birthday, Ebates.com is increasing its cash back to 15%. And if you want to send flowers to mom this weekend, the cashback rate is up to 26%. These cashback offers are stacked on top of any promotions, discount and promo codes. Amazing!
How do portals work?
1. Instead of going straight to the online store you want to shop from, you click on ebates.com or the shopping portal for American, United or Southwest airlines.
2. Find the store you want to shop at and click
3. The portal will keep track of what you spend and credit a percentage of that back to your account in the form of cash or miles.
4. It's that easy! Ebates.com will send you a check in the mail or offer you an e-gift card once you have accumulated enough cash back. The airlines will drop the miles into your linked account in a few weeks.
If you use my Ebates link, you get an extra $10 cash back! Woohoo! Happy Shopping!

How To Tour Washington DC With Kids

The cherry blossoms and the Washington monument

The nation's capital should be on every family's bucket list. It's an amazing education for children. And it can be very affordable since most of the museums in Washington DC are FREE. 

You have 3 airports to pick from near Washington DC. You can fly into Washington Dulles, Reagan National or Baltimore Washington Airports. Southwest flies into Dulles and BWI, however, BWI is usually cheaper. On the flip side, the Washington metro does not reach Dulles airport, however, there is a shuttle bus from the airport to the closest metro stop. 

If you fly into BWI, you can take the MARC or Amtrak trains to Union Station. FREE shuttles are provided at BWI to take you to the closest train stop. 

The National Cathedral in Bethesda

Once in Washington DC, where to stay? Hotels are pretty pricey, but try awardmapper.com to see if you can use points. Airbnb.com is another option. You can also opt to stay a bit out of town and ride the metro into the city.

 While in DC, try to reserve a Pentagon tour. The Pentagon is home to 23,000 employees and the nation's heart of defense. Besides the building, there is a 9/11 memorial and artifacts inside including Saddma Hussein's gold machine gun. Be warned, it is a lot of walking.

Besides the Pentagon, there are 19 Smithsonian museums which are FREE to the public. The most popular are the Air and Space Museum, the Natural History Museum, the American History Museum, the National Archives Museum and the National Zoo. You could spend a whole day at each of these museums. Plus on the mall, spend some time visiting the monuments and the memorials.
The National Cathedral is worth a drive-by or if you have time, go inside.
In addition to the Smithsonian museums, you can also check out the Newseum, the Holocaust Museum (if you are visiting with older children), the International Spy Museum and The US Bureau Of Engraving and Printing (tickets for daily tours are distributed on a first come, first serve basis).
For food, try the food trucks that line the mall. You will find lots of kebab type items. Very yummy and inexpensive.