Last Few Days To Apply For The Starwood Amex

The Starwood American Express used to be my hands down a favorite credit card. I have a personal card and the business version. The only reason I didn't jump on the new luxury card is that I wanted to apply for two Chase Southwest credit cards and it would mess up my 5/24. 

But since the merger of Starwood and Marriott last August, this card has lost its luster for me. The points were devalued and the business version lost the perk of free club access in hotels. 

BUT there is one perk left that still causes me to recommend this card for those looking to fly FREE. Starwood (soon to be Bonvoy) points can be converted to dozens of airlines at a 3:1 ratio plus a bonus of 15,000 points per 60,000 points transferred. 

So, for example, if you have 60,000 Starwood points, you can transfer them to American Airlines and get 25,000 Advantage miles. 

So you have until February 12th to apply for this card and then it will be closed forever to new applications. Right now, you can search the web for offers of a 75,000 point bonus for $3,000 minimum spend. It's a good bonus offer on its own and it doesn't stop you from earning other bonuses in the future since it will be a discontinued product. The official American Express application page is not currently showing the 75,000 offer so I would call American Express before you apply. I would also screenshot along the way so if you have to argue to get the bonus, you will have some proof. 

The annual fee is waived the first year, it will be $95 the second year and $125 the third year. It also comes with an annual night hotel certificate up to 35,000 points, and 6x points on spend at Marriott hotels. 

Once this card is discontinued, all Marriott cards will be issued by Chase so if you are over on 5/24, you might want to hop on this. 

Remember, last day to apply is February 12th. 

What To Do In Panama City With Teens

Traveling with kids is an adventure in itself. When my kids were small, we always needed a pool close by to break up the day. Now that my kids are teens, we don't need the pool, but there are some things we keep in mind to make the trip a success. 

Panama is really close to a perfect place for a family trip. 

There is history, culture, food, and watering holes. 

The city of Panama can be separated into a few different areas that you will want to check out. There is the Casco Viejo (old city), Panama La Vieja (the ruins of the first European settled community in the Pacific Coast of the Americas), the new area of Panama City and the Amador Causeway. 

The Casco Viejo or old city is about an 8 block area full of parks, restaurants, souvenir shops, boutique hotels, bars, and churches. A couple of interesting sights to check out with teens:

1.  The world's most expensive coffee at $70 per pound, Geisha coffee is available at Bajareque Coffee House.  

The whole family enjoyed trying Geisha coffee

2. Two churches that are interesting for teens include the San Jose Church which features the biggest nativity scene you have ever seen, the Golden Altar and an altar to the patron Saint Hedwig (if you want a home, you create a model and leave it for the patron saint). 

Nativity scene in the basement of the San Jose Church

Altar to the patron Saint Hedwig

3.  My 12 year old loved finding all the cats wandering in the old city. 

Lots of cats lounging in the old city

4. Ceviche and craft items - Be sure to stop at the seafood market where there are half a dozen different ceviche stands. Panama is known for fresh fish and ceviche. You can dine here for about $5. Just across the road from the seafood market is a local crafts market. 

Check out Ceviche Loco at the seafood market

5. Check out the Amador Causeway. You can rent bikes, walk and just burn off some energy. The Causeway also features the giant Panama sign which makes for a great family photo. 

6. The oldest city or Panama La Vieja is located on the other side of downtown from the old city. You will need about 2 hours here. The entrance fee is pretty cheap and there is a trolley to take you from the entrance to the museum and tower. Lots of great history and a nice climb to the top of the tower. 

There is no shortage of things to do and see in Panama city. Combine a few days in the city with some excursions to see the canal and the Indigenous Tribal villages and you have a special family trip. Next post, visiting the tribal villages. 

How To Use Rocketmiles To Earn Extra Southwest Miles

If you are earning your companion pass the regular way by collecting 110,000 Southwest points in a calendar year, then you will need to read about this trick. 

Rocketmiles is a hotel booking site that partners with Southwest Airlines. When you book your hotel through the site, you earn a bonus of Southwest points that count towards the companion pass. 

On our recent trip to Panama, we had an overnight layover in Houston and needed a hotel near the airport. I booked two rooms through Rocketmiles and earned 2,000 bonus Southwest points for each room. 

This one stay put me 4,000 points closer to my goal of earning the companion pass. 

I find the hotel prices on Rocketmiles are a bit higher than if you use hotels.com, but this time it made sense to earn the companion pass. 

The bottom line is to leverage your spending to maximize FREE travel. 

That's how we do it over here at almost FREE family travel. 

New Marriott Credit Cards - What You Need To Do Now

The latest move in the Marriott/SPG merger is the rebrand of the two loyalty programs and new credit cards. We now know a few of our favorite SPG credit cards will cease to exist come February 13th. 

The Starwood American Express Personal will become Marriott Bonvoy. 

The Starwood American Express Business will become Marriott Bonvoy Business.

  If you hold one of these cards, Marriott will be sending you a replacement as well as a retention offer. Bonvoy will offer a retention bonus of 25,000 bonus points for every $25,000 spend up to $100,000. The card will close to new applications on Feb. 12th. 

Bonvoy Business will offer new customers a welcome bonus of 100,000 points for $5,000 spend in 3 months plus an additional 35,000 free night award for $60,000 spend. But we don't know if they will offer a retention bonus. The annual fee is also increasing by $30, however, if you apply before March 28th, you will have the fee waived the first year, $95 for the second year and then the increase for the third year. 

If you don't have a Starwood Personal American Express card yet, you may want to apply before February 12th. The current offer is 75,000 points with a $3,000 spend in the first 3 months. No annual fee the first year. But the American Express website is not showing this offer right now so be warned. 

Starwood points used to be one of the most valuable in the industry. But even with the merger and devaluation, it may be worth it to pick up the Starwood Personal credit card. The 75,000 points can be transferred to dozens of airlines at 1:1 plus a 5,000 point bonus. So it would be equal to 30,000 airline miles which could be enough for a FREE round trip ticket. 

As we mourn the loss of our beloved Starwood credit cards, the question is whether these new cards will warrant keeping them around. Once we know all the earning details, we will have to decide whether to keep or cancel. I'll keep you posted. 

The Best Ways To See The Panama Canal

The Panama Canal should be at the top of everyone's bucket list. It really is a feat of engineering that you have to experience to appreciate. And for teens, the canal has it all history, mechanics, and boats, really big boats. The 50-mile long canal was built from 1903-1914 by the United States and turned over to Panama in 1999. 

The impact the canal had on the world's supply chain is incredible. 

So what's the best way to experience the canal?

The easiest way to see the canal is to take an Uber to the Miraflores Vistor Center. It's about 30 minutes outside of Panama City. An Uber will cost you approximately $15 each way. Our Uber driver even volunteered to return at a set time to pick us up. (If you use my Uber referral link, you will get your first ride FREE). Tickets for the visitor center are not cheap, but you get a movie, entry to the museum and the viewing station. The museum is four stories and filled with history, hands-on exhibits, and a movie. Honestly, the new movie which launched in January is very strange, but it's only 20 minutes long. 

Ask the staff when the boats are coming through the locks and head up to the viewing station on the fourth floor early to get a space on the rail. You can return to the museum at any time. 

The food at the museum is overpriced and mediocre so plan to eat before or bring snacks with you. The museum costs $20 for adults, $12 for children ages 6-12 and it's FREE for kids under 6. Plan to spend 2-3 hours here. 

Seeing the locks from the viewing station is good, but traveling through the locks on a ferry is even better. Panama Marine Adventures offers a partial day and full day. Believe me, the partial day is plenty. The company owns the ferry so this is as close as you can get to buying a ticket direct instead of using a tour company. Panama Marine Adventures will pick you up at your hotel and either take you to the marina to catch the ferry or take you by cab about an hour away to the Gamboa marina on the other side of the locks near Gatun Lake. 

Then you board the ferry for approximately 6 hours and travel through a series of three locks. 

To feel the ferry dropping 27 feet and then to watch the medieval lock gates swing open is mesmerizing. I asked my teens if the ferry trip was worth it because it really is 5 hours of nothing and 1 hour of amazing. All three said they would recommend it, but they said to bring a book. Your ferry ticket includes lunch plus coffee, water, and soft drinks. 

Tickets are $149 for adults and $95 for children 6-12. If you look online, you may be able to find some tours that are little cheaper, but make sure the tour includes transport and lunch. The word of the day for this trip is patience. About 80 boats a day go through the locks so the schedule can get delayed. 

Watch for my next post about what to see in Panama City. 

It's Official! The New Name Is.....

It's official. Say goodbye to Marriott Rewards, Starwood Points and Ritz Carlton Rewards and say hello to Marriott Bonvoy. 

The launch is February 13th. Starting that date, you will see the branding across the platform. 

Marriott executives say they chose the name Bonvoy because it conveys the power of travel. 

“Marriott Bonvoy marks an evolution in travel because it represents more than a loyalty program,” said Stephanie Linnartz, Global Chief Commercial Officer, Marriott International. “Marriott Bonvoy is a travel program designed to bring to life our extraordinary portfolio of global brands in 129 countries and territories, while also providing endless inspiration for members to keep traveling and pursuing their passions.”

Linnartz continued, “Represented by a simple, bold and modern logo, Marriott Bonvoy is welcoming and optimistic. Our 120 million members have access to the world’s leading hotel portfolio at the best room rates and member benefits, as well our collection of Moments experiences that bring exploration and discovery of the world to the forefront.”

Since the merger already occurred, you will still login the same way to your account. 

The SPG app will be retired on February 13th so you will need to download the Marriott app which will be rebranded. 

And if you haven't combined your Marriott and SPG accounts already, you should do that now. 

Plus the new tier 8 category is coming in March so if you plan to book a luxury hotel, you may want to explore booking it now. 

Marriott will introduce two new Elite statuses, 

Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite for those who stay at least 75 nights and Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador Elite for those who stay at least 100 nights and spend $20,000 annually. 

For those of us who used Starwood to travel for almost FREE, we will just have to wait and see how this changes our points and miles plans. 

But with all change, there is always good and not so good so we will wait and see. 

How To Use Miles To Get To And Stay For FREE In Panama

Panama has been named one of the top travel destinations for 2019 and for good reason. This country is easily accessible, they use USD as their currency, most people speak English, they have UBER and most major hotel chains, a variety of food and restaurants, and lots to do and see. 

I just got back from 2 weeks in Panama and the San Blas Islands so I'll break it down for you with a series of posts. 

First, let's start with how to get to Panama for FREE, of course. 

Copa Airlines is the official airline of Panama. It is also a member of the Star Alliance and flys direct from Los Angeles, Miami, Houston, Chicago, Boston, New York City and Washington DC. 

Being a member of the Star Alliance means you can use your United Airlines miles to book flights on Copa Airlines. 

I didn't have enough United Miles, but I had enough Starwood points to cover the 35,000 points for each r/t ticket. So my trick was to transfer Starwood points to Singapore Airlines Krisflyer program and then book on Copa. You can check out this past blog post for the details. 

However, now that Starwood combined with Marriott, you can actually transfer Starwood points to United Mileage Plus at a rate of 3:1.1 which is a 10% bonus plus for every 60,000 Starwood points you transfer you get a 5,000 point bonus. 

So, if you transfer 60,000 Starwood points, you will get 27,500 United Mileage Plus miles. 

You need 35,000 per ticket for a total of 175,000 United Mileage Plus miles. You can do the math and figure out that you need to transfer 382,000 Starwood points. 

Sounds like a lot, but keep in mind that Starwood is showing points at 3:1. 

Once you secure your airline tickets, it's time to move to hotels. 

I always use awardmapper.com first to see what hotels are in the area. Panama City has tons of hotels. I prefer ones with breakfast, so much easier with kids. 

The Hampton by Hilton Panama City offered a great deal. Each room cost 10,000 Hilton points and you get FREE breakfast. It is centrally located and has a rooftop pool. 

 Bottom line is you need to have a plan and start collecting points early. But once you take that trip and you know that your flights and your hotel are FREE, you can spend on experiences. 

Watch for my next post on what we did in Panama and an amazing timelapse video of going through the Panama Canal.