State Dept. Warns US Citizens To Leave Iraq

The State Department is ordering all US citizens to leave Iraq this morning. It has issued a Level 4 travel warning (do not travel there) after the US assassinated a powerful military general. Iraq has promised retaliation for the killing so be aware if you travel anywhere overseas. Security has also been added in places like New York City. 
Ahead of any travel, it's a good habit to check the State Department travel advisory on their website.

Here are the other Level 4 advisories for countries around the world:

Bolivia

Burkina Faso
Afghanistan
Central African Republic
Iran
Iraq
Libya
Mali
North Korea (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea)
Somalia
South Sudan
Syria
Venezuela
Yemen

Top 5 International Places You Should Visit In 2020

Sandboarding in Huacachina, Peru

I love to travel outside of the US. The culture, traditions, and food around the world are amazing and provide a great learning experience for my family. The more different from what I'm used to the better. It's a chance to show my children what a small place we occupy in the world. So coming from that perspective, here are my top 5 international places you should visit with your family in 2020 and we have a tie for the #1 spot: 

1. Peru, the Amazon, and Machu Picchu - There is so much history and diversity in this country, it is a feast. You can live in the Amazon and walk through the jungle with a medicine man, ride the sand dunes in a buggy and on a sandboard, and visit the spiritual site of Machu Picchu. The people are friendly, the food is delicious and the country is easy to navigate. In addition, flights in and out of Lima are plentiful and except for visiting Machu Picchu, it is affordable. Check out my previous post for my itinerary. Plus if you open a Chase Sapphire Preferred or Reserve credit card, you can get a discount on flights through the travel portal. 

1. Thailand - Traveling in Thailand for almost a month has to be our family's favorite trip of all time. We rode elephants, zip lined, visited more temples than you can count and were blessed by a monk. The people are friendly, the culture is incredible, the food is amazing, the beaches and nature are like nothing else. Once you secure your flights, traveling in Thailand is cheap. I sell our itineraries for $5 each. Check it out! and if you open a Chase Sapphire Preferred or Reserve, you can get discounts on flights. 

2. Ecuador - Located right on the equator, Ecuador offers a unique experience in altitude and geography. Quito is located at 9,000 feet above sea level and includes a picturesque historic quarter. You can also easily make a day trip to the cloud forest and the volcano. The country uses the USD as currency making travel easy. Check out my previous posts for details. 

3. London - My last trip to London was in the early 90's, now I've been to the city twice in the past two years and I must say I loved it. It was easy to navigate except for the cars driving on the wrong side of the road, a favorable exchange rate and had enough culture to satisfy my thirst for different. Flights to London are pretty cheap right now and it's a great place to jump off to anywhere else in Europe. Check out my previous posts with things to do with kids and how to find cheap flights to London. 

 4. Cuba - I would put Cuba at #1 except that most people think you can't visit anymore due to changes in the laws. But you can visit Cuba and I highly recommend it. You can check out my previous posts with details about how to visit this country and amazing people. It's actually pretty easy to navigate, very safe and so culturally and historically interesting, it's crazy. If Trump gets reelected in 2020, the window to visit Cuba may close entirely. At this point, you can hop on a Southwest flight and use points, so take advantage while you still can. If you decide to open a Southwest credit card, here are your options. 

5. Panama - Just a year ago, we went to Panama City and the San Blas Islands. All I can say is wow! The Panama canal is a feat of engineering that you just have to experience plus the historic quarter is well preserved. The city bustles with energy and the country uses the USD so it's easy to navigate and inexpensive. If you have time, I highly recommend renting a sailboat and exploring the San Blas Islands or visiting one of the surf beaches. Check out my posts for details and how a Chase Sapphire Preferred or Reserve card may help you get a discount on flights.  


Other places that should make the list include South Africa, Israel, Costa Rica, the British Virgin Islands, and Japan. So where are you going? Let us know in the comments below and we can help you get there for almost FREE. 

Top 5 Things To Do As You Start The New Year

“THE WORLD IS A BOOK AND THOSE WHO DO NOT TRAVEL READ ONLY A PAGE.” ~ SAINT AUGUSTINE

As we turn the page into 2020, look at your travel goals for this year and next year. Advance planning is the key to saving money on travel. For our trip to Peru and Machu Pichu, I started saving points and miles two years in advance and I booked our flights 330 days in advance. Look at the ages of your children and their personalities, what type of trip will they enjoy in two years. 

Here are the top 5 things you need to do now to save money on travel:

1. If you are not a planner by nature, sit down with your family and brainstorm places you would like to visit. 
2. Check to see which airlines fly to that country or region
3. See approximately how many miles/points you need for each ticket 
4. See which credit cards will help you get there. Remember to look at cards that earn flexible miles/points like Chase Ultimate Rewards or Marriott points. 
5. Make a plan and act on it! 

If you follow this plan each new year, pretty soon, you will be traveling often, for almost FREE, making lifetime memories for your family and giving your children the gift of experiences, culture, traditions and a global perspective. 

Have a wonderful new year from all of us at almostFREEfamilytravel.com 

Easy Ways To Earn The Extra 15,000 For The 2020 Southwest Companion Pass

One of the best emails you can find in your inbox is the one letting you know you earned the Southwest Companion Pass. The BOGO pass is one of the best travel perks around. Valid for two years, you can take a friend along with you on any flight for FREE. The friend must travel the exact same flight and route as you. Plus you can change your "friend" three times each calendar year. 

Pretty sweet! 

Up until Dec. 31, 2019, you needed 110,000 points to earn the companion pass, but starting Jan. 1, 2020 you will need to earn 125,000 points. So the question is what is the quickest and easiest way to earn those extra 15,000 points?

Here are a couple of ways to do it:

1. Fly and earn miles, duh

2. Open a Southwest credit card (see this post to help you decide which one)

3. Open a Southwest business credit card (see this post to decide which one)

3. Charge everything to the Southwest credit card 

4. Use the Southwest shopping portal 

5. Use Rocketmiles to book hotels 

6. Use Southwesthotels.com to book hotels 

7. Rapid Rewards Dining 

8. Hotel and Car rental partners

9. Refer a friend to open a Southwest Chase credit card 

Unless you are flying or charging to the Southwest credit card, be sure to check the fine print to confirm that the points will count towards the companion pass. From Southwest.com the fine print says you can actually start purchasing from partners now and the points won't post until 2020 so they will be counted in the next calendar year. 

Partner	Points count toward 2020 Companion Pass if…	When do points post to your account?
Laithwaite's Wine®	Purchase date in 2019	6-8 weeks after purchase date
Rapid Rewards Shopping®	Purchase date in 2019	6-8 weeks after purchase date
Rocketmiles	Stay completed in 2019	4-6 weeks after purchase date
Rapid Rewards Dining®	Dining completed in 2019	4-6 weeks after dining
1-800-Flowers.com®	Purchase of flowers completed in 2019	6-8 weeks after delivery completed
Reliant Energy	Points must be posted to account in 2019	Points post within 8-12 weeks
NRG Home	Points must be posted to account in 2019	First month’s points after 8 weeks
MakeItCount™ - Marathon	Points must be posted to account in 2019.	Points will post within 72 hours of the purchase or action that qualified for the earn offer
PlacePass	Experience completed in 2019	6-8 weeks after experience completed
Harry and David	Purchase completed in 2019	6-8 weeks after delivery completed
Rewards for Opinions	Points must be posted to account in 2019	Points will post within 6 weeks of completed activity

Note that miles transferred from Chase Ultimate Rewards and Marriott DO NOT count towards the companion pass. Buying points and transfers or gifts of points also DO NOT count. Good luck and happy flying! And if you decide to open a Southwest credit card, please consider using my referral link. Thank you for your support. 

Happy Holidays!

“LIFE IS EITHER A DARING ADVENTURE OR NOTHING AT ALL” ~ HELEN KELLER

From my family to yours, we wish you lots of travel and adventure in 2020. 

Stephanie Antin

AlmostFREEfamilytravel.com

Two Weeks Left To Get 2x Hilton Points On Stays

If you are planning any hotel stays over the holidays, you may want to take advantage of this Hilton Fall promotion. You will earn double points on any stays completed by Jan. 5, 2020. If you have a Hilton Honors American Express card, you can earn triple points. 
You need to register for the Power Up promotion before booking your stay. 

Another promotion from Marriott ends Dec. 22nd. This one offers you 30% off if you buy points which works out to $8.75 per 1,000 points. I don't usually buy points except if I need to top off an account. But if you need some Marriott points, then now may be the time. 

Watch for deals and new promotions starting Jan. 1. 

Chase FREEDOM 5X Q1 Categories Revealed

One of my favorite no annual fee cards is the Chase Freedom. It earns Ultimate Reward points at 2x and every quarter there are 5x bonus categories. Past categories have included warehouse clubs, grocery stores, Paypal, Chase pay, streaming services and more. You can max out these categories up to $1500 so that's pretty sweet. 

Chase just announced the Q1 categories for 2020 and they are, drumroll please:

• Gas Stations 
• Select Streaming Services 
• Internet, Cable and Phone Services

Out here in California, gas is pretty steep so just charging my gas to the Chase FREEDOM card for 3 months will add up to some pretty nice savings. Also if you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve or Preferred along with the FREEDOM, you can combine your points and use them to book travel through the portal making them even more valuable. See my past post for how this works.  That's how we do it at almostFREEfamilytravel.com