Check Your Southwest Promotions For A 30% Bonus!

Check your promotions now to see if you were targetted for a 30% bonus spend offer. If you were, congrats! You will earn a 30% points bonus on all your purchases on your Southwest credit card from August to October as long as you spend at least $6,000. If you have any big purchases coming up or if you are trying to collect points, this might be a good promotion for you. 

Here's how it works:

• login to your Southwest.com account, 
• click on promotions, see if you were targetted. I was targetted, my husband was not. 
• click on register. 

You need to register between July 1, 2020 and October 31, 2020. 

The purchase points and the bonus points will count towards the companion pass. The companion pass is the best deal in travel. It is 2 for 1 flights for you and a companion for the year you earn the pass and the following year. To earn the pass, you need to collect 125,000 points in a single calendar year. There are a number of ways you can do this, we explore the options here. 

This is how the promotion will play out. For each month August - October that you spend at least $2,000 on your credit card, you will earn a bonus 30% points or an additional 600 points. 

If you spend this anyway, it's FREE bonus points. If you don't, but you have big purchases coming up or you are collecting points towards the companion pass or future travel, then every point helps. 

If you do not have a Southwest credit card yet, use this link to get a 40,000 point bonus when you apply and spend $1,000 on your new card. We look at the pros and cons of each Southwest card here. 

Marriott Bonvoy Points Promotion Ends July 15th

Marriott Bonvoy just announced that it is extending the current point promotion through July 15th. If you buy or gift points, you will get a 60% bonus. Marriott Bonvoy points are pretty awesome because you can transfer them to dozens of different airlines at 3:1. Plus you will get a 15,000 point bonus for every 60,000 points you transfer. I'm not usually a fan of buying points, but if you are trying to collect points to get you closer to a specific goal, this may help. 

Here’s what a 60% bonus could look like:

BUY POINTS	GET 60% BONUS POINTS	TOTAL POINTS
10,000	6,000	16,000
50,000	30,000	80,000
100,000	60,000	160,000

This offer ends July 15th. 

Marriott To Offer 10X Bonus Categories

One of the highlights of our trip to Panama last year was dining in Don Jose, named one of the top 50 best restaurants in the world.  Since we aren't traveling right now, I am working on collecting as many points and miles as I can. And chasing the bonus categories for credit cards can be an easy way to do this fast. 

Marriott is launching new bonus categories for its line of Chase credit cards on July 15th. American Express is not included. The promotion 10x points on gas stations and restaurants including delivery purchases. You may not be buying much gas right now, but if you get takeout, then you will want to use the right card. 

Marriott cards included in this promotion are:

• Marriott Bonvoy Boundless^TM Credit Card, 
• Marriott Bonvoy^TM Premier Plus Business Credit Card, 
• The Ritz-Carlton^TM Credit Card, 
• Marriott Bonvoy^TM Credit Card, 
• Marriott Bonvoy^TM Premier Credit Card, 
• Marriott Bonvoy Business^TM Credit Card.

You will need to register your card by September 20, 2020, it's easy and takes no time at all. Then you will earn 10x points up to $3500 in combined purchases from July 15, 2020 through September 15, 2020. 
I keep a cheat sheet or write notes on each credit card so I know which one to use for which purchase to maximize points. 
If you don't have a Marriott Chase card, you can take a look at the different cards here. They range from the $95 annual fee to the $450 annual fee. Marriott points are super flexible since you can transfer them to dozens of different airlines and use them to book Marriott hotels which include dozens of different hotel brands. 
However, the points have been devalued over the last few years so my first choice right now is collecting Chase Ultimate Rewards Points and Marriott points are second. 

Chase Sapphire New 5x Categories

Chase just announced some new 5x categories for one of my favorite credit cards, the Sapphire Reserve. This is my favorite card because Chase Ultimate Rewards Points are super flexible. You can transfer them to airlines and hotels or use them like cash in the travel portal or just cash them in for cashback. 

Plus when flights were canceled due to Covid, all of my points were refunded into my account. Easy! 

Starting July 1, 

• earn 5x points when you shop at Instacart (delivery and pickup)
• 5x at gas stations. 
• a $50 credit if you purchase an Instacart Express Membership
• earn 10x points on streaming services like Netflix and Spotify. 

Last month, Chase announced that the annual $300 travel credit will now be a grocery credit. It is automatically applied to your purchases. 

My second favorite card is the Sapphire Preferred which carries a $95 annual fee instead of the hefty $550 for the Reserve. Most of the July perks apply to the Preferred too, but at a decreased value. For example, you earn 3x points when you shop at Instacart, 3x points at gas stations and 5x on streaming services. 

And remember if you have the Chase FREEDOM card, this quarter you earn 5x points on all Amazon purchases. 

We can't travel right now, but we can rack up the points so we are ready when we get the green light. 

Amex Offers You $50 Credit To Shop Small

If you have an American Express credit card, check your offers. You will probably have the shop small offer if you spend $10 plus at your favorite small business, American Express will credit you $5 back. 

You do need to click on the offer in your online account to add it to your card by July 26,2020. Then check the online directory to see what businesses are included. You can take advantage of this offer 10x between now and September 20, 2020. That's a total of a FREE $50 and who doesn't want a FREE $50 right now. Plus you are helping out our small businesses. 
So shop small! Win-win! Thanks Amex. 

Should You Buy Southwest Points?

One of my favorite cities in the US is New Orleans and my favorite way to get there is by flying Southwest. I visited in November for my college reunion and though it was a quick weekend, wow, it was amazing to be back in this beautiful and engaging city. 

And now, New Orleans has a brand new airport that makes flying there even easier. Right now, Southwest is offering a points promotion to encourage people to start traveling again. 

The deal is a 45% bonus when you buy points between June 12th -25th and another 45% bonus if you choose to buy more points between July 1st-12th. 

Now I'm not usually a big fan of buying points, I would rather use the shopping portals and earn points on purchases I make anyway. But if you need points for an upcoming trip, you may want to jump on this deal. Do take note, the points do not count towards the companion pass. You must purchase at least 2,000 points to get the discount. 

For example: 

2,000 points normally cost $60 but with the promotion cost $33, 

10,000 points normally cost $275 but with the promotion cost $151.25 

If you look at flights to get an idea of the value, a flight from San Diego to San Francisco will cost you 9,723 points one way. If you switch that to dollars, it's $129. So even with the promotion, buying the points does NOT offer any value. 

However, if you just need to top off an account to get a FREE flight, then it may make sense. 

It's something to consider depending on your travel plans. 

Last Chance To Earn A FREE 1,000 Marriott Points

Your chance to get a FREE 1,000 Marriott Bonvoy points ends on Thursday, June 18th, so don't forget to take advantage of this offer. 

Since so many of us have been ordering takeout, this one is a no brainer. I joined a few weeks ago and then got take out at a local pizza place. 

Within days, I received an email letting me know I had been awarded 1,000 bonus points. Woohoo! It was that easy. 

Check out my post about how to register for this program. Remember to actually use the credit card for your purchase that you link to the dining program. I linked my Sapphire Reserve credit card so I could double-dip on restaurants. The Reserve earns 3x points at restaurants. 

That's how we do it at almostFREEfamilytravel.com