Check Out The Only Marriott Hotel On The NC Coast

 

Once in awhile, you can find a Marriott hotel gem. And if it's a category 5, that's a bonus. Welcome to the Courtyard Marriott Carolina Beach near Wilmington, NC. This hotel brands itself as the only Marriott on the North Carolina coast and it is right on the beach. 

In fact, when this hotel was built 17 years ago, they put all the rooms on the beach side with balconies and views of the ocean. So smart! 

This pic above is the view from our 6th floor room. Pretty sweet. 

Check Out The Only Marriott Hotel On The NC Coast

Since it's a category 5, you can use your free night certificates for it except during peak pricing. Regular rates range from $149-$410 or 40,000 points. Rooms include two queens or a king and sofa bed, fridge and coffee maker. No breakfast since it's a Courtyard, however, there is a bistro in the lobby that serves Starbucks coffee. There are also plenty of restaurants within walking distance. There is also a supermarket less than a mile away. 

There is a place next door where you can rent boogie boards, surfboards, wetsuits, paddleboards, kayaks and bikes. Havanas and Kates are right across the street and offer amazing dinner and breakfast. 

Fort Fisher, a historic civil war landmark, is located just down the road in Kure Beach. Kure Beach is also home to the North Carolina Aquarium. And be sure to check out the Carolina Beach State Park. It is the only place in the world you can see the Venus Fly Trap. 

This carnivorous plant is native to this area and in fact, it's the only place in the world that the plant can live. There are cameras in the park to protect it from poachers. We searched and couldn't find it. But it's a beautiful park located on the banks of the Cape Fear river. 

If you don't have a Marriott credit card yet, you have a few options. 

• Brilliant - 125,000 bonus offer for a $5,000 minimum spend, $450 annual fee, $300 Marriott hotel credit, $200 restaurant credit, Priority Pass, 6x at Marriott hotels, 3x on travel purchases. 
• Boundless - 75,000 bonus offer for a $3,000 minimum spend, $95 annual fee, 6x points at Marriott hotels, 2x on travel purchases, 2x points on everything else, FREE night certificate on your anniversary worth 35,000 points. 
• Bold - 30,000 bonus for a $1,000 minimum spend, $0 annual fee, 3x points at Marriott hotels, 2x on travel purchases, 1x points on everything else. 

If you decide to apply for a Marriott credit card, please consider using my referral link. You get a great bonus offer and I get a little something to help keep this blog going and continue finding great deals for you. 

Delta Extensions, Chase Sapphire Extensions, Alaska Officially Joins

 

So much travel related news today, I just had to send you another email this morning. As travel rebounds, airlines and travel credit cards are luring people back to the sky. Today, Delta, Chase Sapphire and Alaska Airlines all made big announcements so here you go:

1. Delta - extends travel voucher expiration dates to Dec. 2022. All voluntarily cancelled flight tickets purchases anytime this year will also be extended to Dec. 2022. Delta will resume booking the middle seat May 1st and resume snack and drink service April 14th. 

2. Chase Sapphire Preferred and Reserve extends its pay yourself back feature through September 2021, it was set to expire in June. Plus the travel credit can be used for grocery and gas purchases through Dec. 2021. 

3. Chase FREEDOM, FLEX and INK adopted a similar Pay Yourself Back feature for charitable donations and it's extended to December 2021. 

4. Alaska officially joined OneWorld Alliance today so you can now search the British Airways website for Alaska Airlines flights. You can use British Airways Avios to buy Alaska flights which for short haul trips usually offer a better value. 

5. Southwest Airlines is set to release flights through November  5th. Look for that to happen anytime. 

Chase Sapphire Preferred is offering a bonus right now of 80,000 Ultimate Reward Points, that's a $1,000 value plus a $50 grocery credit. It's a $4,000 minimum spend in the first 3 months. The annual $95 fee is not waived. 

If you decide to apply for this card, please use my referral link. You get the same great offer and I get a little bonus for referring you. 

As usual, I'll keep you posted on all the news. Watch for lots more to come as people get back to traveling. 

CA Theme Parks Start To Reopen April 1st

 

After being closed for about a year, California's theme parks are set to reopen starting April 1st. The parks will limit capacity and only allow California residents to participate. So here's the rundown of opening dates for our most popular parks:

• SeaWorld in San Diego - already open due to being classified as a zoo
• Six Flags Magic Mountain, Southern CA - open April 1st
• Six Flags Discovery Kingdom - Northern CA - open April 1st
• Universal Studios - open April 16th, preview day for annual pass members April 15th, tickets go on sale April 8th
• Disneyland - April 30th
• Knott's Berry Farm - reopen in May, no exact date has been announced yet 

Advance reservations will be required for all the parks and capacity will be limited. Tickets are only available to California residents. The parks are using a new GPS system that will verify residency. 

We will keep you posted as ticket purchase information becomes available. 

How You Can Earn 20% Bonus Southwest Points - Targeted Promotion

 

Just a reminder, if you have not registered for this Southwest promotion yet, get moving! This is an easy way to earn 20% more points on every purchase. It is a targeted promotion so check your account or your inbox for an email with the subject line "Register for a 20% bonus". The best part, the points count towards the companion pass which is by far the move valuable travel perk out there. It's a buy one, get one FREE companion pass for every flight you fly for up to two years.

I have had the pass for about 6 years and have saved thousands of dollars. 

For this promotion, you just need to register your credit card and then the bonus points will apply automatically to every purchase you make through May 31, 2021. 

Pretty sweet.

Amazing Bonus Offer From Chase Sapphire Preferred

One of my favorite travel credit cards is offering the largest bonus I've ever seen. If you don't have a Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card yet, now may be the time to press the button.

Chase Sapphire Preferred is offering a bonus right now of 80,000 Ultimate Reward Points, that's a $1,000 value plus a $50 grocery credit. It's a $4,000 minimum spend in the first 3 months. The annual $95 fee is not waived. 

Let me tell you why this is my favorite card....Ultimate Reward points are the most flexible points out there. You can transfer them to dozens of airlines even Southwest and hotels. You can use them in the Chase travel portal at 1:1.25 plus you can utilize the pay yourself back feature and cash them out. 

This card earns extra points on dining and travel plus includes travel insurance. 

No foreign transaction fees either. 

If you decide to apply for this card, please use my referral link. You get the same great offer and I get a little bonus for referring you. 

 

Time To Activate Your Q2 Chase Bonus Categories

 

So it's that time, time to activate your Chase Bonus categories for the second quarter. Several Chase credit cards offer rotating bonus categories. They are Chase Freedom (no longer available) and the Chase Freedom Flex. You can register from March 15th - June 14th. The 5x bonus is retroactive, but I recommend registering your cards now. If you have both cards, register both and you can earn the bonus twice. 

Q2 Bonus Categories

This quarter the bonus is for gas and home improvement purchases. It is 5x points per dollar so you can rack extra Chase Ultimate Reward points pretty quickly. 

The bonus maxes out at $1,500, but that's a lot of gas. 

If you are planning a bit of road tripping for Spring Break, why not earn some bonus points while you are at it. 

Why I love Chase Ultimate Reward Points

Chase Ultimate Reward points are one of my favorites due to their flexibility. You can transfer them to more than a dozen different airlines and three hotel chains. You can also use the points in the Chase travel portal if you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Reserve card. Chase is also still offering the pay yourself back feature so you can cash your points out. If you do that, your points increase in value to 1:1.25 or 1:1.5. Pretty sweet! 

If you don't have the FREEDOM FLEX card yet, you can get a $200 bonus when you reach the $500 minimum spend. This card has no annual fee and earns 5% cash back on the rotating categories plus 5% back on travel purchased in the Chase Travel Portal, 3% on drugstore and dining and 1% everywhere else. Please consider using my referral link if you decide to apply for this card. 

How You Can Earn A Bonus 1,000 American Miles Fast

 

Shopping portals are one of the best ways to earn miles without stepping on an airplane. Most of the major airlines and hotels have them. There are also a few cashback portals like Rakuten.com. Think of shopping portals as an online marketplace of retailers. Every retailer agrees to give you a discount so it can be included in the marketplace. It's a win-win for you and the retailer. 

The retailer gives you a discount in the form of miles or cash back. 

It doesn't cost you anything and it's a great way to earn miles without flying. 

Sometimes, the portals will add bonuses in the form of extra miles per purchase or per total money spent. 

How You Can Earn A Bonus 1,000 American Miles Fast

Right now, American Airlines is offering a Spring Cleaning Bonus. 

Spend $100, earn 500 bonus miles 

Spend $300, earn 1,000 bonus miles 

Pretty sweet! This offer ends March 16th. You don't even need to spend the $100 at the same store or even in the same purchase. You just need to spend a total of $100 before the deadline. 

Rakuten.com which used to be Ebates just launched a new credit card with a bonus offer of $30. The card earns 3% bonus back on all purchases through the Rakuten.com shopping portal and 1% back everywhere else. Now I wouldn't recommend this because you don't want to waste a credit pull on a small bonus like this. There are a lot of more valuable bonus offers out there and better long-term credit cards in my opinion. But if you are a big Rakuten.com fan or just looking for cash back, maybe this is an option for you. 

If you do shop at Rakuten.com, please use my referral link, you will get a bonus $20 back on your first $20 purchase.