Happy Holiday! Time To Think FREEDOM

 

On this fourth of July, let's talk FREEDOM. What does it mean? What does it mean to you? In the aftermath of the pandemic, FREEDOM may have changed meanings and become more basic. For example, if you are on lockdown, then FREEDOM may mean just leaving your home. 

If you are FREE to leave your home, FREEDOM may mean leaving your city, county, or state. 

Or maybe it's a more abstract meaning like freedom of choice and thoughts. 

This July 4th, we celebrate FREEDOM. Hopefully, one day soon, the idea that FREEDOM can and should exist for all people of all colors, races, and religions. FREEDOM for everyone to travel and to live peacefully in harmony and prosperity. 

Enjoy the day and spend just a few minutes wondering what FREEDOM means to you. 

So Many 100,000 Plus Bonus Offers Right Now

What if you could stay at hotels in Europe for FREE? We did it. Three years ago, four weeks, lots of hotels and all FREE. 

How do we do it? We take advantage of the bonus offers on credit cards. And right now, credit cards are coming out strong to lure you into applying. Currently, there are 100,000 plus bonus offers from Chase Sapphire Preferred, Hilton, IHG, and Capital One Venture. So the question is should you jump in and if so, which one?

I'm going to break it down for you and try to make it as simple as possible so you can take advantage of these amazing offers to get FREE travel down the road for your family. 

So Many 100,00 Plus Bonus Offers Right Now 

Okay here goes. Yes, you definitely should jump in and apply. That's a no-brainer. These offers are too good to pass up, some are the highest bonus offers we have ever seen. And bonus offers translate into FREE travel so yes, do it. 

Now, which card or cards should you apply for? That one is more difficult so let me help you. 

My number one go-to card is the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card. So if you don't really know where you want to travel or have a specific need, then apply for this card first. 100,000 Ultimate Reward points equal approximately $1250 in FREE travel or cashback. You can get more value from these points too if you transfer them to more than a dozen airline partners or hotel partners Or if you use them to buy travel through the Chase Travel Portal. 

Which one should you choose 

The second choice would be a tie for me between the Hilton American Express Surpass card or the Capital One Venture card. Both carry a $95 annual fee, but obviously, the Hilton card earns Hilton points good at only Hilton brand hotels. On our last few trips to Eastern Europe and Panama, we stayed in Hampton by Hilton. This brand is great for families because you can easily get 5 people in a room (2 double/queen beds and a sofa pullout) plus it includes breakfast. Our breakfast in Panama City, Panama and Krakow, Poland were phenomenal. And the price tag for these hotels is 5,000-10,000 per night. Wow! 

Now the Capital One Venture card earns Capital One points which are great because you can use them to essentially erase any travel purchase. So there is no fuss with this card. No need to transfer points to partners. You just use the card to make the purchase and then log into your account and erase it. You can erase the whole purchase or a part of it. Super easy. The minimum spend for this one is hefty so be prepared. 

You can only get the Capital One Venture card once in your lifetime. If you had the Hilton Ascend card, you are not eligible for the Surpass. American Express will only approve you for two cards in a 90 day period. American Express also offers a tool that will tell you when you apply if you qualify for the bonus before you submit. 

My number one choice

The IHG card would be my last choice, but I know people who love IHG and will buy points when they go on sale with the 100% match. IHG points are good within the IHG brand which includes Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express. 

You can check out the benefits for each card which may sway you one way or the other. 

• IHG waives the $89 fee for the first year and the bonus is 150,000 points. The rest of the cards carry a $95 annual fee. It has a $3,000 minimum spend. 
• Hilton Surpass card has a $3,000 minimum spend and a 130,000 bonus offer. Check a few different links. 
• Capital One Venture has a $20,000 minimum spend to get the full 100,000 bonus. You get 50,000 points for the first $3,000 spend. This card also carries a $95 annual fee. 
• The Chase Sapphire Preferred  has a $4,000 minimum spend to get the 100,000 bonus. It also carries a $95 annual fee. 

For me, the Chase Sapphire Preferred is my number one choice! If you decide to apply for one of these cards, please consider using my referral link. You get an awesome deal and I get a few points for referring you. 

Time To Activate Your Chase Bonus Categories

 

Time to activate those Chase bonus categories for your FREEDOM (no longer available) and FREEDOM FLEX credit cards. These are rotating 5x points bonus categories every quarter. For Q3 this year, Chase is making grocery stores and select streaming services worth 5x points instead of the usual 1x points. 

Time To Activate Your Chase Bonus Categories 

You must activate your card first and then make that card your go to for grocery purchases for the next three months and rack up the points. 

You can earn points up to $1,500 in combined purchases. 

Keep in mind that grocery does NOT include Target and Walmart. 

Select streaming services includes:

• Disney+
• Hulu
• ESPN+
• Netflix
• Sling
• Vudu
• Fubo TV
• Apple Music
• SiriusXM
• Pandora
• Spotify
• YouTube TV

I will actually mark each card with the bonus categories for that time period so I remember. You can also keep a running list somewhere. 

Why I love Chase Ultimate Reward Points 

The points add up quickly and Chase Ultimate Reward points are my current fave since they are so versatile and flexible. You can transfer them to dozens of hotels and airlines or just use the pay yourself back tool for cashback or use the travel portal to book flights. So many options and if you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Reserve, your points are worth more than 1:1. 

If you do not have the Chase FREEDOM FLEX card, consider using my referral link for a $200 bonus offer. 

How I Saved $400 With The Southwest Anniversary Sale

 

If you have any flights booked on Southwest.com or are thinking about booking flights, now is the time. Southwest announced a huge 50% off sale for its anniversary. So check your flights if you plan to travel June 15th-November 3rd. 

You must book your flight by June 17th and use promo code SAVE50, so don't wait.

I had booked some flights for October and rebooked them today and saved $400. If you booked with points, you should be able to make an adjustment and get the points returned to your account. 

If you don't have any Southwest points, the credit card bonus offer is 65,000 points through July. It won't help you for this sale, but it will help you fly FREE when the sale ends.  

What It's Like Using The Yosemite Day Pass

 

It looks like a painting, but it's real. This is Yosemite National Park in California. It's a beautiful and awe-inspiring home to El Capitan, Half Dome, and Yosemite Falls. Amazing! 

This summer, you need a reservation to visit the park. Starting May 21st, every car that passes through the gate needs either a day pass reservation or a reservation at a hotel, lodge, or campground inside the park. 

The day pass costs $35 and is good for 3 consecutive days. You can buy it at recreation.gov.  I did a quick check and there were still tickets available for some days in July and most of August. I entered a date that showed no availability and the computer indicated that more tickets would be released about a week before. So keep trying! 

And if you have a National Park annual pass, be sure to check the box so you don't pay for the day pass. I missed that, but the ranger at the entry gate told me how to ask for a refund. I arrived at the entry gate at 7:30am and there were only 4 cars in line ahead of me. A friend of mine left the park in the afternoon the week before and said the line was 2 miles long. 

So it may be smart to arrive early. Gates open at 5am. There are multiple gates to enter the park depending on from which direction you arrive. Hwy 41 is closest to Fresno, Hwy 140 is closest to Merced and Hwy 120 is closest to San Francisco. 

I entered on Hwy 120 which is a super windy road known as the New Priest Grade with nearly 100 hairpin curves. Apparently, the new Priest Grade is actually better than the old Priest Grade. Hard to believe. If you are prone to car sickness, I do not recommend this route. 

I exited by Highway 41 which is much less curvy and you pass the Mariposa Grove with the giant Sequoias. However, there are no shuttle buses this summer so the hike to the Grove is 4 miles roundtrip. 

Once inside, Highway 41 will lead you through a long tunnel and then let you out into the valley. Spectacular! Down on the valley floor, day pass parking is available near the Yosemite Lodge. It's a good starting point since it's just a 5 minute walk from there to the Lower Yosemite Falls. The Lower Falls is an easy walk. The Upper Falls is a 6-8 hour hike. 

From the Falls, you can continue walking into Yosemite Village where there is a souvenir shop, Ansel Adams Gallery, and a giant Sequoia stump. If you continue walking towards the Ahwahnee Lodge, you will come upon a meadow with a great view of Half Dome. 

As far as accommodations, if you book early or are super lucky, you may find something inside the park. The only campground that offers reservations the day before is camp 4 located next to the Yosemite Lodge. Reservations open at 12:01am the night before. All the other campgrounds filled up months ago. 

There were a few rooms available when I checked but they were priced upwards of $300 per night. 

Oakhurst is a popular town 16 miles outside of the Hwy 41 Entrance Gate with all the major hotel brands and a couple of grocery stores. 

Enjoy the park and remember to get your day pass! 

How You Can Get 5x Marriott Points on Gas Purchases

 

If you have a Chase credit card, chances are you have a bonus offer waiting to be activated that will get you 5x or even 10x points on certain purchases. 

For example, I entered my Chase Marriott Premier credit card and this offer came up. 10x total points at Marriott including for gift cards and 5x points on travel and at gas stations. Pretty Sweet! 

The bonus offer is good through August 15, 2021, but you do need to activate the card. 

I'm hearing that the bonus offers are good on Chase Disney, Hyatt, IHG, Marriott, United and Southwest co branded credit cards. But you have to activate the card first. 

So take advantage of the bonus! Makes the high gas and hotel prices just a bit easier to handle right now. 

50x Points Promotion from Southwest Airlines on June 11th

Wow! Wow! Mark your calendar for this one! In honor of its 50th birthday, Southwest is doing a one-day 50x Rapid Reward Points on all Southwest purchases. And I think I found a way to make this deal a little bit sweeter. 

First, in order to get 50x points, you need to purchase directly from Southwest.com on June 11th between 12am EST and 11:59pm EST. For those of us out here in California, be sure to pay attention to the time difference. You must make the purchase with any Southwest credit card. If you don't have one yet, consider using my referral link to apply. You can read about the cards here to decide which one suits you best. 

You will get 50x points on Southwest purchases up to $100. So you may be asking what kind of flight am I going to take for $100? or sure, I'll spend $250 on a flight, but only get 50x points on $100? Hold on. This promotion is good on gift cards and buying points. The bonus points count towards the companion pass, but not towards A-list or A-list preferred. 

Southwest is also currently running a 40-45% discount sale on Rapid Reward points. 

So my plan is to buy $100 worth of points on June 11th. I will actually have to spend $115 for 7,000 points with the sale since you have to buy points in thousands. That purchase should qualify for the 50x bonus points. So I will actually get 12,000 points for $115. Not bad. 

Since I already have the companion pass, I can use those points to fly myself and my companion anywhere I want to go. Nice! If you are trying to earn the companion pass, this bonus will help. 

I don't usually recommend buying points, but in this case, I think you will get more value and it's easier to change travel plans when you pay with points at Southwest than using a gift card. 

If you don't want to buy points, then buy a $100 gift card and you will still get the 50x bonus. Just make sure you do it on June 11th. 

And Southwest has another promotion going, this one is a play-to-win type. Here is the link, you can play once a day through June 18th and try to win some FREE points. You will have to enter your information every day which is kind of tiresome, but you may win some points. I've played twice and haven't won anything yet. 

 

Here's the link and good luck!