Ultimate Adventure: Swim With The Leopard Sharks

 

Ever dream of swimming with the sharks? 

Every year around mid-August to late September, you can swim with the Leopard Sharks in San Diego, California. And it won't cost you anything, not even an arm or leg. 

Leopard Sharks are bottom feeders and not interested in snacking on humans at all. 

So the good news is you can swim with them without worrying about being bit, but they are big and scary looking so you may need some encouragement to get into the water. 

The Leopard Sharks are in the waters year-round off La Jolla in San Diego, but during August and September, they come into the shallow water for mating season. They tend to congregate in the marine nature preserve at La Jolla Shores. 

The water is so shallow here that you don't have to be a strong swimmer, in fact, you can probably stand. 

I recommend wearing a wetsuit, snorkel, and mask. The wetsuit is optional, but the water can be chilly. 

Leopard Sharks are not an endangered species and you can fish for them with a license. However, they tend to have a high level of mercury so it's not a good idea to eat them. 

They can grow to weigh as much as 40 pounds and 5 feet long. They can live to be about 30 years old. 

La Jolla is the only place in the world that the sharks actively breed offering a great chance to observe and swim with them. 

The best place to spot them is in front of the Marine Room restaurant at La Jolla Shores. 

Wow! Southwest Companion Pass Promotion

 

If you are planning to fly in the next few months, then register for this promotion first. And if you aren't planning to fly, perhaps, you should. 

This is the latest promotion from Southwest Airlines. It's similar to the one last year and involves a mini companion pass. 

The companion pass is the best travel perk in the industry. It's a buy one, get one FREE on any flight anywhere Southwest flies. Normally, you need to earn 125,000 Southwest points in a single calendar year to earn the pass, but this promotion lets you earn a mini pass with just two flights. 

I just booked a quick trip to Phoenix for lunch with a friend. $49 each way for the flights so for $100, I'll earn a companion pass good for January and February 2022. If I fly to the East Coast twice, the pass will have at least $650 value. If I fly to Hawaii, I can bring someone along for FREE. 

Worth it and I get to spend the afternoon with a friend. 

Win, win. 

Remember to register for the promotion first, buy your ticket by 9/9/21, and travel by 11/18/21. Also, you have to buy the flights, you can't use points. 

How You Can Earn 1,000 Marriott Points By Dining Out

 

Did you know that you can earn extra Marriott Bonvoy points just by dining out? It's called the Eat Around Town by Marriott Bonvoy program. You just register your card and then use that card to dine at participating restaurants and cha-ching, bonus points. 

Now, Marriott Bonvoy is sweetening the deal by adding 1,000 bonus points every time you dine 10x at a participating restaurant and spend at least $30 including tax and tip. There is no limit to how many times you can earn the bonus. 

The promotion runs through December  31, 2021. 

How You Can Earn 1,000 Marriott Points By Dining Out

Marriott Bonvoy points are my second favorite after Chase Ultimate Reward points because you can transfer them to dozens of airlines and use them for hotels. And when you transfer the points to airlines (most of them transfer at 3:1), Marriott will give you a bonus of 15,000 points or 5,000 miles. So 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points are equal to 25,000 airline miles. 

Helpful when you are trying to fly a family or group somewhere. One of my favorite travel hacks is to transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to Singapore Airlines to book flights on United Airlines. You can check out my blog to find out how to do this. 

As always, that's how we do it at almostfreefamilytravel.com 

Two Promotions You Need To Know About - Hilton and Wyndham

 

Two interesting promotions that you should know about. They are not earth-shattering, but may be helpful depending on your travel plans. 

Two Promotions You Need To Know About - Hilton and Wyndham

The first is a Hilton promotion where you can buy points and get a 100% match. Hilton does this promotion about 2-3 times a year and it is tempting. With the promotion, the points are valued at .05 cents each. You are allowed to buy a minimum of 20,000 points for $200 up to 80,000 points for $800. So you could max it out at $800 for 160,000 points. 

What can you get for 160,000 points? That's the real question. 

Well, the photo above is from our Eastern Europe trip a few years back. We used Hilton points to stay at Hampton by Hilton hotels across Poland. Even now, on the Hilton website, the hotel lists a standard room at 10,000 points per night or approximately $119. This includes breakfast. 

A year later, we stayed at the Hampton by Hilton in Panama City, Panama for 10,000 points per night. 

So if you had 160,000 Hilton points, that's 16 nights and at least a $1,600 value. Now I'm not a big fan of buying points, but if you know your travel plans and you can squeeze the value out of it, it could make sense. This promotion ends July 29th. 

Two Promotions You Need To Know About - Hilton and Wyndham

The second promotion is from Wyndham. It is offering a stay 2 nights, get 1 FREE promotion. This one is a bit misleading because the hotel chain is not giving you a FREE night instead it is giving you a bonus 6,500 points. 

Wyndham rates its hotels in three-point categories, 7,500, 15,000, and 30,000 points. So the bonus plus the hotel stays will only give you 7,500 points enough for one night at the lowest tier category. 

Wyndham used to be one of my favorite hidden gems because you could find awesome hotels for just 15,000 points when they only had one-tier. Now, a lot of those hotels are priced at 30,000 points, ouch. 

So what can you get for 7,500 points? You can stay at the Tryp in Panama City and a few other international locations. Domestically, the 7,500 hotels are mostly Super 8 type budget hotels. Perhaps good for a college road trip or other driving trip. 

I would look at this one closely before booking to see if you can squeeze value out of it. You must book by September 2nd and complete the stay by September 6th. You can earn the bonus up to three times. 

Get Up To 2,500 Miles FREE On United, Southwest, Alaska and American

 

Even when you are not traveling, there are still ways to earn points and miles. One of the best is to use online shopping portals for your everyday purchases. You are going to make these purchases anyway, so why not earn some miles and points towards your next vacay. 

Right now, the online shopping portals are sweetening the deal by offering bonus points. Alaska, Southwest, American, and United are all offering bonuses if you spend a certain dollar amount by a certain date. 

You DO NOT have to spend the total in one purchase. The portal will add up your purchases during the time period and reward you for the total. 

So here are the bonus deals: 

Southwest Airlines - deadline August 15th

spend $125, earn 250 bonus

spend $300, earn 900 bonus 

spend $550, earn 2,000 bonus 

Alaska Airlines - deadline August 8th 

spend $150, earn 300 bonus 

spend $300, earn 600 bonus 

spend $500, earn 1,200 bonus 

American Airlines - deadline August 15th

spend $150, earn 500 bonus 

spend $300, earn 1,000 bonus 

spend $500, earn 2,000 bonus 

United Airlines - deadline August 15th

spend $100, earn 500 bonus 

spend $350, earn 1,500 bonus 

spend $600, earn 2,500 bonus 

Yes, it's one extra step, but if it means FREE travel, it's worth it. That's how we do it, here at almost FREE family travel. 

Get $250 FREE To Visit Tennessee

 

If you have ever thought about visiting the state of Tennessee, now might be the time. The state is luring tourists back by offering a $250 airline voucher if you book a hotel package through this website. 

Get $250 FREE To Visit Tennessee 

You can choose any of the five major cities, Nashville, Knoxville, Memphis, Chatanooga, or Tri-cities. You need to be among the first 10,000 and book a minimum of 2 nights in a participating hotel including a Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday night. Reservations must be booked by September 15th and travel must occur by December 30th, 2021. 

If you do all of that, you will receive an airline voucher good for $250 on American, Southwest, or Delta Airlines. The voucher will arrive in 4 business days. A quick search showed flights ranging from $250-$500 rt to Nashville from various cities. 

A quick search showed 25 hotels in Nashville ranging from $498-$1100 for two nights and included Holiday Inn, Fairfield Inn, and Suites, Hyatt, and more. In Memphis, there were 11 hotels available ranging from $354-$800 for two nights and included Embassy Suites, Moxy, Hyatt, and Doubletree. 

Remember you have to book this by September 15th and it is first-come, first-serve. 

Last Day To Apply For the 65,000 Southwest Bonus Point Offer

 

It's the last day to apply for a Southwest credit card and get a 65,000 point bonus. The bonus applies to any Southwest personal credit card. You can only apply for one. But you can apply for both a business card and a personal card at the same time. If you do this, you will earn enough points to qualify for the Southwest companion pass which is a BOGO airline pass. You can even change your companion up to three times per calendar year. The pass is good for the rest of this calendar year and next year. Woohoo! 

Last Day To Apply For the 65,000 Southwest Bonus Point Offer 

I usually recommend trying to earn the pass in January so you can maximize the two years, but this bonus offer is too sweet to pass up. 

The cards range from a $69-$149 annual fee depending on whether you choose the Plus, Premier, or Priority. Look at them carefully, I think the Priority though it carries the highest fee actually offers the best value. 

If you decide to apply for any of the Southwest credit cards, please consider using my referral link.