Why Wyndham's New Promotion Is A Joke

 

Wyndham launched a new promotion today, stay 4 days and get 1 FREE. Sounds like a great deal and similar to one from Best Western last year.

I took advantage of the amazing deal from Best Western, stay 2 nights, get 1 FREE. BUT there was a big difference. The Best Western deal was for a certificate good for one night at ANY Best Western hotel. I used mine at the Best Western outside Bryce National Park. Beautiful! 

The Wyndham promotion is good for 7,500 points which is good for one night FREE. BUT a few years ago, Wyndham separated its hotels into three tiers 7,500, 15,000, and 30,0000. My favorite hotel in New York City, the New Yorker, went from 15,000 to 30,000 points per night. Bummer. 

You can see 7,500 can get you a FREE night, but maybe not exactly where you had in mind. 

So check it out before you jump on this deal. Now if you need 7,500 points to top off your account, then this might be a good way to do it. 

Remember to register for the promotion before you book your reservation. Reservations must be made by January 14, 2022 and stay by January 18th, 2022. 

Why I'm Waiting To Apply For The Increased Southwest Credit Card Bonus

 

Yes, the Chase Southwest Airlines credit card is offering the best points offer yet. No, don't take the bait and apply quite yet. Here's why. The offer is to spend $2,000 in the first three months and get 50,000 bonus points then spend $12,000 by the end of the year and get another 50,000 bonus points. Pretty sweet! 

The deadline to apply is December 7th. 

Now here's why you should wait until closer to December 7th to apply.....two words, the companion pass. 

The Southwest Companion Pass is one of the best travel perks around. You earn the pass when you collect 125,000 Southwest points in a calendar year. Then you get the pass for the rest of the year PLUS the following year. 

So if you earn the pass in December 2021, then it's valid for December 2021 and 2022, BUT if you earn the pass in January 2022, it's valid for all of 2022 and 2023. 

So yes, this is a good offer, and yes, I know Southwest gave members in good standing a bonus of 25,000 points, but the best plan is to wait until close to December 7th to apply for the card. Then plan to hit the minimum spend of $2,000 in January and then try to hit the $12,000 as soon as you can. 

To earn the companion pass, you will still need an additional 11,000 points, but you can earn those by flying Southwest, using the shopping portal, using Rocketmiles to book hotels 

There are three personal Southwest Credit Cards, the Plus, Premier, and Priority. You can read here why I think the Priority is actually the best deal even though it carries the highest annual fee. 

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

Time To Activate The New Q4 5% Rotating Categories

 

Time to activate the 4th quarter Chase Freedom Unlimited and Freedom Flex rotating bonus categories. For the 4th quarter, you can earn 5x points on purchases at Walmart (think holiday shopping!) and Paypal. Click here to activate your card. 

Walmart is pretty straightforward, if you shop at the brick and mortar store or at the shop online, use your FREEDOM Unlimited or FLEX card. 

The Paypal category is super interesting. I remember this one from last year and I played around with it quite a bit. You can actually pay for many purchases via Paypal. Look for the Paypal logo every time you make an online purchase and for this quarter, you should use it and your FREEDOM Unlimited or FLEX card. 

Once you get your bonus points, if you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Reserve, you should transfer the points to those cards so you can get an additional bonus. Those cards offer 1.25 and 1.5 respectively when you use the points in the travel portal and pay yourself back tools. 

Right now, the Chase FREEDOM Unlimited and Flex cards are offering $200 bonus when you spend $500 in the first three months of account opening. Plus these cards are offering 5% back on grocery purchases so you can rack up points quickly. Both cards carry no annual fee so it's a no-brainer in my book. 

Please use my referral link to get the best offer. 

Chase Sapphire Preferred 100K Offer Ending Wednesday!

 

If you have been thinking about applying for the 100K bonus offer on the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card, you better do it now! This amazing offer ends Wednesday, October 6th. 

I told you about this one back in July. This is my number one go-to card, the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card. 

I love it because if you don't really know where you want to travel or have a specific need, then this is the card for you. Chase Ultimate Reward Points are super flexible. You can transfer them to a number of hotels and airlines, you can use them for cash back, to erase certain purchases, get a discount on travel in the Chase Travel Portal, and more. 

100,000 Ultimate Reward points equal approximately $1250 in FREE travel or cash back.

The offer requires you to spend $4,000 in the first three months. If you have ever had this card, check the fine print to make sure you have waited long enough to apply again. Also, you can only hold the Preferred OR the Reserve. 

So don't wait and please use my referral link, you get the same great deal and I get a little thank you for referring you. 

Also if you want to learn more about the Chase Travel Portal, you can join me on Monday, October 11th at 5pm pst on a one-hour webinar about how to use the for FREE travel. I'll be filling in for national travel blogger Lyn from Gototravelgal and Families Fly FREE. 

It's Back! Kids FREE San Diego In October

It's back! Kids FREE San Diego the entire month of October. This promotion is valid at the world-famous San Diego Zoo, Legoland, SeaWorld, and Safari Park plus dozens of other hotels, restaurants, and activities. 

Kids are considered ages 3-11 and must be accompanied by a paying adult. 

You can check out the list of all the FREEBIES here. 

Some of the most popular options:

• The New Children's Museum
• SeaWorld San Diego
• LEGOLAND California
• San Diego Zoo
• Birch Aquarium
• Fleet Science Center

Dining freebies for kids with a paying adult include:

• Humphreys La Jolla Grill
• Courtyard San Diego Gaslamp
• Hotel Republic San Diego
• Catamaran Resort
• Galaxy Taco

The promotion is valid Oct. 1-31. Have fun! 

 

How You Can Get A $10 DoorDash Credit

 

If you use DoorDash for food delivery, you might be eligible for a $10 credit. Chase announced today that select cardholders who already get a FREE Dashpass membership will also get a $10 credit. 

Back in May, Chase gave most cardholders a year-long FREE Dashpass from DoorDash food delivery service. The Dashpass offers FREE delivery and reduced fees on orders over $12.

Now those same cardholders will receive a $10 credit, but it will be awarded in two $5 allotments and will expire September 30th, 2021. 

The cards eligible for the promotion are:

Southwest Rapid Rewards Credit Cards: This includes the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card, Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card and the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card.

United Credit Cards: This includes the United℠ Business Card, United℠ Explorer Card and the United Gateway℠ Card.

IHG® Rewards Cards: This includes the IHG® Rewards Club Premier Credit Card and the IHG® Rewards Club Traveler Credit Card.

Disney® Visa® Cards: This includes the Disney® Visa® Card and the Disney® Premier Visa® Card.

Other eligible cards include:

• Aer Lingus Visa Signature® card
• British Airways Visa Signature® Card
• Iberia Visa Signature® card
• World Of Hyatt Credit Card
• Starbucks® Rewards Visa® Card

This is in addition to the two flagship Chase credit cards, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve®. Both of the cards come with the same DashPass benefit. However, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® gives $60 in DoorDash statement credits through December 31, 2021.

If you haven’t already activated your DashPass membership, or you need to add your Chase co-branded card as your primary payment method, you can do so here, or in the DoorDash app. To claim the $10 credit, cardholders will need to activate their DashPass membership by Sept. 30, 2021.

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.