Off The Beaten Track In Durham, NC

 

One of the more off the beaten path restaurants in Durham, NC is the Nasher Museum Cafe located inside the Duke University Nasher Museum. Don't be put off that this restaurant is on the Duke University campus. The food is not like any dining hall you have ever been to before. The museum itself is an impressive building with a massive skylight roof. 

The Nasher contains a permanent exhibit of ceramics, art and lithographs plus two temporary exhibit halls. When we were there, the temporary exhibits displayed works from North Carolina artists and political expressionism. Both fascinating and highly recommended.

The Nasher Museum Cafe is a recognized 2017 Diners Choice Award and one of America's Top 100 brunch spots. It also features seasonal local ingredients like presented in this delicious butternut squash salad. 

The dinner menu changes weekly. The day we were there the host said the menu wasn't even available until closer to 4pm since it was a new week. We enjoyed seafood risotto, lemon linguine and swordfish. All delicious. We started with a cheese plate and a salad. Both very good.

The dessert was a molten lava cake with vanilla bean ice cream. YUM!

The Nasher Museum Cafe is listed on open table, but if the time is not available that you prefer, definitely give them a call and see if they can work out something for you. One quirky sidenote, if you happen to have a Duke student, they can use their food points at the Nasher. For the rest of us, plan to spend about $50 per person. Of course, use a credit card that gives you bonus points for dining like our favorite card the Chase Sapphire Preferred which is offering a whopping 80,000 bonus right now. 

New 80,000 Bonus Offer On My Favorite Credit Card

 

Oh my gosh, I'm so excited! The 80,000 bonus offer is back for the Chase Sapphire Preferred. This is one of my all time favorite credit cards. Chase Ultimate Reward points are my favorite because they are so flexible. You can transfer them to dozens of different airlines including Southwest, several hotel chains (Hyatt, IHG and Marriott), pay yourself back in cash and use the points in the travel portal. You can read all about my tricks to getting the most value out of Chase Ultimate Reward points here. 

New 80,000 Bonus Offer On My Favorite Credit Card

In fact, I just booked a round trip flight from Washington, DC to Dublin, Ireland for just 33,000 points and no fuel charges. Amazing! So this offer is worth approximately $1,000 in FREE travel. 

The benefit of booking through the travel portal is that you can book any flight for points. You don't have to accumulate enough miles or points on one single airline. 

New 80,000 Bonus Offer On My Favorite Credit Card

Here's the offer: 

• spend $4,000 in three months 
• $95 annual fee
• $50 annual hotel credit when you book through the portal 
• 5x Chase points on travel booked through the portal
• 2x Chase points any travel purchases
• 3x Chase points on online grocery purchases
• Chase points are worth 25% in the travel portal and when redeemed through the pay yourself back tool in rotating categories
• 3x Chase points on dining
• 3x Chase points on streaming services
• 10% anniversary points boost 

You are eligible for this offer IF you do not currently hold this card AND have not received the bonus in the past four years.

If you decide to apply for this card and you should, consider using my referral link so I can continue to keep you updated on the best ways to fly FREE. 

New 120,000 IHG Bonus Offer - Wow!

There is a new 120,000 IHG bonus offer out there so the question is should you jump on it and then what can you do with the points? I just used some of those IHG points for a week stay in Dublin, Ireland. Pretty awesome!

New 120,000 IHG Bonus Offer - Wow! 

 But is it right for you? First, let's take a look at the offers. 

• IHG Traveler Rewards - Initial bonus: earn 120,000 bonus points after spending $2,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening. This is a no annual fee card. 
• IHG Premier - Initial Bonus: earn 140,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening. This card carries a $99 annual fee. 

New 120,000 IHG Bonus Offer - Wow! 

You are eligible to apply for these cards if you do not currrently have a personal IHG card and have not received the bonus in the past 24 months. 

These cards will count towards your 5/24 status. Chase allows you to only open 5 cards every 24 months. Business cards typically do not count towards 5/24. 

IHG also has a big bonus on its business card. 

• IHG Premier Business - Initial Bonus: earn 140,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening. This card carries a $99 annual fee. $100 Global Entry credit and trip interruption/cancellation insurance. 

All the cards include a FREE night anniversary credit. 

Now before you jump at this, consider IHG brand hotels include Holiday Inn Express and Crowne Plaza. 

New 120,000 IHG Bonus Offer - Wow!

For families, Holiday Inn Express and Candlewood Suites are good options. Both offer breakfast included and Candlewood Suites offers rooms that can fit a family of five or more. However, both are considered budget hotel chains. 

So now the question is what can you do with IHG points? The best benefit of IHG points is the fourth night redemption. If you book three nights, you get the 4th night FREE. Now I don't often stay in the same place 4 nights in a row, but if you do, this could be a great bonus for you. Or like me it may convince you to stay somewhere a bit longer. 

New 120,000 IHG Bonus Offer - Wow!

For our stay in Dublin, Ireland, I chose to stay in the Holiday Inn Express Dublin. You can fit four in a room, always a bonus plus it includes breakfast. Bonus! So we stayed there for five nights, a bit longer than we normally would, but it's FREE.

We used points for three nights, fourth night FREE and one anniversary night credit. 

IHG uses dynamic pricing so the rooms can range from 10,000 points per night to 100,000 points per night. My advice, book early! 

Southwest Announces New Fare Class: Wanna Get Away Plus

 

Southwest Airlines says they are not taking anything away with their new Wanna Get Away Plus fare. They are just adding different options to the new fare. It's the first new Southwest fare product launched since 2007. 

There is no exact date of launch, but expect to see this fare introduced sometime in June. 

Southwest Announces New Fare Class: Wanna Get Away Plus 

Let's see how it compares: 

Southwest says nothing is being taken away from the Wanna Get Away fare that you know now. There will just be an increase in price if you want the Plus fare. Some benefits of the Plus fare:

• fare will earn 8x points 
• transferable flight credit - you can transfer a flight credit once to another Southwest Rapid Rewards member. The credit still expires in one year. 
• Same day confirmed change - if there is an open seat on another flight between the same cities, no fee or price increase 
• If there is no seat on another flight, you can be added to the same day standby list with no fee or price increase

Southwest Announces New Fare Class: Wanna Get Away Plus 

A few other changes to the Anytime fare include adding the transferable flight credit, and use of the Priority and Express Lane at the check in counter and security where available. Early Bird is also being included in the Anytime fare. 

Now we like to fly on points anyways, so the new fare class doesn't matter much to us. If you do not have a Southwest credit card yet which is one of the best ways to earn Rapid Reward points. You have several options: 

Personal Southwest Credit Cards 

Plus - Earn 40,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 in the first three months. $69 annual fee. Includes two Early Bird check in

Premier - Earn 40,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 in the first three months. $99 annual fee. Includes two Early Bird check in

Priority - Earn 40,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 in the first three months. $149 annual fee. $75 Southwest travel credit. Four upgraded boardings

Business Southwest Credit Cards

Premier - Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 in the first three months. $99 annual fee. Includes two Early Bird Check Ins

Performance - Earn 80,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 in the first three months. $199 annual fee. 4 upgraded boardings. FREE onboard WIFI. $100 Global Entry credit. 

You are allowed to hold one just personal and one business at the same time. However, you can hold both business cards at the same time. And all the bonus points count towards the best travel deal ever, the Southwest companion pass, a BOGO good for up to two years. Wow! 

If you decide to apply for a Southwest credit card, please consider using our link. 

Inside The New Wildlife Explorers Basecamp at the San Diego Zoo

 

Wildlife Explorers Basecamp

Looking for yet another reason to put San Diego on your short list of travel destinations? The San Diego Zoo just opened Wildlife Explorers Basecamp. If you know the zoo, this area is located where the old petting zoo was situated for years just to left of the main entrance. 

Inside The New Wildlife Explorers Basecamp at the San Diego Zoo

Now it is still dedicated to children, but with a number of exhibit halls like a butterfly garden, reptile and insect house and a play structure with rope bridges and lots of water spray areas.

Wildlife Explorers Basecamp play area

The play area takes center stage in the Explorers Basecamp. There are rope bridges, spiral staircases, a waterfall grotto, spray zone and rainfall showers. And if the kids get too wet, there are space age dryers available for $3. 

Space age dryers

Inside The New Wildlife Explorers Basecamp at the San Diego Zoo

There is also a display with monkeys in the middle of the play area to remind you that you are actually at the San Diego Zoo. 

San Diego Zoo

The exhibit halls include the Cool Critters Reptile House complete with microscope stations, Spineless Marvels Invertebrate House, a two-story greenhouse, Rainforest with caiman and tortoises, and Marsh Meadows with crocodiles. 

It's fun for all ages. I enjoyed walking around the area and checking it all out. It was very crowded, but I was there on opening day. You might want to avoid the peak morning hours if you aren't fond of crowds and screaming children. 

Be sure to buy your tickets for the San Diego Zoo online ahead of time to save a few bucks. The zoo offers value days which are any weekday so you can save a few more dollars off the regular price. Parking for the zoo is FREE. 

Inside The New Wildlife Explorers Basecamp at the San Diego Zoo

You might also want to take a look at the membership prices for the zoo. A child membership is $67 so if you think you may visit the zoo on multiple days during a year, it might be worth it to buy the pass. The regular child price for the zoo is $57 for an anyday pass and $55 for a weekday only pass. The annual pass is also good for the zoo and the Safari Park so if you are planning to do both during your trip to San Diego, you might want to buy the pass. 

Inside The New Wildlife Explorers Basecamp at the San Diego Zoo

There are also zoo memberships for adults. The Wildlife Protector membership includes both parks, two 50% off admission coupons, FREE parking and one guest pass. It is priced at $139. Since the regular day pass adult ticket price is $65, that could be a real savings.  

Remember to purchase the pass with a credit card that gives you a bonus for travel like Chase Sapphire Preferred or with a credit card where you can erase travel purchases like Capital One. 

Time To Activate the 5x Bonus on Your Chase FREEDOM

 

Chase just announced the 5x bonus rotating categories for the FREEDOM family of cards. These cards come with a different bonus 5x points category each quarter. You can earn up to $1,500 worth of bonuses which is pretty sweet. The family is no fee cards so it's nice to be able to earn 5x points without paying a high annual fee. 

I max out the category each quarter and then transfer the points to my Chase Sapphire Reserve for a better redemption in the portal or to transfer the points to airlines or hotels. 

This quarter I was hoping for a gas bonus to offset the high gas prices we are seeing, but unfortunately, that is not the case. 

Instead, the bonus is for Amazon and streaming services. Amazon is always a good bonus category since there are not too many ways to earn extra points on those purchases. 

Time To Activate the 5x Bonus on Your Chase FREEDOM 

Streaming services includes: 

• Disney+
• Hulu
•  ESPN+
•  Netflix
•  Sling
•  Apple Music
•  SiriusXM
• Spotify
•  YouTube TV
•  HBO Max
•  Paramount+
• Showtime 

You can activate your FREEDOM bonus categories here or through the Chase app. You need to activate by June 30, 2022 and you can begin earning 5x points on April 1, 2022. 

Time To Activate the 5x Bonus on Your Chase FREEDOM 

If you max out the categories, you will earn $75 cash back each quarter for $300 per year. Not too bad. And you can hold both cards like I do so that would be double. 

You can activate the bonus by clicking here.

If you don't have the FREEDOM FLEX card yet, you can earn $200 cash back after spending just $500 in the first 3 months. Right now, it comes with 5% back on gas purchases for an entire year or up to $6,000. Wow! 

Hurry, Capital One Venture X 100,000 Bonus Offer Ends March 14th

 

I just scored two round trip flights to Ireland for later this summer! Woohoo! 

Now, I want to share with you how I did it and how you can do it too before the offer ends on March 14th. This one is pretty easy so here goes. Right now, the Capital One Venture X credit card has a 100,000 point offer with a $300 travel credit and a $200 Airbnb credit. The catch is the high minimum spend of $10,000 plus the annual fee of $395. 

How You Can Score 2 Roundtrip Tickets to Europe for FREE

Before that scares you, let's talk about my secret way to eat up some of that minimum spend before you ever pay a bill. 

Capital One actually gives you the bonus before you pay the credit card bill which is different than most other offers. 

Which means, you can actually buy your plane tickets through the Capital One Travel Portal as soon as you get the credit card in the mail and then erase them before you ever have to make a payment if you time it right. Pretty sweet!

You will see the $300 credit go through within a few days. If we assume your plane tickets are similar to mine about $600 each r/t, then you are already $1,200 on your way towards the minimum spend. 

Plus every purchase you make is 2x points so you already have 2,400 points towards FREE travel. 

As long as you hit the minimum spend on your card within 90 days, which you have to in order to earn the bonus, you can erase the charge for the plane tickets.

Let's take a look at that again in steps. 

1. Apply for the Capital One Venture X card before March 14th

3. The $395 annual fee charges to the card, it counts towards your minimum spend. 

4. Charge everything to your new Capital One Venture X card including gas, groceries, property taxes (if the convenience fee is low), tuition payments, household repairs or projects etc. You have 3 months to reach the minimum spend of $10,000. 

6. Buy your flights to Europe through the Capital One Travel Portal, charge them to the Capital One Venture X credit card  Login to your Capital One account, click on travel portal, search for flights and purchase. 

7. A few days after you buy your flights, you will see a $300 travel credit post to your account 

8. When you reach the $10,000 minimum spend, you will see the 100,000 bonus points post to your account. 

9. Now you should have about 120,000 points. You will erase the plane tickets by clicking on cover travel purchases. Each point is worth one cent so 124,894 points equals $1,248.

It's that simple. If you would like to fly for FREE, this is one of the easiest ways to do it. You have until March 14th to apply for the Capital One Venture X credit card and if you would use my referral link, I would appreciate it. 

If you would like to learn more about how to fly FREE and how to earn the companion pass, we have teamed up with Families Fly FREE and would love to invite you to join the club. Click here for more information.