How I Just Got Five FREE Flights To South America

You could say that I am so ready to travel that the next year is going to be awesome or a bit crazy. 

Days after the world started to shut down back in March 2020, my family of 5 were supposed to leave on an epic adventure to Santiago, Chile, surf near Vina Del Mar, hike the glacier in El Calafate Argentina and tango in Buenos Aires.

How I Just Got Five FREE Flights To South America

The entire 2.5 week trip was free. The flights, most of the very inexpensive airbnb’s, the car rental, even the hike on the glacier. Yep, all booked with points, miles or erased with our Capital One Venture card. 

And poof, in a matter of days, instead of us going on an epic adventure, my daughter who was studying in Chile came home and finished her semester abroad in our living room. 

How I Just Got Five FREE Flights To South America

Two years later, it’s time to resurrect the trip. So the question, things have changed, the world has changed, airline alliances have changed, so could we do it again! 
The answer is yes. And I'm going to show you how I did it. Hint, it has to do with Marriott Bonvoy points. 

One of my big secrets to flying a family of 5 is to fly when no one else wants to. Think overnight flights. Think holidays. The biggest holiday Christmas. Yep, no one wants to fly on Christmas Day except us. So the deals are there to be had. 

I was able to score 5 one way tickets with points from Los Angeles to Santiago, Chile without too much trouble. For 25,000 American Airlines points each, all of us on the same flight booked directly on the American Airlines website. Very straightforward. I had collected more than enough American miles to buy these tickets. No problem. 

You may be thinking to yourself that scoring one way tickets is silly. You may be right. I am betting on the fact that I can find a return for five people with points. 

How I Just Got Five FREE Flights To South America

Now my second tip about flying over the holidays. Even though no one wants to fly on Christmas Day, they sure want to fly over the holidays. So you need to be ready. Flights open approximately 330 days in advance. You want to be ready to book with your points in hand when that happens. You can actually watch the calendar advance day by day on the website so you will know exactly when the flights will open. 
The hardest part is to figure out exactly how many points you will need. That's why I love flexible points like Chase Ultimate Rewards just in case I need to top off a few more points. 

How I Just Got Five FREE Flights To South America

For this trip, I checked American return flights and they were outrageous, more than 90,000 miles per ticket. I started looking at other airlines and it turned out that Delta seemed to offering return trips from Buenos Aires for 25,000 miles each as consistently as the days were being released. So I decided to go for it. 

Now I didn't have very many Delta Airlines miles, but I had a lot of Marriott Bonvoy points. Marriott Bonvoy points transfer to dozens of different airlines at 3:1 and for every 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points you transfer, you get an additional 5,000 airline miles. So for every 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points, you get 25,000 airline miles. Follow me?

With the devaluation approaching this past March, I decided to cash in. For 5 return flights from Buenos Aires, I would need 300,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. Once I transferred these points to Delta Airlines, it would total 125,000 Delta miles enough for all the flights. You can check out a video that shows you exactly how to transfer the points here. I do recommend doing the transfer in 60,000 point increments and the names on both accounts need to match exactly. 

Allow up to 2 weeks for the points to transfer, but in my experience, it only takes a few days unless there is a problem. 

Once the points settle into your account and the flights open up, bam! It's that easy. 

If you do not have any Marriott Bonvoy points, there is a new 100,000 bonus offer available with the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant. It has a $5,000 minimum spend and a $450 annual fee. BUT it also has a $300 Marriott credit, $100 Global Entry/TSA Precheck credit and Priority Pass Lounge Membership. If you decide to apply for this card, please consider using my referral link. 

By the way, AlmostFREEFamilyTravel has teamed up with Families Fly FREE to bring more value to you. If you would like to check them out, click here and let Lyn know I sent you. :) I'll be sharing testimonials from some happy members and I'll let you know when I'll be offering webinars. 

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!