One of the best benefits of the no fee Chase FREEDOM family of cards is the rotating 5% categories. Every quarter, Chase offers bonus points categories where you earn 5x Chase Ultimate Rewards points on those purchases. The categories include streaming services, Amazon, gas purchases, wholesale clubs and more. 

Chase Ultimate Rewards points are one of my favorites due to their flexibility. You can transfer them to dozens of airlines, a few hotels including Hyatt, use them to buy FREE travel through the Chase Travel Portal or just get cash back. 

How You Can Earn Bonus Points On Gas Purchases

Plus if you partner the card with a Chase Sapphire Preferred or Reserve card, you increase the value of the points again. Read about my trick on how to do that here.  and which one I prefer. 

Now is the time to activate the bonus categories for Q3. You have until September 14th to activate and it is retroactive, but I usually do it right away. 

The categories for Q3 are:

• Gas Stations - nice way to make up for the high cost of gas! 
• Rental Car Agencies - good for summer travel 
• Movie Theatres - great for summer!
• Select Live Entertainment

Definitely make a note that when I checked the Chase website for clarification on car rental agencies, car rentals booked through travel agencies, discount travel sites, vacation clubs, tour operators or as part of a package will not count. 

If you book through Costco.com which is my favorite way to book, I think it should still count since you pay at the car rental agency and not thru Costco. 

How You Can Earn Bonus Points On Gas Purchases

Live Entertainment includes tickets for in person entertainment like sporting events, zoos aquariums, concerts, theatre, museums, concerts, theatre, tourist attractions, amusement parks, carnivals, bands and entertainers. NOT included in this category are bowling alleys, horse racing, casinos and dance clubs. Ticket agencies selling on behalf of the venue are included. 

So live it up this summer and remember to use your Chase FREEDOM card to rack up the points for future FREE travel! Woohoo. 

If you do not have a Chase FREEDOM Unlimited or FLEX, use my referral link and you will get a $200 bonus when you spend just $500 in the first 3 months. This is the perfect no annual fee card and a great go to card. Plus if you max out the bonus categories and transfer them to your Chase Sapphire Preferred card, you increase the value of the points. 

If you don't have the Chase Sapphire Preferred card yet, it's one of my faves. Right now, you can earn a bonus 60,000 points for a $4,000 minimum spend. Not as great an offer as the 80,000 points I told you about last month, but still worth $750 in the travel portal. Please consider using my referral link if you decide to apply. 

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. :) 

Plus I am launching another program and you are the first to hear about it! I know so many women who want to travel, but are worried about the cost, traveling alone and safety. So I am launching a Beta program and looking for 5 women to join me! 

The program involves Lyn's simple Families Fly FREE process plus a graduation trip using points and miles to get you started on your new travel habit. 

If you are interested, fill out this form to get the conversation started. 

I am offering $200 off Lyn's Families Fly FREE simple system program for this Beta test cohort only (you must sign up for Lyn's program using my referral link to get the discount) in exchange for your feedback on the program PLUS you will have access to graduation trips with future cohorts as my special guest.

Hope you will consider joining me for this exciting new Beta test cohort program! 

 

FREE Mobile App Speeds Up Global Entry

 

If you are heading across the pond this summer and really, at this point, who isn't, right? Expect big crowds, long lines and a zoo at the airport. If you have TSA precheck, that will help with domestic flights. If you have Global Entry, that will help with international flights. 

Now there is a FREE mobile passport control app that might even be better than Global Entry! 

Its the Customs and Border Patrol Mobile Passport Control app and you can download it from Google Play or the Apple App Store. 

Eligible travelers will be prompted to create a profile. You are eligible if you are entering the US through one of the 31 designated airports and 4 seaside terminals. 

Once you enter the US either by plane or boat:

• you select your arrival terminal
• take a self photo
• answer a series of questions. 
• Then submit. 

Once approved which takes just a few minutes, you will receive a QR code. 

Take the QR code straight to a the customs officer for a check and you can sail on thru. 

No need to visit a kiosk or wait in line. 

Important note, you still need to carry your US passport with you. But this app should reduce the time you wait in line. Look for a designated process line for those using the app. 

I'm excited to try this app over the summer and report back to you! 

How To Earn Bonus Southwest Points Fast At Hotels

As you head off on your summer travels, you might want to be very intentional about where you stay and how you book those stays so you can max out on Southwest points. And ultimately collect enough points to earn the companion pass! 

The Southwest Companion Pass is one of the best travel perks out there. It's a BOGO pass for any flight on Southwest Airlines for two years! That's right. Depending on when you earn it, you could fly a companion FREE for up to two years. 

To earn the pass, you have to collect 125,000 points in a single calendar year. 

Now if you fly, that's a lot of flights. But there are some easier and faster ways to collect those points. 

How To Earn Bonus Southwest Points At Hotels

The easiest way is to open a personal Southwest credit card and a Southwest business card. You are allowed to hold one of each at the same time. Right now, all the personal cards are offering a 75,000 point bonus when you spend $5,000 on the card. We break down the different cards and our recommendation here. 

This is a spectacular offer and one of the highest we have ever seen! If you don't have this card yet, now is the time! 

And if you have a business even a very small business like selling things on Ebay or Etsy or a vacation rental, you can qualify for a business credit card. There are two business cards offered:

• Performance - 80,000 bonus offer right now with a $5,000 minimum spend
• Premier - 60,000 bonus offer with a $3,000 minimum spend 

The quickest way to earn the companion pass is to open a personal credit card and a business credit card and bam, you are done. But if you have earned a bonus in the past 24 months or you don't have a business, one of my favorite ways to earn extra Southwest points is by using Rocketmiles.com and Southwesthotels.com for hotels stays.

Both give you Southwest bonus points for booking through their platform and sometimes those bonuses can be huge! 

How To Earn Bonus Southwest Points At Hotels

I just stayed overnight near the Baltimore Washington International Airport, that's a whole different story I will share with you in another post. So I decided to check Southwesthotels.com and bam, bonus 2,000 points for staying at the Microtel near the airport. 

Within days of my stay, the 2,000 bonus points posted to my Southwest account. Nice! I just checked Rocketmiles.com and the bonus is just 1,000 points for the same hotel. So it's worth checking both sites! By the way, Rocketmiles.com works with lots of different loyalty programs so if you are trying to collect American, Alaska, United or more, check it out!  

Be sure to designate which loyalty program you want to collect points on BEFORE you make any reservations! 

To get the bonus, you must book your reservation through the Rocketmiles.com app or website or Southwesthotels.com app or website. It is considered a third party booking so keep that in mind. 

If you decide to open a personal or business Southwest credit card, please use my referral link to apply for your card so I can earn the companion pass and bring you amazing travel tips! 

And If you want your entire trip to be FREE and/or you want to earn the companion pass, let us help you. We have teamed up with my friend and national travel blogger Lyn at Families Fly FREE. She has created a simple system to help families fly free forever. 

If you would like to check it out, click here and let Lyn know I sent you. :) 

 

 

Great news if you are planning to travel outside the US this summer! The CDC is dropping the Covid 19 testing requirement to return to the US Sunday, June 12th. This was the last barrier for international travel. You probably heard stories about travelers getting stuck overseas due to a positive Covid test. 

The travel industry had been lobbying for months for the US to lift the requirement. The US was one of the last countries to still require the tests. 

Top 5 Ways To Stay Healthy When You Fly This Summer

However, the CDC said it will review the decision in 90 days leaving the door open to reinstating the policy.

This is great news for travelers this summer because it means less expense and less hassle and erases the fear of being stuck in a foreign country. 

It also drops the urgent need for travel interruption insurance due to Covid-19 related sickness. 

But this change may also mean that sick people will be on your flight with you so what can you do. 

Top 5 Ways To Stay Healthy When You Fly This Summer

Here are some tips to stay healthy when you fly:

• Wear a mask - though just recommended on flights, I always wear an N95 or KN95 mask while on board the plane as added protection. I recently flew to Washington DC and approximately 25% of the passengers were still wearing masks. 
• Wipe down your seat and tray table - Bring along cleansing wipes, I prefer the alcohol FREE and orange smelling Clear Defense brand. Wipe your seat, tray table and seatbelt before you sit down. If you have a window seat, wipe the window area too. 
• Drink an immunity booster like Activate C
• Wash your hands often 
• Bring hand sanitizer

If  these products interest you, email me and I'll send you a FREE sample to try. 

And thank you for following this blog. 

If you want your entire trip to be FREE and/or you want to earn the companion pass, let us help you. We have teamed up with my friend and national travel blogger Lyn at Families Fly FREE. She has created a simple system to help families fly free forever. 

If you would like to check it out, click here and let Lyn know I sent you. :) 

How You Can Earn A BOGO Pass On Southwest Airlines....Fast!

 

Is Yosemite National Park on your bucket travel list? Beautiful, right? You might want to take a friend, right? With the Southwest Companion Pass, you get to take a friend on all your trips for FREE for two years. Do you need to read that again?

Yep, it's the best travel deal out there! 

And I'm going to help you earn it. Right now is the best time to earn it since Southwest just announced a 75,000 bonus offer on all of their personal credit cards. 

How You Can Earn A BOGO Pass On Southwest Airlines....Fast! 

I have had the Southwest Companion Pass for the past 8 years. I have used it to take family members to the East Coast many, many times for college trips, family events, vacation and more. 

Plus my husband and I went to Cuba with Southwest. 

You can go to the Caribbean, Belize and Costa Rica too. 

Anywhere Southwest flies, you can bring a friend for FREE. 

Amazing, right?

And with sky high airline prices right now, this is a huge deal! 

Okay, so what do you need to do to get the pass? All you need to do is collect 125,000 Southwest points in a single calendar year and bam!

But you are probably saying, wow, that's a lot of travel. 

But here's the rub, you don't need to travel to collect points. There are lots of ways to collect points without ever stepping on a plane. 

The easiest way is to apply for the Southwest personal credit card and earn that 75,000 bonus offer. To earn the offer, you need to spend $5,000 on the credit card within 3 months. If you have any big purchases coming up, property taxes, tuition payments etc., put them on that card. You MUST pay off your credit card though otherwise this doesn't make any sense. We do NOT build up debt here! 

You are eligible to apply for this card IF you do not currently hold a Southwest personal card and have not earned a bonus in the past 24 months. If you do currently have a card, then there is a work around. Cancel your personal card, I know it's tough, wait, 30 days and apply for a new card. Easy!

Not sure which Southwest personal card to apply for, I review all the cards here and give you my choice!

Once you reach the minimum on the personal card, there are lots of ways to earn the rest of the points. FYI, you cannot buy points to earn the companion pass. 

Here are the ways:

1. The easiest and quickest way is to open a Southwest Business card. You must spend $4,000 in the first 3 months to earn the bonus 60,000 or 80,000 points. 

2. Fly on Southwest

3. Use the Southwest Shopping Portal - Look for bonus offers at the stores you shop at anyway. Read more to find out how I navigate these portals! 

4. Refer a friend to the Southwest Credit Card 75,000 Bonus Offer = 20,000 points 

5. Answer a survey

6. Use Southwest hotels or Rocketmiles to earn bonus points on hotel stays 

7. Book a rental car through Southwest 

With all of these ways though, be sure you are not overspending just to earn points. Keep in mind with any travel bonus points, the points won't post to your account until you take the trip. 

There you go, FREE BOGO on Southwest for the rest of this year and next year! 

You must start with the 75,000 bonus offer though and that offer ends July 11th so don't wait. 

Please use my referral link to apply for your card so I can earn the companion pass and bring you amazing travel tips! 

You Earned Southwest Points, Now How Do You Spend Them For FREE Travel

 

In the past week, I have met two different people who told me they have earned lots of Southwest points, but don't know how to spend them. When we checked their accounts, they had hundreds of thousands of points, but they were still buying flights on Southwest! 

What? 

You Earned Southwest Points, Now How Do You Spend Them For FREE Travel 

So I want to walk you through how to use the points for FREE flights. Sometimes it's a natural instinct to want to hoard our points and not spend them. I get it. But the points devalue, it's just the way it works. And with inflation running high and most Americans having to spend $5,000 more this year on gas and groceries, it's time to get something for FREE. 

So let's go. 

• First, you will need to log into your Southwest Airlines account. 
• Two, click on my account at the top of the screen. 

You should see your points available, how close you are to A list and whether or not you have earned the companion pass, which is the best travel perk out there.  

To actually book a flight, click on Book A Flight. 

Be sure to click from $ to points! 

Now the price of all the flights will be displayed in points instead of dollars. When you select your flight and enter all your traveler information, the points will be deducted from your account. 

You will still need to pay $5.60 per ticket for fees and that will be charged to the credit card you enter or the one you have on file in your account. 

Now the best part about booking Southwest flights with points is that if you have to cancel your flight, the points are returned to your account. 

No LUV vouchers! No travel credits! 

Best part, Southwest points never expire! 

You Earned Southwest Points, Now How Do You Spend Them For FREE Travel 

If you want to change your flight, you can do that too. Just click on the flight, click change and you will see the options available and how many more or less points you will need. 

When you click confirm, the points will be returned or deducted from your account for the difference. 

Amazing! 

If you don't have any Southwest points yet, try applying for a Southwest credit card to earn a bonus. Chase just increased all the personal cards to a whopping 75,000 bonus offer with a $5,000 minimum spend. If you want to fly BOGO, ask me about how to earn the Southwest Companion Pass. 

If you want your entire trip to be FREE and/or you want to earn the companion pass, let us help you. We have teamed up with my friend and national travel blogger Lyn at Families Fly FREE. She has created a simple system to help families fly free forever. 

If you would like to check it 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. 

Last Chance To Earn That 80,000 Chase Sapphire Preferred Bonus Offer

 

Is this vacation on your bucket list? We were in the islands off Panama a few years back. What a fantastic trip! And we got there by using Chase Ultimate Rewards Points. Yep, our flights and hotels were all FREE. 

If you want to travel for FREE, you should apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred asap before the 80,000 bonus offer is gone. 

The offer expires on June 1st. 

Last Chance To Earn That 80,000 Chase Sapphire Preferred Bonus Offer

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. 

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. 

Last Chance To Earn That 80,000 Chase Sapphire Preferred Bonus Offer 

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. 

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. :) 

Plus I am launching another program and you are the first to hear about it! I know so many women who want to travel, but are worried about the cost, traveling alone and safety. So I am launching a Beta program and looking for 5 women to join me! 

The program involves Lyn's simple Families Fly FREE process plus a graduation trip using points and miles to get you started on your new travel habit. 

If you are interested, fill out this form to get the conversation started. 

I am offering $200 off Lyn's Families Fly FREE simple system program for this Beta test cohort only (you must sign up for Lyn's program using my referral link to get the discount) in exchange for your feedback on the program PLUS you will have access to graduation trips with future cohorts as my special guest.

Hope you will consider joining me for this exciting new Beta test cohort program!