Time To Activate Your Chase 5% Bonus Categories

 

Chase just announced the 5% bonus categories for the FREEDOM FLEX and FREEDOM credit cards. This is one of my favorite go-to cards. There is no annual fee and you earn 1.5 Chase Ultimate Rewards points for all purchases which is a bit more than other cards. 

And every quarter, there are bonus categories where you earn 5x points. 

You can see the calendar above for 2022 and the 4th quarter categories are Walmart.com and Paypal. These are great because you can pretty much pay for anything with Paypal. 

So be sure to activate the bonus by clicking here and then from October-December, use your FREEDOM card for all things Paypal and Walmart and watch those points add up quickly. 

There is a max that you can earn so keep an eye on your dashboard in your online Chase.com account. 

Chase Ultimate Rewards points are amazing because they are so flexible.  You can transfer them to dozens of airlines, a few hotel chains, use them in the travel portal, cash back and more.  You can check out all the ways I use those points here. 

Top 3 Reasons You Should Rent Your Next Car Through Turo

 

With the price of rental cars still sitting sky high, I am getting a lot of questions about how to find a more affordable rental car. My go-to is usually Costco.com since you automatically get a second driver, can cancel up to the last minute and I find it has the best rates.  

But on a recent trip to Raleigh, North Carolina, the rates on Costco.com were sky high. So I decided to try using the rental car platform Turo.com. You can picture Airbnb.com for rental cars. And unlike a traditional rental car company, you actually look through a catalog of the cars being offered by the owners on your specific dates and location. So if you have always wanted to try driving a Tesla, you could choose one of those if it's being offered. 

You can filter the cars by all star hosts, delivery options, number of seats, model of car and much more. Keep in mind, you are renting someone's personal car and not a car from a rental car fleet so that's a big difference. Then you communicate with the owner of the car on the platform to make the arrangements. 

For my trip to North Carolina, I looked through the catalog and found a Hyundai Elantra 2017 for rent for $45 per day plus taxes, insurance fees and drop off and pick up at the airport. The total came to $160 for Saturday to Monday. I paid $10 per day for insurance, $40 for airport drop off and pick up and $15 for a mysterious trip fee. I messaged Michlyn who wrote back within minutes. We confirmed the rental and she asked for flight information.

A day before, Michlyn confirmed the reservation and asked me to text her when I walked outside baggage claim. 

My flight was right on time and I walked outside of baggage claim and text Michlyn. She arrived within minutes, greeted me by name, checked my driver's license, advised me to check the car and take photos. 

Once I let her know that everything looked okay, she handed me the keys. So awesome! No rental car shuttle, no rental car line, no waiting. Within 15 minutes, I was checking into the hotel. Michlyn also included a cord for my Iphone. Nice touch. 

Turo.com requires you to purchase a level of insurance through their platform because most credit cards will not cover a non traditional car rental in their coverage. You have a few choices so whatever level of coverage you are comfortable with. I chose the minimum coverage and it said it had a maximum of $3,000 that I would have to pay out for a fee of $10 per day. 

I have heard that if you have an accident, it can be a hassle to deal with the insurance. 

Some of the rentals include a certain amount of mileage in the rental. This car included 600 miles and came with a full tank of gas. The penalty for not returning the car with a full tank was the cost of a full tank of gas plus $10. I'm not sure if that's Michlyn's policy or Turo.com. 

All in all, my top three reasons for using Turo.com:

1. I loved the easy pick up and drop off. 

2. I got to choose the exact car. The car was a bit worn, but it worked well 

3. And I'm supporting a small business owner. The host was communicative and on time. 

I would definitely use Turo.com again. 

Easy Way To Earn A Mini Southwest Companion Pass

One of the best perks around is the Southwest Companion Pass. The pass lets you bring a companion with you for FREE on any flight for as much as two years. I have had this pass for the past 8 years and wow, it has saved me thousands of dollars. Normally, you have to earn 125,000 Southwest points in a single calendar year to earn the pass, but right now, Southwest is offering a mini pass. 

Easy Way To Earn A Mini Southwest Companion Pass

To qualify for the mini pass, you need to take two one-way flights or one round trip flight during the promotional period. Pretty easy to qualify, however, the pass is a mini so it is only valid from January - March 2023. And you must buy your flights, you cannot use points for the promotion. 

I earned this pass last year by flying to Phoenix for the day to lunch with a friend. Cost me $100 round trip and then I used the pass so my daughter could fly with me to the East Coast in January. 

Sometimes the mini pass is a good way to bridge the gap while you are waiting for your long term companion pass to kick in. 

Easy Way To Earn A Mini Southwest Companion Pass

However, the regular Southwest Companion Pass is a much better deal because it lasts up to two years. I will begin posting about how to earn the regular companion pass in October since timing is everything. 

If you decide to jump on this mini pass, you need to purchase your flights today September 8th by registering here and flying by November 17th. Remember to purchase your flights with your Southwest Credit Card so you earn up to 4x points. If you don't have a Southwest Credit Card yet, you can apply here using my referral link and get 50,000 bonus points for the personal cards and up to 80,000 points for the business cards. 

If you want the regular companion pass, don't apply just yet. Keep watching for my posts about why and how to time this so you get the max use out of the companion pass. 

Offer ends 9/8/2022–don’t let it pass by!

Here is how:

1. Register and purchase a round trip or two one-way flights by 9/8/2022.
2. Travel by 11/17/2022.
3. Companion flies free* with you 1/4/2023 – 3/4/2023.

Not valid on flights purchased with Rapid Rewards® points.

How You Can Earn 15x Points On Your Next Staples.com Purchase

 

If you have been reading this blog for any amount of time, you probably know how much I LOVE shopping portals. Besides opening credit cards with bonus offers and flying, shopping portals are the next best way to earn points and miles. 

I want to show you how you can double and even triple stack the points to earn huge bonuses. 

For example, today my daughter needed one of those fancy calculators for school. Staples.com had it listed on their website for $139.99. I agree it is ridiculous to pay that much for a calculator, but that's another story. I always start with cashbackmonitor.com to see who is offering the most points or miles at a specific store. 

You can see that the United Shopping Portal is offering a whopping 10x miles at Staples.com. Wow! I click the link for the portal without the United credit card and sure enough 10x miles. I have a Chase Ink credit card that earns 5x points at Staples. So I use that card in the portal and bam, I should see 15x points back. 

10x United miles into my United account and 5x Chase Ultimate Rewards points. 

Sort of makes up for paying $140 for a calculator :) 

Which is better? Alaska Companion Fare vs Southwest Companion Pass

 

Ah, Hawaii! So relaxing and pretty much top on everyone's bucket list. My neighbor just returned from Hawaii and was super excited to have scored a "free" ticket with her Alaska companion fare. The last time I went to Hawaii, I used my Southwest companion pass. 

So I decided to dig in and compare the Southwest Companion Pass with the Alaska Airlines Famous Companion Fare and see how they stack up. 

Which is tops? Alaska Companion Fare vs Southwest Companion Pass

Let's start with the Southwest Companion Pass. This is believed to be the best travel perk out there. It is good for buy one, get one FREE plane ticket for two years on every flight. I have had this pass for the last 8 years and it has saved me thousands of dollars. 

I have taken my family to Washington DC, Boston, Chicago and even Cuba. 

To get the pass, you need to earn 125,000 Southwest points in a single calendar year. Once you get the pass, it is good for the rest of that year and the following year. Your companion must fly with you on the same flights and you can change your companion three times per year. You can buy your ticket, which we don't recommend, OR use points and then add your companion. You still need to pay the taxes which are $5.60 per flight. 

You can add your companion to your flight right up until you fly. 

Earning 125,000 points may seem like a daunting task, but we share the secret here at almostfreefamilytravel.com about how to do it fast and easy. 

Which is tops? Alaska Companion Fare vs Southwest Companion Pass

The Alaska Airlines famous companion fare is $99 plus taxes and fees from $22. You get the companion fare every year on your credit card anniversary. Your companion must fly with you on the same flight. In fact, you must book the two tickets at the same time. 

You cannot use points to book either person's flight. But both people will earn miles on the flights. 

The companion fare is good for 12 months from the date of issue. 

The Mileage Plan member who owns the companion fare must be one of the travelers or the purchaser of the flights with their Alaska Airlines credit card. 

So let's break it down: 

1. Easy to earn: Alaska Airlines wins because the fare comes with your credit card every year on the anniversary. It's automatic. 

2. Best deal: Southwest Airlines wins here because you can pay for the flights with points and the taxes are just $5.60. You can also use the Southwest pass on unlimited number of flights for two years and you can only use the Alaska companion pass once. 

3. Ease of use: Southwest Airlines wins again because you can add your companion at any time to the flight up until you actually fly and on Alaska, you have to book the two people at the same time. I have actually changed my companion while on my trip. A bit risky, but it worked. 

4. Flexibility: Southwest wins again. You can change your companion up to three times per calendar year. 

Though the Alaska Companion Fare is better than paying full price and if you are loyal to Alaska or if you are looking at a very expensive flight, then the Alaska companion fare might make sense for you. But hands down, the Southwest Companion Pass still reigns as the best travel perk out there. 

Stay posted because as we get close to the end of the year, it will be time to earn the pass again for the next two years. But timing is everything! So stay tuned. 

Get A FREE Year of Grubhub+ With Your BofA Card

 

If you are a Bank of America cardholder either credit card or debit card, you are eligible for a new perk! You can get a one year membership to Grubhub+ with your card. 

What is Grubhub+ 

Grubhub is a food delivery service and it's FREE. Grubhub+ is a paid service that gives customers access to unlimited $0 delivery fees on eligible food orders over $12 at thousands of restaurants. Membership typically costs $9.99 per month. 

So this perk is valued at $120. Just remember to cancel the membership when the one year is over otherwise you will be charged the monthly fee. 

This perk is offered to any Bank of America customers who DO NOT currently have a Grubhub+ membership. 

You can enroll for this new perk here. 

Double and Even Triple Dip On Your Back To School Shopping

 

You can earn points by flying OR you can earn points by using your credit card to buy the things you purchase everyday. Are you going to the grocery store? Yep, earn points. Are you going to fill your car with gas? Yep, earn points. See how easy it is. 

Now it gets even more fun when you get leverage that spending two or maybe three times like when you shop for school or college dorms. 

I use the website cashbackmonitor.com before I buy anything. This site lists hundreds of stores and how many points they are offering on a variety of credit cards or through the shopping portals. 

If you click on a specific store, then you can see exactly how many points each shopping portal is offering. Shopping portals are a marketplace of retailers hosted by a a specific credit card, hotel or airline. For example, let's look at walmart.com. If you shop through the United Shopping portal with a United credit card, you can earn 1 mile per dollar, without a United card, you will earn .5 miles per dollar. In the American Airlines Shopping portal though you can earn 1 mile per dollar and use whatever credit card you want. 

This could work to your advantage IF you have an Amex offer or another discount. You can check your Amex offers by logging into your online account. 

Here's where it gets even more fun. The Chase FREEDOM, FREEDOM Unlimited and FREEDOM Flex cards earn 5x points on rotating quarterly categories. This quarter the categories are gas, car rentals and streaming. Probably can't double or triple dip on those, but sometimes the categories include home improvement stores and those are super easy to stack. You can earn up to 10x points on those purchases if you play your credit cards right. Here are the airlines that have shopping portals. 

Many of the shopping portals offer bonus points too if you spend a certain amount during a specific time frame. These bonus offers happen during holidays or back to school shopping periods. 

Happy shopping and earning FREE travel at the same time!