How Your Holiday Shopping Can Earn You A FREE Vacation

Now that Halloween is over, the holiday shopping season is on! And when you do your holiday shopping, you can be earning your next vacation at the same time! It's all about shopping portals. Yes, I know it's an extra step and you have to remember to do it, but you know what, when you book that next vacation for FREE, it will be well worth it. 

How Your Holiday Shopping Can Earn You A FREE Vacation

Here's how it works! The major airlines United, Southwest, Alaska, Delta and American have shopping portals. You can use cashbackmonitor.com to see which airlines are participating. Now they always offer bonus miles for using the portal, but right now, there are bonuses to be earned. Thousands of extra miles in bonuses are up for grabs. 

Like the one in the picture above from United Airlines. When you spend $150, you earn 500 bonus miles. So when you buy that dog food from Petsmart.com or Chewy.com, instead of going to the retailer's website, use the portal. You can even stack bonuses if your credit card has an offer too. 

How Your Holiday Shopping Can Earn You A FREE Vacation

And it's cumulative. So you can spend $50 at Chewy.com and then $100 at Staples.com and bam, 500 FREE bonus miles. The bonus takes about 6-8 weeks to credit to your account. 

Be very careful that you click from the portal to through to the retailer so you get the credit. 

Each airline sets its own criteria for the bonus so be sure to shop around and of course, consider which airline you are trying to collect points for. 

Here are the holiday bonus offers: 

 United Shopping Portal  - Ends November 18th. Spend $150, earn 500 bonus miles. Spend $600, earn 2,000 bonus miles. Spend $1,200, earn 5,000 bonus miles. 

Southwest Shopping Portal - Ends November 21st, Spend $100, earn 500 bonus miles. Spend $500, earn 1,000 bonus miles. Spend $1,000, earn 3,500 bonus miles. 

Alaska Shopping Portal - Ends November 20th, Spend $150, earn 300 bonus miles. Spend $350, earn 750 bonus miles. Spend $650, earn 1,500 bonus miles. 

Delta Shopping Portal -  Ends November 18th, Spend $200, earn 500 bonus miles. Spend $400, earn 1,000 bonus miles. Spend $800, earn 2,000 bonus miles. 

While you are taking advantage of these holiday shopping bonus offers, you should also be working your way towards your minimum spend and bonus offer on your new credit card. 

If you are joining me in earning the Southwest Companion Pass, then we are about to apply for the Southwest credit cards. Don't do it quite yet, but when we are ready here is my referral link if that's your plan. 

If you are not joining me in earning the Southwest Companion Pass, then you should be taking advantage of the increased offer on the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card. This is my favorite card because Chase Ultimate Rewards points are super flexible. You can transfer the points to dozens of airlines and few hotel chains, you can use them in the Chase travel portal and to erase purchases. Now there is an 80,000 bonus offer on this card, that's worth at least $1,200 in travel. 

Southwest Rewards Changes Coming, Don't Worry

 

You may have seen this email this morning in your inbox. We are going to break down the changes coming in 2023 and yes, we saw the increase in the number of points needed to earn the Southwest Companion Pass. We will address that since many of us, including myself, are planning to earn the pass in January 2023.  

Just a reminder, the Southwest Companion Pass is the best travel perk out there. It is a BOGO pass good for up to two years on any flight Southwest operates. 

So the changes are as follows: 

1. Points needed to earn the Companion Pass will increase from 125,000 to 135,000. However, if you have a Southwest credit card, you will receive a 10,000 point boost every year to help you reach that goal. Existing card members will get the boost at the beginning of the year and points will post by January 31st, new card holders in 2023 will get the boost 30 days after opening their credit card. Only one boost per Rapid Rewards account. More on how this affects our strategy below. 

2. Companions will now board with the companion pass holder. When the pass holder checks in, the companion will be given a sequential boarding pass number. However, if the pass holder is A-list, purchased an upgrade or Business Select ticket, the companion will not be upgraded. 

3.  You must cancel your flight at least 10 minutes before departure in order to get your points returned to your account. Starts summer 2023. 

Now back to the increase in points needed to qualify for the Southwest companion pass. For our purposes, the change to the Companion Pass is important. This year, you will get the 10,000 point boost so really there is no change at all. Your goal is still 125,000 points since Southwest will gift you the extra 10,000 points to reach the new tier of 135,000. 

If you are working towards getting the pass with me, you can relax and stay the course. 

Remember you will only get ONE boost even though our strategy includes applying for two Southwest credit cards. And the boost starts in January 2023 so the timing of opening your Southwest card will not be affected THIS year. However, if you follow this strategy next year, you will need to pay very close attention to the timing of opening your Southwest cards so the boost posts after your December closing date. 

If you are following our strategy, then you are not opening a Southwest card yet so I am not including any referral links here. 

My Favorite Credit Card Is Offering An 80,000 Point Bonus!

 

This past summer, I spent two weeks in Ireland and had the opportunity to hike along the Cliffs of Dover. Amazing! And I'll let you in on a secret. This trip was almost FREE thanks to one of my favorite ways to travel for FREE using Chase Ultimate Rewards points. 

For this trip to Ireland, I cashed in CUR points for my daughter's flight and erased all of our Airbnb's for the entire trip! 

One of the best ways to earn and redeem those points is by using the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card. 

Now this card is offering 80,000 bonus points when you spend $4,000 on the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card. 

What can you do with 80,000 Chase Ultimate Reward points? 

So many things. 

• For one, you can use them in the Chase Travel Portal where the Chase Sapphire Reserve makes the points worth 50% more. 
• You can also transfer them 1:1 to dozens of airlines including United, Jet Blue, Southwest and more. 
• You can transfer them to Hyatt, Marriott and IHG hotels at 1:1.
• Through the end of the year, you can use them to erase Airbnb and dining purchases. 

Chase says the value of 80,000 CUR points is $1,200 towards travel. But it could be more if you play your cards right. 

So for the trip to Ireland, I used Chase Ultimate Reward points to cover my daughter's round trip flight which I booked through the Chase travel portal for 30,000 points. 

I erased all of our Airbnb stays at 50% value for 50,000 points and I erased most of our dining with another 30,000 points. 

The Chase Sapphire Reserve card also comes with a $300 travel credit so we used that to erase parking and a portion of the rental car. 

Now this card is offering 80,000 bonus points when you spend $4,000 on the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card. 

The other benefit is that you can transfer CUR points from your other credit cards to your Reserve card and then redeem them for 50% more. Woohoo! 

This card also comes with a $100 Global Entry credit, Priority Pass lounge access and FREE Dashpass membership, Instacart+ and $10 Go Puff monthly credit. 

The card does come with a hefty annual fee of $550, but as long as you use the $300 travel credit, Global Entry and lounge access, it will be worth it. 

Couple of important notes about this card. If you already hold the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, you are not eligible to apply for the Reserve card. You can only hold one at a time. However, your spouse, partner or other family member could apply for the Reserve card. You can also only earn the bonus on the Reserve once every four years. 

If you decide to apply for the Chase Sapphire Reserve, please consider using my referral link. 

 

How Your Latte Can Earn You FREE Delta Skymiles

 

Beginning today, Delta Skymiles and Starbucks are teaming up so you can earn more than just stars on your next coffee. You will need to link your accounts on this website. Unfortunately, as of this publishing it wasn't working, but check back in a few days when the traffic dies down. 

But the idea will be that you will earn Skymiles AND stars on your purchases. As you know, I am all about leveraging purchases for FREE travel. This one is easy! 

You will earn 1 Skymile for every $1 spent at Starbucks and double miles on Delta travel days or when you take a Delta flight. 

You also get a bonus 500 Skymiles just for linking the two accounts by December 31, 2022. You must be a Delta Skymiles and Starbucks member to link the accounts. 

Southwest Bonus Offer On Gas, Groceries and Amazon

 

Even if you didn't get this offer in your inbox, you can register your personal Southwest credit card and start racking up some extra points. 

Just register anytime between 10/1-12/31/22 and then use your credit card for gas, groceries and Amazon purchases. 

The points will count towards the Southwest companion pass, but remember we are not trying to earn the pass for this calendar year. We are trying to earn it for 2023-24 so any points you earn between now and your December statement closing will count towards THIS year and not next year. 

However, if you follow my plan, you won't need these bonus points to earn the pass anyways. 

You can register at this link or by clicking on the photo above. 

Did You Cancel Your Personal Southwest Credit Card Yet?

 

If you are planning to earn the Southwest Companion Pass for 2023-34, then it's time for step 1. In the last post, we talked about what to do month by month to earn the pass. 

The Southwest Companion Pass is the best travel perk in the industry. The pass is good for BOGO flights for up to two years. You can name any person as your companion and you can change your companion up to three times in a single calendar year. 

Did You Cancel Your Personal Southwest Credit Card Yet?

In order to earn the pass, you will need to accumulate 125,000 Southwest points in a single calendar year. You could fly, but that's expensive and time consuming. You could use a shopping portal, but that's pricey. 

Or you can follow our plan and apply for two Southwest credit cards. 

One card will be a personal Southwest credit card and one will be a Southwest business card. 

The catch is that you can only hold one personal Southwest credit card at a time and you will need at least 30 days between closing the card and opening the new one. 

Did You Cancel Your Personal Southwest Credit Card Yet?

So now is the time to close your card. I know it can be difficult, but its the best way to earn the pass. It took me a few days to get up the courage to cancel it. It's tough, I get it. 

And guess what, after I closed the card, my credit score went up. 

You do not need to close your Southwest business card because you are able to hold two Southwest business cards at the same time. 

Post below when you have closed your card. This is why we are doing it together. 

And in a few weeks, we will talk about step 2. 

It's Time To Plan For Your Southwest Companion Pass

 

The Southwest Companion pass is by far the best travel perk around. It's a BOGO plane ticket on any Southwest flight for up to two years. Did you hear me? BOGO on any Southwest flight anywhere Southwest flies. Costa Rica, yep. Belize, yep. No blackout dates. No blackout flights. All you do is pay the $5.60 for taxes. Amazing! 

I have had the Southwest Companion Pass for the past 6 years and it has saved me thousands of dollars. I have traveled to Cuba, Washington DC, Boston, New York City, Florida and a number of college visits, trips, family events and more and taken my companion with me for FREE.

You can even change your companion three times in a calendar year and your companion can be your spouse, child, sibling, cousin, friend, neighbor or whoever you want.  

It's Time To Earn The Southwest Companion Pass

The way to earn the Southwest Companion Pass is to rack up 125,000 Southwest points in one calendar year. Once you do that, you earn the pass for the remainder of that year PLUS the following year. 

If you time it right, you could have the pass for almost two years. 

But that's a lot of points! How do you earn so many points? You could fly, but that would be very time consuming and expensive. You could shop through portals and that would help, but again, very expensive. 

The way to max out the two years is by opening Southwest credit cards. If you open a personal credit card and the bonus is 50,000 points and you open a business credit card and the bonus is 80,000 points then your total is 130,000 points and bam, you earn a companion pass. Follow me?

We are going to map out the strategy here and I hope you will come along with me on this journey. 

Let's look at what you need to do month by month:

October 

• Cancel your personal credit card 

*You can only hold one personal Southwest credit card at a time and you have to wait at least 30 days to apply for a new personal Southwest credit card. So in order to plan it right, you will need to cancel your Southwest personal credit card this month. I know it can be tough, but it has to be done. 

Also you want to confirm that it's been at least 24 months since you earned a bonus on a Southwest personal credit card because you can only earn this bonus once every two years. 

November 

• Apply for your new personal credit card (you have 3 months to reach the minimum spend, but you can do it faster)
• Apply for your new business credit card (you have 3 months to reach the minimum spend, but you can do it faster)
• You can start using the cards immediately, but DO NOT reach the minimum spend before the statement closes in December or to be extra safe Jan. 1. 
• This is the biggest mistake people make and it could cost you a whole year of the companion pass because you earn the pass for the current year and the following year. If your bonus posts before your December statement closes or Jan. 1st then it counts for this year instead of next year. Ouch! 

December 

• Find out your statement close date on both cards
• DO NOT reach the minimum spend before the statement closes otherwise your points will count towards the current calendar year and not next year
• To be extra safe, hit the minimum spend after Jan. 1st 

January

• The goal is to meet your minimum spend as close to Jan 1st as possible, but AFTER your December statement closes. 
• Once you reach the minimum spend, your bonus points will deposit into your account 
• The deposit will trigger the earning of the Southwest Companion Pass 

And bam, BOGO travel for the next two years! Woohoo! 

If you decide to come along with me on this journey or if this post helps you, please consider using my referral links to apply for your Southwest credit cards. Same bonus for you, but I also get a few points for referring you. 

Here is a breakdown of the three personal credit cards offered by Southwest right now, but remember, we are NOT going to apply for these until November: 

Southwest Priority - 50,000 bonus offer with $1,000 minimum spend 

• $149 annual fee for the first year
• $75 Southwest credit 
• 7,500 anniversary points annually
• 2x on Southwest purchases
• 1x on everything else
• 4 upgraded boardings 

Southwest Premier - 50,000 bonus offer with $1,000 minimum spend 

• $99 annual fee
• 6,000 anniversary points annually
• 2x on Southwest purchases
• 1x on everything else
• 2 Early Bird check ins 

Southwest Plus - 50,000 bonus offer with $1,000 minimum spend 

• $69 annual fee
• 3,000 anniversary points annually 
• 2x on Southwest purchases
• 1x on everything else
• 2 Early Bird check ins 

The Priority credit card is my favorite! Even though it has a higher minimum spend at $149, it comes with a $75 Southwest credit. The credit can be used to offset the $5.60 fee charged on every ticket and it is applied automatically by the credit card as a statement credit. 

The Priority also includes 4 upgraded boardings which help if you forget to check in and get in that dreaded C boarding group. 

Please let me know if you are joining me on this journey to earn the companion pass. I would love to chat with you.