Visit The National Parks For FREE On Monday

Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone is stunning

This past summer, we visited three National Parks in one week, Glacier, Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. I'm tired just thinking about it, but it was an amazing trip. You can check out how we did it by reading my post. 

And this Monday, November 11th, you can visit any National Park for FREE. 

The US Park Service allows FREE entry five days a year and Veteran's Day is one of them. 

Here are the FREE entry dates for 2020: 

• January 20 - Martin Luther King Jr. Day 
• April 18 - National Park Day
• August 25 - National Park Service Birthday 
• September 26 - National Public Service Day 
• November 11 - Veterans Day 

The park entrance fee varies from $20-$35 depending on which park you visit. If you can't make it on the FREE day, it might be worth it to pick up a National Park Annual Pass for $80. You can buy it online or pick it up at the entrance to any park. It is good for the month you buy it and the next eleven months so plan carefully. Each park we visited this past summer would have cost us $35 to enter so we broke even quickly. 

There are more than 400 parks to choose from so whether you go for the day or a few days, it's a beautiful way to get into nature and leave the city noise behind. 

That's how we do it at almost FREE family travel. 

How To Get Bonus Miles On Your Holiday Shopping

        The holidays are just six weeks away so the countdown has begun. Most Americans spend about $1,000 a year on holiday gifts. You can take the sting out of the spend by earning miles and points for your next trip.
        Plus if you plan it right, you can double or even triple dip!
       Shopping portals also offer extra miles per dollar spent at your favorite store. 
        Right now, United and American Airlines have launched holiday bonus promotions.

For United, you can earn up to 5,000 bonus miles. 

• Spend $150, earn 500 bonus miles 
• Spend $750, earn 2,500 bonus miles 
• Spend $1,500 earn 5,000 bonus miles 

You do not have to spend the total in one purchase, it can include multiple purchases at different stores. You do need to do your shopping through the United shopping portal so it is tracked by the system and you need to reach the total by 11/21. 

For American, you can earn up to 3,500 bonus miles. 

• Spend $150, earn 500 bonus miles 
• Spend $600, earn 1,500 bonus miles 
• Spend $1,200, earn 3,500 bonus miles 

This promotion also ends by 11/21. 
To use a portal, click on the airline above, login to your account (be sure you are logged in) and click on your favorite store. Triple check that when you are ready to place the order, you are still on the link from the portal. 
Depending on whether you prefer American or United will decide which shopping portal you use. If you need to top off one account versus the other, that could be a deciding factor as well. Remember to use the right credit card as well for your holiday shopping so you can double or triple dip. 
That's how we do it at almost FREE family travel. 

Now Is The Time To Plan For Summer 2020

Believe it or not, now is the perfect time to plan your summer 2020 vacation if you want to travel on points or miles. If it seems overwhelming, take a step back, look at the big picture and let's walk it through step by step.

Six years ago when my family and I spent almost a month in Thailand, there were several times in the planning process that I thought we just weren't going to be able to go. But I persisted and managed to get all five of us to Thailand for almost FREE. We stayed for almost FREE and actually ended up making money on the trip. To top it all off, I got kissed by an elephant. Woohoo!

Finding five seats on the same flight and finding hotels that can accommodate five people is not easy, but traveling as a family is worth it. Besides the memories, studies show that children who are exposed to other cultures, learning outside the classroom and collecting experiences are more flexible, empathetic and better global citizens. 

So here's the process:

1. Decide where you want to go. What's on your bucket list? Think big, but definitely keep in mind how old your kids are, how adventurous they are, what kind of travel they like. We went to Europe a few years ago. Although we enjoyed the trip, my children agreed that they prefer a balance of culture and nature and our Europe trip was way too much culture. On the flip side, our last trip to the National Parks was enjoyable, but some of the kids felt like it was too much nature. 

2. Take a look at which airlines fly to that destination and which alliance they partner with. 

3. Then look at the points and miles you have already. Do you have miles and points with a specific airline like United, Delta or American AND/OR do you have transferable points like Chase Ultimate Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy or American Express points?

Now the puzzle begins. Look at your dates, remember to be flexible, and figure out approximately how many points/miles you may need to book each seat and which airline you are targetting. Then look for the best bonus credit card offers available that will get you as close as possible to your goal. Remember to look at that specific airline's credit card offers and the transferable point credit cards. I used a combination of Amex points and American miles to get our family to Thailand. 
Apply for the cards. Remember to have your spouse apply too. Property tax time is coming up so now is a great time to use that payment to reach those minimum spends. And as soon as the bonus comes through, book your flights. Have patience, try different airlines and routes. I have booked two tickets through United before and three through Singapore Airlines to get five seats on the same flight with points/miles. On one trip, we even got a bonus stopover in Tokyo. 

The best part of travel is the adventure and sometimes that starts with the planning process.  

Book Now Southwest San Diego To Hawaii Non Stop

Even though flights won't start until April from San Diego direct to Hawaii, tickets went on sale today! Woohoo! 

When Southwest launched flights to Hawaii earlier this year, the only direct flights from California were from Oakland, San Jose and San Francisco. 

So although it was nice and inexpensive, it was super inconvenient for those of us in Southern California. 

Starting in April 2020, you will be able to fly from San Diego to Hawaii directly. 

Booking opened today for flights through June 6, 2020 and even if you are just thinking about it, book tickets now and then cancel if you change your mind. Southwest has no cancellation fee and makes it super easy to change flights or get a refund entirely. 

I entered some random dates for April 2020 and the flight search tool came up with one flight per day direct San Diego to Maui priced at $159 and $129 each way. Pretty sweet! If you have the points, it's just 8,188 points each way. Plus if you have the companion pass, that's just $143 round trip per person. Wow! If you don't have the companion pass yet, check out my blog post about how to get this deal. 

I tried searching Honolulu as well and came up with an even better deal. One non stop per day each way priced at $129. 
But jump on this quickly, since we saw prices climb fast when  Southwest launched. The easiest way to earn Southwest points is to open a Southwest credit card, here's my referral link if you need it. 
If you need Southwest points, you can check out my past blog post about how to get Southwest points without flying. 
That's how we do it here at almostfreefamilytravel.com 

How To Visit Expensive Jackson Hole On A Budget

Our family in front of the Grand Tetons, Wyoming

         This past summer, we spent a week visiting the National Parks in Montana and Wyoming. Think Glacier National Park, Yellowstone, and the Grand Tetons. Absolutely beautiful. But wow, expensive. And Jackson Hole, Wyoming has been named the most unaffordable place to live in the entire US. 
         So what's a family of five supposed to do? I checked the chains in the area to see if we could use award points, all sold out. Argh. If you get lucky, there is a Hampton Inn and Suites, Super 8, Motel 6 and another Hilton in Jackson. The area is divided into Jackson Hole and Teton Village. The better ski area according to the locals is at Teton Village, but the town is in Jackson Hole. Teton Village feels very much like a small resort at the bottom of the ski run. 
I checked airbnb.com, but the rates were outrageous. So then I searched hostels and bam, I found The Hostel in Teton Village. 
Now, I stayed at plenty of hostels back in my 20's when I backpacked across Europe. But I never thought about staying at a hostel with my family. 
But guess what, we loved it. 

The Hostel at Teton Village, Wyoming

The Hostel is located right at the bottom of the ski run next to the Four Seasons. Yep, right next door. But we paid $130 per night for a room for five people. I am pretty sure you would not be able to stay in the closet at the Four Seasons for that price. 
The Hostel had FREE coffee, tea, and hot chocolate plus a pool table, access to a shared refrigerator, laundry facilities and a lounge. There were also barbecues available. They stated that they had kitchen facilities as well, but all we saw was a camping stove. 
The room was small, but we had a private bathroom and fresh linens. 
It felt safe. There were lots of families and kids. In the winter, they had places to store your skis, snowboards, and boots. The rooms did not have air conditioning, but do have heat. 
We picked up breakfast items, sandwich items at the Albertsons in Jackson and a pizza to go for dinner. 

Best part was seeing moose on our hike at Jenni Lake

Activities we enjoyed included river rafting with Lewis and Clark down the Snake River. We paid $450 for this tour, but erased it with our Capital One Venture card points. 

Plus we took the boat across Jenni Lake (no reservations needed, boats depart every 15 minutes) and hiked a few miles to Inspiration Point and saw moose! Definitely a highlight of the trip. 

River Rafting on the Snake River

The Virginia Diner had a great Wyoming breakfast with fresh biscuits for $10 per person. 

We liked The Hostel so much that we are going to try staying at another one in Patagonia, Chile next year. 

Stay tuned! 

****Please use the referral links included in this post and help support our blog. 

US Bans All Flights To Cuba Except To Havana

Unfortunately, your chance to visit Cuba is coming to an end. The US announced on Friday that all commercial flights to cities besides Havana must be canceled within 45 days. This is due to increasing tension between the two governments due to Cuba's support of the Venezuelan leader. 

The request came from the Department of State, according to a notice posted by the Department of Transportation. Pompeo wrote "that banning travel to the majority of Cuba will strengthen economic consequences to the Cuban regime."

Jet Blue and American are the only two airlines affected. Southwest had already canceled flights due to poor demand. Both airlines say they will comply with the new policy. Nine Cuban cities will be affected. 

If you have a flight booked already that may be affected, call the airline immediately. 

You can still travel to Havana and I highly recommend it. Cuba is an amazing country with fantastic people who saw an opportunity open in 2016 under former President Obama and are now seeing it fade away. 

Check out my previous blog series on my visit to Havana. 

Reason #100 Why You Need Global Entry/TSA Precheck

       The holiday travel season is right around the corner, yep, think turkey, trees and holiday travel. The countdown is on. So here is reason #100 why you need to get your family registered for TSA Precheck and Global Entry. 
        It's way less hassle! 
        I'll be honest, I had my doubts. But since I opened several credit cards earlier this year, I was able to get three of us TSA Precheck/Global Entry for FREE so why not. 
        And wow! But to be honest on our last trip to the National Parks, the TSA Precheck line at security wasn't all that much shorter than the regular line, BUT just the fact that I didn't have to remove my laptop or my shoes or my toiletries made it all worth it. 

        On top of all that, I am one of those people that security just loves to hassle. I assume that security will go through my suitcase, ask me to step aside for secondary, fingerprint me or use a wand. It happens every time. Sometimes they don't like my ground coffee and french press (I don't leave home without these). Sometimes, they are suspicious of my fiber supplement powder. Sometimes, they don't like my snacks. One time, they took my nail scissors. Another time, they took my ice pack. Sometimes, I just get randomly selected for the dusting of the fingers or to get scanned or they want to check my armpits. It's always something. It's so routine I plan for it. 

Lamar Valley in Yellowstone National Park 

       But on our last trip, my first with TSA Precheck, I flew through security. I even asked someone if they were sure they didn't want to check me or my suitcase. Nope, they said, you are fine. 
       Wow! Now I will try Global Entry on my trip to the UK coming up next month so I'll let you know how that goes. 
       But you need to get this process going now because you have to apply online and then go to the airport for an interview. By the way, TSA Precheck costs $85 and TSA Precheck with Global Entry costs $100 and since you will have $100 credit, you might as well do both. TSA Precheck is for the domestic security and Global Entry is for customs when you fly internationally or cross by car or foot into Canada or Mexico. 

 Here is the application process:

1. Create an account at fsa.gov. The account creation process is a bit tricky due to their security codes, but be patient. 
2. Fill out the application. You can use your credit for anyone just remember to pay with that credit card. Once you get notified that you are pending approval, you can schedule an interview. 
3. Bring your passport and ID to the interview and don't be late. 
4. They will mail you your Global Entry card, but you will get your known traveler number immediately. 

If you have previously booked tickets, you will need to add the number manually to each reservation, but then you can add it to your profile. 

TSA Precheck/Global Entry costs $100, but it's FREE every 4-5 years if you have the following cards:

• Capital One Venture 
• Chase Southwest Performance Business card 
• Chase Sapphire Reserve
• Chase IHG
• United Explorer card 
• Citi Advantage Executive card 

 So good luck and happy holiday travel!