British Airways 100k Avios Efficient Uses

Posted on July 15, 2012 by Brad Christensen

The offer for the The British Airways Credit Card will help you to receive up to 100,000 British Airways Avios is nearing an end (July 17th).  While actually getting the full 100k miles is a tall order for most consumers (the first 50k you get right away, the second 25k come after spending $10,000, and the last 25k come after spending $20,000 in the first year).  But even though you may only land 50-75k Avios, this is a deal to look at seriously.

In its time, we’ve looked at two amazing ways to use these benefits, on flights from SLC to LAX, and BOI to SEA.  These are close in proximity to where we live, but here it is straight: if you live near any American Airlines hub (Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, New York City) and you like the idea of taking multiple trips or multiple people on a shor, this card is an absolute “must-have.”

As we’ve mentioned before, the best use is on short, direct flights, so I took the liberty of defining some of the best deals on routes for which to use these Avios.

Obviously these won’t make sense for all of you, but these are the kinds of flights that are perfect fits.

If you have other ideas, you can try them out with the British Airways’ Avios Calculator.

Tier 1 (4500 Avios)
From To
SALT LAKE LOS ANGELES
BOISE SEATTLE
LOS ANGELES SAN FRANCISCO
MIAMI CANCUN
CHICAGO WASHINGTON DC
CHICAGO TORONTO
DENVER DALLAS

We summarized some other options, including potential international flights, in another recent post.   Again, we never expect you to be reckless in using your good credit to obtain frequent flier miles, but so long as you can be diligent in the way you manage it, this is an amazing way to buck the tendency to say the abhorrent phrase “I’d love to travel, I just can’t afford it.” (cringe and wince…)

Also remember that the annual fee($95) on this card is not waived for the first year… not really an issue when you save at least $1000 on flights, but still something to consider.

Here are some more details and don’t hesitate to comment if you have any questions or thoughts.

Posted in American Airlines, British Airways | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

How World Wanderlusting’s Free Travel Ideas Really Work

Posted on July 12, 2012 by Brad Christensen

Armed with loads of miles and points, my husband and I took a vacation to Panama in June and this is how we did it.

We flew on Continental for FREE, both of us got the Continental credit card (now United), which offered 50k miles), so we redeemed some of those miles and still have many left over.

The taxes ($65 each) for our flight were paid by the reimbursement program of our Capital One Venture card reward points (this card pays you 2 points for every dollar spent on any purchase, and gave us a huge upfront match based on the points we had in other programs). Is that technically tax evasion? Oh well…

Our Alamo car rental was also paid this way.

We stayed at the Houston Country Inn and Suites on a stopover en route to earn 44k free miles from the Club Carlson promotion going on right now (though it has since been reduced to 15k).  So that night would have cost us $90, but we also paid with our Capital One Venture Card (which was reimbursed) and earned 44k points for more free stays.

We stayed 3 nights at the Marriott in Panama City.  The 1st night was a FREE night stay for signing up for the Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card.  The other 2 nights were FREE for redeeming 10k points each night for 20k of the total 50k we received on our first purchase. If that sounds dreamy to you, you should have felt the sheets and comforter at this hotel.

We stayed 1 night at the Four Points Sheraton in Colon for FREE, we used just a fraction of the total of 25,000 bonus points earned from signing up for the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express.

We stayed two more nights in different hotels for a total of $130 – a cost that was also reimbursed through our Capital One Venture Card.

The most magical place and “expensive” night of our whole vacation was staying at Dog Island, in the San Blas Island Chain, which we actually had to pay cash for (blush).  It was $12 to enter the island area, $20 to catch a ride back from the island, $40 for our cabana, $60 for the RT boat ride, and $20 for a fresh fish dinner.  This island is sublime.  All you need is your bathing suit and snorkel, some food and water and you are in paradise.  I learned to snorkel here, but more importantly, I learned to forget the cares of the world – even if it was just for a moment.

As you can see, this was a dream vacation. (A dream in the sense that our out-of-pocket-costs were ridiculously low).  All we paid for was food (which is very cheap in Panama, most meals were between $5-7 for both of us combined), the San Blas area($152), gas money, and our car parking at the airport ($67).  Yes, the single most expensive item was the cost of parking.  How can that even be possible?

We’ve never been the kind to abandon travel for the expense.  We’ve found ways to make it work, and taken our family to incredible places, but WorldWanderlusting has shown us a whole new way of seeing the world.  If you have never been to another country, get your passport and take a small vacation to Canada to get comfortable being in another country (Banff National Park, Jasper National Park, Edmonton Indoor Water Park are all amazing).  Then take a cruise to see more countries.  Then take the plunge and head to another country for a week.  Culture is waiting for you, memories are waiting, adventure is waiting… but they won’t wait long.

We hope we inspired you to take a “cheap” dream vacation… I know we inspired ourselves.

I love wanderlusting,

Amy

 

 

Posted in Central America, Fun Travel Stories, Guest Post, How to Wanderlust | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

What is a Visa and When do I need a Visa?

Posted on July 11, 2012 by wpengine

If you’ve never traveled abroad you might think that a Visa is the small logo on the corner of your credit card.  Although that is one type of visa, it is not the only kind of visa that you might need when traveling to other countries.  Stay tuned to learn more about what they are and when you might need one.

What is a  Travel Visa?

A visa is permission to visit a foreign country granted usually by the consulate.

Is a Travel Visa required for all foreign travel?

No.  The USA has a reciprocal agreement with hundreds of countries where we don’t require them to get Visas to visit the USA, and they don’t require Visas for us to go and visit them.  If you want to read on the Department of State’s website you can look under the category “Enter/Exit Requirements for US Citizens.”  This will tell you whether or not you need to apply for a visa before arrival, upon arrival, or if there is no need for a visa.

My Cambodian Visa for $30

How do you get a Travel Visa?

Each country is different.  Cambodia is a country that allows you to purchase your visa upon arrival.  They simply charge you $30 at the border and they send you on your way with a pretty visa in your passport.

The absolute worst nightmare is when you have to apply for the Visa before arrival.  You fill out a page of blablabla information explaining why you are visiting the country.  Then the nerve racking moment comes when you stick your passport in the mail to the consulate with a check for an outrageous amount and a postage paid envelope that they can use to send it back to you.

Other Travel Visa Tips:

  • Because I’m too darn cheap, I have yet to pick the “Track & Confirm” option, which has always left me worrying if my passport would ever arrive before the trip.  For that reason I always recommend paying a few dollars more to make sure the passport is tracked to the consulate, and back to your house.  It’ll save you a bottle of Tums.
  • Make sure you look up on the Department of State’s website after booking your trip to make sure you know if you’ll need a visa or not.  Make sure you have enough time to mail off the visa tot he consulate, and then have them mail it back.  Booking a trip that leaves tomorrow without a visa wouldn’t be a good idea even if the trip was really cheap!!

How much does a travel visa cost?

It really depends on the country that you’re visiting.  Russia has a nightmare visa program.  I can’t even remember how much the visa was, but I think it was $150 or something like that.  It seems like Vietnam was about $75, which is probably about average.  Cambodia’s visa was $30, which wasn’t too bad of a price.  A lot of South American countries require visas and they seem to cost about $100 per country.

Travel visas can be a cost that could easily be forgotten when booking a trip.  Always remember to factor those costs into your overall trip budget if you plan on moving from country to country.

How long does a travel visa last?

Most countries will allow people to use their visas from 30-90 days.  At which point they require you to get some form of residency, or to leave the country and come back.  I met an expat once living in Thailand who had to leave every 90 days.  He had been to Malaysia almost 25 times and usually just flew into the airport, ate lunch, and caught the next flight home.

Always do your research before heading out on the trip. Enjoy your destination and wanderlust with us on Facebook and Twitter.

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When Should you Start Getting Miles and Points?

Posted on July 8, 2012 by Brad Christensen

I’m going to tell you what you already know – that you can’t wait to start piling up miles and points and then expect to get them when you need them.  If you’re joining our army of wanderlusters, arm yourself now so that you’ll be when ready when it’s time to battle monotony.

Pamplona City Walls (Photo from PensionPasadena.com)

I’ve told you that I have a bit of España-philia (please pardon my dramatic metaphor), so I’ll illustrate with the story of the Siege of Pamplona.  Pamplona is a city in the Basque country near Pyrenees, better known for the San Fermin festival, wherein a cadre of angry bulls chase white and red-clad drunks down cobblestone streets.  It’s also a fortressed city, which was nice to have in the early 19th century when Napoleon battled for control of Europe.  French troops occupied the city in 1813, but Henrey O’Donnell and the Kingdom of Spain wanted it back.  The city was so well-fortified that with a little pinch, the Spanish were able to simply cut off supply lines and leave the French to starve.  Once they had exhausted their supplies and eaten pets and pests, they had no choice but to give up.  Their fortress was worthless once it was empty.  The moral? Prior planning prevents poor performance.

Now, if you don’t have 100,000 Ultimate Rewards you won’t wind up starving, encased by the walls of a stone fortress, with armed oppressors outside.  But… you may find yourself in a vegitative state, surrounded by a sound-dampening cubicle while your friends put their toes in the sand.  I don’t know about you, but to me that actually sounds worse.

But I will say this, I was able to pounce on an incredible combination of deals to get my family booked to Panama in January.  I’m not sure whether it was a glitch or what, but for a moment in May, AA had $300-$400 flights to Central America (50% of normal fares).  Because my UR rewards spend like cash, I effectively doubled their value and booked 6 RT flights to Panama for 54k UR, 60k US Bank points, and $240 out of pocket.  Not bad for flights that would normally cost $4800.

I can’t tell you how many people come to us in urgency, hoping to swing something at the last moment and have found themselves having to spend their hard-earned money on flights and hotels (shameful, I know).

Now, I’m not suggesting that you be reckless in your credit card applications.  We want you to follow the same good advice that we’ve been giving about being prudent, but sensible when it comes to making those decisions.  Ask yourself the important questions:

  • Will the effect on my credit cause me to pay more in interest on other debts?
  • Can I meet the spending requirement making purchases I already intended to make?
  • Do I have the discipline to pay off the card immediately?
  • Is the annual fee tolerable (or is it waived)?

If you’ve already decided, and you know what you’re going to do, do it.  We’ve seen reward bonuses shrinking lately, and there’s not much to suggest that it will change for the better.

When it comes to registering for promotions we pass along, you’ve got to do that with all the recklessness of a teenage boy.  Shoot first, ask questions later.  We sent so many of you to the Club Carlson promotion, which only took the first 100k and 40k registrants, to pile up massive Gold Point accounts (I’m sitting on a cool 222,000), and yet we still didn’t get enough in the door.  Two weeks had passed before I realized that my parents and my brother had yet to get in on the action (by the way, we’ll soon be helping you spend them).

You need to have an email that you’re not afraid to dole out to every promotion that comes around.  You need to be willing to be spontaneous when glitches drop commas off airline prices.  You need to learn how to think “how can I make that happen” in lieu of “I can’t make that happen.”  These are the traits of wanderlusters.

Chase Ink Bold Business Card Offering up to 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points

Posted in Credit Advice, How to Wanderlust, Travel Tricks | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Photo and Currency Quiz

Posted on July 8, 2012 by wpengine

Can’t believe that it is Sunday again. The weeks keep rolling by, and the year is already half over. Here is another picture from one of our journeys, where was it taken and what currency do they use there? While I realize this picture could have been taken anywhere, this place was the worst I’ve ever seen.

Posted in Travel Quiz | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

British Airways 100,000 time is running out

Posted on July 7, 2012 by wpengine

Chase is offering a short term promotion for their British Airways Visa card. They are offering 50,000 Avios as a first purchase bonus. You can get another 25,000 Avios when spending $10,000 on the card within the first year, and 25,000 Avios more for a total of 100,000 Avios when you finish a total of $20,000 in spending. This means that one credit card can give 100,000 avios if you do it right.  Time is really running out as the offer is ending on July 18th. You might ask yourself these questions…

  • Would I fly quite a few short distances on American Airlines or Alaska Airlines?
  • Am I thinking about hitting up South America by flying on LAN?
  • Can I really spend $10,000 a year on this card?  How about $20,000 in one calendar year?  If not, would you be ok with the 50,000 Avios after the first purchase?
  • Am I interested in taking my family somewhere in the US on AA or Alaska?

This card is EXTREMELY useful for people who take short American Airlines Flights.  Here are a couple of amazing deals:

  • Salt Lake City to Los Angeles, California for only 9000 Avios RT.  Check out our post about Eight Great things to do in Los Angeles.  Take the whole family along.
  • Dallas to Cancun or Cabo takes 15,000 Avios Round Trip.  Anyone else would charge you 30,000 minimum per person!!
  • Seattle to Honolulu is 25,000 Avios per person.  Great Success!!
  • Come skiing in Jackson Hole, WY from Dallas for only 15,000 Avios RT.
  • Get out of New York in the winter and visit sunny Miami for only 15,000 Avios RT
  • LAX to Buenos Aires is 60,000 Avios and you pay $0 in taxes and fees.
  • Miami to Lima, Peru for 25,000 Avios.
  • Take a small puddle jumper on LAN from Lima to Cuzco and visit Machu Picchu for only 9000 Avios.

Do your research by finding these great deals on British Airways’ Avios Calculator.

These offers seem to get harder and harder to come by.  They are making them less and less profitable.  If any of these trips is a viable option for you, then consider making the leap and getting the British Airways 100,000 credit card offer from Chase.

 

Posted in British Airways, Chase, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Your Spanish Dream Vacation, Courtesy of Chase Credit Card Rewards

Posted on July 6, 2012 by Brad Christensen

Oh yes, this is another which will go down in the history of beautiful WorldWanderlusting  drool-inducing mega-cheap itineraries.  I have a personal affinity to Spain… I lived there for almost two years.  It is a veritable travel mecca.  Centuries of history – Iberian natives, Romans, Moors, and modern inhabitants have contributed to a culture which is world reknowned for a reason: simply because it is magnificent.

For most people, a Spanish loop tour would include Barcelona or one of the other mediterranean cities on the coast.  True to form, we’re going to break you out of the mold.  This is likely the first loop of many in Spain because Marriott has an abundance of Category 2 hotels in la madre-tierra, and I have an abundance of Spanish wanderlust.

The Flight

I’m going to suggest that you fly into Madrid.  I’m also going to suggest that you do it for free.  No, I’m not joking.  Quite literally, you can apply for the Chase Sapphire PreferredSM  for $500 in free travel and, after meeting the spending requirement and using your credit responsibly, obtain enough to get you a free or drastically reduced roundtrip flight from the US to Madrid.

At the same time, you’re going to want to apply for the Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card.  This card is going to get a total of 6 free nights in fantastic Marriott properties on this glorious loop through some very beautiful places in Spain.  The nice thing is that the Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card has no minimum spend requirement, so you’ll be ready to use it almost instantaneously.

You’ll arrive early in the morning – such is the blessing and the curse of flights to Europe. Get a rental car from one of the major companies at the airport.  You’re talking about $150-$250 for a week, depending on whether you can cram into a 2 door or spread out a bit.

Day 1

You’re in Madrid, so you’ll need to visit El Prado or Museo Reina Sofia.  My personal recommendation will be to go to the latter so you can take a look at Picasso’s “Guernica.”   If you’re into ceramics, you may want to visit the Antigua Casa Talvera, or if you’re more like me, just be sure you pick up a churro con chocolate in one of Madrid’s many gorgeous parks.

You’ll use your first free Marriott night at the AC Hotel Alcala de Henares on the way out of town.

Day 2

A bit of a drive will take you to Zaragoza.  If you don’t get sidetracked by the many possible detours, you’ll arrive in time to visit the Palacio de la Aljaferia – a remnant of Moorish architecture, with a history that will have you intrigued.  Many more sites await you, including La Seo de San Salvador.

You’ll spend the first 10,000 of your 50k Marriott points on the AC Hotel of Zaragoza.

Day 3

On the road again, you’ll now be entering my favorite part of Spain – one of the many parts of Spain that don’t want to be a “part of Spain:” the Basque Country.  Known for its “Running of the Bulls,” today your objective is Pamplona.  If cobblestone streets are your thing, you’re in luck.  Be sure to dine on some delicious Spanish chorizo and la tortilla espanola in one of the many idyllic cafes on the ancient streets of the casco viejo.

Take your pick and either stay in the AC Hotel Zizur Mayor or the AC Hotel Ciudad de Pamplona, also 10,000 Marriott points.

Day 4

Today your journey and your destination are one in the same.  You’ll take a scenic tour through some extremely appealing Basque pueblos – Idiazabal, and Onati.  Don’t be afraid to stop in on one of the many “Baserriak” (farmhouses) that dot the deep green landscape.  The owners will likely welcome you with open arms.

Hopefully you enjoy yourself so much that by the time you arrive in Vitoria, you simply lay down and crash at the AC Hotel General Alava– your fourth of six free nights courtesy of the Chase Marriott Card.

Day 5

Before leaving Vitoria, take some time to visit the sights in the capital of the Basque Autonomous Region.  One you may not want to miss is the Gothic Santa Maria Cathedral.  There’s more to see in Vitoria, but even if you see it all, stop by Burgos on the way to Palencia where you can see other impressive cathedrals and historic architecture which predates the entire United States.

Arriving in Palencia, you can rest at the AC Hotel Palencia – 10,000 Marriott points for which you paid absolutely nothing.

Day 6

Palencia, like just about everywhere else in Spain, also has hints of each of the cultures which have occupied the land.  One interesting sight is the Puentecillas Roman Bridge – spanning the Carrion river.  Don’t spend too much time, though, because you’ll also want to stop in Valladolid where you could opt for the massive Simancas castle, a stroll in the Plaza Mayor, some delicious Spanish pastries… or all three.

You’ll stay on the outskirts of Madrid in the AC Hotel la Finca – the last of your Marriott points well spent.

Now, obviously you can and should extend this vacation.  It wouldn’t hurt to spend some more time up in the Basque Country, or stopping in on some of the amazing little towns along the way.  It won’t hurt you too bad to have to pay for a few hotel stays every once in a while.

As we mentioned, we’ll have many more wanderlustful ideas about how to blow your 6 free Marriott nights in Spain.  We’d like to remind you that the recommendation we make to use your good credit to secure travel benefits is not one we make without a great deal of research and without the commitment on your part to ensure that your credit is well-protected.  As always, if you do join in, please use our links as we do get paid a small commission when you apply from our site. 🙂

If you’re new to WorldWanderlusting, you may want to check out these other helpful posts.

We’ve also done similar posts to this one such as:

Thanks for wanderlusting with us.  If you like what you’re seeing, please follow us on Facebook and sign up for email updates at the top right of our homepage (we don’t share your email).

 

Posted in Marriott Rewards | Tagged , , | 12 Comments