Boise State Fans Fly to Atlanta for Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game for $124

Posted on July 14, 2014 by Brad Christensen

In 2011, I thought I’d save some money by flying standby on a buddy pass with a pilot friend of mine to see the Boise State/Georgia game in Atlanta.  I should have known better, but at that point I was young in the game of accruing points and miles to make travel almost free.

Boise State Ole Miss

Just before Kellen Moore eviscerated the Bulldogs

We couldn’t get on the first flight because there wasn’t enough room, so we waited for two more hours and then got on a flight that took us to Detroit.  From Detroit, we couldn’t get straight to Atlanta, so we had to take a flight to Nashville.  Begging and pleading, we barely got onto the last flight from Nashville, and if that wouldn’t have worked, we’d have had to do a one-way car rental.  By the time we arrived, we’d wasted an entire day.  The flight home wasn’t much better and I had to pay something like $300 in fees and taxes. Ugh.

By the time the Michigan State game came along in 2012, I had become an aggressive frequent-flyer-mile hunter-gatherer, and I pulled off an amazing SLC-TAMPA-DETROIT-SLC triangle for $30 and 26k points on Southwest Airlines that allowed me to see the Republican Convention and the Boise State/Michigan game – both of which ultimately resulted in an abundance of tears, but were still fun while I was there.

Now, as Bronco fever overwhelms me with our new coach Bryan Harsin and a exciting future we’re attacking, I’m plotting my almost-free trip to Atlanta to see the Broncos play the Rebels in the Chick-Fil-A kickoff game in August and wanted to share my secrets with fellow blue-blooded Boise State fans.

Boise State vs. Ole MissHow to fly to Atlanta for $89

Lately we’ve raved about the US Airways Premier World Mastercard because it’s a perfect example of what WorldWanderlusting is all about – do a little, pay a little, and get a lot of almost-free travel.

Do a little:

  • Have good credit.
  • Realize that having good credit will allow you to apply for credit cards with huge frequent flyer mile bonuses.
  • Be prudent and know that it’s possible to use credit cards only as purchasing instruments, and not to rack up huge debts that you can’t pay.
  • Apply for the US Airways Premier World Mastercard.
  • Spend at least $1 on the card.
  • Pay it off in full.

Pay a little:

  • The annual fee for this card, which is not waived for the first year, is $89.  Grin and bear it and fork over $89 hard-earned greenbacks.

Get a lot:

  • You’ll get 40k US Airways points which (using the 5k booking discount for being a cardmember) will get you either two RT domestic flights, or at least one if your dates are less flexible. – As with most point systems, to have specific flights and dates, it may take more points.
  • You’ll also get a companion pass which will enable you to add up to two companions for $99 each to a ticket you pay full price for. (In another post, we showed how this benefit, combined with the points actually allows five people to fly for the price of one and a half).
  • It won’t hurt to know that you and up to 4 companions will enjoy one free checked bag.
  • And you’ll get a day pass to a US Airways club lounge.

I know the miles booking process can be a little intimidating, but it’s actually really easy. I looked just now and found that I could fly out on the 26th and back on the 31st for $35 and 25K (minus 5k) US Airways miles. Add that to the $89 and you’re up to $134. I know it’s one of those things that sounds too good to be true, but it really is that easy.

Sample Itinerary

Sample Itinerary

Wait, but could I do the same thing for a hotel?

You greedy little bastard. I love you.  You think like I do.  Two Fiesta Bowls isn’t enough, right? You want the National Championship? Yes, you are a blue-bleeding Bronco fan. Now, let’s get you that free hotel, too.

Probably my favorite hotel-point credit card is the Club Carlson Premier Visa.  It’s my favorite because there’s this freaking sweet perk that few people really understand – it’s called “Last night free” and it means that when you book a stay with your points, you get your last night free.

Club Carlson Hotel Free Book four nights? Pay (points) for three, get one free. Book three nights? Pay for two, get one free. You see where I’m going, don’t you?  I knew you were greedy.  Yes, stay two nights, pay for one, get one free. That’s when the magic happens!

Club Carlson Points

Club Carlson is the loyalty points program for Radisson and Country Inn and Suites Hotels. It works like most other hotel programs in that they divide their hotel inventory into categories – lower point redemption for lower level, higher for higher. As you can see here, the sweet spot is to find the category 1-3 hotels and use your points there.

Wait, what points?  We haven’t gotten them for you yet. Well, it’s almost as simple as the airfare and a little shorter since we’ve already established that you can be responsible and never charge anything on a credit card that you won’t pay off immediately (and resolved your doubts about how bad doing stuff like this will destroy your credit by reading Doesn’t it hurt my credit).

Do a little:

Pay a little:

  • US Bank wants an $85 annual fee from you to have this blessed piece of plastic – something I pay readily because each year they heap on 40k more points!

Get a lot:

  • After your first purchase you’ll get 50k points, and if you spend $2500 on the card (responsibly) within the first 90 days they’ll give you 35k more.

Ok, now you’ve got at least 50k points and you’re in luck because Atlanta has a bunch of Country Inn and Suites hotels (which I love because of their delicious breakfast spread and warm cookies on check in). While there are many more, I’m going to isolate our search to those that are close to the airport and it works nicely because there’s a category 1, 2, and 3 offering.

where to stay in atlanta

Take your pick

First, in other places, category 1 hotels can be great.  Here, this is a category 1 for a reason – it’s in College Park and while that may sound like a nice place, it’s Georgian for “ghetto.” Unless you’re an Ole Miss fan – in that case, feel free to stay here and get mugged, leaving you destitute and requiring you to sell your tickets to a Boise State fan – But otherwise, remind yourself that you got these points for free anyway and let’s splurge.

Now, you could book four nights in the category 2 hotel and pay for the first 3 (45k) and get the last free… or… I knew it wouldn’t take you long, you trick-play thinking bugger… You could stay two nights in the category 3 right next to Turner field (and take in a Braves game as well), and stay two nights in the category 2!  You’ll use 43k of your points and stay four nights that would otherwise have cost like $460. Did I mention your Club Carlson card also gives you gold status and a nice little room upgrade at times?

Now you’re picking up what we’re putting down.

Look, maybe it would be hard to swing the Ole Miss game this close, but there will be other travel opportunities you’ll want to seize.  We’ve been almost-free-travel blogging for almost four years and we’ve done some incredible things – Dream Italy vacations, Central American journeys, romantic getaways, family vacations and the whole lot.  Follow us on Facebook and subscribe to our posts – Wanderlust with us!

Posted in Club Carlson, Domestic travel, US Airways, US Bank | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

How to Feel like a Millionaire, Then Become One

Posted on July 11, 2014 by wpengine

In case you didn’t know, I’m a millionaire.  It is a wonderful feeling.  I open up my wallet and I’ve got all kinds of bills in there.  Four years ago I was broke, and look at me now.  Going from zero to a million is awesome, and the best part is that you can become one too.

Feel like a Millionaire

Tonight I casually opened my Award Wallet and found this nice tally at the bottom showing my total amount of points and miles:

million mile secrets

I’m officially a millionaire!

You better believe it.  My wallet is full.  Being a millionaire is awesome!  The only unfortunate thing is that my wallet is not full of $100’s, $50’s, or $20’s.  It is full of AAdvantage Miles, Starpoints, and Gold Points (Which really isn’t such a bad thing after all).  I may not be able to buy a new house with them, but they can be used to help me travel places that I wouldn’t otherwise be able to go.

Why you should become a Points Millionaire

When people hear the words “World Travel”, they usually associate it with big money.  They think, “Only the filthy rich have an opportunity to do something like that.”  They automatically block it out of their mind like their childhood dream of being an NBA star was crushed when they were cut from the 5th grade basketball team.  Well people; this is somewhere that you can keep on dreaming, moving forward, and make it happen!

Traveling makes you feel rich too. Roaming the streets of Milan and window shopping in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele makes you feel invincible.  It is still worth it even if you’ll never waste $50,000 on the Prada purse or $100,000 on the Tiffany jewelry.   Standing there in one of the most prestigious malls in the world gives you wings, and makes you feel like a bad-A.

Galleria Mall

Shae doing some window shopping

Becoming a points millionaire makes impossible things a reality for you and your family.  Who knows how long this bandwagon will ride, but you better get on before it stops.  Live it up and take some unforgettable trips as a family.  Live like the millionaire!

Some Things Aren’t Too Good to Be True

We had someone tell us the other day that our blog was “too good to be true.”  It was a fair enough statement for someone who ignorantly didn’t even read our posts.  If someone told me that I could travel for “Free” to multiple locations across the globe I might be skeptical too.  The truth is, that it was only “too good to be true” because she never even read our material.

Sometimes in life things may sound that way, but they’re really not.  Here is a small summary of the awesome trips that we’ve taken since I started using points for my travel instead of dollars:

  • Flights for four to Europe
  • Flights for two to Costa Rica
  • Flights for three to Florida
  • Flights for three to Tennessee
  • Flight for one to Buffalo
  • Flights for three to Panama
  • Flights for two to Tennessee
  • Flights for two to Tennessee
  • Flights for three to Tennessee
  • Flights for two to San Francisco
  • Flights for two to Phoenix

This is what we’ve been able to save within the last 4 years by using our points.  PLUS I’ve still got over a MILLION points in the bank waiting to be used for future trips.

San Blas

Max Enjoying the Warmth of Panama in January

You could EASILY value all of these points that I’ve used at over $15,000.  This doesn’t even account for the free hotels, car rentals, and tours that we’ve been able to cover with our points.  On a conservative side you could say that we’ve saved about $20,000 in travel.

Who has an extra $20,000 that they have laying around that they want to burn on vacations?  Maybe some person who really makes a million $$ per year, but unfortunately I don’t fit that mold.  These are vacations that we WOULD NOT HAVE OTHERWISE TAKEN.  Are you neglecting taking vacations because of their cost?

I’m a believer that some things are “too good to be true,” but I’m here to tell you that this isn’t true.  It is good, and it is true, so enjoy it!

What are you waiting for?

There is NO way this game will last forever.  Not a chance when you consider how lucrative as it can be for you and a bleeding loss for the credit card companies.  The rules and the offers have already dried up dramatically from what they were 4 years ago when I started.

Are you a spectator on the sidelines, or are you a player on the field?  If you’re on the sidelines, get on the field and start your quest to a million.  Start today with an easy card like the Barclaycard Arrival Plus World MasterCard® or the The US Airways Premier World MasterCard® that will help you take the first steps toward your free trip before the well runs dry.

Posted in How to Wanderlust, Travel Tips, Travel Tricks | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Vacation Homes in Orlando

Posted on July 7, 2014 by Brad Christensen

I love hotels.  I really do.  But when I have a big group and I can make it work, there’s nothing like staying in a vacation home. Any time we have more than two couples, I try to make it work to rent a house because there’s a feeling of luxuriousness to having an entire home to yourself, and at least relative to full-price hotels, you can often save money.

On our recent trip to Orlando, we stayed in an incredible home from All Star Vacation Homes, and from the moment we first entered the code and swung the front door open, we had a heaven all to ourselves.

Orlando Vacation Home

Our vacation home in Orlando

In fact, we bagged our plans for an entire day of activities once we saw what a palace we were staying in.  We felt like there was so much to do and discover there, that it didn’t make sense to run off and leave the place so soon.

It was so spacious, it could easily have accomodated three families. Between the pool, computer, billiards table, theater room, and the Pac-man arcade game, there was enough to keep the kids busy cycling from one activity to the next for hours.  Nicole and I turned on the speakers by the pool and lounged in the sun.  There was no place else in the world we would have rather been relaxing.

Having a vacation home where you can cook your own food equates to huge savings when it comes to meal expenses.  We went shopping and basically covered all of our meals for four days (including bringing food into the theme parks) for under $100.  Not bad for a family of six.

Gone was the constant worry of our rambunctious kids waking others in neighboring hotel rooms, and importantly, Nicole and I were able to actually have some space to ourselves.  Normally we say that taking the kids on a trip is an “experience,” while traveling as a couple is a “vacation,” but there were moments while our kids were peacefully sleeping in the other rooms that we felt like we were all alone – and it’s hard to put a price on that when your days are filled with kid-catering.

We’ve rented vacation homes in Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama, Colombia, Italy, Montana, Idaho, Florida, Nevada, California, and I’m sure in other places I’m not recalling.  Our experience has always been fantastic, but I will say that when it comes to service and attention to detail, All Star Vacation Homes is in a class all by themselves.  Within hours of checking in, we receieved a phone call welcoming us and inquiring if there was any way they could help accomodate us.  The booking process was as smooth as I’ve ever seen, with perfect directions and recommendations on ways to make the trip better and more efficient.

Free rental car

They’ve widened their scope of vacation homes they manage to include San Diego, Captiva and Sanibel Islands in Florida, and just two hours from my house – Sun Valley, Idaho.

If you’re ever looking to take multiple families on vacation together, a vacation home is the way to do it.  And if you’re going to Orlando or one of these other places, you need to see what kind of deals you could work with All Star Vacation Homes.  They run promotions periodically, and right now you can get a free rental car from Enterprise when you book a home for 7 nights.

Now we’d hate to tempt you with an awesome idea like this and then leave you flightless, so we’ll end with some inspiration about how you might be able to get your family to a home like this for a fraction of what you might otherwise pay.

Generally you’d expect to pay at least $500/ticket to get to a destination like Orlando, so for a family of five, you might be looking at $2500 – not exactly a bargain and not something you could do every year.  But slice that total down to less than $1000 by being smart about using frequent flyer miles and you’ll really be onto something.

Our favorite airline travel rewards credit card offering right now is the US Airways® Premier World MasterCard®.  It’s our favorite because it combines a bonus of 40k in US Airways miles after your first purchase (enough to fly two for free within the US), with a companion pass that will allow you to add up to two companions for $99 each (plus taxes) to a domestic flight.  So book a flight for that $500 and add two more for around $150 each and you’re looking at less than $800 to book five people to Orlando.

This post gives greater detail on the offer and why we like it so much.  The important part is that you make it a point to start traveling and do it the cheap but luxurious way.  Stick with us and you’ll be doing exactly that.

Thanks for wanderlusting with us for more than three years now.

 

 

 

Posted in Family Travel, Florida, US Airways, Vacation Rentals | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Best Way to Travel

Posted on July 3, 2014 by wpengine

So you’ve decided to book a trip, good for you! Everyone needs a break from the daily grind.  You’re ready for an adventure and we’re ready to give you some great tips.  These are some ideas on the best way to travel.  Here are a few real life stories from people who love traveling:

“I took the wife and kids to Florida.  The entire vacation cost me $7000.  The exciting part is, because I paid SO much for the trip, I now get to take another vacation in 2020!” -Bob, 32 Utah

“I got a smoking deal on a timeshare a few years back.  My family is really excited to go and visit our timeshare in San Diego.  Maybe once I pay off this timeshare in 3 more years I’ll actually be able to use it!” -Steve, 45 Connecticut

“My husband worked his entire life, and promised that in retirement we would travel.  When I woke up one morning a week before he was set to retire, he somehow had died in his sleep.  Now I’m remarried and spending his money traveling with someone else!” -JoAnn 75, Montana

Tip 1: Never use a credit card to accumulate point and miles.  Some people might try to tell you that you can earn points for travel using certain credit cards and yada yada yada…. DO YOU WANT MY BRAIN TO EXPLODE?! Plus credit cards are evil, if you use one you’ll automatically end up with debt up to your eyeballs and you’ll be enslaved for life.

Check from My Scammer

Check from My Scammer (Photo credit: Telstar Logistics)

I can see it now, you’re children’s children will be burdened down by the debt you accumulated and this all could have been simply avoided by never obtaining a credit card.  Ah, the perils of plastic.  If you do happen to have a credit card to obtain some credit or something, DON’T EVER USE IT!!

Checks or debit cards are a much safer bet.  Who doesn’t love carrying around a checkbook? In the grocery store line you can actually make everyone behind you wait 5 extra minutes if you fill the check out slowly. Plus it is really cool when you run out of checks and don’t have a way of paying for your melting ice cream.

Plus, points and miles are confusing.  I’d much rather rack up the benefits from my Payless Shoe Store Club Card.  It’s awesome.  I simply buy 30 pairs of shoes, and they mail me a 10% off coupon.  Eat your heart out frequent flyer miles!

Tip 2: Purchase a time share.  Come on, they’ll serve you free cookies or something delicious.  Sure it might take a few hours out of your day, but who doesn’t have a few hours that you’re not sure what to do with anyway?  Sure you might get insane amounts of pressure to buy into one – some people try to avoid such situations, but I say embrace it!

timeshare

Thanks to saleshq.monster.com for this picture.

I love when people come to my door soliciting vacuums, books, and magazines, pressure is awesome!  If you go to a time share meeting and feel as though you absolutely have to buy into one or the people won’t let you leave……. just do it. Heck, what is life all about anyway!

Some people might try to tell you timeshares are horrendously overpriced, but haven’t you ever heard the phrase that you get what you pay for?  I prefer to overpay on everything to ensure I’m getting the best quality experience out there! So what if you end up paying for it up-front, a yearly maintenance fee, and other additional fees – that to me says you’re definitely going to get a great experience! And hey, if things don’t work out quite the way you planned, just sell your time share, easy-peasy lemon-squeezy. No biggie. I’m sure you’ll have plenty of people eager to buy it from you and you’ll definitely get all your money back that you’ve put into it.  WINNING!

Tip 3: Vacation to the same location year after year. When choosing a location to vacation choose places you’re already familiar with.  I prefer taking trips to the same places over and over.  Trying to go somewhere you haven’t already been is WAY too difficult.  And anything too difficult isn’t worth doing.  If you’re wise you’ll just go to Disneyland each year, it has all the culture and variety you’ll ever need.  Plus the ticket prices are expensive, which means it’s guaranteed to be the best experience you’ll ever have in your life!

Tip 4: Take a Taxi everywhere.  Now that you’ve made it on a vacation, enjoy it! Life is too short to waste precious vacation time on renting a car.  Driving around in a foreign place is incredibly stressful and stress is bad for you, so save your self a few gray hairs and let someone else do the driving.  Plus it feels like being in the movies when you hail a cab, so that’s cool! You now have a chauffeur and you’re ready to get where you need to go. Life is good.

Tip 5: Wait until you’re older to travel.  Traveling is expensive and only rich people can afford it, when you’re older you’ll definitely have more money.   The best things in life come to those who wait.  So wait, climbing Machu Picchu with a walker shouldn’t be an issue, right?

old people

Doesn’t this look exciting?

Who wants to live their lives with boring travel experiences anyway?  I’d much rather save all of my fun experiences for the last two years of my life.  That way I can live them out for an awesome two wrinkled years instead of living a whole lifetime with them.  Plus, wouldn’t it be awesome if I waited until retirement to travel and got sick and died before I was actually able to do any traveling?

Tip 6: You’ll have tons of money later, so wait. If you can’t afford full priced plane tickets and expensive hotels, Disneyland tickets and taxi cabs, don’t sweat it. Years down the road you’ll be able to afford all of that, easily.  Everyone in retirement is super rich.  Nobody lives on their Social Security alone.

With these travel tips you’re sure to become a successful traveler.  As long as you’re rich, patient, and perfectly healthy you’ve got nothing to worry about.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Extra Money” for a Traveler Stuck in a Mom’s Body: A Guest Post from Christina

Posted on June 30, 2014 by Brad Christensen

This is a guest post from WorldWanderluster Christina (who also happens to be my sister-in-law).  We love guest posts so much, that we’ll happily send our readers a $25 giftcard for sharing their almost-free travel stories. If you’d like to write one, please keep it between 500 and 1500 words, attach some good pictures and email it to worldwanderlusting@gmail.com.

I love to travel. I always joke that I’m a traveler stuck in a mom’s body, because not only do our kids make things complicated, but we never seem to have that elusive thing called “extra money.” My husband’s family lives across the country from us, and we love to visit, but at around $450+ per ticket, it’s an expensive trip to make – which is precisely why we hadn’t visited in almost 4 years.

Brad, one of the brothers from World Wanderlusting (who also happens to be family – he is married to my sister-in-law) has been nudging me about this whole ‘traveling for free or nearly free’ thing for quite some time. I tend to be very skeptical, because as they say, “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” But our curiosity got the best of us and we both signed up for the Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite Mastercard and the Southwest Rapid Rewards cards (no longer offering the 50k point bonus). Once we met the minimum spending requirements and received our bonus miles, we booked tickets for our family of five (with one lap baby) for $180 out of pocket. We then used one of our Arrival cards to reserve a car rental, which we reimbursed ourselves for with points (~$250).

Utah Mountains

Mountains in Northern Utah – not like anything we’d see out East

Our flight took us from Providence to Salt Lake City, with one stop in between. Once we arrived in SLC, we headed to get our rental car to make the 3 hour trip to Idaho Falls. We were surprised with a free upgrade to a minivan, which definitely sweetened the deal! The drive up from SLC was a gorgeous one. I love New England, having lived here most of my life, but it’s so much fun to visit different landscapes. We did live outside of Boise for a little over 2 years, but I’ll never tire of seeing the mountains.

I always felt like a family vacation is an oxymoron (because really, as a stay-at-home mom, you are bringing your work with you!) but we love to create memories with our children We stayed with my sister-in-law Nicole, and her husband, Brad, who just came back from their family getaway to Florida.

The weather was beautiful all week, so one of the days we packed up the kids and visited Lava Hot Springs, an indoor/outdoor pool, splash park, and water park all rolled in one. The water is comfortably warm, so even my youngest son enjoyed it. And really, how many people from New England do you know have ever bathed in a geothermal hot springs pool?

Christina and Justin at the Playmill Theater in West Yellowstone

Christina and Justin at the Playmill Theater in West Yellowstone

On Friday night, we did a double date and took the scenic drive to West Yellowstone, Montana to see the musical “Les Miserables” at the Playmill Theater. I had no idea what to expect, having seen many musicals and plays, but never one at a theater so small. It turned out to be a blast! The actors in the play were also the ushers, chatting us up and walking us to our seats. The room was small and intimate, allowing the production to really come to life. At intermission, the actors and actresses sold cookies, fudge, water, and ice cream floats, which I thought was a really fun twist. The singing was way beyond expectation, it really was out of this world! We are considering making a trip to the Playmill Theater a tradition whenever we visit. I highly recommend it.

One afternoon the girls in the family were treated to tea & lunch at The Stillwater Mansion, a beautiful Victorian tearoom located in Idaho Falls. The house itself was built in the 1800’s and is decorated with rich Victorian style. Our hostess took us one by one into a small back room where she dressed us in fancy hats, shawls, gloves, and jewelry. We were each called to our seats where the table was set with fancy tea cups, plates, and decorations. We had a lovely, relaxing lunch and tea time. The food was delicious and our hostess had even catered to my food sensitivity. While we were enjoying dessert, she told us of the different meanings of flowers, and how the fans ladies carried in the Victorian era were also used as a means of silent conversation. I believe the tea was my daughter’s favorite part of the entire trip.

All the girls at the Stillwater Mansion

All the girls at the Stillwater Mansion

There were lots of memories made on our trip. Our kids were able to spend lots of time playing with their long-distance cousins, and we thoroughly enjoyed time spent with family. We were able to attend a family reunion, which hasn’t happened in years. I can honestly say that we were able to enjoy ourselves even more, knowing we didn’t have to spend an arm and a leg to visit. The vistas were beautiful, and the company fun…what more could you ask for?

As for us, we are believers! We are already keeping an eye out for a card that will allow us to fly out for nearly free again next year. I have to thank the Christensen brothers for putting together this blog to share their wealth of information, and allowing us to literally save thousands of dollars. We have already booked our next trip – a four-day getaway to the North Carolina coast at the end of July to celebrate our 10th anniversary, and we look forward to seeing where our travels take us in the future!

Posted in Barclaycard, Guest Post | Leave a comment

How Double your Credit Card Sign Up Bonus (for most people)

Posted on June 26, 2014 by wpengine

Call me boring, but there is an exhilarating feel when you hit the final “submit” button when you apply for a credit card.  The moments feel like hours as they make a final decision as to whether or not you’ll be accepted for the 50,000 point bonus.  Finally the acceptance screen arrives and you bring out the champagne to celebrate.  The only thing sweeter would be a double bonus, but how do you double the credit card bonus?

The Need for Double Credit Card Bonus

Credit Card

Credit Card (Photo credit: 401(K) 2013)

These celebrations pale in comparison to those that will happen when you take your (next to) free vacation.  The problem for a lot of people comes when they have 2, 3, 4, or more children and they want to take a family vacation.  Getting flights for two people is great, but when you’re looking for flights with a family of 6 people, that just ain’t cuttin’ it.

Those who have larger families find themselves in a struggle trying to use enough points and miles to severely reduce the cost of their upcoming vacation.  Sometimes it takes some creativity, but definitely worth the savings so let’s review some of the great ideas.

How to Double the Credit Card Sign Up Bonus

Ok, I know you’re expecting me to pull an elephant from a hat here, but that probably isn’t going to happen.  We see a lot of our worldwanderlusters missing out on big bonuses.  The best way to double your credit card bonuses is to apply for the same card for both you and your spouse.

We’ve written before about how a stay-at-home spouse can also apply for a credit card using the household income.  This is awesome.  It means that you can not only get 50,000 miles for the primary breadwinner, but you can also pick up 50,000 for the spouse, which now gives you 4 airline tickets.  Now you’re just paying for two, or if you pick up another card, sometimes you can get all six of you for just the cost of the taxes.

Don’t delay, and don’t hog all of the cards for yourself.  Make sure you’re splitting your applications between both spouses to maximize the bonuses!

Double the Credit Card Bonus (with time)

Living on Credit Cards

Living on Credit Cards (Photo credit: Images_of_Money)

Some credit cards will issue the same card to you (with time restrictions) time and time again.  Right now there are people who are taking AAdvantage of the Citi Executive World Mastercard and they’ve picked up the card 3 times in the last six months.  Have they paid $750 in annual fees.  Yes.  Does that sound painful, yes indeed.

The flip side is thinking about it this way:  with their 300,000 AAdvantage miles they’ll be able to take 7.5 people to Europe during the offseason and they’ll only have to pay for the taxes.  When was the last time you heard about someone who took five and half kids to Europe for $750?

Not all credit card issuers will give their bonuses multiple times.  Chase will only issue a bonus per card once.  American Express just changed their stance and now only allow one bonus per card per person.  Jump on the bandwagon an double the credit card bonuses before the well dries up.

Other Ideas on how to maximize your sign up bonuses

Some of these ideas might work for you to help you take more vacations for less.

  • Fly on separate airlines.  Nothing says that you have to all fly on the same plane to get to your vacation spot.  Plus dividing up the kids might reduce the amount of refereeing that you’ve got to do as a parent.  Why don’t you fly on Southwest with two kids, and let you sweetheart take the other two children on US Airways.  Brad talked about an incredible way of doing this with the companion pass that comes with the USAirways credit card.
  • Make sure you’re getting all of the cards- Did you know that there are 4 different Southwest Airlines credit cards?  That amounts to 200,000 Rapid Rewards points, which is easily enough for six airline tickets.  Take our advice that we just wrote about an you can have up to 400,000 Rapid Rewards.  Believe me, if you can’t take all 6 of you on a couple of vacations for that many points then you’re doing something wrong.
  • Use a Low-Cost-Carrier– These are huge in Europe and Southeast Asia.  These airlines abound and offer very low cost options.  Of course you aren’t going to get a drink of water for free, and they might charge you for the use of the seatbelt, but they’re cheap.  Plus you can use the Barclaycard Arrival Plus World MasterCard® points to help cover the cost of the flight.  If you go on the right weekend you can get flights for ULTRA cheap to awesome destinations.

How else do you double your credit card bonus?  Please share with us.  Thanks for Worldwanderlusting with us!

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The New Way to Get $400 in Free Travel

Posted on June 24, 2014 by Brad Christensen

Having spent the last three years signing up for a total of 39 credit cards to accumulate millions of frequent flyer miles and points that have been turned into tens of thousands of dollars in free travel, I have to be honest in saying that I’m somewhat surprised to continue to find new opportunities to replenish my free-travel point stash.

In the time we’ve been doing this, we’ve seen Barclaycard, an offerer who was outside the market for the first few years, recently come forward with some fantastic travel rewards cards… so much so, that when we wrote our post on “The best travel rewards card to start WorldWanderlusting,” it was the Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite Mastercard that we promoted – highlighting how easy the concept was of using the points – a simple travel purchase reimbursement, rather than the more complicated algebra of mile and point equations. If you don’t have it already, it’s a great card.

four-hundred-dollars-21111103Many of our followers, anxious to lap up $400 in free travel, signed themseleves up for the card, spent the $3000 over three months to obtain the bonus, and then repeated the process with their spouse as the applicant.  We love hearing stories about how these cards have helped people go on their first cruise, rent cars, and book entire vacations.

In the meantime, Capital One, another credit card offerer which had been relatively quiet in the travel rewards world, has stepped up their game to put a 40k bonus on their VentureOne card – basically matching the Barclaycard offer for $400 in free travel after spending $3000 on the card.  When you consider that each dollar you spend on the card nets you 2% in travel reimbursement, you’re actually looking at about $460 in free travel, and that’s something we can’t help but get excited about.  Naturally, then, we want to help you spend it.

How to spend your $460 on free travel

IDA to LAX

An Allegiant Airlines Travel Package – As a cheap travel enthusiast, I can’t help but be excited about allegiant airlines.  I’m one who will gladly wear three layers of clothing in mid-summer and pack everything I need in a small backpack in order to spend no more than the $60 each way they charge for flights. When flights ar as cheap as they are on Allegiant, $460 will take you a long way!  Here’s what I cooked up:

Just looking through dates of when we could fly out of Idaho Falls, I found a weekend in August that would cost about $292 for two round-trip flights to Los Angeles.  I could add two adult tickets to Universal Studios for $184.  All in, I’d be looking at a total of $16 out of pocket for the two flights and theme park entrances.  At that point, the cost of my vacation would consist only of what I’d pay in hotel, food, and whatever other entertainment we choose.  (Mind you, I’d be using other points for my hotel anyways – see how fun this is?)

Bahama cruiseA Vacationstogo.com Last Minute Cruise – Cruises are an incredible way to travel, and the value is just insane.  You get your lodging, food (as good as it gets), entertainment, and transportation for what you might otherwisepay for only one of those categories.  Add to that the fact that these puppies get extremely discounted the closer you get to the sailing date, and you’ve got a real bargain on your hands.

Why don’t the two of you take off on this 4 night cruise through the Bahamas?  Even by the time you include taxes, your free $460 will be roughly enough to cover the two of you for 4 nights – food, lodging, transportation, and entertainment!  You can’t live this cheap at home!

An Exotic Car Rental – This is “mad money,” the kind you don’t mind spending on something you’d never otherwise splurge for. But let’s just say you wanted to do something out of character and have some fun.  Midway Car Rentals in Los Angeles has lots of exotic car rentals for anywhere from $100/day to $1000/day.  You could have this mini-cooper convertible for two days and still have money to spare.  This is about your savvy in prudently using miles and points enabling you to do the kinds of things you thought you’d have to rich to be able to do.Mini Cooper convertible

Now, as you well-understand, there are countless other ways you could spend your free $460, but you can’t spend it until you have it, and you can’t have it until you get the card and meet the minimum spending requirement. This is a card you need to have excellent credit in order to be approved for.

We don’t have a direct link to the card, but you can learn more about the Capital One VentureOne card using this link.

We always take very seriously the idea of applying for credit cards, and we want all of our readers to know that we never advocate using credit cards for “credit,” but only as purchasing instruments – ways to use money that you already have, in order to obtain the maximum benefit from credit card offerers who are hungry for your business.  We always tell people never to spend money they don’t have on a credit card, never use it for purchases you wouldn’t otherwise make with a debit card, cash, or a check.  All of these free benefits are great, but they pale in comparison to paying months and years of high-interest.  Please don’t fall into that trap, but do join in on the idea of prudently using credit applications to enable you to do the things you’ve always dreamed of.

Posted in Allegiant, Capital One, Car Rentals, Cruises | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments