Now I’ve got the Points and Miles. Where do I go from here?

Posted on August 15, 2013 by wpengine

Almost anything can be difficult on its maiden voyage.  The unsinkable Titanic sits at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, Abraham Lincoln was defeated in his first few elections, and the dent in mom’s minivan wasn’t the best news you’ve ever brought home.

Once you’ve been a worldwanderluster for a number of months(or years), and you’re ready to begin planning your very first Wanderlustful vacation you’ll feel a bit overwhelmed.  That is normal.  Step away from the oxygen, it won’t be needed.

Here are a few steps on how to not feel so overwhelmed.

1. Determine where you’d like to go, but be flexible

If you’ve chosen Europe as your next destination pat yourself on the back.  You’ll love it.  Pull up the American Airlines website and start searching for flights into Europe.  I recommend you don’t become hellbent on flying in and out or Rome.  Look at other locations like Florence, Venice, or Milan.

Look at doing an Open-Jaw or sometimes called a multi-destination where you fly into Rome, and out of Venice.  This will significantly increase your chances of finding availability for the dates that you want.

On my last trip to Europe I really considered flying in and out of Milan.  The biggest issue was that the car rental was cheaper out of Switzerland than Milan, so I chose Zurich.

Realize that you’ll still make it to Venice, or Rome, but it might be easier to find your dates out of  Milan.  Brad did a post a bit back about using the AA miles to get to Europe, so check it out.  Also check out the post to make sure you don’t get whacked with ridiculous surcharges.

2. Plan your trip around the free hotels

One of our Wanderlustful friends did just this on his most recent trip to Italy.  You’ll remember his post about thinking he wouldn’t make it to Europe until he was grey haired, retired, and wore tube socks.  His whole vacation was planned so he could stay at hotels in Padova, Pisa, and Florence for free with points.

Here is how you do that:

loyalty

Find the tab on our site for “How to Wanderlust” and look for the page called “Using Hotel Points.”

Picture 3

Then look through the hotel chains to see all of their properties and tiers.  We’ve added a link that asks, “Where can I stay?” to help you to find the hotels in each tier for all of the major companies.

Picture 4

Once you pick a hotel chain, check out their tiers 1 and 2 to see the lowest redemption tiers.  This will make your points last longer, and will give you more bang for your buck.

This is how we found our Alpine Europe loop with SPG about two years ago.  It got me so excited that I had to make the trip work.  What a dream.

3. Rent a Rick Steves, watch other videos, read books etc

Have you ever eaten a plain potato fresh out of the ground without cooking it?  Was it the most delectable thing you’ve ever eaten?  Probably not.  If you were starving caveman, didn’t have time to cook the potato, or add any salt, it would simply fill your cavities.

Now, for comparative purposes…. Have you ever eaten a baked potato that was loaded with butter, sprinkled with salt & pepper, topped with bacon, sour cream, and chives?  Both of the potatoes would fill you up and keep you from starvation.  [Can you tell that I’m an Idaho boy through and through?]

The case can be made that preparing for trip properly is like eating a well cooked, and topped potato.  Either way you will keep from wanderlust starvation, but we want more than that. We want a delicious feast.

Making sure you research your trip  probably help you to realize what things you’d like to see along the way in your trip.  Rick Steves was the one who got me excited about visiting the Reifenstein Castle, and man I was really glad that I took his advice.

My wife and I also watched a fascinating video on Netflix about the building of Venice.  Really diving into the locations that you’ll be visiting will make a huge difference in your total experience.  For more research ideas, you can see this past post with other ideas.

Keep in mind that this can be done while you’re on the trip.  Wikipedia can be very useful in helping you to learn about the things that you’ve seen for the day.

4. Be prepared to stay wherever you need

Have you ever dreamed about visiting Venice?  Riding in a Gondola down the Grand Canal sound romantic?  How about two scoops of the best cinnamon (my favorite) gelato you’ve ever tasted? And watching the sunset over St. Mark’s square will blow you away.  There are some great experiences to be had out there.

Even for the least frugal worldwanderlusters costs can become an issue.  It’s probably the most commonly used excuse when it comes to why people don’t travel.  To use your SPG points on Venice you would need to burn about 25,000 for one night.  No gracias!  What a ripoff!  However, staying about 45 minutes away would only cost you 7000 points.  More than likely you’ve got to pass through Padova to get to Venice anyway if you’re coming from Milan, or Munich.

Why not spend two nights in Padova, and wake up early to burn it to Venice so you can have a full day of enjoying the city without hauling your luggage up and down the stairs?  That way when you’re exhausted from the day of activites, you can hop on the train or in your car to make it back to the same hotel where your stuff has been awaiting you?

Blasphemy!  You mean to say that Sheldon didn’t stay the night on Venice?  The truth is that I didn’t.  We had a great time on our vacation, and would recommend the same to you.  The truth is that paying for all of the hotels would have either resulted in cockroaches, or not going.  Hotels are expensive.

Realize that you might have to stay a few miles or an hour from the place you’d love to see.  It will lower the overall cost of your vacation and make it possible so you can feel good about getting raked over the coals when you pay the Goldolier.

5. Score more points & miles

Congrats.  You’ve settled on Eastern Europe. Your Club Carlson Gold Points will get you free nights in Bulgaria, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic.  This is going to be an exciting trip.  The only thing is that you’ve been dying to see Croatia too.  Your family history leads back to Zagreb, and you’d like to spend some time looking for your ancestors there.

spg Check this out.  If you combine the category 1 & 2 deals from your Club Carlson with the Category 1 hotels from Starwood Preferred Guest, you’ll be able to see the grave of your great grandfather in Zagreb.

I’m sure that a quick glance at the Marriott or Priority Club category 1 & 2 would add a number of additional sites that you could see in your journey.

6. Book the trip with points & miles

The idea here is that you’re combining the low level redemptions from American Airlines, Club Carlson, and SPG to create an incredibly cheap and unforgettable vacation.

Once the trip has been booked you’ll go back to the step about research and you’ll get to work play around finding all of the fun things you’ll be doing on the trip.

Get on board and score yourself some SPG miles while the deal is on.

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

I Don’t Care How Much Interest Credit Cards Charge

Posted on August 12, 2013 by Brad Christensen

These are all things I don’t have the slightest care about:

  • What the royal couple named their baby.
  • Who the bachelorette picked, or what new drama surfaced this week.
  • How much the interest credit cards I’m applying for charge.

The first two aren’t controversial. I’m guessing that most of you join me in being under-impressed by the sheer lack of creativity in royal naming customs and that you, too, lost interest in “reality” TV somewhere around a decade ago. But I’m willing to bet that you’re more diligent than me when it comes to knowing what you’re on the hook for if you leave a balance on your credit accounts.

But I’ll say it once more: I could care less how much interest my credit cards charge. In the past 3 years, Nicole and I have applied for, received, and met the spending requirement to obtain bonuses on 28 different credit cards.  I could not tell you what the interest rate on any of those cards is.  In fact, I couldn’t even give you an estimate. I literally have not thought about it in the slightest.

Perhaps this is irresponsible of me… or perhaps it is responsible of me.  How could it be both? The reason I’ve chosen to direct 0% of my attention at how much interest these cards charge is because I have no intention whatsoever of paying any interest.  I will not carry a balance and I won’t be late on a payment. Of course, there’s always the chance that I happen to make a mistake.

I Made a Mistake

I used to be able to tell people that I had accumulated all these points and “never paid a penny in interest.”  Well, a couple of months ago, I broke that string. I had broken my own rule by accumulating a balance on more than one card at once because I was too greedy to pass up the 5:1 points accumulation on my Chase Ink Bold for office expenses. I monitor everything on my www.Mint.com account, but I had merged some personal accounts with my business account and it required a change to my login.  I went a couple of weeks without Mint.com pulling in my balances and I ended up leaving a balance on a card through the end of the cycle.  I had made an auto-payment, but it wasn’t paid in full. The result? A $5.10 interest charge.

I’m a cheap bugger, as is evident in the subject of this blog, and as I’ve detailed… and I don’t like to spend money… but it really, really hurt me to fork over the $5.10.  You see, I have paid a price for some of the points I’ve accumulated.  A couple of the cards have annual fees that aren’t waved up front, but I weighted out the bonuses and they’ve made sense.  But this was a fiver and a dime that I shouldn’t have had to pay.

I’m Not Too Worried About It

I suppose it was a cheap lesson for me.  Now I’m infinitely more attentive to my accounts on mint.com and I won’t be as lax using only one card at a time.

The good news is that I’ve accumulated more than 2 million miles and points and still have 1.3 million and counting.  I figure that the value of the points I have accumulated through my efforts on these 28 cards, and other promotions we’ve shared on this site, is over $22,000. The points I’ve redeemed so far have gotten me well over $8,000 in value.  If I have had to pay 3 or 4 annual fees at $80-95 each, and I add in the interest, I’m at about $400 into the points I have.  That’s a pretty dang good ROI – much better than anything I’ve ever seen or heard of – further highlighting my case that this is the one instance in which the “too good to be true” adage doesn’t apply.

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Barclaycard Arrival World MasterCard — $89 Annual Fee Card

Why It Doesn’t Matter to Me

I have shared the WorldWanderlusting travel tips with countless numbers of people -helping them travel to places they had only ever dreamed of going.  In every conversation I remind them – Never carry a balance.  Never pay interest.  The moment you start to pay interest is the moment you lose.

The reality is that if you are carrying a balance on a credit card and paying interest, it doesn’t matter whether you’re paying 10% or 20%, eventually you lose.  That’s why the only way to do this is to use cards to make purchases you would only otherwise make without the credit instrument.

I don’t ever apply for cards that require me to spend more than what I intend to spend already.  To do so would be a danger, and despite the enormous value of my free travel hoard, I’m not willing to risk it.

—

I’m not suggesting that you shouldn’t care, either. In fact, I’d feel more comfortable if you did care.  But I’d also say that you’re best off not to care so much that it prevents you from seizing opportunities for free travel.

Many people believe that they’re participating in the miles and points accumulation game when they have a frequent flyer mile card or two.  They’re probably just barely scratching the surface.

Follow our blog and you’ll learn not only about how to accumulate miles and points on a level you’d never believe was possible, but you’ll also learn how to maximize them when it comes to using them for travel.

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Posted in Credit Advice, Credit Cards | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Canceling a Credit Card is like Breaking up with a Girlfriend

Posted on August 8, 2013 by wpengine

Apologies to those local followers who couldn’t attend our last-minute WorldWanderlusting BBQ last night to celebrate good times, discuss our strategies, and dream about our next vacations and how we’re going to get there.  The next time we put one together we’ll offer more advanced notice.  [Want us to do a WorldWanderlusting seminar with you?  Comment below and we’ll make it happen!]

One of the questions that came up was, “What do you say when you’re canceling a credit card?  It felt really awkward, like breaking up with a girlfriend.”  We all had a good laugh at Jared’s comment, (He was the one who did the guest post about taking his son to Columbia) but afterward I’ve given it a lot of thought.  He’s totally right.

awkward break up

Taylor Swift is NEVER, NEVER, NEVER getting back together with you. (Photo Courtesy of sugarscape.com.)

Forgive my male perspective on this, but I’m sure you women can relate just as easily. Simply replace “girlfriend” with “boyfriend,” and you can laugh along with us. Here is a direct correlation between canceling a credit card and breaking up with your girlfriend:

Breaking Up Canceling the Credit Card
You got what you wanted from the relationship.  You’ve already kissed her and now the thrill of trying to catch the prey is over.  The magic is gone now and you’re moving on. The sign on bonus from your Sapphire Preferred was so exciting when it arrived.  Now that the bonus is over, your relationship with the card has completely fizzled.
Having the conversation with your “girlfriend” is going to be tough.  You stew about it for days and finally decide to call her instead of seeing her face to face.  You don’t want to hurt feelings. You put it off for as long as you can. The customer service rep acts hurt when you tell them you want to cancel the card.  They ask what it was that made the relationship go sour.
You struggle on the phone to explain how things just “aren’t the same anymore.” You’re sure to tell her that it isn’t her fault.  She has been great, but the problem is your mother doesn’t want you to “seriously” date anyone before you turn 18.  If it were your choice you’d plan on staying with her forever. You explain to the CSR that it isn’t American Express’ fault.  They had nothing to do with your decision to cancel the card.  In fact, their service was great.  The problem was that SPG moved 142 properties to higher tiers this year, while only moving down 35.  This has seriously devalued the points that you’re working so hard to accrue.  You’d be willing to keep the card and pay the annual fee if SPG wouldn’t constantly devalue the points.
In reality, you’re now really excited about this “new girl” in school.  Your “ex” is a thing of the past. Now you’ve got your eyes set on the new chick in your biology class.  She was looking really good the other day in that silver dress. The silver Barclaycard Arrival is looking downright sexy.  You’re not as enthusiastic about 1 point for every dollar you spend on the last card when you can get 40k for $440 in free travel after meeting the $1000 spending requirement.

Canceling a credit card is a bit tough on your first experience.  Once you get the hang of it you’ll be playin’ all the Customer Service Reps.  Here are a few tips for making it as smooth as possible when canceling a credit card.

Don’t Blame The Issuer

This doesn’t work when canceling a bank-point card like BarclayCard Arrival, or a Chase Sapphire, but if you have a co-branded card like a United, Marriott, Delta, SPG, etc. this is a way to make it easier.

This happened to me when I went to cancel my SPG Amex just a month ago.  The CSR asked me why I was canceling.  I simply explained that SPG had increased the amount of points it required on over 120 of their properties.  That devalued my chances of using the points that American Express was so willing to give me.  The Customer Service was excellent and the card was great.  The rep was speechless.  He told me that he agreed with my decision to cancel the card.  Imagine if it were that easy to sideline a needy girlfriend!

This is important because it sends the right message back to American Express.  Hopefully when 1000 people call to cancel their cards they go back to SPG and say, “Come on, you guys are making us lose all of our customers.  STOP DEVALUING YOUR POINTS.”

For Airline Cards: No Availability

This point is similar to the one listed above.   The problem is finding availability on the airline partner.  What CSR that has some points himself wouldn’t agree with you?  When was the last time you looked at the Delta award tiers leaving your small town?  They’re so dang stingy on usage – take the opportunity to complain about it.

It will tell Citi, Chase, or Amex that they’re doing fine. Tell them that you love earning the points and are excited about taking vacations.  Go as far as to say that you’d pay double the annual fee if you could simply use the points on the lower level redemptions.

Other Totally Valid Reasons to Cancel a Credit Card

  • You travel a lot, and the card you have doesn’t waive foreign transaction fees.
  • Your Chase Marriott Card offers a free night for keeping the card every year.  Your SPG doesn’t.
  • Your card only offers 1 point per dollar(Delta, United, US Aiways, etc), but the _________ gives me two points per dollar.

Treat Them Nicely – You May Need Them Back

It’s important to keep in the good graces of all ex-girlfriends.  You never know when you might get a hankering for 30,000 more Delta SkyMiles.  That’s why it is important for the issuer to realize that you appreciate them, you just need a sweeter pot.  Try not to blame them, or the annual fee.  Redirect the blame at something over which they have less control – it’s a soft let down, just like you would do to a girlfriend you’re having to dump.

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Posted in Credit Advice, Credit Cards, How to Wanderlust, Starwood Preferred Guest | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

“I Know You Have Skills – Get Three to Seattle for Under $150”

Posted on August 5, 2013 by Brad Christensen

[As you know if you’ve been coming here for a while, we do make a little money when you apply for cards using some of the links on our site.  We have and will continue to share these travel trips regardless of whether we get paid and we want you to know that we’re in this not just to make a little money, but to help you travel the world for a fraction of a fraction of what you’d expect to pay.  Thanks to all who wanderlust with us!]

A burgeoning WorldWanderluster texted me tonight.  He says, ” I know you have skills.  I need to get from Phoenix to Seattle.” I say, “Not a problem.” He says, “I can’t pay more than $150.”  I say, “Still no problem.” He says, “There are three of us… and a baby.” I smile and say, “You’re trying to stump me, aren’t you? Not.a.problem.” Then he says, “We need to go in 2 weeks.” Me: “Problem.”

You see, we do have skills.  In fact, we’re magic workers. We’ve helped people plan some incredible journeys, including an epic 11 flight, 9 country, 5k mile, $4800 mega South American journey all for a meager $800 in taxes and the frequent flyer miles from one credit card.  We work miracles, like the cruise you get paid to take and the Las Vegas getaway for $95 a person.  Yet, if you want to see behind the curtain… if you want to us to fizzle and see our magic fail, just put us in a time crunch.

Pike Place Market in Seattle

Pike Place Market in Seattle (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

WorldWanderlusting is about being travel-spry.  It’s about being agile, nimble, anxious, willing and prepared to pounce.  We want you to have the points well before you ever need to call on them.  Dry powder.  Oil in your lantern. Pick your preferred metaphor… but what we’re saying is “Do all this now.”

Yes, points can expire, but you won’t let them.  The moment you enlist in our WorldWanderlusting army, you become passionate about points.  You learn about them.  You know their efficiencies, you know their weaknesses.  You care for them like a newborn baby.  You will be attentive to them and suddenly the world will open its doors to you.  You’ll realize that you could go halfway around the world – or maybe even all the way.  You’ll find comfort in knowing that in thousands of cities around the world you could find comfort – in the form of a free hotel room.

Now, I’m going to tell you how I would help my friend if he had a little more time before he needed to get to Seattle.

The Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Solution

For another day or two, Southwest is still offering its “2 RT flights” offer on the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards® Premier Card.  They promote it that way, but we WorldWanderlusters can be even more efficient – we can squeeze 3 RT flights out of that baby.

wanna get away fares

You see, what you actually wind up with after you pay the $99 annual fee and meet the spending requirement of $2000 in the first 3 months are 50k Rapid Reward points.

Southwest’s system is super friendly for those of us who are flexible with our travel plans. They just want 60 points for every dollar of the value of a Wanna Get Away fare.  What that means is that you can grab some flights for as little as 7,000 points each way.

Let’s take a look at the PHX-SEA flight for example.  I very easily found direct, convenient flights to and from SEA at a rate of 7080 points each way.  Southwest charges a booking fee of $5 for each ticket, but they are gracious enough to also throw in free checked bags.  In the end, if my friend had already accumulated these points, he’d only be spending 42,480 of his points, and $114 ($99 annual fee+$15 booking). He, his wife, his child, and baby would all be on their way to Seattle with ear-to-ear grins, plus he’d have almost 8k more points to play with for his next adventure.

Southwest Rapid Rewards booking

The Chase Ultimate Rewards Solution

Now, it’s time to try to make lemonade with these late-preparing lemons.  Even if he didn’t have the Rapid Rewards, if he had gotten going with some Ultimate Rewards, they could be easily transferred to Southwest.  Alas, he has none of them, either.

The Barclaycard US Airways Mastercard Solution

My next thought was to try US Airways, as it has a major hub there in Phoenix.  Luckily, they have a great offer right now on the Barclaycard US Airways MasterCard– 30k points after you spend your first $1… he could get the card, spend a dollar, and have 1.5 free flights to Seattle…. but… the points may take too long to post.  It also gives you a $99 companion pass for up to 2 accompanying passengers – again, great for next time.

The Barclaycard Arrival World Mastercard Solution

Now, I’m left with one final last-ditch effort to maintain my magician reputation.  I’m going to tell my friend to get the Barclaycard Arrival World MasterCard.  We’ve been raving about it a lot lately, and with good reason. Why?  Well, the #1 reason is its flexibility.  It’s not as complicated as some of these others, requiring some knowledge of the exchange rates and how the programs work… it’s just simple:

  • Spend $1000 on the card, get 40k bonus points + 2/1 on expenses for 2k more.
  • Use 42k points to get $420 in reimbursement on travel expenses on the card.
  • Get 10% kickback of points redeemed +4200 points.
  • Use 4200 points to get $42 in reimbursement on travel expenses on the card.
  • Get the card for your spouse.
  • Repeat.

It’s a tight timeframe – he’ll have to apply tomorrow and ask them to rush deliver the card so that he can put his tickets on them – I’d still recommend he book with Southwest, and make sure he’s enrolled in Rapid Rewards so he can earn points on those flights, too. In fact, right now they’re offering a 500-750 point bonus if you enroll and subscribe to email updates.

He’ll get his $420 reimbursed, which won’t cover all the flights (they were $785 when I looked), but it could cover the cost of his rental car and/or the hotel.

There, we solved it. Reputation salvaged.  But wouldn’t this have been much easier if he’d started WorldWanderlusting months ago?  Now, I know this isn’t for everyone.  It’s a brilliant way to obtain free travel if you can do these very important things:

  • Don’t apply if you’re going to be seeking financing soon or if you’re not well a 740 credit score. 
  • Never make purchases on a card that you wouldn’t otherwise make.
  • Never ever miss a payment – always pay on time.
  • Don’t carry a balance.  Pay the card(s) off in full and don’t pay interest.
  • Keep good track of your cards and balances with a tool like www.mint.com.

If these are things you can handle.  Don’t wait until it’s too late to start building your travel points-hoard.  Get them now so you have them when you need them.

Is there someplace you need to go?  Comment below and we’ll help you get there.

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Posted in Barclaycard, Chase, From Wanderlusting to Wandering, Mastercard, Southwest, US Airways | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Shae’s July App-O-Rama 145,000 Points And Miles

Posted on August 1, 2013 by wpengine

Most of you already know by now, but my wife delivered a beautiful baby girl on Thursday of last week.  Little Macie has made a splash in our lives, and we’re so excited to welcome her to the clan.  Pictures are to come.

Along with a new baby comes expenses.  Lots of them.  We wanted to be sure that we took advantage of the big upfront expenses to meet some of the spending requirements on our new credit cards.  If you need help, here are 22 credit card expenses that you  might not have known could be put on a credit card.

We were in store for an App-O-Rama because our last one came in February, and there are a lot of great cards out there.  Here is what we went for:

 

Card Bonus Spend Req Time Why
Barclaycard Arrival Plus World MasterCard $440 $3,000 3 Months Ummm.  $440
Barclaycard US Airways Mastercard 35,000 $1 First Purchase Merging with AA
Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express
 30,000 $1000 3 Months Flies out of hometown
Citi® Platinum Select® / AAdvantage® World MasterCard® 40,000 $3,000 4 Months Europe/ Reduced Mileage Awards

You can see that the focus was on acquiring airline miles in this App-O-Rama. Now that our son turned 2, we’re going to be needing a lot more frequent flyer miles than we did before, so I’m working on a stockpile of them. Let’s review each of them:

App O Rama Card 1: BarclayCard Arrival


When was the last time someone said that for an hour of your time you could earn $440?  Unless you’re earning $1,276,200($440/hour X 2880 hours per year) or more per year, this is worth your time.  Here are some of the best uses for the BarclayCard Arrival.

The flexibility of this card is what makes it sexy.  It can be used for so many great things.  You also need to check out this post that goes over more reasons to get the Barclaycard Arrival.

App O Rama Card 2: US Airways Mastercard

This card is still pending approval.  Barclaycard has tightened up a bit from their Approval-Happy status to a more conservative approach.  That’s a bummer for me, but I’m still pretty sure that she’ll get approved.  If not, you know I’ll be calling the reconsideration line to let-em have it!

This card offers 35,000 Dividend miles, which will soon become AAdvantage miles.  It really makes sense to me to get this card while it is still available.  It limits your inquiries with Citi and Experian, and puts them with Barclaycard and TransUnion.  It really makes sense to get this one while it is still available.  You’ve probably got another year of eligibility on this, and the bonus could increase, but I just figured I wouldn’t chance it.

They also offer a $99 companion ticket for up to 2 companions with this card to anywhere in the lower 48 with some restricted dates.  Right now I’m looking at heading to the East Coast in Septemeber, and it would be nice to bring along the family for $200.  It really makes sense paying for the first ticket to save so much on the rest of the family.

This card compliments the rest of the cards because there is no minimum spending requirement.  Your first purchase brings in the miles, so you can get more miles without having to spend too much.

App-O-Rama Card 3: Delta Gold


There are some good reasons for this card.

  • Delta flies out of Idaho Falls = Not a 3 hour drive before and after any trip -dead sexy.
  • You can get the bonus every 13 months with this card, so it is “churnable” on an annual basis.
  • Free checked bags are worth big $$ these days.  You can save a ton when using this to check your bags.
  • Rumors say that Delta might change their award chart to look more like the one of British Airways.

App-O-Rama Card 4: Citi AAdvantage

Brad just did a post that made me salivate.  He talked about taking a trip to Europe with AA miles between October and May for only 40k AAdvantage miles. That sounds very attractive to me.  He gave the instructions on how to book a 40k American Airlines AAdvantage award to Europe, too.

I’ve already got 80k AAdvantage in the tank for myself and our 2 year old boy Max.  Now, with this card, my wife might be able to join us on the trip.

You can also use these AAdvantage awards for the Reduced Mileage Awards to specific places in the US and Canada for only 17,500 AAdvantage miles round trip instead of requiring the full 25,000.  You’ll also save when you check a bag because this card will waive the ridiculous $25 baggage fee.

Successful App-O-Rama

Don’t just jump right in and start your WorldWanderlusting career with 4 cards at once… give it a try with the card that makes the most sense, and work your way into it.  Once you feel comfortable, the App O Rama is the way to go.  I’ve got to pay the hospital a ton of money, but might as well combine that with some huge sign-on bonuses.  It makes spending the money on the baby that much easier.Have you done an App-O-Rama?  How did it work for you?

Posted in Barclaycard, Credit Cards, How to Wanderlust, Mastercard | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Almost-Free Vacation to Europe: 2 Flights and 9 Nights, Pay No More Than $160

Posted on July 29, 2013 by Brad Christensen

You’ve looked at them… longingly.  You’ve imagined it in your mind, but it hasn’t gotten much further than that. Tickets to Europe are bank-breakers… and it makes sense that people start to believe that they’ll never make their trip to Europe until they’re old and grey, and wearing penny-loafers.

Cheap Europe Tickets$1600, $1300, $750 at the absolute cheapest.  You’ve resigned to the fact that it’s just not happening on your budget.  Until, that is, you discover WorldWanderlusting… where we banish these ugly words from your lips, “I’d love to go to, ________, I just can’t afford it.”

Or maybe it’s not even “discovering” that needs to happen.  Maybe you’ve popped in on us, but you haven’t caught the fever.  Well, we want you to catch the fever.  We want you to go to Europe… and we want you to do it almost free.

How to Fly for Free on a Vacation to Europe

Most people have a hard time understanding exactly how miles and points work, especially because it differs by airline and program.  One of our favorite things to do is to define which airlines and programs present the best value for specific flights.  When it comes to Europe, we just don’t see any easier way to get there then to get in on American Airline’s AAdvantage program.  Here’s why:

Lowest Level Award Redemption to Europe

  • American Airlines     40k     (Oct 15-May 15)
  • Delta Airlines             50k
  • United Airlines          60k

Best Available Credit Card Rewards Offers

Hmm… the lowest level award redemption program also happens to have the highest reward offer? It’s not often that you get a nexus like this.

Worried that October to May would be a bad time to visit Europe?  Do you like massive crowds of tourists?  Do you like sweltering, intolerable heat?  Do you like to pay a premium for tours and other events?  If none of these are things that get you excited, I think you’d do just fine seeing Switzerland in May or Spain in October.

What I’m getting at here is that you need to jump on the offer for the Citi® Platinum Select® / AAdvantage® World MasterCard®, get your 40k American AAdvantage Miles after spending $3000 in the first 3 months, and start planning your trip to Europe. You’ll have to pay some fees and taxes on your free ticket – I had to pay $81 per ticket for our tickets to Italy. But here’s a link to our post to get an American Airlines flight booked with points and without big surcharges.  Apply separately for your spouse and you both fly for free.

How to Get 9 Free Hotel Nights on a Vacation to Europe

Now, would we be so rude as to get you some almost free tickets to Europe and then leave you free-hotel-less?  We wouldn’t dare!

The Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express allows you to build points in the Starwood Preferred Guest loyalty program, where category 2 hotels will cost you 3000 points on weekends, and 4000 points on weeknights. When you book 4 nights, your 5th night is free.  Do a little math with me. Let’s plan on staying 2 weeknights, 2 weekend nights, then 5 weeknights. That’s 4000+4000+3000+3000+0+4000+4000+4000+4000, for a total of 30,000 over 9 nights.

Well, well, well… now we’re just in luck again because not only is the redemption value fantastic, but Starwood is also very generous in doling out reward points.  They do want you to spend $5000 within the first 6 months to get the bonus.

Wait, does that mean that I get 9 free nights in Europe for signing up for one credit card? But, aren’t hotels in Europe like $140 a night? Whoa, whoa, whoa… so, like, getting this card and meeting the spending requirement is worth $1260? Why did you never find this site earlier?

But Category 2 hotels probably aren’t very nice, right?  Shah… here are three Category 2 hotels in Europe that I could easily spend 9 nights at!

Sheraton Santa Maria de El Paular -Rascafria, Spain

Category 2 SPG Hotels in Europe
Sheraton Santa Maria de El Paular -Rascafria, Spain

If this hotel looks like an old monastery, it’s because it is.  Only 32 miles from Segovia, and 59 miles from Madrid, this place would make an excellent home-base to explore Spain.  In Segovia, you have the Alcazar, Roman Acqueducts, and the Segovia Cathedral.  Are you drooling like I am?

Four Points by Sheraton – Dornbirn, Austria

Dornbirn Hotel (Courtesy of Starwood's Website)

Dornbirn Hotel (Courtesy of Starwood’s Website)

Sheldon stayed this hotel on his $900 trip to Alpine Europe in 2012. His biggest regret was that he didn’t stay there longer.  Apparently the spa facility is awe-inspiring, to say nothing of the fact that you’re surrounded by the Alps and all kinds of amazing sites to visit.  You’re welcome to do your own research, but if I were spending 9 free nights here (and I will at some point), I’d want to see Rappenloch Gorge, the Pfanderbahn cable car, and Liechtenstein.

The Aloft Bursa Hotel – Bursa, Turkey

Bursa Aloft Hotel

Bursa Aloft Hotel

This hotel is brand new, and it is in an area of Turkey that is under-visited.  Especially when you consider that this city was once the capital of the Ottoman Empire. Turkey is a wealth of historical sites and with Bursa not far from Istanbul and Iznik (Nicaea), there are an abundance of places to visit.  I wouldn’t miss a visit to Iznik (the home of the Nicene Creed and some tremendous Roman walls), shopping for some Turkish pottery, and it may even be worth the 5 hour drive to the Cotton Castle – an amazing thermal bath in white travertine.

Now, please tell me I’ve gotten you at least a little bit excited.  I expect you to be worried, and that’s why we’ve written extensively about how credit works and have an exhaustive FAQ page.

I want to boil this all down for you, because I think seeing it all together really shows you the value.

  • You’re going to sign up for 3 credit cards (probably 2 for you and one for your spouse).
  • You’ll need to spend $3000 in 3 months on one card, $3000 in 3 months on another card, and $5000 in 6 months on the last card.  If you don’t stack them, you’ll need to only put $1000 in monthly expenses for 11 months to land all your bonus points.
  • In the end, you’ll have 86k AAdvantage miles and 30k SPG points.  Together they’ll get you two free flights to Europe and as many as 9 nights in Category 2 Starwood Hotels.
  • Those points can buy you over $3500 in free travel!
  • To complete the trip, you’ll need to spend as little as $80 per plane ticket, and no additional charge on the hotel bookings.  Add in some transportation costs, entertainment, and food, and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to make this happen with $1000 in the cold and hard stuff.

I’m already planning our trip to Italy with this exact recipe, and I’m anxious for you to start planning your almost-free European Vacation. Be absolutely prudent about your decision-making when it comes to your credit, but once your confident, don’t hesitate and make it happen.

Free Flights: Citi® Platinum Select® / AAdvantage® World MasterCard®

Free Nights: Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express

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How to Manage Points & Miles

Posted on July 24, 2013 by wpengine

People ask me all the time “How do you manage your points & miles?” There are really a couple of ways to do this. More than likely the first is going to be a better option for you, but maybe you’re crazy like me and the second one will apply.

Sign Up for Award Wallet

The service provided by AwardWallet.com is the simplest way to manage most of your points & miles.  It’s basically an aggregator that takes your username and password, logs into all of your accounts at once and updates all of the information at once.

points miles

I recommend Award Wallet

You’ve got too much to worry about, and not enough time to be logging into your frequent flier accounts to manage your points & miles with every company.  With work, a house, family, and other obligations more than likely your life is too busy and you’ll find this service to be extremely useful.

The registration is easy, you’ll just need to assign yourself a username and a password that you’ll use to log in and check your balances.

Points and miles

Once you’ve registered for the service you’ll need to have all of your points & miles account numbers, passwords, and log in information.  You’ll input this information into their system that allows them to go and screen scrape all of the information regarding your various points & miles accounts with Club Carlson, Hilton, Marriott, US Airways, etc.

Here’s a quick shot of what you’ll see once it has populated most of the information for your airline points. I’ve deleted my information, but it will also have your username, password, and account number in the blank column below.

airlines points

It’s sweet because they will also tell you when the points will expire if you don’t either earn or burn a few points.  It looks like I’ve got to do something with my United miles before the end of November or they’ll go to waste.  You know I won’t let that happen.

The view of the hotel points is basically the same.

hotel points

I know you’re going to get after me for not using some of these points.  They’re just devaluing as time ticks on and I’ve got to work on using them.

Here is an AwardWallet coupon that will give you six months of premium service. Their iPhone app is another great service that they offer. It gives you access to all of your account numbers in a moment’s notice.

Will Award Wallet allow me to track all programs?

This is a big bummer about the services from Award Wallet.  Most US airlines don’t allow their services to be tracked by Award Wallet, probably because they don’t want you checking your balance and they want the points to expire instead of having you use them on your next vacation.

You won’t be able to track Delta, Southwest, American, or United by using this service.  However, Daraius taught me that if you forward your monthly statements to Award Wallet they will help you manage the points & miles that you have with those services.

Is Award Wallet Safe?

To be honest here I can’t promise you complete safety.  I do notice that when logging into their service you do get the “https” at the beginning of the URL, which generally means that the site is secure.  Unfortunately this can’t be guaranteed though.

Become Obsessed with Points & Miles

The next option is to memorize your account numbers, the amounts in each of them, and repeat them to others who ask.  One time someone asked Brad if he knew his wife’s account number for American Airlines, then Delta.  He was able to rattle both of them off without thinking very hard.

When you’re constantly logging in to book flights and hotels it’ll be worth memorizing these account numbers.  Until then you should probably subscribe to the services of AwardWallet so you can keep better track of your points and miles.

Pick up another 40K American Airlines miles.


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