Eight Great Christmas Gifts for Travelers

Posted on November 27, 2012 by Brad Christensen

We go through this same exercise every year – What do I get for (insert name here) this Christmas? Only now we have Google to help with things like this – and hopefully it takes you to cool sites like ours.  So, even though our blog is about providing a formula for free frequent flyer mile travel, today you’re going to get some of those gift ideas.

With the better part of America and the civilized world rampantly spending their diligently-earned currencies on doorbuster deals for hokey items that will bring brief satisfaction, yet lasting clutter, I set out to find meaningful mementos for a more globally-minded subset of said civilized world – people who love to travel, i.e. people who read this blog, i.e. people who value experiences over ornaments.

Disclaimer:  So help me everything holy, I place my cursor over my internet bible bookmark and make a solemn pledge that you will not find a passport holder in this list.  There’s a special place in gift giver limbo (right next to fruitcake givers) for people who can summon no more thoughtfulness than to give things like passport holders to people they genuinely care about.

Christmas Gifts for Travelers

A Globe: You’re thinking, “Wait, weren’t we just bashing ornaments and clutter?”  Easy, grasshopper, you misunderstand the concept of a globe – especially a good one.  A globe is a window – an opening to memories of past experiences, and daydreams of future discoveries. You just can’t go wrong here.

“Of a Lifetime Books:” Even the most well-traveled globe-trotter will lick their lips turning the pages of one of these gems. Yes, this is essentially pornography for travelers – unlocking insatiable lust and  setting unreal expectations.

A Magazine Subscription: Like our “Of a Lifetime” books, the idea here is to get randy with wanderlust– only add periodicity.  And also like the books, once again National Geographic is the hallmark provider. This gift keeps on giving.

A Good Backpack: My backpack has been to all but one of the twenty seven countries I have visited. That’s more faithful than some peoples’ spouses – and more useful, too. A good, durable backpack is an absolute travel necessity, and you don’t want to date a lot of them, you want to find the best one and marry it. I say hinge your decision on the most important piece: the zipper.  If it’s going to work between the two of you, that thing will have to take some abuse.  Get a backpack with a big, healthy zipper.

Flipflops: Flipflops are talking shoes.  They say, “I don’t have a care in the world.” When you wear flipflops, the extra oxygen to the skin cells in your toes tells your endocrine system to triple the release special endorphins which trigger faster synapses in the area of the brain which processes positive emotions. No, actually, I just made that shit up, but it’s kinda how I feel at least…

A Shutterfly Book:  You’ve heard that Brad Paisley song about “Who needs pictures?” Well, I do.  We all do.  We forget stuff.  It sucks.  And if I’m bad, my wife is even worse.  I have to remind her where we’ve been and what we’ve done, and I won’t have to do that anymore once I immortalize all of our travel photos in Shutterfly photo books.

4-Wheeled Hard Case Luggage:  I know, luggage is as cliche as the passport holder, but I’m telling you, this stuff is like the “change your life” kind of cool.  You’ve walked through the airport and you see them, people effortlessly pushing a gorgeous, shiny, 4-spinner-wheeled piece of art while you roll your leaning bag on its 1990 two-wheel-technology.  Come on, man.  You don’t still have anything from 1990, and if 4 wheel drive is good for mud-diggin, it’s also good for travel gear.  You, and whoever is lucky enough to be on your list, are headed for easier luggage lugging.

Frugal Travel Guy’s Handbook: Everyone who travels feels like they take advantage of frequent flyer mile programs and opportunities to fly at reduced rates or even freely, yet very few travelers fully grasp these concepts – the same concepts we advocate for on WorldWanderlusting.com.  Rick Ingersoll is as savvy as they come when it comes to working the frequent flyer mile system for maximum effect, and he’s taught thousands of followers with this quick and easy handbook.

Nothing pains us more at WorldWanderlusting.com, than hearing “I’d love to travel, I just can’t afford it.”  We write about inexpensive ways for people to get to places they had only dreamed of.  Follow us on Facebook or check out these other great posts:

Wanderlust with us.

 

Posted in Eight Great | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Reifenstein Castle – A Moment to Reflect

Posted on November 25, 2012 by wpengine

As I ponder the sites that I saw in Alpine Europe this spring, my mind recalls the moments when we toured the Reifenstein Castle, which is found about one hour south of Innsbrook.  In the words of Rick Steves, “Reifenstein offers castle connoisseurs the best-preserved original medieval castle interior I’ve ever seen.”

Reifenstein Castle (Photo courtesy of wikipedia.com)

As I was preparing for my trip this phrase intrigued me.  If you don’t know who Rick Steves is, then it’s time to head to your local library to check out some of his books.  You can also turn your channel to PBS and see some of his shows there.  This guy has toured thousands of castles all across Europe, so I knew that his quote had to be accurate.

Location of the Reifenstein

My first feeling about this place helped me to realize why people “looked up” to their leaders.  This castle was built on a small hill right inside the valley.  Supposedly the peasants worked for their Lord, who in return offered them protection from any outsiders and food for their families.

The tours are only offered three times per day, and for some crazy reason I didn’t keep track of when the tours began.  I couldn’t ever find a website about this place, and pictures are not found anywhere because they don’t allow you to take pictures once you get inside of the castle walls. So it is somewhere that you’ve got to visit in person.  The GPS coordinates are 46° 52′ 41″ N, 11° 26′ 40,5″ O

Also understand that this castle was constructed over the last 2000 years.  The tallest tower was built first, and offers THICK walls at the base, and a dungeon down below.  As the valley became more prosperous they added more rooms and features.  The tour is given in English, Italian, or German so don’t worry about language barriers.

Why you need to visit this castle:

Just as Rick Steves mentioned above, this castle offers the closest thing that can be found when looking into the past.  From the front door, to the last minute of the tour you’ll be amazed at how well preserved this castle really is.

The guide will take you to the kitchen where the meals were prepared.  Upon entering you’ll already know that it is the kitchen because you’ll notice the smell of soot on the walls.  When you look around the room you’ll notice that black soot from the fire has covered the walls of the kitchen.  Both the smell and the pots and pans used can help your imagination to run wild of what this place must have been like during the Medieval Ages.

The dungeon gives you a real sense of what it would be like to live your last days trapped in that small room.  They drop a light down into the dungeon so you can see how large the room was.  Many of the prisoners probably were thrown into the dungeon, and broke bones on the way down to the 15 or 20 feet drop.  They also take you to the room where the criminals would have been tried for their crimes. The post upon which they were whipped and beaten before being tossed into the dungeon still shows the indentations of the feet of those being whipped.

Max and I knocking on the front door

Sitting at the top floor of the castle boasts a breathtaking view of the valley just before the Brenner Pass.  It gives you the chills to think that this valley has been commonly used as the passage between Germany and Italy for thousands of years.  Popes, knights, robbers, and missionaries have crossed the valley floor in their journeys to faraway lands.

This moment at the top floor of the castle sparked a moment of contemplation of my life, and how wonderful things are for me.  I feel so fortunate to live in a wonderful country where I am entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  I also enjoy a warm home in the frigidness of the Idaho winters.  A hospital that is close provides a level of comfort where I know that highly skilled doctors can save lives.  Even something as simple as life insurance, that ensures that my family will be fine financially even if something were to happen to me.

We enjoy a lot of things in this life, and it’s not until we get out of our box to see other places that we can really recognize these blessings.  This is one of the reasons that I love to travel.  It gives me a greater appreciation for the time in which I live, and for the blessings which I enjoy.  Come along and Worldwanderlust with us so you can have life changing experiences like this.  Make sure you like us on Facebook and subscribe to our blog by putting in your email address in the right hand corner of the blog so you never miss another post!

Hotel

Four Points by Sheraton Bolzano Hotel Room

I recommend you stay at the Four Points by Sheraton in Bolzano when touring the Reifenstein Castle.  The hotel is within walking distance of a grocery store, and within an hour of the castle.  When you get the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express you will have enough points to cover up to 7 FREE nights at this and other hotels in the area.

Make sure you allot enough time to enjoy the swimming pool on the top floor, and their steam rooms and saunas.  This is a great way to relax after a long day on the go. The beds are comfortable, and you’ll sleep well in this hotel.

 

Posted in Family Travel, Fun Travel Stories, How to Wanderlust, Living History, Starwood Preferred Guest | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Approved for the Chase Ink Bold

Posted on November 20, 2012 by wpengine

On Friday I submitted my application to Chase for the Ink Bold Business Charge Card.  When I clicked the final button to apply after entering all of my information I was a little bit disappointed when I got this response….

“Your application requires further review before making a decision….”  are you kidding me?  Rather than wait for them to contact me, I called them right away.  If you’ve gotten this page then you should call now.  1-800-453-9719 is the number to call.

The customer service at Chase is unmatched in the financial world.  A live person will answer your call every time you call, not a lame machine.  When the rep answered the phone I voiced my concern as he pulled up my account.  “One moment Mr. Christensen”, he said in plain English.

He then asked me a few questions…

  • What type of business is it that you have Mr. Christensen?
  • How long have you been in business?
  • Who generally pays you, the companies or the clients?
  • What is your business’ annual income for the last three years?
  • What is your personal annual income?
  • How much do you anticipate charging each month on your new card?
  • Do you understand that this is a charge card, and that the balance must be paid in full each month?

When he was done with the interrogation and he undid the handcuffs I felt like I had the right to ask him a few questions back.  (His answers are paraphrased in my own words)

Why are you asking me so many questions?  Is my credit terrible or something?

No, Mr. Christensen, with a business card any delinquencies won’t show up on your personal credit report, so we must do our due diligence to make sure that you have the ability to pay the amounts on the card.  We want to make sure that your business is profitable, or that you would have the means to pay the card off with another source of income.

What is the minimum business size needed to get approved for this card?

There isn’t a minimum size.  We really just want to make sure that the business is profitable.

Have you had a lot of interest in this card since you’ve changed the offer?

Most definitely.  This offer has brought in a lot of customers and we have been much busier than usual.

Why you want the Chase Ink Bold Card

As we’ve blogged about before, this offer was just sweetened when they lowered the spending requirement from $10,000 within 3 months down to only having to spend $5000 within three months of activation.  I didn’t want to miss out on this opportunity because I’m not sure when they were going to pull the offer.

The flexibility of the Chase Ultimate Rewards program makes this card worth the application.  Here are a couple of past posts showing how great the Ultimate Rewards are:

 

Posted in Chase, Chase Ultimate Reward Points, Credit Advice, Credit Cards, How to Wanderlust | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Small Business Saturday – $25 for every AMEX

Posted on November 18, 2012 by Brad Christensen

At WorldWanderlusting, we are all about helping you seize the opportunities to travel at mega-discounts – and in many cases this means using credit cards to obtain frequent flyer miles. As a result, we tend to have a few of them. I happen to have 16 – 4 of which are AMEX.

So you can imagine my excitement when I see the www.Shopsmall.com promotion that will reimburse me for $25 of at $25+ transaction at a small business this Friday when I register my cards as soon as possible on the www.shopsmall.com site.

I haven’t figured out exactly how to tie this in with travel, other than to say that anything I can save on other transactions, I can spend on travel!

I know this pales relative to some if the mega-offers we have showed you, but you can’t beat free money!

Posted in American Express, Credit Cards | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

American History Tour with Starwood Preferred Guest for Free

Posted on November 14, 2012 by wpengine

Photo Courtesy of AlyandDoug.com

Although America’s history isn’t near as seasoned as the history of Mesopotamia, it is something we all long to see. One deterrent from taking the trip to our Nation’s capital is the cost. You probably ask yourself, “How can I afford to pay $120 per night for eight nights?” But, what if I were to tell you that you could visit Washington DC, Baltimore, Lancaster county, and Philadelphia for free with Starwood Preferred Guest points?

Now that you’re skeptical, let’s take a look at the current offer from the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express.  Currently you get 10,000 Bonus Starpoints by making your first purchase. You are then awarded an additional 15,000 Starpoints when you meet the minimum spending of $5000 within the first six months. By signing up for the card with Worldwanderlusting.com you get a total of 25,000 Starpoints after meeting the spending requirement.

The map of our journey on this American History Tour

Here is the itinerary

Sure you might not be staying right next to the White House, but parking in the big cities is usually expensive, and the hotels are less likely to give you anything for free as you get closer to city center. Stay on the fringes and you generally will get more perks like breakfast, internet, pool, etc.

Philly

Get your good nights rest at one of two hotels in the Philadelphia area. You can stay close to the airport at the Four Points, or you can stay on the Northeast end of town at a different Four Points. Either way the nights will only take between 3-4K points per night.

Photo Courtesy of Visitphilly.com

Whichever one you pick will work just fine as long as you fill yourself with a couple of delicious Philly Cheesesteaks.  They can be found basically anywhere in town, and especially at the places like Independence Hall.  I prefer to leave off the fungus, but I know too many people who like to eat them.  Envelop yourself in the history of this town.  This was the location where they drafted the Declaration of Independence and they signed in in 1776 on July 4th.  Just going to the room where they signed the document almost has a holiness about the place.  The cracked Liberty Bell is also a must see.

If you’ve got time and plan FAR in advance you can also tour the mint where they coin money for the USA.  Plan on watching an Eagles football game, a Phillies baseball game, or a 76ers basketball game while you’re there.

Amish Country-Harrisburg-Hershey

Me in Lancaster County

Very few places on Earth are yet to be touched by technology.  Remote areas of the Amazon jungle, small islands in the seas, and Lancaster County, Pennsylvania are amongst those yet to be touched.  Culturally you’ll visit few places where you can see a culture that has been avoided the influence of the changing world.  Plan to eat dinner at Good ‘N Plenty, where you’ll have family style dining like you were at grandma’s. Stop and buy some of their homemade products they sell on the side of the road.

In a land where the light posts are Hershey’s kisses is a place where my wife wants to be!  Take a tour of the Hershey’s Factory in a teacup while you sample some of their delectable chocolate.  Then you’ll find yourself in one of the largest chocolate stores in America where you can get varieties that you never knew existed.  Load up your bags because your family will expect you to bring gifts.

Rest comfortably for 3-4k Starpoints per night at the Sheraton Harrisburg Hershey Hotel.

Baltimore

You’ve got three hotels to choose from right close to the BWI Baltimore International Airport.  All of them take 3-4K Starpoints per night.

You can’t seem to sing the Star Spangled Banner without thinking about Francis Scott Key.  Waking up in the morning and seeing the flag still flying was such a warm, welcoming feeling for Francis that he penned the song that we all know today.

Washington DC

Library of Congress by AlyandDoug.com

This may or may not come as a surprise to you, but this hasn’t always been our nation’s capital.  It became the capital on July 16th, 1790, and has been since then.

You’ll never run out of museums to visit, places to reflect, or buildings to admire.  This is where our President lives, and you’ll find him at the White House on Pennsylvania Ave. Many of the museums have free entrance, and the national mall (not a shopping location) is a must see sight.  This is the location where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood for civil liberties and marched on the Capital.  You might recognize this place where they swear in our President every four years.

Plan your trip and space your time at each museum.  You can always count on Wikipedia keeping track of the current museums that can be found in DC.  Stay at the Aloft Dulles Aiport North for only 3-4K per night.

Summary

Don’t let cost be the issue for your ‘never happening vacations.’  This just proves that you can stay in four locations close to the history of America without paying for your hotels.  Don’t dream about taking a vacation when you turn 65, unless you’re 64.5, you need to get started now.  The experiences that you take with you in this life will be the things that you will remember.

Start worldwanderlusting with us and get the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express. The Starpoints will give you eight consecutive nights at these hotels, so don’t worry about staying only one night at each location.  Take your time and enjoy two nights at each place!

Posted in Credit Cards, Hotels, How to Wanderlust, Starwood Preferred Guest, Travel Itineraries | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Best Business Trip Rewards Card: Turn Business Expenses into Travel Experiences

Posted on November 11, 2012 by Brad Christensen


I have had discussions recently with far, far too many people who have neglected  turning business expenses into trip rewards for travel experiences. What they are failing to realize is that if you have at least $2000-$3000 a month in chargeable expenses, you should be taking a free trip every single year.

There are dozens of business credit cards that will give you rewards of various kinds – it’s our job to sift through them and tell you what you need to do to maximize your earning and your usage. I’m just going to give it to you plain and simple: there is no better business credit card than the Ink Plus® Business Card. Not only does it give you 50,000 Ultimate Reward points after meeting the minimum spending requirement (which was just dropped to $5000 in the first 3 months), it also offers maximum flexibility with point usage and maximum value in point accrual. Let’s just run a scenario and say that these are your average business expenses each month:

    • $500 in 2:1 fuel charges = 1000 UR
    • $400 in 5:1 office expenses/phones/etc. = 2000 UR
    • $500 in 2:1 hotel expenses = 1000 UR
    • $1500 in 1:1 other expenses = 1500 UR

With those totals, you’d accrue 5,500 a month, or 66,000 a year. Because of the flexibility of the UR program, there are quite a few ways you could use them.

What could my Ultimate Rewards get me?

    • Book two roundtrip tickets to Panama. (This is what I did, and I’m going in January).
    • Book a multi-destination flight or two on Southwest Airlines.
    • Stay eight or more nights at Marriott hotels in Spain.
    • Book two flights from BOI to SEA (18k points), then cash out the rest of your points for almost $500 towards an Alaskan Cruise.
    • Wondering about something you have in mind?  Comment below and we’ll make it work for you.

We are WorldWanderlusting.com and we want to help turn your business expenses into travel experiences with the Ink Plus® Business Card.

Posted in Chase, Chase Ultimate Reward Points | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

I Want to Fly to Orlando for Free

Posted on November 8, 2012 by Brad Christensen

We had a great seminar with some of our WorldWanderlusting followers last night and sometimes I’m afraid we make all of this far more complicated than it must be.  The simple question? How do I get to Orlando for free?  The answer?  Here you go.

Q:

“We found a screaming cheap cruise out of Port Canaveral (Orlando) in January – how can we get to Orlando for free?”

When people want free things, I see them as greedy.  When people want free travel, I see them as brilliant.

Here it is, this simple:

A:

Get the Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express. Spend $1000 in the next 3 months. Get 30k Delta Skymiles. Book your trip with 25k and save 5k for your next flight. (Annual fee of $95 waived the first year).

Don’t want to spend $1000 in the next three months or need them sooner?

Get the The US Airways Premier World MasterCard®. Make your first purchase. Get 30k US Air miles.  Book your trip with 20k and save 10k for your next flight. (You will have to pay the $89 annual fee – a small price to pay for a free flight). If you have underdeveloped credit, there’s a chance they could approve you for a different card with fewer rewards – but you could also call the reconsideration line and ask for approval for the better offer.

Don’t want to pay the annual fee, or prefer to fly on planes that have in-flight TVs?

Get the The Frontier Airlines World MasterCard®. Earn 40,000 bonus miles after spending $500 in purchases in the first 90 days (The $69 annual fee is applied on this one as well).  If you have underdeveloped credit, there’s a chance they could approve you for a different card with fewer rewards – but you could also call the reconsideration line and ask for approval for the better offer.

Don’t like all the possibility of getting denied the richer offer?

United has a great frequent flyer program with lots of availability: Mileage Plus.  You need to take a look at the United MileagePlus Explorer Card.

Worried it will hurt your credit? Read this.

Well, what other opportunities like that are there? Try this page.

Congratulations, you’re wanderlusting with us!

Enhanced by Zemanta
Posted in Cheap Honeymoons, How to Wanderlust, Travel Tricks | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments