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Earn Frequent Flier Miles for Joining Netflix

Posted on April 15, 2012 by wpengine

Our goal is to provide easy, dependable, and quick ways to earn more frequent flier miles so you can spend more time exploring the world as a bona-fide World Wanderluster. This isn’t too many miles, but a few of the little promotions can really add up and build your frequent flier account.

It isn’t too many miles, but if you were going to join the popular Netflix service then you should consider using one of these links to sign up.

Delta Airlines

Let’s be honest. This is the least sexy option available, but here it are 1500 Skymiles for signing up for Netflix.

American Airlines
If you’ve been following our blog for any period of time you’ll know that I spend most of my time on American. In fact, I’ve flown more miles on American than all other airlines combined. Although 1500 AAdvantage miles isn’t a ton, it is still something for nothing if you were going to sign up for Netflix anyway.

Fine Print

There are a few rules that you have to follow, you can’t have already signed up for an account for your address. So use your business address or your grandma’s address and a different credit card than you’ve been using before and you should be good to go. That might not work so well if you have Netflix mail you the DVD’s, but if you sign up for the unlimited streaming option then it is a great option.

Posted in American Airlines, Delta, United | Tagged AAdvantage, American Airline, Delta Air Lines, Frequent-flyer program, Lynn Harrell, Netflix, netflix american offer, netflix delta offer, netflix united offer, skymiles, United States | 1 Comment

Fidelity 100,000 Miles Offer

Posted on April 15, 2012 by wpengine

Update: You can only get 50,000 miles per year. The 100,000 deal is dead. Oh well, you can still pick up an easy 50K without pulling your credit.

This doesn’t require applying for a credit card, which is nice, but it does require you to have some cash laying around, which might not be a possibility for everyone. I saw a post from ThePointsGuy who talked about getting 50,000 United Mileage Plus miles and 50,000 SkyMiles from Delta from a Fidelity promotion. I was very intrigued and couldn’t wait to give this a shot.

For some crazy reason Fidelity has an offer that will give you 50,000 United Mileage Plus miles if you deposit $100,000 in a trading account with them. Before you click to navigate away from the page you’ll be shocked to learn that you don’t have to add all $100,000 at a time. You can add and take away to account for the entire $100,000. If you have $10,000 laying around then you still might be able to make this offer happen. It will require some time, but could definitely pay off if you have the patience.

Fidelity’s 100,000 miles offer

Use this link to apply for this offer:

United Airlines
Delta Airlines

Here are the steps to getting this amazing offer:

Use the above links to apply and open the United Airlines offer first.
Fund the account with $100,000 however you can within the first 90 days of having the account open. Maybe you have a rich parent who has some money laying around, who knows, but find some money and deposit and withdraw until you have it done.
Wait until your 50,000 total miles and celebrate by taking a trip.

Once you have gotten your 50,000 miles from United Airlines you can open a new account under the Delta link above.

Apply for the Delta Offer
Fund the account however you can.
Celebrate with your 50,000 Delta miles that won’t get you anywhere. JK

Just maybe a couple hours work and you get 50,000 Mileage Plus miles and 50,000 SkyMiles. That is easily worth $2000 and puts you that much closer to your next vacation. You can’t beat $500 per hour. Not too many people can claim that.

We’ve written before about great TD Ameritrade offers that help you to accrue Starwood Preferred Guest points and I’m a benefactor of those 20,000 points. I have yet to do this offer, but I’m working on opening my account after I finish this post. I’ll definitely have to deposit and withdraw a few times to hit the magic number, but I’ll get there.

I have been rather cautious lately because I might be needing a loan in the next few months so I haven’t been applying for many credit cards. It has been depressing watching other people score great deals and having to sit on the sidelines. This is a great option for anyone who is in that boat. Keep in mind that I haven’t scored these miles yet, but ThePointsGuy already got his 100,000 and has been mighty satisfied. You can also read a slew of information on the Flyertalk post that has the information of many other people who have scored this deal.

Here are the Terms and Conditions for the deal:

This promotional offer is only available to new or existing Fidelity brokerage account customers opening or depositing new assets into a joint or individual nonretirement Fidelity Account^®. This offer expires October 1, 2014, and it is not transferable or valid in conjunction with any other Fidelity promotional offer. Fidelity Investments reserves the right to modify, change, or alter the terms and conditions of the promotional offer in its sole discretion at any time. Fidelity Investments may terminate this promotional offer at any time. Other terms and conditions may apply.

Promotional offers are limited to one per individual per rolling 12 months.

The promotion is not available for business accounts, trust accounts, retirement accounts including, among others, Fidelity IRA, Roth IRA, SEP and SIMPLE accounts; 401(k) and 403(b) workplace retirement plans; fiduciary accounts (including custodial accounts and estate accounts); college investment trust accounts; 529 college savings plan accounts; annuities; Fidelity accounts managed by Strategic Advisers, Inc. (for example Portfolio Advisory Services); Institutional Weath Services (IWS) clients; and clients of registered investment advisors working with Fidelity Investments. Offer not valid for government officials, candidates for federal, state or local office, as well as state employees and employees of municipalities, commissions, agencies, public universities and health care programs, or any other public entity that can influence decisions involving Fidelity as a service provider to that public entity; union officials or employees, non-U.S. residents or persons and members of their immediate families and households affiliated with or employed by FINRA or its member firms, Fidelity or its affiliates, a securities exchange or its members, or the media. Public officials or candidates for office may be subject to state or local gift laws.

Transferred assets will be valued, for the purposes of determining eligibility for this promotional offer, at the close of business Eastern time on the business day or next business day, if on a weekend day or holiday, following receipt by Fidelity Investments of the assets into the account that is eligible for the promotional offer. Funding must come from an external, non-Fidelity source via any standard monetary transfer method (a standard Transfer of Assets form, check, electronic funds transfer, ADM deposit, etc.). Your Fidelity account must remain open with the qualifying funding for six months from the date that the qualifying assets are first received in the eligible account.

New accounts must be opened within 30 days of registering for the offer. Additional deposits to the eligible Fidelity account may earn you a higher mileage award provided the result is that the cumulative assets meet or exceed the next eligibility tier (up to a maximum of 50,000 miles). For new accounts, initial and subsequent deposits must be made within 90 days of Fidelity account opening. For new money deposited into existing accounts, all deposits must be made within 90 days of registering for the offer.

Make sure you pick up some hotel points to go with your 50,000 United miles. With the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card you can earn up to 25k bonus Starpoints®: 10K after your first purchase and another 15k after you spend $5K in purchases on the card within the first 6 months.

Posted in Delta, Fidelity, United | Tagged Business, credit card, Delta Skymiles, fidelity, Fidelity Investments, Investing, investments, Roth IRA, skypesos, TD Ameritrade, united airlines, United Mileage Plus | Leave a comment

Eleven Free Roundtrip Flights from Boise to Seattle

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Brad Christensen

For almost two years now, I’ve been attacking credit card travel offers with the same careless zeal with which I’ve been devouring sugar since I put the low-carb diet on hold. And let me tell you, it’s been every bit as satisfying! Sheldon and I have been blogging about it for a year now as of this week and we’re thrilled to have a following of wanderlusters who share our passion for travel.

WorldWanderlusting is everything I dreamed it would be and maybe even a little more. I’ve flown my entire family to Colombia, had a guys’ getaway to Roatan, sent my wife to her friend’s wedding in Rhode Island, and skipped over to New Orleans for a Caribbean cruise. I’m up to 13 free nights in hotels, and if all of that weren’t enough, I have a stockpile of more than 600,000 miles and points that I figure are worth at least $8000 to me.

I’ve helped friends plan airfare-free trips to Costa Rica, Panama, Hawaii, Peru, and Belize. Other trips to great stateside destinations like Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Nashville have also been worked up. Two weeks from now, on my birthday, my brother sets out on a trip to Alpine Europe, on which he figures to save about $4000.

Looking at it as saving money is satisfying enough, but really it’s more than that. I’m making opportunities to do things that I didn’t think I’d be able to do until I got insanely rich (which, unfortunately, I’m still far from). My four kids under 7 years old have memories of paragliding in Colombia. I’ve been scuba diving with sharks. I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro.

Ok, I’m boring you. You came here because I said something about 11 RT flights from Boise to Seattle. I know it sounds too good to be true, but it isn’t. Chase is doing a limited time offer of a total of 100,000 British Airways “miles” when you sign up for the British Airways Credit Card and spend 20k on it in the first year. (50k for signing up, 25k for spending the first $10k and 25k for the second $10k). This card does have a $95 annual fee that is not waived for the first year, so unless you’re great at sweet-talking customer service reps, I suppose these miles will cost you $95. Technically, if you do spend the 20k you’d also accumulate another 20k miles, so maybe I should have named this post “Thirteen Roundtrip Flights for $95…”

Before you start daydreaming that those miles could take you across the pond to England (as the name seems to connotate), push that thought from your mind. BA charges insane fuel surcharges on mile purchases that make that option impractical. Really your best bet is to use them on short, direct flights on American Airlines, like the BOI to SEA route. Checking the Avios (that’s the name for BA frequent flyer miles) Calculator, you’ll see that it will cost you 4500 Avios each way or 9000 RT.

If you get tired of Seattle, you could always opt for Portland. Ok, yes, Seattle and Portland are basically the same thing… pony up a few more of your free points and fly from Seattle to Sacramento or from Portland to San Francisco.

I’m thinking this would be a perfect way to plan a family cruise to Alaska. If you’re looking for deals on cruises, always check the www.Vacationstogo.com 90 day ticker. If you call, sometimes they can even get you a better price than what is posted.

So if the idea of having more than ten free short, direct flights in your pocket really appeals to you (and I can’t imagine why it wouldn’t), take a closer look at the BA credit card.

In the interest of full disclosure, we do receive a commission when you apply for cards from our site – its like frosting on the delicious cake of seeing other people jump on the free travel bandwagon. As always, if you have any questions, please just post a comment and we’ll be happy to help you wanderlust with us.

Posted in American Airlines, British Airways, Credit Cards | Tagged Alaska Cruise, BOI, BOI to SEA, Use Avios | 2 Comments

Chase British Airways 100,000 Offer is Back

Posted on April 9, 2012 by wpengine

We are going to get excited anytime we start to see this kind of exciting “centurion” offer. It’s been a while since credit card companies have been this frivolous with their mileage rewards. We anticipate that, just like last year, this opportunity won’t last long, so if it fits for you, don’t hesitate.

If you’re wondering if this card and its benefits “fit for you,” first off, play with the BA Avios Usage Calculator, chances are it will either start to get really exciting for you, or your interest will stall out. These miles are best for direct flight routes, so if you live near SEA, DFW, LAX, MIA, JFK, or ORD, it won’t take long to see the power in this program. Even still, we found some killer deals with Avios out of our closest major Airport, SLC: 25k to LIM, 10k to ORD, 7500 to DFW (all each-way).

Once you’ve done that, ask yourself these questions:

Am I interested in using thes miles on British Airways or on OneWorld Partner flights? I’ll be straight up with you – if you’re wanting to fly on British Airways, you’ll be looking at some steep costs relative to other redemption programs. BA’s fuel surcharges are not cheap. On the other hand, there are some phenomenal uses for these miles with OneWorld Partners.

Would I like to make some short, direct, domestic flights at radically reduced levels? Most other programs want 25k of your miles regardless of whether you’re flying from SEA to MIA or from SEA to PDX. It just plain doesn’t make sense to waste 25 large on a flight that short – enter Avios. Anything under 650 miles will run you 4500 Avios each way. Yes, that means your 100k will get you 11 trips like that.

Are there any Alaska Airlines routes I’d like to fly? If the answer is “yes,” this is certainly a program you need to take a good look at. There’s a post from last November about the value-added in using BA Avios to book Alaska Air flights. Take a look at where Alaska Airlines flies, and if something there works for you, put some serious consideration into the Chase British Airways 100k offer.

Am I plotting any intra-country routes in South America? The most likely of these is the Lima to Cuzco route you’d probably need to take to complete a bucket-list journey to Machu Picchu. A mere 4500 Avios each way will get you that little flight.

Can I spend $20k on this card over the next year without making purchases I wouldn’t otherwise make? If you can’t, you may only bring in 50k (75k if you spend $10k) – still a nice benefit, but not as alluring if that’s not an option. If you can spend $30k in the next year, you’ll also get a companion ticket – something that may also be a very big draw on this card. But remember, the moment you start to make frivolous purchases is the moment you start to lose this game.

Will it bug me to drop $95 on the annual fee? So many cards have the annual fee waived for the first year that we pretend that they don’t have one. The fact is that the benefits probably justify it, but you need to be sure that’s not an issue for you.

—

As you can see, it doesn’t take long to make you a lover or a hater of this deal. As I’ve been writing, the wanderlusting has begun and I’m daydreaming up all kinds of amazing ideas for cross-country treks and family getaways.

If you’re still hungry for more details, see the comprehensive posts on this offer by Million Mile Secrets and The Points Guy. And, as always, thanks for wanderlusting with us.

Posted in British Airways, Credit Cards | Tagged Avios, British Airways 100, British Airways 100k offer, Chase British Airways Card, using avios | Leave a comment

Moab Roadtrip

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Brad Christensen

Worldwanderlusting.com recently did a guest post for a blogger friend of ours, www.utahdealdiva.com. The Deal Diva posts about coupon opportunities and other bargain-hunting activities.

She asked us to concoct some vacations a family of 5 could take for less than $1000. If you know what we do, you know that this is right up our alley. We write about inexpensive ways for people to get to places they had only dreamed of going. We hope to inspire others to travel – to infect them with a serious case of “wanderlust.” Nothing pains us worse than hearing people say, “I’d love to travel, I just can’t afford it.” Bookmark our site and you’ll find that we’re pointing out ways you can travel cheaply by taking advantage of credit card travel offers and seizing good deals when they come up.

Here’s our first guest post about am inexpensive Moab Roadtrip.

To the young family, the road trip is, as Dickens says, “the best of times and the worst of times.” Well, honey, pack the minivan and load up the kiddos, we’re going to go for it and try to focus on the best of it!

We’ll begin with a road trip that will take you from deep canyons to high arches and from the dinosaur-desert of Vernal to verdant mountains around Park City. There will be something for everyone in your family – adventures for the little explorers, knowledge for the history-seekers, and picturesque views for the landscape-lovers. This is a great springtime trip, and it just happens to be what our family is embarking on today.

What will this trip cost?

Fuel: $120 for the Camry. $250 for the Denali. It’s a total of about 750 miles, so divide 750 by your MPG and multiply it by a disgusting $3.70.
Park Entrances: $80. Opt for the pass… you’ll be doing things like this a lot more often.
Food: $160-$200 if you’re cheap like us.
Hotels: $380, or start Wanderlusting with the Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card for two of your three nights free or the Chase Sapphire Preferred^SM Card and get yourself $500 in free travel cash.
Other: $100 Even if you’re cheap (and we are) you’ll find other things to spend money on.

Total: $460-$880

Day 1

Be sure you have your fruit snacks and Capri Suns. Pop in “Finding Nemo” to ensure that the kids pay no attention to the beautiful scenery you’ll be passing. Drive from the SLC area to Canyonlands National Park by way of Price and Green River. You may even want to pack a picnic to eat once you make it to Canyonlands.

For the explorer: Canyonlands is a paradise for both intrepid and amature explorers. Try out the hike to Upheaval Dome in the Island in the Sky district. In the Needles district, you’ll want to do the Joint Trail, which will take you through some amazing deep slot canyons.

For the history-seeker: It’s hardly ancient history, but Blue John Canyon in the Horseshoe District of Canyonlands park was the scene of the tragic accident that was the subject of the movie, 127 hours. If you’re not familiar with it, it tells the story of a man who was forced to amputate his own arm in order to escape being pinned between rocks in the canyon. If you’re looking for older history, the Maze District was a hideout for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

For the landscape-lover: You have at least a trio of breathtaking vistas in the combination of Dead Horse Point, the Green River Overlook, and the Chesler Trail. If those were the only amazing scenery spots you could find, they alone would be worth the trip, but fortunately you’re just getting started.

Overnight: Hotels in Moab are not cheap and point reward redemption is generally not an option. Chase Ultimate Rewards points allow you to use your points as cash at a good rate… I’d say opt for the Hampton Inn with a rockin’ complimentary breakfast, $180. Or you may be able to sneak by with the Days Inn for a little less.

Day 2

Start your day with adventures in Arches National Park then make your way to Grand Junction.

For the explorer: Young families may not be swinging on the Corona Arch (you’ve got to see this video!), but there is plenty to do. Obviously the main activities will be hiking, biking and rock climbing, and your little ones may enjoy trying to spot the colorful Collared Lizard doing pushups.

For the history-seeker: Stop in on the Wolfe Ranch Cabin in Salt Flats – home of one of the first permanent settlers in the area. It’s more than a century old- preserved by the dry air of the desert climate.

For the landscape-lover: Take a family picture with Delicate Arch as a backdrop, snap some off with Courthouse Towers, or immortalize the contrast of the red rock of arches against the La Sal Mountains. This is a place where God’s artistic hand has been working the canvas for thousands of years. The problem will not be finding things to marvel at, it will be finding things not to marvel at.

Overnight: If you get into Grand Junction in time for a late dinner, Check out Pablo’s Pizza (not your average pizza joint). Then check in to the Courtyard Grand Junction, where you could stay for free with 15k of 50k points and an extra free night you get for applying for the Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card. Otherwise, there are 4 or 5 hotels you can get for less than $70 a night on Hotels.com.

Day 3

Drive to Vernal, possibly taking a couple of sidetrips out to Fantasy Canyon and Dinosaur National Monument.

For the explorer: This short trip won’t allow you to do a river rafting trip, but the road into the Quarry at Dinosaur National Monument will offer plenty of chances to scout the river. You can also be on the lookout for petroglyphs.

For the history-seeker: Dinosaur National Monument will have you spellbound as you take in the 1500 fossilized remains that are exposed at the Quarry. There are few sites like this one in the world, truly giving you a taste for what the world was like in a time when dinosaurs roamed.

For the landscape-lover: Again, beautiful sites abound – starting with the Colorado National Monument just outside your origin and all along the way as you wind your way towards Vernal. If your landscape-love is harder to quench, make the off-road trek to Fantasy Canyon.

Directions:Roughly 27 miles southeast of Vernal. Travel east out of Vernal on US 40 through Naples. Follow the sign marked “Book Cliffs Access.” Continue south, crossing the Green River after seven miles; from this point continue on for another 12 miles until you see a sign on the left for Fantasy Canyon. Follow the small signs along this dirt road until you arrive at the Fantasy Canyon parking area. Do not attempt this clay road during or after a rain, since even a four wheel drive vehicle will slide right off the road’s edge. Be sure you have plenty of fuel and water and don’t get lost.

Overnight: Vernal has a very new (and very nice) Springhill Suites where you can stay for 10k Marriott Points.

Day 4

Before leaving Vernal, get breakfast at Betty’s Cafe (unless you did opt for the Springhill Suites and already indulged in complimentary breakfast). You’ll be driving a fair amount today, but break it up with stops at whatever seems interesting.

For the explorer: It wouldn’t hurt to stop in for a run on the Park City Alpine Slide. Other than that, there are dozens of pull offs where you can stop in on State parks and possibly see some wildlife.

For the history-seeker: If the kids (or the adults for that matter) aren’t dinosaur-ed out, you’ll want to visit the Utah Field House of Natural History Museum. There are hands-on activities and more background to the prehistoric stories that innundate the area.

For the landscape-lover: I doubt you’ll tire of the desert panoramas, but by the end of your return to the Salt Lake Valley you’ll be refreshed by some greener scenery. To add to the picturesque mountain drive, take State Highway 35 through Wasatch National Forest.

We hope you enjoyed our Canyonlands/Arches/Dinosaur Road Trip loop. If you make the trek, come back and comment to share what other wonders you discovered. We hope that this will be the first of many adventures we take together.

Posted in Marriott Rewards | Tagged canyonlands and arches, moab roadtrip, ut, utah roadtrips, vernal | 1 Comment

Current Credit Card Issuers

Posted on April 2, 2012 by wpengine

Here is a list of the current credit card companies that are offering credit cards that are associated with travel and some tips about how they work.

Chase

Remember that Chase will allow you to apply for a new personal credit card every 30 days. Don’t bother applying for two too close together or they will deny you. Also, they have a reconsideration phone line that can be called 24 hours a day to explain why you think that you should have been accepted for the offer.

Sometimes if you already have existing credit cards open with Chase they will allow you to downgrade a credit line or transfer an old card to the new one so you can be approved.

Chase also is pretty strict on allowing one sign on bonus per customer per life of the card. So if you are going to apply for one, make sure you get the best one available.

American Express

Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express. Apply now.
Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express
The Platinum Card® from American Express
American Express(R) Premier Rewards Gold Card
Hilton HHonors Surpass Card

American Express will allow you to apply for more than one card a month and you can even apply for mulitple cards in one day. It is still unclear to me if they consolidate all of the pulls from one day into a single pull. That would be awesome, but I’m not here to promise that.

There are mixed reviews as to whether or not these guys will allow you to hit more than one offer per card. Many people tell me that they have gotten the same bonus for the same card time and time again. I personally can’t confirm it, but some people have had success doing that.

Most American Express cards will waive the annual fee for the first year and then have one to tack on the card after the first year. Very rarely will they drop the fee, but you might get them to give you some additional points for keeping your card open. It is always worth a try.

Citi

These guys are famous for the double whammy on their offers. If you apply for one of their cards using one web browser, but then a few minutes later you can apply for the same card on another browser. There are thousands of people who can attest that they scored two cards at once and got bonuses on both cards. Citi is amazing for this.

Citi has been known to offer their bonuses to people who apply for the same card, but only after waiting approximately 18 months between approvals on that particular card. That is not official, but from a pretty good source that is the current status of their bonuses.

Capital One

Venture Card

I’ve included these guys because they have had some amazing offers in the past, but their current offer is nothing great unless you somehow spent $50,000 on one single credit card last year.

They pull from all three credit bureaus, which is a total downer on your churning.

Bank of America

Once again, this is unconfirmed but I understand that these cards are churnable. They usually tack on the annual fee for the first year, which makes them tough to justify.

Barclaycard

US Airways

These guys have no annual fee the first year and a pretty easy 40K, which is pretty useful. It is also rumored that this card is churnable, but once again I don’t have any experience with them.