Take a Photo Journey of Our North Carolina Family Vacation

Posted on September 17, 2014 by wpengine

Not very long ago I talked with you guys about our fun family vacation that we had planned to visit Eastern North Carolina. We used the benefit from the US Airways MasterCard to book the flights. My job paid for my flight, so I was only responsible for the $99 Companion Certificate in addition to the taxes for both of them. Now that we’re back, we want to take you on a photo journey of our trip!

My Beautiful Wife and Daughter

companion certificate

Ready for Takeoff!

Incredible Mountains from the Air
wing in the air

I’m usually not taking too many pictures from the wing because I feel like it’s become a cliche, but I particularly liked this shot of the mountains below as we flew over Arizona.

Pepsi Cola was Born in New Bern, North Carolina

New Bern

In New Bern, North Carolina is where Caleb Bradham first invented Pepsi-Cola

Mountain Dew

At the Birthplace of Pepsi they had a wall dedicated to their best beverage ever created!

Since I like, love, am addicted to, can’t live without Mountain Dew this place was awesome. My sister in law, who loves Pepsi, asked me to take a moment of silence for her as I walked on “Holy Ground” as she called it.  I ordered a Pepsi from the same location that Caleb Bradham first created the drink, and it felt awesome.

The North Carolina Beaches

 

North Carolina Beaches

My daughter crawling toward the ocean.

My little girl LOVED the beach. She doesn’t have tons of experience with the beach, but I’m making every effort to allow her to experience it as often as possible.

photo journey

My Son Flying a Kite at the beach.

You better not go to the beach without a kite!

Photo Journey of North Carolina

This is our family footprints. It is amazing how fast these change.

I love this photo!

Atlantic Beach

Atlantic Beach at Sunset

Yep. This was basically paradise! It was amazing because we were able to take this picture after my workday. Hopefully your job will allow you to work remotely sometime so you can enjoy this after work with the family too!

The History of Eastern North Carolina

patriot tombstone

This tombstone is found in the graveyard in front of the chapel in New Bern, NC

It appears as though James Green was a true patriot who fought for our independence. He is one of many who will probably never be recognized. Seeing his grave gave me a new appreciation for our Independence Day and for many people who have been forgotten in spite of their great accomplishments. Thanks James!

North Carolina Outer Banks

The lighthouse at Cape Lookout

This lighthouse was built upon an island in 1859. It served as a beacon in the night saving many weary seaman who were seeing safety or returning home to their families. It made me grateful that my job doesn’t require me to be far from my family often.

Beaufort, NC

Check out the free Maritime Museum in Beaufort, NC

This museum is completely FREE, and it has a lot of information. They give kids a treasure hunt as they seek clues throughout the museum to occupy them as you finally get a moment to soak up the history included with this quality museum. You can see many artifacts that have been recovered from both Blackbeard’s ship as well as other remnants from other ships of the same era.

shipwreck

This was a bell found near the shipwreck of Capitain Blackbeard’s famous ship Queen Annie’s Revenge

Civil War Battlesite

Beneath Fort Macon

Fort Macon is an old Civil War battle site that represents one of many battles during this difficult time in our country’s history. The fort is well preserved, easy to find, and free to visit. They provide a video that gives more information regarding the history of the fort. I recommend you watch the video before touring the fort itself.

Our Next Home

Beaufort, NC home

My wife and I both agreed that this house looks like our next home!

Everything about this home appealed to my wife and I. We liked the color, the picket fence, the dormers, etc. It looks like if we ever get a chance to build a house, it just may look something like this.

Spending time with Family

Helicopterskiddos

It’s always a bit stressful going on a family vacation. Anytime you begin to spend 100% of your time with three other indiviudals who have different levels of maturity (I have the lowest haha), different needs, wants, and ages can make life tough. We had our stressful moments, but these pictures help me to remember how much I love my family. The remind me of the tough things we passed through, and the happiness that it was able to bring to us.

I encourage you to earn the points, save up a few shekels, and plan a fun family vacation. It will create memories that you’ll never forget. Take lots of pictures so you can remind the kids of all the fun things you’ve done together. I promise that it will all be worth it in the end.

Posted in Family Travel, Fun Travel Stories, How to Wanderlust, Mastercard, Travel Itineraries, US Airways | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

One Credit Card Application, Two Vacations for Two People

Posted on September 15, 2014 by Brad Christensen

If you’re like the majority of people, you’ve dabbled with frequent flyer miles.  You probably have a small balance with one airline and you may even have a card that gives you miles.  Maybe once in the past five years you’ve actually had enough miles to get one free flight, but you don’t see this as a way to feed a travel addiction… the rewards are just too few and far in between.

We are among a group of travel hacking bloggers who’ve gone well beyond “dabbling.” You may even say we are abusing them.  Over the past 4 years, my wife and I have applied for 39 credit cards and accumulated more than 2,500,000 miles and points in various programs, taken the entire family of 6 to Colombia, Panama, and Florida, and traveled as a couple to Italy, Costa Rica, and soon to Hawaii among numerous other vacations. We’ve done it for a fraction of what it costs others because we’re smart about using our everday purchasing to meet minimum spending requirements and receive travel reward bonuses with lots of digits and commas.

I’m not inviting you to enlist in the ranks of those of us who spend hours daydreaming about these things, but I am inviting you to taste just a little sample of what it would be like to have an award-wallet stuffed full of points and miles that will open the door to incredible adventures.

There’s one particular offer right now that is alluring to someone just wanting to have some more resources to do a couple more vacations and not feel guilty about spending the kids’ college funds. I can see having a little hesitation about jeopardizing a credit score for 25k measly points – a single flight? That’s only like $500 in value… which is still good, (especially considering that the impact to your credit score is minimal as long as you do the two most important things: 1) Make your payments on time. 2) Make your payments in full.  Never miss a payment and never keep a balance. Only use credit cards to make purchases you’d otherwise make with cash). But if you could make that two free flights, well, now it’s getting interesting.

So here’s how it goes.  US Airways is merging with American Airlines, but they still have a co-branded credit card available for a limited time with Barclaycard. The US Airways Premier World MasterCard® has some awesome benefits, but a lot of them go away after the end of this year, so it’s really a “strike fast” opportunity. In order to get approved, you probably need to have a good credit score (above 720), and you do have to pay the $89 annual fee the first year. Here are the key details:

  1. 40,000 Dividend Miles after first purchase (and paying the $89 annual fee)
  2. Free Checked Bag for all flights booked on US Airways for yourself and up to 4 companions on the same itinerary.
  3. Redeem flights for 5000 fewer miles on USAirways.  (This benefit ends at the end of 2014)
  4. One Companion certificate good for up to two guests on USAirways operated flights for up to $99 each plus taxes and fees.  (This benefit ends at the end of 2014)

Premier World Mastercard

Two Vacations for Two People

Now again, if you’re not doing this all day every day, like we are, you’ll wonder what all this translates to.  And I’ve broken it down like this – two trips for two people – one in which you’ll only have to pay the taxes, and one in which you’ll pay the full fare for one, then use the companion certificate to add another for $99 plus taxes and fees.

Because you have the 5k reduction, you can travel within and between the US, Canada, Alaska, and the Carribbean for 20k each. Let me say that again – your 40k points could get two of you to a lot of freaking places for nothing more than the fees and taxes on the flight (usually under $70 each).

On your second trip, you’ll use the companion pass and pay full price for your first ticket (say $400), plus $99 and taxes for a total of something like $550 for two RT flights.

Where could you go?

This is the part I get excited about.  When we say “two vacations” it just sounds so plain.  When you put places to them, it really gives the idea life and makes me happy. My favorite thing to do is to just go look at the route map and let my wanderlust guide me.

US Airways Route Map

 

I generally fly out of SLC, so this is what I got… not a whole lot of places I couldn’t go. One that jumps out at me initially is Halifax – how cool would it be to go to Nova Scotia in the fall? I dare you to go to Google Images and type in “Nova Scotia Fall.” This is what you’ll get:

Nova Scotia Fall

And let’s make that second trip a visit to Key West in December.

Key West

I could settle for this view while it’s winter in Idaho.

But the amazing thing is that these points could help you do anything you want. Even if all you want is to visit family or to go to a work conference.

If it just so happens that you aren’t able to find a place to use your 40k US Airways points… don’t you fear, they’ll eventually merge with American Airlines and that’s about the best thing that could happen because your 40k AA points could take you to Europe the same way they took Nicole and me to Italy last fall. You could use them to go to Dublin like some other WorldWanderlusting followers. Or try them out on Spain the way we mapped it out for you in this post.

If you have the slightest hint of wanderlust, then try “spending” a few points of your credit score and paying an $89 annual fee to get the US Airways Premier World MasterCard® – the card that will enable you to take two people on two vacations.

And if it’s a good idea once, just think what doors this would open if you were to apply separately for your spouse – effectively doubling your travel power.

The last thing we want is for our followers to be irresponsible with credit decisions, but the second to last thing we want is for them to sit home and want and wish about what it would be like to go and do the incredible things that they daydream of.

We’ve only got one life to live and there’s nothing that says we have to live it right where we are.  Join the travel hacking revolution and step into a world where the map above is not a dream of where you might go in some faraway future day, but where you might go before the end of this year.

Thanks for wanderlusting with us!

Brad

Posted in Barclaycard, Florida, US Airways | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

How Your Local Zoo Pass Could Save You Tons

Posted on September 12, 2014 by wpengine

My wife and I decided to buckle down this year and get an annual pass to our local zoo.  We live in a small town, which actually has a decent little zoo.  We live less than a mile from away, so it is super convenient for us.  We spent $45 for the year, and we’ve easily made our money back in a number of visits to keep the kids entertained.

Tautphaus

Welcome to the Idaho Falls Zoo

At this point you’re probably thinking, “Sheldon, this is a travel blog, not a zoology class.”  I would tell you that you’re right, but I wanted to show you how cool our zoo pass was for us last week when we spent time in North Carolina.

North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll

Pine Knoll Aquarium

Prices

One of the big highlights that everyone told us that we needed to see was the aquarium on Emerald Island.  They raved about its features, animals, and live exhibits.  Being a tighter than tight guy, I was puckering at the thought of spending $33 to go look at animals for a couple of hours.  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate zoos, it’s the spending of the money that gives me heartburn.  (That’s why I love using points to travel places for next to nothing)

We decided to make the plunge as we had traveled across the country, and everyone had recommended it, we figured it was worth it.  There was something in the back of my mind that told me to check the Zoo reciprocity list from the Idaho Falls Zoo to see if the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores was on the list.  Right as we approached the front desk I noticed it was on the list.  Yahoo!!

I proudly flashed my membership card to the Idaho Falls Tautphaus Park Zoo to the attendant.  She researched for a moment, and came back and said, “It looks like it worked.  You can enter for free.”  My excitement level was higher about my savings than the idea of seeing the zoo.  (Can you tell that this can be embarrassing for my wife?)

How was the Pine Knoll Aquarium?

It was at this point that I realized we had made the right decision. When all is said and done, I gladly would have paid the entrance fee.  This place was legit!

shark

Name’s Bruce (Finding Nemo line)

Right as we arrived we had a chance to watch the scuba divers jump into the shark infested tank.  They swam with the sharks in the tank.  You can even see them in the background of this photo. Later they fed the fish in the tank, and these guys aren’t like my kids.  They left no trace.  My kids are covered from head to toe after breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Our kids had a great time exploring everywhere.  They were able to see snakes, lizards, turtles, sharks, jellyfish, and so much more.  There is no way we could have shown our kids all of these animals in the wild, taking them to the Pine Knolls Aquarium was definitely the way to make this happen.

pine knoll shores

My kids checking out the shark

One of the biggest highlights for me was the jellyfish tank. These animals are scarier than the clown on “It.” Somehow that show still scars me and I haven’t seen it since 6th grade. They also remind me of the movie 7 Pounds with Will Smith. That’s the sad, emotional, tearjerker where he gives up all of his body parts to people who medically need them.  He throws the jellyfish in the bath with him, and the thing takes him down in NO time flat.

aquarium

These things are awesome!

If you have a zoo pass from your hometown, look and see where it might be able to take you for free or at least a discounted rate. Something like this can help your dollars stretch farther than ever before. In our case it saved us $33, which almost paid for the pass at my local zoo! Consider saving on your next vacation.

At WorldWanderlusting we’re always trying to help you to save more on your next vacation. What other tips do you have for everyone else who is trying to travel the world?

Posted in Children's Travel, Family Travel, Travel Tips, Travel Tricks | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Free Travel Without the Credit Cards

Posted on September 8, 2014 by Brad Christensen

Love the idea of free travel, but hate the idea of applying for credit cards? We have the answer for you.

Not all of the 2 million frequent flyer miles and points I have at the ready to execute on a myriad of adventures were accumulated by signing up for credit cards. Certainly the majority of them have come that way and they’ve never come cheaper or easier – as I only use my credit cards to make purchases I’d make anyways – but some of them have come from special promotions like the one I’m about to share with you.

We canceled our DirecTV service about 6 months ago, and until this weekend, we haven’t missed it a bit.  But as football season started up again, I find myself craving the availability of college and NFL football games.  So far I’ve watched more in person than I’ve watched on TV – part of my incentive in canceling the service in the first place was to save enough money to buy season tickets. But I’m already wondering if I might need to re-up with new service from DirecTV, and when I got this offer emailed to me, It made the attraction that much stronger.

The offer that’s so tempting is that right now signing up for DirecTV could get me 25k AA points.  That in and of itself is a very appealing opportunity as I’ll show you in a moment what 25k AA points could get you. But before I get to that, consider that in addition to the free travel, they’re also offerring NFL Sunday Ticket for free, along with the Genie DVR, and 3 months of Cinemax, HBO, and Showtime. Geez, they know how to make it all the more exciting to a guy like me.

And before you write this off and think, “Oh I already have DirecTV, or Dish, or whatever,” you ought to know that changing these things – even in creative ways like re-upping with the same provider but using your spouse’s name to get a better price and benefit, is far more common than you’d think.

Just a limited time offer

Just a limited time offer

But for those of you who are less into the points and miles thing – let me show you what an awesome deal this could work out to be.

What does 25k AA points get me?

  • A RT ticket in the US (25k).  Depending on how I use this – it could be of very little value, or a ton of value to me.  If I used it for a flight from SLC to LAX, it might be valued at only $300, but if I used it to go from Portland, OR to Portland, ME, it may be worth $800.
  • Most of a RT ticket to Northern South America (30k). With 5k more of my own miles, these could take me to Manaus, Brazil or to Cuenca, Peru to go to Machu Picchu. At that point, they could be worth almost $1000.
  • Some of a RT ticket to Europe (40k). Yes, I’d have to have 15k of my own miles, but put them together and I’d be off to Europe again.  I could even book an open-jaw flight and stop over in a gate city.  I love this idea and I think the 40k sAAver ticket to Europe on select dates between Oct 15 and May 15 is the single best value  in all of frequent flyerdom.

But what will it cost to sign up for DirecTV?

Don’t quote me on this, but I read that the minimum would be $29.99/mo – and I assume with fees it would be at least $35.  I think it’s also safe to assume that for the second year of the two year commitment, it would be closer to $50/mo.  Add that up and we’re looking at at least $1020. So it’s not like there’s a ton of arbitrage here.  There’s a reason they are offering the deal.

But even so, if I find enough value in the points and in having the TV service itself, this would be worth doing.  Essentially if I use the points right, they pay for the service by yielding me a free trip.

What else do I think about?

The fact is, there are better offers right now on credit cards.  In the past few weeks, we’ve written a few times about how you could get the Citi Platinum Select/AAdvantage World Mastercard, spend $3000 you were going to spend anyway over the course of three months, and harvest the 50k AA mile bonus, but maybe you already did that or maybe you’re just not willing.

But what is Brad going to decide to do?

I’m inclined to keep saving the money I’d have spent on TV and let these miles pass me by… but… because I’m a cheeky bugger and I just can’t wonder what would have happened “if…” I think I’ll make a phone call and see if they’d be willing to up the ante a bit.  I’ll ask if they could sweeten the pot to 40k AA miles and if they’ll do that, I’ll be watching Peyton shred another team’s defense next Sunday… with my laptop fixed on AA.com and searching for dates for a springtime trip to Ireland. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Thanks for looking into another way to wanderlust with us. Please share our site with your friends on social media.

Posted in American Airlines | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Discover Prague, Vienna, and Munich with Seven Free Hotel Nights

Posted on September 2, 2014 by Brad Christensen

Are you unsatisfied with your mundane existence and longing to see the wonders of Europe?

Are you nervous that spending money on travel is an irresponsible decision when there are so many other items you need to buy?

Are you convinced that you’ll never get to fully experience the world’s beauty the way you want to until you’re old and no longer have the energy or interest to do it?

WorldWanderlusting is chock full of more than 400 posts – all dedicated to helping you banish the phrase “I’d love to travel, I just can’t afford it” from your mind. We’ve discovered the world of travel hacking and it’s made our lives so infinitely much richer. We’re not keeping any secrets to ourselves and genuinely offering to be your free travel agents for almost-free travel.

In this post, we’ve put together a marvelous itinerary with flights that you can book with very few points and/or dollars, 7 free nights in hotel rooms, and a $229 9-day car rental on a circuit through Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, and even a little corner of Slovakia to see some of the best cities, towns, and sights in Europe.  Prague Loop

What this requires is a tolerance for a foriegn idea, the idea that you can use your good credit to apply for credit cards with huge travel reward bonuses, your everyday spending to meet the minimum spending requirements to receive those bonuses, and your good judgement to ensure that all your bills are paid on time and in full, so that you win the game of obtaining huge benefits without bad consequences.

You can do it.  I know you can… because I’ve been doing it for four years now and between my wife and I, we’ve applied for 38 cards and accumulated more than 2 million frequent flyer miles, taken our family to do incredible things, and together created experiences that we thought could only belong to the mega-wealthy.

Now, settle in and enjoy.

Flights

Here’s the lowdown – there’s no better frequent flyer program to fly to Europe in coach on points, than American Airlines’ AAdvantage.  Between October 15th and May 15th, you can fly from the US to Europe for 40k AA points and a pittance in fees/taxes. Because using points requires a lot of flexibility, we plan these trips as loops to provide for maximum availability.  You could fly into and/or out of any of the three major cities along the route and make it work. Here is an example of an itinerary that I found that could work for the loop I’ve designed.

prague american airlines

One way to Prague for $104 and 20k AA miles

Munich on AA

Munich to SLC for $118 and 20k AA miles

If you’re not just masquerading as a travel junkie, your mouth is watering and you’re thinking “how can I get my hands on 40k AA miles.” Well, you’ve come to the right place. Right now, this is the best and easiest way t0 get those miles: Get the Citi Platinum Select/AAdvantage World Mastercard. After meeting the minimum spending of $3000 in the first three months, you’ll get 50k AA points.  There’s no annual fee for the first year. After meeting the first spending requirement, you could also sign up your spouse and accumulate 50k more so they can come along as well.

Hotels (all free)

Paying so little for a flight to Europe is exhilarating, but what if we could add in 7 free nights, as well?  The best way to go about this is the Chase Marriott Rewards card, which, for a limited time, is offering 70k points, plus 1 more free night when you sign up for the card and meet the $2,000 minimum spending requirement with in the first 3 months. The annual fee is also waived for the first year.

Hotel reward points work like this – each hotel is categorized and requires a certain amount of points to book.  Marriott’s Category 3 hotels require 15k points/night, and lucky for us, there are an abundance of them in this part of Europe.  Also, when you book 4 nights in the same hotel, the 5th night is points-free, so we’ll spend 60k points on 5 nights in one hotel in Vienna (where we’ll base most of the day-trips),10k points on one night in Prague, and the last free night on a hotel in Munich.

That’s a total of 7 free nights in Marriott hotels in Europe – something you’d otherwise spend at least $1000 on.  Save your $1000 for touring castles and eating schnitzel.

Transportation

Munich car rentalYes, you can take a train pretty much everywhere, but I just love the feeling of freedom that comes with renting a car.  With GPS what it is today, I almost never get lost and I can detour to see whatever strikes my fancy. I never “miss” a train and have to wait at a station, and I can go and see the “off-the-beaten-path” sights. Depending on where you fly in and out of, you may find it amazingly inexpensive to rent a car. I checked Expedia, and for a round trip flight in and out of Munich, we could get ourselves a nice little fuel-efficient car for $177 for the 7 days – pretty incredible and a small price to pay for the freedom it affords.

The Vacation

I’ve done a couple of other posts exactly like this one on using Marriott points in Spain, but in this itinerary, we’re focused on this loop through Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic.

Day 1: Prague

English: Charles Bridge in Prague. Español: Pu...

Charles Bridge in Prague.(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

You’ll arrive to Prague early in the morning and take advantage of the full day to get into the city and start seeing the myrad of sights. Really to do this place justice, you’d need to spring for a couple more nights, but we’ll pretend you’re as cheap as I am and you’re going to cram it all in in a day and a half. For a great overview of what to do in Prague, check out this guest post by one of our WorldWanderlusting followers, but whatever you do, don’t miss a stroll across Charles Bridge.

Overnight Prague Courtyard Marriott Category 2 (10k points)

Day 2: Prague and drive to Vienna

While you probably saw most of the great sights of Prague yesterday, you’ll have most of the day to see what you missed.  Check out the Museum of Communism or go to the top of Petrin hill, but you need to be on the road in time to get to Vienna tonight – which should take about 3-4 hours regardless of whether you go by car or train.

Overnight Courtyard Marriott Vienna Messe Category 3 (15k points )

Day 3: Vienna

Your hotel is right near the subway stop, so exploring Vienna should be easy. While many cities jockey for the title of “The City of Music,” Vienna may be best positioned to claim that title.  You’ll want to make time to visit the Stadtpark where there will likely be a concert, and even if there’s not, you can listen to the classics on your iPod while viewing the busts of great composers like Strauss. Also, don’t miss the Naschmarkt where you can sample local foods, buy trinkets and even antiques, and enjoy the Austrian culture. You may also want to enjoy a street vendor sausage from a Wurstelstand.

Overnight Courtyard Marriott Vienna Messe Category 3 (15k points)

Day 4: Day trip to Bratislava

Slovak National Theatre (old building)

Slovak National Theatre (old building) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Just one hour by car or train from Vienna, you can find yourself in the capital of neighboring Slovakia – Bratislava. The Primatial Palace is an incredibly beautiful building – still serving as the city government building.  In fact, the city council meetings are held in the Hall of Mirrors – a spectacular site with a history to match it.

If you’re looking for an amazing cultural experience at a fraction of the price (who am I kidding – of course you are, that’s why you’re on our blog), make arrangements to see a performance at the Slovak National Theatre).

Overnight Courtyard Marriott Vienna Messe Category 3 (15k points )

Day 5: Day trip to Melk

Your main purpose in visiting Melk is to see the Melk Abbey.  The abbey was built in 1732 and lacks nothing in the way of lavishness – gold, marble, and ornate carvings are in abundance.

Also, the quaint little town of Melk is more than welcoming with small restaurants and a much more countryside feel than the larger cities you’ve been visiting.  Soak it up and enjoy the change of scenery.

Overnight Courtyard Marriott Vienna Messe Category 3 (15k points )

Day 6: Day Trip to Kreuzenstein Castle

Kreuzenstein-Castle-Amazing-572x322If you happen to be visiting between November and March, unfortunately this one won’t be an option for you, but I’m hoping you took my advice and you’re there in the shoulder season. This castle is perched high on a hilltop and has all the features that make a castle a castle – a draw bridge, a moat, and secret tunnels. Touring this castle will be like being transported back to medieval times.

Only an hour from Vienna, you could easily make this visit and still be back for a final evening meal in the city before departing the next day.

Overnight Courtyard Marriott Vienna Messe Category 3 (5th night free)

Day 7: Salzburg/Halstatt on the way to Munich

Get an early start on your drive or train journey today because you’ll be spending most of your time closer to Munich.

As the setting for the Sound of Music, Salzburg is what most people conjure when they think of Austria. Enjoy the Mirabell gardens and whatever else you’d like, but save time for a visit to another neighboring village – Halstatt.

Hallstatt_300Halstatt an old salt-mining village right alongside a gorgeous lake and surrounded by mountains.  When you read this excellent overview of a walking tour of the city by bigboytravel.com, you’ll find a way to stay the night here and give the town its due.

Overnight Courtyard Marriott Munich East Category 3 (Use free night).

Day 8: Munich and Depart

Again, you really shouldn’t do this to yourself.  There is far too much to see in Munich for you to spend but one single night here. But for the sake of planning an almost completely free vacation, we’ll say that you have just one day to see as much as possible.

Luckily, this is another town we’ve already explored in greater depth in another post – Things to do in Munch. Here’s a quick summary:

  • Marienplatz, the main public square of the city, is a great place to start along with the nearby market.  The clock or glockenspiel on the town hall has moving figurines which reenact Bavarian history. Appropriately enough, the name for “Town Hall” in German is “Rathaus.”
  • I’m a sucker for science museums and from the moment you first set foot in Germany, you know that these guys clearly understand it as well as anyone.  Visit the Deutsches Museum and you’ll get the idea.
  • The English Garden puts Central Park to shame, full of wooded paths and a moving waterway, and even a nudist area.

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If you liked this post, read this one about our 13-day itinerary from Venice to Rome, or this one about nine free nights in Spain.

If you loved this post, read this one about WorldWanderlusters who booked an $85 trip to Ireland, and like us on Facebook.

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If you’re entertained by the idea, but nervous about what applying for travel reward credit cards will do to your credit, read Doesn’t it Hurt my Credit?

 

Posted in Chase, Europe, Marriott Rewards, Travel Itineraries | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

How to book your US Airways Companion Certificate

Posted on August 28, 2014 by wpengine

Hurray!  Your US Airways Companion Certificate has arrived!  You’re excited to book your trip, but you realize that the fine print on this thing is crammed on the page.  This thing has more rules than the English language, so buckle up and we’ll walk you through the rules and teach you how to book the trip.

US Airways Companion Certificate

What is the US Airways Companion Certificate?

This is a huge benefit that is offered with the The US Airways Premier World MasterCard® credit card.   The card won’t be available for long, so if you’re interested in picking it up, do so quickly.

The certificate comes in the mail and looks like the photo above.  This certificate is a one-time offer, and will not be a renewable benefit for upcoming years.

You must book a flight that is over $250 for the cardholder.  This benefit is not transferrable to another individual.  The cardholder must be flying to use this benefit, and you must use the US Airways Premier World Mastercard to book the flight. (You want to anyway because you’ll earn 2x the miles by using this card anyway.   Up to your next two companions can fly for $99 each plus taxes.

They have a boatload of restricted dates, as well as a few restricted locations.  See your certificate to review these dates and make sure you’re not planning on traveling on those days .

How do I search for my flight?

  • Go to USAirways.com
  • Input the dates of your flight and the airports as well
  • Tell them how many passengers will be flying (either 2 or 3 total)***This is important.  If you only choose 1 passenger, the price at the end might be more expensive.  They make the cardholder pay for the average price of the three tickets even though you’re only paying for the first one.  Kinda a bummer, but a reality.

us airways companion certificate

  • Choose Low Fare Finder
  • Choose Weekly View (This is for people who have rather flexible dates)

us airways low fare finder

  • Sort the flights by the cheapest Coach flights by clicking on the “Coach” fare.

find us airways flight

  •  Pick the flight that works best for your schedule, travel time, and price that works well for both the outgoing flight and the return flight as well.
  • Once you’ve selected the price for both flights it will come to a final price that looks like this below:

US Airways flight price

  •  This price is the ticket price for the cardholder, the companions will then fly for $99 each plus the taxes, which usually amounts to $300 for both companions. As a ballpark you’re looking at paying $689 for the three passengers, which is a fantastic deal considering that all three passengers still earn miles for flying on the flight.
  • Call and book it now.  Do it while you can give them the specific flight numbers.
  • Daydream all of the fun things you’ll do on your vacation!

How do I book the US Airways Companion Certificate?

Because US Airways’ website isn’t the best piece of technology on the World Wide Web you cannot book this online.  You need to call the phone number listed on the certificate (800) 428-4322 so you can visit with a Reservation Representative.

When their endless hold finally ends with a rep, now is your chance to give them some info to get the flight booked:

  • Give them the numbers on the certificate that they request to ensure that the voucher is valid.
  • They’ll check the dates to make sure the days of your flights aren’t blackout dates.
  • Then they will request the flight itinerary, and because you still have the flight numbers on your screen they’ll be able to find your proposed itinerary quickly.
  • Ensure that the price they’re quoting matches what you found following the above mentioned steps.
  • Give them your The US Airways Premier World MasterCard® number and they’ll gladly accept your money. Remember that you get two points for every dollar, so that will be nice!
  • Follow the steps on the certificate that tell you where to send the certificate when the flight has been booked.  Include the information requested and mail the certificate to them the day you book your flight.

That’s the process.  Now your flight is booked and you’re on your way to your destination.  I just recently booked a flight using this benefit because my points wouldn’t work on the days that I needed to travel.

Reasons Why the US Airways Companion Certificate Rocks:

  • You can fly into any airport, even the smaller airports that are usually more expensive.
  • It allows two people to fly for roughly $300.  This works great when your work will pay for your flight, and you can add two family members for $300.
  • Although it has quite a few blackout dates, you can usually adjust by picking a slightly different day.
  • All flyers earn miles! (This is what the rep told me.  I should be able to tell you for sure after I take my upcoming trip)

Last Thoughts

What are your thoughts about the US Airways Companion Certificate?  Have you used this benefit?

Posted in Credit Cards, Family Travel, Mastercard, Travel Tips, Travel Tricks, US Airways | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Get paid $50 to accept $3,281 in free travel

Posted on August 25, 2014 by Brad Christensen

Right now the airline loyalty credit card reward programs have a bit of a price war going on. Both Delta and United are offering 50k points after meeting rather small minimum spending requirements of $1000(Delta) and $2000(United) in the first three months on their respective cards, waiving the annual fee for the first year, and providing a $50 statement credit. Yes, that’s right, they’re actually paying you to take enough points to do two roundtrip flights in the US, or any of a number of other amazing almost-free travel deals.

Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express

Chase United Mileage Plus Explorer

So I’m going to be bold.  Don’t choose just one of these cards, choose both.  I say get both of them now while the bonus is much bigger than it normally is (25-35k on Delta and 30k on United).

Why do I say that? Each program has its strengths and you… you just want to see the world… whether it’s flying on Delta and its partners or United and its partners.

To give you an example… we invited an exchange student to stay with us for this school year.  She’s from Tromso Norway, which is damn near the North Pole. One look at some incredible pictures of the Northern Lights and the fjords of Norway, and I was totally convinced I wanted to go.

Photo from Sky Today

Photo from Sky Today

I imagined the tickets would be preposterously expensive, so I took a look… at least $2000.  Ouch.  So I tried out the idea of using Delta Skymiles to get there.  The best deal I could find was 125k and that was only to Oslo – we’d need to pay another $400-500 to get from there to Tromso.

Then I checked United. United has availabilty at the saver level – 60k points all the way to Tromso! Incredible value! That ticket would otherwise cost $3,281. That means my United miles would be valued at more than .05 each! Tack on another $50 and a single card application would net me more than $3300 in free travel. Talk about putting a perma-smirk on my face.

Obviously, in this case, I’d be best off to have an awardwallet socked full of United miles.  But before you run off and sign up for the United card alone, let me tell you about flights to Tel Aviv.

I also looked at availabilty to fly from SLC to TLV in February of 2015.  I was able to find it on both United and Delta loyalty programs, but on Delta I could do it for 85,000 while it was going to take 127,500 on United.

Photo from Catholiclane.com

Photo from Catholiclane.com

You may not be interested in visiting the icy slopes of Norway or the violence-plagued Holy Land, but these efficiencies play out in hundreds of other departure and destination itineraries.  As I said in a post not too long ago, when it comes to airline loyalty programs, it pays to be polygamist.

If you were to apply for both of these cards, you’d need to spend $1000 on the Delta card and $2000 on the United card before 90 days go by in order to meet your minimum requirement and recieve the bonus. Assuming you’re not much different from me, I’d imagine that you could put all of your expenses on one card one month, and all of your expenses on the other the second and third months

.

The idea, as readers of our blog are well-aware, is that you never use the card to make purchases you wouldn’t otherwise make. You’re not using the credit card as credit, but rather as a purchasing instrument – one that will enable you to take all kinds of almost-free trips to incredibly cool places like Norway and Israel.

If you wanted to get really aggressive, you’d apply for both of these cards individually for your spouse as well.  That way you don’t just have 100k points to work with, but 200k – to say nothing of the $200 ($50×4) in statement credits  you’ll have.  We’re talking all kinds of free money here.

Remember that your spouse has totally different credit from you, so don’t get drawn into the idea of just adding him or her as a second user – even if there’s a promise for another bonus on your account. For their credit to get checked and only receive 5k points is hardly what we’re after… we want the big numbers. We want an awardwallet with two commas.

But it bears saying that if you’re just getting started in this world and the idea of applying for four credit cards totally creeps you out, you’re probably better off to pick up the United Mileage Plus Explorer card. Those miles do tend to stretch a little further than the Delta Skymiles points in most instances.

Whenever you’re planning your trips, a great “home base” to get you started and from which you can find links to all the places you’ll need as you’re researching your options is our Using Airline Miles page.

There’s nothing we’d like more than to be the place from which you launch your journeys and the place you first come back to tell your stories. Thanks for Wanderlusting with us.

Posted in Delta, United | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments