Others Paid $5000 for a Hawaiian Vacation, Shara Paid $320

Posted on August 8, 2014 by Brad Christensen

This is a guest post by Shara. She and her husband have been followers of our blog since 2011 and in this post she tells us about how she got started and how they took an epic trip to Hawaii.  If you’d like to write a guest post for WorldWanderlusting, please email your 800-1500 word post and some photos to worldwanderlusting@gmail.com.  We’ll send you a $25 giftcard for taking the time to share.

The Beginnings: 

free travel

Shara and her family on their first trip with points to Florida

I started collecting miles and points at the end of 2011.  I kept getting flyers in the mail from Southwest Airlines enticing me to sign up for their credit cards offering two free flights.  I tossed them aside thinking it was one of those things that was too good to be true.

A few weeks after receiving my first mailer I somehow stumbled across your blog.  (I really wish I could remember how I found you guys in the first place!)  There was a post about the Southwest credit card, and I thought, “If they’re getting these free miles, I should be too!”  I signed us up for our first cards and we’ve never looked back since!  I always credit you guys for helping me believe in the beginning that free travel really wasn’t too good to be true!  We’ve since taken 14 round trip flights using Southwest points and we still have plenty to spare.

The Backstory: 

My husband and I have three children and we LOVE to travel with them, but sometimes I like to shed my “Mom” label (because I am never truly on vacation when I have my kids with me) and venture out to new places.  First up on our list was Costa Rica.  After reading your “Eight Great Days in Costa Rica” post my husband said, “Let’s do that!” We were still new to the miles and points game, so we mostly saved money on that trip by booking super cheap airfare and staying in really inexpensive hotels.  It was an amazing and adventurous trip.  However, seeing as much of Costa Rica as possible in just over a week and staying in questionable accommodations, was anything but relaxing and luxurious.

adventure travel

Rappelling in Costa Rica

The Planning: 

My husband and I had never been to Hawaii, so we determined with the miles and points we had it would make the perfect destination to fulfill our desire for a relaxing yet semi-adventurous trip.   We determined we would stay part of the time on Oahu and the other part on Maui.  Now the fun work began of figuring out which points to use and how to get the most out of them.

Airfare:

We used Delta SkyMiles for two roundtrip coach tickets to Honolulu. (Note: the amount of SkyMiles you need to go to Hawaii has now increased from what we spent.)  We got these points from a Delta 50,000 credit card targeted offer and existing points my husband had.  Since Delta partners with Alaska Airlines, I found the most availability using Alaska Airlines flights from Boise.  Frankly, I found no availability using Delta SkyMiles on actual Delta flights, go figure.  I booked the Alaska flights, even though we live much closer to Salt Lake City and preferred flights from there.  I figured free was free and if we needed to drive four hours instead of one we would be happy to do it.  I booked the flights about six months in advance.

A few months after booking I received notice that my flight times had changed and the new flight times were not as good.  I called Delta to see what I could do, and the agent told me to call back when the flight got closer.  I didn’t like this answer, but accepted it as the only thing I could do. About a month later the flights got changed again.  I called again and was told to wait until the flight got closer to do anything.  I didn’t want to wait; I was trying to make car rental and inter-island flight plans.  I told the agent I wanted to take care of it that day.  She was nice and asked me what I wanted to do.  In the end they switched us to direct flights between Salt Lake City and Honolulu. The new flights were on Delta so we got free luggage too (due to having the Delta credit card).  I was thrilled!  No more driving to Boise and direct flights to boot!

We also used American Airlines miles (which we earned during our Costa Rica trip) to fly the two of us one way from Honolulu to Maui.  We used United miles to fly both of us back to Honolulu for the flight home.

Hotels: 

We stayed 3 nights on the North Shore of Oahu in a VRBO rental.  We shared the cost with my brother-in-law and sister-in law who decided last minute to join us for a portion of the trip. This turned out to be great because I think if we had spent all our time in Honolulu/Waikiki we would not have liked Oahu as much.

The North Shore was very quiet and beautiful and it was nice to experience it without having to drive from the south every day.  The North Shore doesn’t have any points-accepting hotels yet, but the rumor when we were there was that Marriott was building a new hotel in Laie. Hopefully in the future that will be a good points option.

free trip to hawaii

Shara and Mike on the beach in Hawaii

After the first three nights we went to Waikiki.  We spent Hyatt points to stay at the Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach for two nights.  It was a great hotel and we were upgraded to a full ocean-view room. We enjoyed our time on Oahu and did things like snorkeled at Hanauma Bay, grilled hamburgers on the beach, enjoyed the sun, and went to Pearl Harbor and the Polynesian Cultural Center.

We left Oahu and flew to Maui.  We stayed four glorious nights in the Andaz Maui at Wailea hotel.  My husband and I each signed up for the Hyatt credit card that offers two free nights at any Hyatt and we combined them for our stay here. This hotel cost over $600/night for a non-view room!  We were upgraded here to an ocean-view room.  We loved being able to lie on our bed and watch whales breaching out our window.  We also took advantage of the free amenities like an outrigger canoe trip and a full photo session with a professional photographer from the on-location Pacific Dream Photography.  We were also able to snorkel from the beach here.  On Maui we drove the Road to Hana, went to a magic show in Lahaina and relaxed as much as possible.

Hawaii Waterfall

Mike at a waterfall on the Road to Hana

Summary

It was a great trip that was almost free!  We only paid about $120 for car rentals and gas.  Of course we also paid for activities and food, but that was easier to swallow considering the expensive stuff was already paid for with points!  I priced out the exact trip paying the going cash rate and it added up to almost $5,000.

Flights Cost Source of Miles/Points
SLC to HNL roundtrip (2 tickets) 80,000 Delta SkyMiles Delta SkyMiles credit card offer and existing points from previous trips.
HNL to OGG one-way (2 tickets) 10,000 American Airlines AAdvantage Miles Earned during trip to Costa Rica
OGG to HNL one way (2 tickets) 10,000 United MileagePlus Miles United credit card

 

Hotels Cost Source of Miles/Points
3 Nights North Shore Oahu $200
2 Nights Waikiki Beach 24,000 Hyatt points Transferred from Chase Ultimate Rewards
4 Nights Wailea, Maui 4 Hyatt Reward Nights Hyatt credit card

 

Posted in Delta, Guest Post, Hyatt, Island Vacations | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Don’t miss these increased bonuses on the Marriott and United cards

Posted on August 6, 2014 by wpengine

For a limited time offer you can get an increased bonus on two great Chase credit cards.  It seems like they only do these things but once a year, so if you’ve been looking at either the Chase United MileagePlus Explorer card or the Marriott Premier Rewards credit card.

Chase United MileagePlus Explorer for 50,000

Link: Chase United MileagePlus Explorer

mileageplus 50k

Offer ends September 2nd 2014

This card usually comes with a 30,000 bonus, which isn’t worth the application in my book.  The bump to 50k is an awesome push, and easily worth an application.  Here are the key points to this offer:

  • 50,000 bonus after spending $2000 within the first 3 months of opening the account
  • 5,000 bonus miles for adding an authorized user and they make a purchase within the first 3 months
  • Free checked bag on United flights
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • $50 statement credit after your first purchase
  • $95 annual fee is waived the first year
  • 2 United Club Passes (United airport lounge)

When all is said and done you’ll have roughly 57,000 MileagePlus miles in your account.  That puts you rather close to 60,000, so I figured I should show you what you can do with 60,000 miles.

  • 2 coach roundtrip tickets (50k) within the USA (if you have lots of flexibility booking the trip)
  • 1 coach roundtrip ticket to Europe (60k)
  • 1 coach roundtrip ticket to Hawaii (45k)
  • 1 coach roundtrip ticket to Southern South America (Brazil, Argentina, or Chile)
  • 1 one-way ticket to Australia, New Zealand (40k)
  • 1 one-way ticket to Oceania (35k)

Remember that you can always add more United miles to your AwardWallet by picking up a card that offers Ultimate Rewards.  This makes an easy way for you to constantly add more United miles to your account that can pick up enough miles to complete the roundtrip ticket to the destination of your choice.  Cards that offer Ultimate Rewards are:

  • Chase Sapphire Preferred
  • Chase Ink Bold (business)
  • Chase Ink Plus (business)

This offer ends on September 2nd, so make sure that you don’t miss it if you’ve been looking at adding the United card to your portfolio!

Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card for 70,000

Link: Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card

marriott rewards credit card

This card is AWESOME.  It is arguably the best hotel credit card offer that is currently out there.  Check out the awesome benefits of this card:

  • 70,000 bonus points after spending $1000 on your new card within 3 months
  • One free night at a category 1-4 for the first year(must be booked within the first 6 months of getting the card)
  • One free night at a category 1-5 hotel ever year on your anniversary
  • $0 introductory annual fee, then $85
  • No foreign transaction fees

With over 4000 hotels in their portfolio, you can guarantee that Marriott will have a hotel in your destination. The key is finding a hotel in the lower award categories.  This is crucial to not burning all of the Marriott points in one swing.

marriott 70000 offer

This is the Marriott Award Chart

You can see that the 70,000 Marriott Reward bonus from this card would offer:

  • 9 nights in a category 1
  • 7 nights in a category 2
  • 4 nights in a category 3
  • 3 nights in a category 4
  • 2 nights in a category 5,6, or 7

By staying in the lower categories you’re able to make the points last longer, stay more nights, eat more free breakfast, and sit in more hot tubs.  Finding the lower category hotels can be difficult, and will definitely require diligence, but also result in more value for each card you get.

Check out the properties and in which category they sit by using this property search.  You’ll notice that their categories are distributed on a bell curve.  They have few in the beginning, then it increases and the number of properties begins to decrease again at tier 6.

We’ve always preached diversity among hotel chains.  You need to have Marriott points, Starwood points, Club Carlson, IHG rewards, etc.  Now is the time to pick up this big offer on Marriott.

What do you think of these increased offers?  Do you have any questions about them?  Will you be getting either of these cards?

 

Posted in Chase, Chase Ultimate Reward Points, Credit Cards, Marriott Rewards, United | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

$65 Flights and 9 Free Hotel Nights on a Tour of Spain

Posted on August 4, 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 wonders 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 will cost you $65 each, 9 free nights in hotel rooms, and a $229 9-day car rental on a circuit through southern Spain – heavily influenced by the Moors, who undoubtedly left it richer from an architectural standpoint.Tour of Spain

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 ($65/ea)

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 I know you’re a skeptic and you should be, I’m attaching this screenshot that I just took after testing some dates in October.  Right now, I could book a flight from SLC to MAD and back for 40k points and $65. SLC to MAD on AA 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 $65 for a flight across the pond is exhilarating, but what if we could add in 9 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 2 hotels require 10k points/night, and lucky for us, there are an abundance of them in Spain.  Also, when you book 4 nights in the same hotel, the 5th night is points-free, so we’ll spend 40k points on 5 nights in one hotel in Madrid (where we’ll base most of the day-trips), 30k points on 3 more nights, and the one free night on a nicer, category 4 hotel.

That’s a total of 9 free nights in Marriott hotels in Spain – something you’d otherwise spend at least $1000 on.  Save your $1000 for delicious Spanish food and excellent historical site and museum entrances.

marriott Spain

Tons of Marriott Category 2 hotels in Spain

Transportation ($229+ fuel, tolls, and parking)

Madrid Car Rental Yes, 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. I checked Expedia, and we could get ourselves a nice little fuel-efficient car for $229 for the 9 days – pretty incredible and a small price to pay for the freedom it affords.

The Vacation

I’ve done another post on using Marriott points in Spain, in which we focused on my favorite part of Spain – the Basque country.  But in this itinerary, we’re focused on Moorish Spain – what is widely considered the best of Spanish attractions.

Day 1: Cordoba

The Roman bridge in Cordoba

The Roman bridge in Cordoba

You’ll arrive to Madrid early in the morning and take advantage of the full day to get the rental car and start making your way South to Cordoba. In Cordoba, you’ll have to see the Mezquita, the gardens of the Alcazar, the bridge and Torre de la Calahorra, and the narrow, winding streets of the Juderia. Celebrate your arrival to the old country by feasting on chorizo and manchego cheese, and seafood paella.

Overnight: Cordoba Marriott Category 3 (use free night)

Day 2: Granada

En route to Almeria, you’ll want to spend the majority of your day at the Alhambra Palace in Granada – no finer example of the Moorish mastery of architecture and perfect geometrical patterns exists. You’ll feast your eyes, but save some time to get into Almeria in time to catch a show at the Teatro Cervantes which is said to be haunted by an actress who was murdered there in 1922.

Photo: Mr. eNil

Courtyard at the Alhambra, Photo: Mr. eNil

Overnight AC Hotel Almeria Category 2 (10k points)

Day 3: Ronda

The drive itself is an attractive part of the journey as it takes you along the Alboran Sea at the mouth of the Mediterranean.  Take your time and stop at whatever looks interesting along the way, but leave some time to take in the city of Ronda – the birthplace of bull-fighting, which may not necessarily be an attraction, but the huge gorge it’s set upon and the stone bridge that connects it will most certainly be.

The bridge in Ronda Photo: Footootjes.nl

The bridge in Ronda Photo: Footootjes.nl

Plan for a picnic atop the bridge – pick up una barra de pan, some jamon serrano, and a local cheese.  There’s far more to see here as this is an area that was populated by the Celts and others as far back as the 6th century BC.

Overnight AC Hotel La Linea Category 2 (10k points)

Day 4: Gibraltar

Rock of Gibraltar, Photo: VagabondJourney.com

Rock of Gibraltar, Photo: VagabondJourney.com

Your hotel is named La Linea because it’s right near the line where Spain becomes the UK.  Of course you need to visit the Rock, where, strangely, while enjoying majestic views, you may also be accosted by a Barbary macaque – the only population of wild monkeys in Europe. Don’t let that stop you from pondering the impact of this small gateway to all of the Mediterranean.

Again, don’t spend all day here, though, because on the way to Seville, you’ll want to stop by an iconic Spanish hill town – Arcos de la Frontera. Get into Sevill early enough because if there’s a place in Spain to try out the nightlife, this is it.  Plan for a late night and enjoy the heart of Spanish culture.

Overnight AC Hotel Sevilla Forum Category 2 (10k points)

Day 5: Seville

This is when you’re glad you’re doing this trip in the off season, because Seville is scorching in the summer. If you’re not Moorish-Cathedraled-out, you’ll want to check out the Alcazar, but don’t let that keep you from seeing the real historical site – take a walk along Calle Betis along the Guadalquivir river. This is where Columbus docked on the return from his journey to the new world.Sevilla-Cathedral

Also, by the time you’re finished with Spain you may be tired of cathedrals, but the cathedral in Seville is not one to miss.  Take it all in in the morning and plan for a late drive into Madrid -it’s about 5 hours.

Overnight AC Hotel Coslada Aeropuerto Category 2 (10k points/5th free)

Day 6: Metro into Madrid

Tapas_in_the_window_of_a_Madrid_restaurantSleep in and catch up, but get to the metro station by 10:00am so that you have time to see Madrid.  There are so many choices, you’ve got to establish some priorities – if you’re into art museums, you need to go to El Prado.  If you prefer a leisurely stroll in a beautiful park, try El Retiro.  If you are a Real Madrid fan, take in a soccer game.

But you also couldn’t go wrong finding a plaza and settling in for delicious food. Plan for an evening of tapas in various bars and don’t be shy.

Overnight AC Hotel Coslada Aeropuerto Category 2 (10k points/5th free)

Day 7: Day trip to Segovia

One of, if not the most majestic “castle” sights in the world has to be the Alcazar in Segovia.  This city is jam-packed with other sites, so get an early start.  It’s about an hour drive from Madrid and you won’t have any problem filling the day with activities. If nothing else, you can spend the entire day photographing this masterpiece.

Alcazar Segovia

Overnight AC Hotel Coslada Aeropuerto Category 2 (10k points/5th free)

Day 8: Day trip to Toledo

If Seville was the heart of Spanish culture, then Toledo is the heart of Spanish conquest. Metalworking has always been a tradition of this city – such that blades made in Toledo became the standard for craftsmanship in Europe. If you were thinking of bringing home a souvenir, consider a bladed weapon from Toledo.

Toledo Spain

At a bare minimum, you can admire the handiwork at shops all over the city. There’s far more than just blades to buy, and all of the souvenirs seem to incorporate the varied ethnic and religious factions which played a role in creating what this city and what Spain is today.

Overnight AC Hotel Coslada Aeropuerto Category 2 (10k points/5th free)

Day 9: Day trip to Cuenca

I know, travel photo-porn is a problem today.  Until Google glasses perfect the HDR and filter overlays that we see in pictures, nothing will really look like what we see on pinterest and instagram.  Even so, you need to get some raw photos to work with to compete to impress people who look at these pictures all day and then never go visit them in person.

Photo by: reinante, Creative Commons

Photo by: reinante, Creative Commons

Cuenca is not a Spanish tourism highlight – in fact, it’s more likely that the name is associated by the city of the same name in Ecuador, but Cuenca is the kind of off-the-beaten-path place that you want to visit.  It will take about an hour and a half to drive there, but it will all be worth it when you walk across this narrow footbrodge and enter the small town with incredible old world charm.

Sure you’ll bring back amazing pictures of cathedrals and castles, but the shots from this place may steal the show, the same way our pictures of Civita di Bagnoregio did on our trip to Italy.

Overnight AC Hotel Coslada Aeropuerto Category 2 (10k points/5th free)

Day 10: Adios

Pack up your bags and make your way to the airport. Start planning your next incredible almost-free vacation with help from WorldWanderlusting.com.

If you liked this post, read this one about our 13-day itinerary from Venice to Rome.

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

If you were infatuated with this post, share it on Facebook, read this one about Free Hotel Hopping in Great Britain, and enter your email in the subscribe box so you never miss a post.

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 American Airlines, Chase, Citi, Credit Cards, Europe, Marriott Rewards | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The BEST Barclaycard Credit Cards

Posted on July 31, 2014 by wpengine

Are you looking for the Best Barclaycard Credit Cards?  This bank is much lesser known that Chase, American Express, or CitiBank.  In fact, before I started blogging I’d never heard of Barclaycard.  They are a HUGE bank and they generally rank within the top 10 largest banks in the world.  They offer all kinds of financial services from loans, credit cards, checking accounts, investments, etc.  In the last four years they’ve really bolstered their Barclaycard Credit Card portfolio, and I want to show you the best ones!

Barclaycard Arrival™ World MasterCard®

Apply Now

If you hate navigating blackout dates, exclusions and fine print, this card is for you.  The nice part about having this card is that the rewards are super flexible.  You won’t find a more flexible travel rewards credit card.  Barclaycard has really outdone themselves with this card.  It even beats out the competition Capital One who offers double miles on their Capital One Venture Card.

The card offers a 40,000 bonus that comes after spending $3000 within the first 90 days.  They also have an awesome feature that refunds you 10% of your redeemed miles back to you.  The points work as a statement credit, not subject to some incomprehensible schedule that depends on a complex formula.  Basically 40,000 is enough to redeem for a $400 travel statement credit.  Remember that you get 10% back again, so you put another 4000 points that you can redeem toward a future travel purchase.

The biggest bummer about this Barclaycard credit card is the $89 annual fee, although it is waived for the first year.  That way you can try it out and they can prove that the card will provide enough value to have an ongoing position in your wallet.

Here are few other posts about the Barclaycard Arrival +:

 The US Airways® Premier World MasterCard®

Apply Now

This Barclaycard Credit card is a welcome addition to your wallet.  They drop a fat 40,000 Dividend Miles (soon to be AAdvantage) after you pay the annual fee for the first year and make a single purchase.  These miles could be worth up to 2 round trip flights (if you’re very flexible) within the USA plus taxes and fees.

The card also gives you a one-time companion certificate that allows up to 2 companions at $99 each plus taxes and fees to fly on a paid flight for which the first ticket price was over $250. (This flight must originate in the US and be within/between US and Canada.  I had some hard and fast dates come up for an upcoming work trip and I wanted to bring the family along.  Because the dates were so restricted, they didn’t have very good availability for points, so I was forced to use this one-time companion certificate that really made the difference and allowed them to come along.  I was able to bring 2 additional companions (who also earn miles) for about $300 more than the cost of my ticket.

The $89 annual fee is NOT waived the first year, so you’ve got to fork it over to get the card, but the points and other benefits can also outweigh the costs of the annual fee.

Check out these posts that will show you the benefits of the US Airways card:

  • Great New Offer on The US Airways® Premier World MasterCard®

Frontier Airlines World MasterCard®

[This offer has ended] These guys have their moments.  Frontier can be an awesome airline, but they can also be a nightmare.  For example, they don’t have flights to all of their cities on all days like most of the other airlines do.  This sucks if you were ever to miss your flight.  The next flight home might not be going for another 2 or 3 days.

They offer 40,000 Miles as the sign on bonus after you’ve spent $500 within the first 90 days.  They do NOT waive the $69 annual fee for the first year, but it definitely proves its worth to you!

Here are a few more post about the Frontier Airlines Card:

The Choice Privileges® Visa® Card

Choice Credit Card

Apply Now

Barclaycard’s credit cards have’t quite reached the higher echelons of the credit cards offered from either Chase or Amex.  The best credit card is the Choice Privileges Visa Card.  This card is best used when you have a specific trip planned in which you’ll use these points.

On the plus side this card has NO annual fee, but the bonus isn’t too exciting is the downside.  You pick up 8000 points after the first purchase, and an additional 24,000 when you use the card to pay for your first stay in a Choice hotel.  This could be worth up to 4 free nights in a Choice Hotel.

This card probably won’t surpass the Marriott, or Starwood anytime soon, but it is great for the small town hotels on your road trips across the world.

Other posts about the Choice Hotels Card:

What is your favorite Barclaycard credit card?

Posted in Barclaycard, Capital One, Credit Cards | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“She Always Wanted to go to Italy” – A guest post by Jared

Posted on July 29, 2014 by Brad Christensen

This is another guest post from Jared, who has been wanderlusting with us for more than two years now. He fulfilled his wife’s life-long dream to travel to Italy, and despite some trouble with the trains, had a memorable adventure. Enjoy!

Well, another successful “almost free” trip completed thanks to the tips from the WorldWanderlusting.com. Again, I believe it’s the only thing in life I have come across that sounds too good to be true but is true! It is allowing me and my family to accomplish some of our dreams that either I never thought I would accomplish, or I thought I would have to wait until I’m 65 years old and hoping I would have the health to travel.

Food in ItalyMy last trip was a father/son adventure to Colombia. This time it was my wife’s choice where to “wander” next. She has always wanted to go to Italy and I somehow was willing to go along with the idea 😉 We started by using the Citi AAdvantage cards which took care of our round trip airfare (minus taxes). We arrived in Venice and this began the “ahh” of the amazing architecture and beauty that Italy has to offer, not to mention the divine food that was to be had.

We found that each major city that we visited had its own unique architecture with its own distinct look.  Whether it was Venice, Florence, Pisa, Cinque Terre, Genoa or Milan. Its so hard to say which was our favorite as they were all beautiful and had fantastic landscapes and sites to visit. All these places left an unforgettable impression that will last forever.

You haven’t experienced Venice until you get lost, literally, in the beautiful maze of streets and canals.  Our favorite was a little shop where we met an old glass blower and purchased his handmade gifts for family. Italy

We didn’t have a lot of time in Florence but the Duomo was beyond description and we loved the live orchestra playing in Palazzo Vecchio. Italy

Pisa was a pretty city worth a quick stop to see the famous leaning tower.  When we arrived in the beautiful coastal towns of Cinque Terre we were amazed again at the change of scenery.  Each colorful town had it’s own personality and the view of the Mediterranean was breathtaking! It would be worth the cost to stay at a B&B to fully experience the fantasy like setting.

Genoa was a nice city that we used as a stopover on our way to Milan.  We were able to wander through a beautiful area while looking for a meetinghouse of our church and were privileged to meet amazingly kind and welcoming people when we attended church in Genoa.Italy

Our last stop, was the modern/historic city of Milan.  It was amazing to stand in a 700 year old plaza with a the largest cathedral in Italy and then a few steps away be in the Galleria Vittorio,one of the world’s oldest shopping malls with some of the most modern and prestigious shops in the world.  Our favorite meal of the trip was at the Caffe Skorzesco in Milan.  The atmosphere, food, and staff were all we dreamed Italy would be.Italy

We debated on whether or not to rent a car or “live like the locals” and use the trains and buses for transportation.  Ultimately, we decided to go for the whole experience and take the trains and buses, which proved to be a bit tricky at times.  We didn’t meet any bus drivers who spoke English so until we got the hang of the bus system we relied on the kind young people of Italy to help us make sure to get off at the right stop.  (We found the young people were more likely to speak English and were more willing to converse with us.) 

We learned we could buy a ticket on the bus but it was best to buy them at the hotel if possible because of the communication problem and they cost less. The buses were surprisingly quick getting from place to place because they have designated bus lanes so they can avoid the traffic. 

The train system is very organized and after a couple rides we were able to figure out how to read the schedules.  We were able to experience almost the whole variety of trains on our trip, from the fast passenger trains to the regional trains that stopped at every stop in every city.  In the beginning of our trip we were able to catch any train we wanted at pretty regular intervals but in Genoa we ran into trouble. 

We planned to fly from Milan to Munich, Germany and spend some time there, but when we arrived at the train station we were told all the trains were full for that day and the next.  Luckily we knew about the regional trains because we had taken some earlier in our trip.  We asked for tickets on the regional train and were told there were some but it would be a much longer trip.  We knew we had already missed any chance of making our flight but wanted to move on with our trip so we purchased the tickets.  When we finally boarded the train with all our luggage in tow we and hundreds of other passengers found there were no seats left in any car and stood for most of the 2 1/2 hour trip!  At the time we were frustrated and tired but now we can look back on it as another life experience and other than that experience we’re glad we chose that mode of transportation.  

The one thing we learned that we would pass along to others is, if you for sure have to be somewhere at a specific time (ie catching a flight) make sure you book the train prior to your trip, because if it happens to be a holiday the trains get crowded and you may be out of luck.

All of our lodging was covered either by our Marriott Rewards Card or the Starwood Preferred Guest Card. Although all of our stays with these two chains were great, the Sheraton in Milan went above and beyond to take care of us.  They were very helpful switching our reservation from Munich to Milan without a charge.  We had upgraded to have our breakfast included for an extra 2000 points and were happy to find this included free access to the “Club Room” which included all types of beverages, breads, cheeses, sushi, snacks of all sorts, 3 different times during the day/night.  They surprised us by upgrading our room to a Jr. Suite (maybe because of the sad story that we couldn’t get a train earlier that day so in turn we missed our flight to Germany). We were treated to trays of fruit, chocolates and bottles of mineral water in our room.  This was a great way to to finish off our last two days in Italy and it helped dampen our disappointment of not making it to Germany.

Needless to say we love the Starwood Card! We love World Wanderlusting and give props to the Christensen brothers for making it all possible. Happy travels!

If you’ve been wanderlusting with us too and you’d like to share your story about how you’ve pulled off some incredible almost-free travel, please email your guest post (500-1500 words) and photos to worldwanderlusting@gmail.com and we’ll reward you with a $25 giftcard!

Posted in Europe, Europe, Family Travel, From Wanderlusting to Wandering, Guest Post, Hotels, How to Wanderlust, Italy, Marriott Rewards, Starwood Preferred Guest | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Best Way to Rent with a Car Rental Coupon

Posted on July 25, 2014 by wpengine

Picking up a rental car can be a nightmare.  It is one of the least favorite parts of travel for me.  It just sucks waiting forever filling out the paperwork.  It also feels confusing searching for some kind of discount (something I almost always do).  You type in car rental discount and it usually sends you to some website that spams the crap out of you and eventually gives you an expired car rental coupon.  Fail!

At WorldWanderlusting.com our objective always has been to help you take more vacations more often than most people you know.  We want to do this by showing you tricks that will help you lower the cost of your vacation, so saving up for the next one is easier and faster than the last.

Booking a Rental Car with CarRentalSavers.com

carrentalsavers

This is their website

These guys are awesome.  They take all of the guesswork out of finding the best deal on a rental car.  The process is super simple.

car rental

1. Pick your dates and location- You need to fill out the information in the box just like you would use when you book your rental car with Expedia, Hotwire, Priceline, or whoever you are currently using.

If you need help with this section please ask your great-grandson who is 4 and he would be more than willing to help.

 

Best car rental

2.  Pick your Car- Find out which car is going to be the best for whatever you’re looking for.   In my case I needed a car that was at least full sized.  I’ve got two kids who need strollers, carseats, luggage, diapers, pack & play, etc.

This matrix is going to look really familiar because it is the same one that is used by all car rental agencies.

Fortunately for me CarRentalSavers.com automatically found a car rental coupon for me that they had added into the equation.  You can see the word “Discounted” explaining that CarRentalSavers has done the work to go out and find a coupon for exactly what I was looking for.

The biggest bonus for me was the fact that the Full Size vehicle was CHEAPER than the Economy.  Believe me, last year I rented a Economy and they gave me a Fiat 500, which was smaller than a Geo Metro.

3.  Confirm the price- This is where you see that they’ve done the homework and discovered that I was eligible for a discounted rate where I could save $25.  This is fantastic because I didn’t even have to spend time looking for an expired coupon while I filled up my computer spam for the next 4 months.

Car Rental Coupon

4. Give them your info-  Now you just input the rest of the missing information in the form to book the car.  NO credit card is needed to hold your reservation.

Some websites try to force you to pay for the car today, but not carrentalsavers.com  They require you to input the information and the car rental company collects the money when you arrive at the counter.  If you choose to take a bump on the way to your destination you can easily rebook another car rental instead of being stressed about getting there for the reservation for which you’ve already paid!

car rental form

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But is CarRentalSavers Cheaper?

Yeah baby!  Here is a quick look for the exact same days and location on Hotwire (who makes you pay at the time of booking).

hotwire car rental

Ouch! Hotwire wants $52.19 more for the exact same product than what I was able to find at CarRentalSavers.com.  That is nearly 30% more expensive than using a car rental coupon from CarRentalSavers.com.

 

Posted in Car Rentals, How to Wanderlust | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Photo Journal of our $81 Trip to Europe

Posted on July 21, 2014 by Brad Christensen

I started telling some friends about our trip to Italy last fall and realized I have never really given our readers the photo-recap of our adventures. I lined out the itinerary in this post: Venice to Rome Itinerary in 13 days, but here I’ll offer a photo journal of our experiences.

To begin with, I can’t help but remind you that we booked this trip for nothing more than $81 and 40k AA miles each and that we stayed 13 nights in hotels and didn’t pay a dollar for a single one of them. This is the kind of life-capstone dream vacation that most people hope will come at some point in a very distant future.  Because we only paid some $1800 in out-of-pocket costs, this is the kind of thing we’re doing much more regularly – and it’s something you can do to if you’re willing to spend some time wanderlusting with us and discover what incredible vacations are closer to a reality for you than you might think.

Our flight was initially routed through Dusseldorf to Venice, but before ever leaving SLC, we got notice that our flight would be delayed and that we’d be missing our connection. The good news was that we’d instead be routed through Madrid. But that flight was also delayed so we missed the first connection to Venice but got a 7-hour layover in Madrid.  (Don’t worry, I used my own advice from the How to Write an Airline Complaint Letter and got AA to give us 5k AA points each for our troubles – netting our total cost to only 35k miles). I served a mission in Spain several years ago, so it was awesome to treat ourselves to some Spanish chorizo and tortilla de patatas.  We spent the day covering some of the major sites in Madrid, including this stop at the Plaza De Cibiles.

Plaza de Cibeles

We hustled back to the airport and boarded our plane to Venice.  Arriving after dark, we weren’t deterred from our original plans and we loaded up our rental car and headed for Slovenia.  By the time we arrived at Lake Bled, we couldn’t even see the lake, but could see the castle perched high above. Exhausted, we crashed at our B&B on the lake.

When I awoke the next morning, I couldn’t wait to look out the window, and when I did this is what I saw:

Lake bled bed and breakfast

I couldn’t even contain myself so I ran downstairs and rented a small rowboat for the next few hours.  I patiently waited for Nicole to wake up and then we ate some delicious pastries from a small bakery I found, then we rowed out to the island. There was another couple doing the same thing, so we swapped cameras with them and got this beautiful shot.

pletna

After an idyllic morning on the lake, we set out to hike into Vintgar gorge. Following a river of crystal clear water, we passed dozens of misty waterfalls and enjoyed the fall colors and the crisp air.

sloveniaEven doing all this, we had enough time to drive back to Venice, park our car, and take the train into the city.  We were a little pressed for time, but still arrived early enough to check into our incredible three-room hotel suite at the Hilton Molino Stucky – one we splurged all 40k Hilton points we had on and didn’t feel the slightest bit bad about.

In Venice we took in a small opera performance in an old palace – Musica a Palazzo, toured St. Mark’s Cathedral, the Doge’s Palace, got lost in the maze of narrow streets and canals and ate delcious food and Gelato. History and opulence abounded and nowhere was that more evident than in the Doge’s palace where the ceilings and walls gilded frames surrounded impressive paintings by Tintoretto.

doge palace venice

As if Venice weren’t enough, we then gorged ourselves on more history and opulence in Florence – a city with more artistic masterpieces than are housed in most countries. We saw Michealangelo’s David at the Academia, and countless other pieces that even us non-artistic types couldn’t help but appreciate.  But it was the buildings that were truly amazing.  We climbed to the top of the Duomo and took in Florence from its highest point, walked along the Arno river to the Ponte Vecchio, and marveled at the Palazzo Vecchio. Florence is intoxicating.

florence

Not nearly having enough of the artistic beauty of Italy, even still we went for a change of scenery and headed out to Cinque Terre, where we stayed perched high above the coast with a commanding view.  We locked our love on the fence along the Via dell’Amore, and wondered if there really could be anything more unbelievably beautiful than the city of Riomaggiore.

Riomaggiore

leaning tower of pisaWe hiked from Corniglia to Vernazza and soaked it all in as best we could, took the train between some of the other cities and discovered cinnamon gelato.  It was a veritable buffet for the senses.  On our way to our next stop, Siena, we stopped and got the obligatory photo at the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

We were staying outside of Siena in an agriturismo – a farmhouse B&B – and had a little trouble finding it, but with a little rough Italian and a lot of trial and we were able to find it.  This place was absolutely heaven on earth and we’d urge everyone to make it a point to stay there – it’s called Poggio Bonelli and the house that we stayed in was easily our favorite of the entire trip.

poggio bonelli

We did make it into Siena and we loved the city, but we could have spent weeks just sitting on the grounds and gazing at the countryside.  We had a delicious picnic of cured meats and unique cheeses, fresh bread, and local fruits, and did I mention my wife is hot?

Nicole picnic

After Tuscany, we took the scenic route from hill city to hill city, and for Nicole each new city was another reason to splurge on a gelato.  I was really excited to stay outside Orvieto at an ancient monastary that had been converted into a hotel.  It did not disappoint and neither did the city of Orvieto, where we feasted our eyes on a massive underground network of caves that we toured, our ears on a violinist outside the cathedral, and our mouths on a dinner of pesto gnocchi.

The next morning we set out to find the little-known Civita di Bagnoregio.  A cloud of fog hung low and impeded us from seeing it’s grandeur as we approached, but by mid-morning it had cleared to reveal this stunning sight.

Civita Bagnoregio

I know it seems far too “fairy-tale” to be true, but that’s precisely what it looks like – and there in that little village you can sit beside a fire and eat fire-toasted bruschetta, stroll the cobblestone paths, and overlook the verdant valley below. This setting is simply magical.

We drove about an hour south to Rome and returned the rental car, then opted for the bus from the airport into the city rather than paying more than double to save a few minutes by taking the train. Rome was, of course, no disappointment.  We happened to arrive at St. Peter’s Basilica as the Pope was presiding over a gathering with an enormous crowd.

St Peter

We got the Roma Pass, which allowed us transportation for three days and entrance to two major museums.  We toured the Colosseum with added insight from Rick Steves’ audio tour app, and imagined what life looked life for people in ancient Rome – a city unlike any other in its time.

Colosseum2

We also visited the Vatican, Castel Sant Angelo, and Trevi Fountain.  Everything was so far beyond cool that the awe was almost tiresome.

Temple of Jupiter

Our return trip routed us through Dusseldorf, so we did have one final stop before returning home and it was far from uneventful.  We walked from our hotel down to a quaint little restaurant, where we actually ate the best meal of the entire trip – I know it sounds a little odd to take a trip to Italy, yet find the best food in Germany, but for someone like me who will choose meat over pasta at every opportunity, this amazing platter was mezmerizing.

Meat in Germany

As you can tell, our trip was so far beyond epic that even these amazing pictures don’t truly do it justice.  We outlined our entire trip before we went in this post about Venice to Rome in 13 days, and the card we used to obtain the AA miles each is still available – it’s the Citi® Platinum Select® / AAdvantage® World MasterCard®.  You do have to meet a minimum spending requirement of $3000 in the first three months, but the annual fee of $95 is waived for the first year. This isn’t one of the cards we get compensated for promoting, but we’re still passing it along to you because it’s one of the best offers out there – particularly if you are feeling the urge to go to Europe or Northern South America.

Before I depart, I just have to do a little re-cap.  I just showed you how we did an epic 13-day journey from Spain, to Slovenia, to Italy, and to Germany. We did it for far less than what most people spend on a weekend trip to Las Vegas, and we did it by prudently using credit cards to obtain frequent flyer miles and points and travel the almost-free-way. If you’re in a position to do this and you have the discipline to use credit cards as purchasing instruments, not as credit, then this is something you need to embrace… and it’s also something we’re hoping you’ll share.  As we’ve said before, ultimately what we want to see is you go from wanderlusting to wandering… and we hope this post and all our posts help you do that.

Please don’t hesitate to comment or email with questions about this itinerary, what we did, or whatever else you have in mind.  I’m begging for the opportunity to re-live this experience by sharing it with you.

 

Posted in American Airlines, Europe, Fun Travel Stories, Italy, Travel Itineraries, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments