Why Mexico?

After reading an awesome article written by Joseph Hostetler, I decided to replicate his plan to gain elite status with Hyatt.  You should check out that article as he shows his cost breakdown vs the potential value he plans to get from his new status.  The total cost at the Hyatt Place Aguascalientes/Bonaterra made this trip worth it.

In our case, we had some flight credits from American Airlines that we had to burn from cancelling some positioning flights for our Maldives trip last year.  Instead of letting those go to waste, we used them to cover our flights to Aguascalientes.  We found some convenient flights so that we didn’t have to burn any vacation time.  We flew out on a Friday after work to arrive in Aguascalientes that night, then flew back home on Sunday.

COVID Testing

Now one obstacle that we ran into with this mattress run was the fact that the US required a negative COVID test result to enter back into the country.  This was implemented on January 26, 2021 and our short trip started on January 29th.  Since we planned on being there for only a weekend, we needed to find a place where we could get a COVID test and results back fast.  If we couldn’t, this would’ve thrown a wrench into our plans towards elite status with Hyatt.

In comes the American Express Platinum card to the rescue!  I called the concierge to see if they could help.  They definitely pulled through!  They found a number of places where I could get tested, many of them with results within 72 hours.  However I didn’t have 72 hours to wait.  I needed results sooner.  Amex Platinum provided some locations that could have results within 15 minutes!  Mattress run saved!!

Something to keep in mind regarding the Covid testing. Since our trip was short, we tested at home in the US on the day before we departed to Mexico. To be allowed back into the US you need to show a negative test result within 72 hours of departing to the US, so the test we took at home was valid. Another reason why we tested at home prior to our flight was to make sure we were negative. We didn’t want to take the flight if we happened to test positive even though we didn’t have symptoms.

However, we did take another test while in Mexico just to make sure we’d make it back home in case the test taken at home wouldn’t be accepted. I’ll share that experience in another article.

Hotel Review

The Hyatt Place in Aguascalientes is a nice hotel. I find that international Hyatt Place locations seem to be very nice. For being a World of Hyatt member, breakfast was free!  It is on the outskirts of the city and about 15-20 minutes from the airport.

The hotel seemed fairly new and was exceptionally clean. To abide by Covid requirements, your temperature is checked as you enter the building. Also, masks are required at all times unless you are actively eating or drinking.

They have a breakfast area where items are individually wrapped. Hot items are prepared for you and are delivered to your table. They also have a bar that is open until 1am. The front desk clerk serves as your bartender!

What To Do In Aguascalientes

Fun fact, Aguascalientes is one of the cities that lays claim to the geographical center of Mexico. Aguascalientes is largely an industrial city with a population of around 1.5 million people per their latest census. There’s not a lot to do within the city, other than checking out the city center and enjoying the plazas.

Just outside of the city though are a few wineries and vineyards that you could visit. We spent our Saturday at Vinícola Santa Elena. They offer tours of their winery that are about 2 hours long, however we just hung out there and enjoyed some wine and a meat and cheese plate. If we had more time, we would’ve looked into a tour of several wineries along the famous Ruta del Vino.  In hindsight, I wouldn’t have minded staying another couple of days after seeing that there are several wineries we could visit and how easy and cheap it is to get a Covid test.

Conclusion

This is probably one of our craziest mattress runs, as in the past we’ve done them domestically.  Since we had flight credits to burn, stackable Hyatt promotions and the lowest priced Hyatt on the planet, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity. I wouldn’t mind spending a 4 day weekend here as they have other wineries I’d love to try. Have you been to Aguascalientes?

The post Mattress Run In Mexico appeared first on The Many Faces Of Travel.

The 72 Hour Gap

Since our weekend trip would be quick, we decided to get tested here in the US prior to leaving to Mexico.  At the time of this writing, you’re not required to provide a Covid test to enter Mexico. However we wanted to make sure we were negative prior to traveling.  Also, we wanted to see if our US Covid test result would be valid on our return flight. Our test was taken on Thursday evening, the departing flight to Mexico was Friday afternoon and our return flight to the US was on Sunday morning. The US test was accepted without issues when checking in for our return flight.  Keep in mind that this won’t work if your trip is over 72 hours.

The Verifly App

Prior to our trip, we received an email from American Airlines. It directed us to download the Verifly app. This was supposed to help make the check in process smoother for our return flight.  On Verifly, you’ll be required to take a selfie for your profile picture and upload your negative Covid test results. You’ll also answer a few questions and go through a checklist and you’re set.  Once I uploaded my results, it took about 5 minutes to be verified and my pass was approved.

Throughout our entire journey home, we were never asked to show our pass from Verifly to anyone.  I was expecting to show it to an American Airlines agent at some point.  I voluntarily showed it to them at check in and they didn’t seem to know what it was for. They insisted on seeing the paper copy of my Covid test results.  Things may change as time goes on.  I chalked it up to the requirements being so new. They also wanted to see my confirmation on Vuela Seguro.

Enter Vuela Seguro

A curveball was thrown our way as we arrived at the airport for our return flight. An agent at the entrance directed us to download the “Vuela Seguro” app. Once downloaded, we answered a few Covid related questions. Once verified, then you show the agent and you’re allowed to enter the airport. Luckily, we arrived to the airport early to allow for some hiccups.

At check in, we were asked to show verification from this app. Again we were asked to show it before entering through security. This may change in the future, but as of now Vuela Seguro is used to fly out of Mexico.

Covid Test Locations In Mexico

My wife and I got a second Covid test while in Mexico.  It’s not because we like having our noses poked, but I wanted to avoid any issues at the airport. I wasn’t sure if they’d accept our US test.  Plus, it provides more data points regarding the testing process in Mexico.

Prior to our trip, I reached out to American Express Concierge for help finding rapid testing locations in Aguascalientes.  They provided a list of locations throughout the city, ranging from hospitals, clinics and pharmacies.  The best option for us was to go through a pharmacy.  This is the option I would suggest to most, especially because it’s fairly cheap.

The Process Of Getting A Covid Test At A Pharmacy In Mexico

The pharmacy recommended was Farmacias Del Ahorro.  They’re everywhere throughout the city, and country for that matter, much like CVS/Walgreens here in the US.  Not all locations provided Covid testing though, so make sure to look for a location where testing is provided.  Another thing to note is that you must schedule a time to take your test.  From our experience, they had a morning slot and an afternoon slot and each slot held around 15-20 people.  When we went, the morning slot was already full so they signed us up for the afternoon slot.  They told us to show up around 3:15pm and not to be late or we would lose our spot.

We showed up around 3pm just to play it safe and there were a couple of others waiting before us.  We waited and waited and waited….. It wasn’t until around 4pm when the doctor arrived. His hours posted on the door showed 9am-2pm, then 4pm-9pm.  

Anyway, at 4pm a pharmacy clerk showed up to hand out ticket numbers and they were in the order in which you signed up for your slot.  My wife and I were 12 and 13.  We weren’t seen until 6:10pm!  My wife and I went in together.  We were given the same test as in the US and our results were back in about 15 minutes.  While we waited for the test results, the doctor filled out the forms with our information.  Make sure to take your passport with you so that the name on the test results match to your passport.  We got a paper copy of our test results and they were also emailed to us in PDF format.  We were out of there by 6:30pm.

My Suggestions

If you plan on staying over 72 hours in Mexico and need to get tested in Mexico, here are my suggestions.

• Prior to your trip, find a location to get a rapid test.  You can get assistance through your hotel concierge or if you have the Amex Platinum, through American Express concierge
• Show up early at your desired location to set up a preferred time for your test.  Try to be the first in your time slot to avoid further waiting.  Your hotel may be able to arrange this appointment for you.  The actual test and consultation are quick!
• Take a copy of your passport with you for identification purposes.  This also helps to make sure that the name on the Covid test result matches your passport.
• In Mexico, the major pharmacies (Farmacias Benavides, Farmacias Similares, Farmacias Del Ahorro, etc) offer rapid Covid tests and the price ranges from $15-$25.  The lowest price we saw was $15 per test at Farmacias Del Ahorro.  
• As a bonus, if you’re not fluent in Spanish, either take a translator with you or have Google translate with you.  The conversation with the doctor is minimal, but you will have to answer a few questions.

Conclusion

This may be the norm going forward as far as international travel is concerned, so it doesn’t hurt to learn how to handle testing.  While it is a minor inconvenience to go get tested, if it allows for international travel, then I’m all for it.  Have you travelled to Mexico and back after this new requirement was imposed?  What was your experience?

The post Getting A Covid Test In Mexico appeared first on The Many Faces Of Travel.

In the previous article, we discussed how we booked our $21K business class flights to and from the Maldives.  In today’s article I want to show you how we booked our “free” hotel stay in the Maldives. Hotel stays in the Maldives can be crazy expensive so some have asked how we booked our Maldives stay.  Considering that many of the resorts are the only property on the island they’re on, you’re only dining options are at the resort so dining costs can be outrageous.  Luckily there are ways to hack the hotel stay and part of the dining costs to dramatically reduce your overall expenses to the Maldives. Here’s how!

HOW WE BOOKED OUR MALDIVES STAY

Adriana and I booked our stay at the Conrad Rangali Island.  Many top travel bloggers rave about this property and for good reason. Spacious overwater bungalows with amazing views of the crystal blue water provide a super relaxing place to stay.  All of this luxurious pampering comes at a price though. Nightly rates here come out to over $1000 per night plus resort fees for the dates we’re staying.

We’re not paying anywhere close to that though since we booked our stay with points.  We had accumulated a healthy balance of Hilton points and decided that this property was a good place to burn them.  Each award night at this property comes out to 95,000 Hilton points per night.  

Time only allowed us to stay 4 nights in paradise.  Ideally we would’ve loved to have stayed one more night because Hilton offers the 5th night free on award stays.  Had we stayed 5 nights, our nightly rate would’ve come out to 76,000 points! This would’ve taken the value of our Hilton points to the next level!

HOW TO SEARCH FOR AWARD NIGHTS

First go to the Hilton homepage.  From there, enter in your search criteria, check the “Use Points” box, then click “FIND IT”

Next your search results will appear.  There are currently three properties showing for the dates chosen in this example.  When you find the property you like, click “Select”. In this case, we chose the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island.

At this point, you’ll be prompted to sign into your Hilton account to proceed with booking with points.

For 95,000 points per night, you can book either a Beach Villa or a Water Villa.  We chose the Water Villa. We stayed in the overwater bungalows in Bora Bora and they were amazing, so we wanted to compare them to the ones in the Maldives.

Here is the price for our stay if we would’ve paid with cash.  Our 380,000 Hilton points yielded us 1.3 cents in value. Again, had we booked a 5th free night, it still would’ve cost just 380,000 Hilton points and our value would’ve jumped up considerably!

WHY WE LIKE HILTON SO MUCH

We are huge Hilton fans for two reasons.  One is their large global footprint. It’s not hard to find a Hilton property at your destination.  They’re practically everywhere! Second, it’s easy to earn elite status with Hilton. All you have to do is carry the right credit card.  With the right credit card, you can save money with free breakfast for you and your guests. This is probably the most valuable perk one can get with elite status.  With elite status, you can also score free room upgrades. At some of the high end resorts, they offer happy hour where drinks and snacks are free for those with elite status.  Other properties offer lounge areas accessible to those with elite status. The card that we carry is the Hilton Aspire from American Express.

This card does come with a $450 annual fee which may initially scare you, but the value that you get from this card far outweighs the annual fee.  Aside from the perks that I just mentioned, you also get an annual $250 Hilton resort credit and a $250 airline incidental credit. With these 2 perks alone, you actually make $50 in profit!

By having this card, it gives us Diamond status with Hilton, which allows us to get free breakfast and room upgrades.  This saves us a considerable amount of money since breakfast could easily run at least $30 per person daily. By having drinks during their Happy Hour, we could save some additional money there since this would be free with Diamond status.  Also the $250 resort credit could be used here to cover charges from dining or the spa.

CONCLUSION

We haven’t taken this trip yet, but we’re super excited about it.  The cost of this trip in cash would’ve been close to $25K, but we’re paying pennies on the dollar, just by leveraging our miles and points earned from regular spending.  Once we take this trip, we can show you the exact costs and provide further guidance on prices. Thanks for reading and supporting the blog!

Check out our YouTube video

The post How We Booked Our Maldives Stay appeared first on The Many Faces Of Travel.

Do you want to learn how to book award flights to the Maldives?  Those specs you see on the map off the coast of India is a bucket list destination for many.  It’s typically out of reach for many of us 9-5 folks because it’s SO expensive to get there and to stay there.  With flights well into the thousands of dollars flying out of a small town, and hotel stays well over $500 a night in desirable parts of the Maldives, it’s no wonder that destinations like this are more suited for the rich and famous.

But by leveraging your points and miles you can shave off a lot of the costs associated with hotel and airfare. Award flights to the Maldives are a great option.

My wife and I recently booked our business class flights to and from the Maldives using American Airline miles.  A big shout out to Spencer Howard for this booking. Due to his award availability alerts, we were able to jump on this deal as the dates worked out perfectly for us. Consider signing up for his newsletter! We like to book long haul flights in business class because it’s way more comfortable and because we get a lot of value out of our miles.  In this post I’ll show you how we booked our flights.

MILES WE USED

Adriana and I used our American Airline miles to book these flights.  For business class, AA charges 70K miles per person for flights from the US to the Maldives one way.  While that sounds like a lot of miles, both Barclays and Citi offer credit cards with 50K-70K sign up bonuses which will get you most of miles needed for these trips.  The Barclaycard in particular is very appealing since all you have to do is make 1 purchase with the card and pay the annual fee to earn the bonus.  

AWARD FLIGHTS TO THE MALDIVES

Using the American Airlines website to search for award space is pretty easy to do.  FINDING award space on these routes can be a challenge since they are highly sought after.  Being flexible with your travel dates and routes is key to finding award space. Again, Spencer’s newsletter was essential to finding the award space that we used. To start your search, just follow these steps.

First go to the American Airlines website. Then on the homepage, enter in your search criteria.  Make sure to select “One way” and “Redeem miles” when you start your search.  After you enter in your search information, click “Search”

Here you’ll notice the color coded award calendar showing saver award space in economy, business class and first class.  Click on the cabin that you are searching for. In this case I searched for business class. Once you click on your desired cabin, notice how the days with saver award availability are shown in blue.  These are the days that I’ll look at to see if there are any routes that I’m interested in. Once you pick a day, click “Continue”

Then the search results will appear.  When you find your desired route, select it.  You’ll be required to log in to your AA account at this point to continue

Once you log in, you’ll see your price breakdown.  At the time of this writing, AA is adding on a $75 Award Processing Fee.  This fee wasn’t charged to me when I made this booking back in April 2019.  Even with the fee though, $90.70 for a one way business class flight to paradise is an amazing deal.  

At this point, you just enter in your passenger information and follow the prompts to complete your booking.  If you plan to use your AA miles to book your flights back home, you’ll follow the exact same steps, just change your departing and arriving destinations.

OUR FLIGHT COSTS

Adriana and I tag teamed our award flights with our AA miles.  I had enough miles in my AA account to book 1 one way flight to the Maldives, while Adriana had enough miles to book 3 one way flights.  For each of us, our flights to the Maldives from the US cost 63K AA miles and $19.30 in fees.

Now may be wondering why the award flight cost 63K miles instead of 70K miles.  That’s because the Barclays Aviator cardmembers used to receive a 10% miles rebate on award bookings, up to 10K miles per year.  I believe this is no longer offered.

The cash price for these flights would’ve been $13,546 for 2 people.  Qatar Airways Q-Suites are arguably the best business class seats out there!

This award booking yielded us a value of 11 cents per mile!!  Here’s the math

($13,546 cash price / 126,000 AA miles = 11 cents per mile)

We booked our return flights with a mix of Sri Lankan and Etihad business class flights.  We had a fixed date to fly back home which dramatically reduced our options. This was the best option we found for our date.  Ideally we would’ve loved to have booked Qatar Airways business class back home, or Etihad the entire way back home, but I’m content with our booking.  Our flights home cost us 70K AA miles each and a total of $155.26 in fees.

The cash price for these flights would’ve come out to $7,472.  The flights include segments to Colombo and Abu Dhabi on Sri Lankan Airlines business class, then from Abu Dhabi to the US on Etihad business class.

This award redemption yielded us a value of 5.3 cents per mile.  Here’s the math

($7,472 cash price / 140,000 miles = 5 cents per mile)

CONCLUSION

A trip to the Maldives always seemed out of reach for us but with some planning and having the right miles, we were able to book some very comfortable flights to and from the Maldives.  As you can see, searching for award space is incredibly easy. You just have to be flexible with your travel dates. Keep in mind that you could book these flights in economy for 40K AA miles each way per person. In our next article, I’ll show you how we booked our hotel stay in the Maldives with points!

Check out our YouTube video

The post How We Booked Our $21K Flights For Under $200 appeared first on The Many Faces Of Travel.

What is up everyone!!!  Welcome back!.  Today we’ll discuss the difference between the types of points and “miles” available, their uses and potential value.

So if you’ve just gotten involved with travel hacking, no doubt you may be overwhelmed with all of the information available, the lingo, the tips and tricks and the possibilities that this hobby can give you.  But you need to take it one step at a time and truly understand what you’re signing up for, why you’re signing up for it and what you’re earning.

As a quick reminder, don’t forget to leave a comment down below.  If you have any points/miles/travel related questions, leave them in the comments section and I’d be happy to answer them.

FIXED VALUE POINTS

The first type of point is set at a fixed value.  Cash back cards, like the Discover card, and ones such as the Barclay Arrival Plus card offer such points.  With either a cash back card or a fixed value “miles” card, each point or mile earned is worth 1 cent.

So if you’re using a cash back card and you earn 1% for every dollar spent, you’re essentially earning 1 cent per dollar.  

The same thing with the Barclay Arrival Plus card.  Although you earn 2 “miles” per dollar spent on this card, each mile that you earn from your spending is worth only 1 cent per dollar.  So let’s say that you spent $500 on travel with this card. You’d need 50,000 “miles” to wipe out those charges.

Don’t get me wrong, these cards are extremely useful and should have a place in your card portfolio, however they do have their limitations.  These types of points are good for wiping out travel related expenses such as tours, Uber/Lyft costs, Airbnb costs, etc. Basically any travel related costs that can’t be covered by regular miles or hotel points.

Related to these types of miles are those that you earn with Southwest Airlines or JetBlue Airlines.  While they are airline specific miles, they work the same way as the Arrival Plus miles mentioned above.  The number of miles needed for an award flight fluctuates depending on the cash price of the flight. So, the higher the cash price for a flight, the more number of miles you need for that award seat.

AIRLINE MILES

As discussed in our previous video, you can accumulate airline miles and hotel points by first, signing up for their loyalty programs, then applying your loyalty account number to paid flights or hotel stays.  You can also link your airline loyalty program to your co-branded credit card to earn miles through credit card spending. For example, you link your Alaska Airlines membership number to your Alaska Airlines credit card in order to earn miles by using your credit card.

These airline specific miles earned are extremely valuable because depending on their award charts, you can easily get over 2 cents per points/mile in value.  For airline miles, it doesn’t matter what the cash price is for a flight, if their award calendar shows saver award space, you can use your miles to book an expensive flight.  For example, I just booked a business class flight from the US to the Maldives for 70K AA miles one way, per person. Compare that to the cash price of that same flight of $6773, and you get a value of 9.6 cents per mile!!  That is insane!

Notice how these airline miles differ to the Southwest or JetBlue points mentioned above.  While Southwest/JetBlue award prices depend on the cash price of a ticket, these other airline miles don’t.  All that matters is finding award space.

HOTEL POINTS

The same thing applies to your hotel points.  If your desired hotel has award space open for the dates you are traveling, then you can use your hotel points to book your hotel stay and get a lot of value out of your points.  An example of this would be the Andaz Papagayo Resort in Costa Rica. For 20K Hyatt points per night you can book an incredible stay here, or pay $413 per night in cash. The value per point comes out to be 2.1 cents per dollar.  

The thing to keep in mind here is that you need to be extremely flexible on your travel dates in order to score amazing deals like the one I mentioned above.  Also, keep in mind that airline miles can only be used with the parent airline, or the airline’s partners. For example, you can’t use American Airline miles to book a flight on Delta.  You can, however, use American Airline miles to book a flight on American Airlines, Finnair, Etihad and many more of its partners.

With hotel points, you are stuck using those points with the parent hotel.  As an example, let’s say you have a large balance of Hilton points. You can use those points towards hotel stays at any Hilton property, depending on award availability.  You can’t use your Hilton points towards a stay at Hyatt though. Which brings us to Marriott Bonvoy points. Those fall into a different category where I’ll discuss more.

FLEXIBLE POINTS

The third, and most valuable type of point, is the flexible or transferable point.  These points are your American Express Membership Rewards Points, Chase Ultimate Rewards Points, Citi ThankYou Points, Marriott Bonvoy Points, Capital One Venture Miles and more!

What makes these points so valuable is that you can transfer them to their airline partners.  For example, you can transfer your Amex Membership Rewards Points to one of 17 different airlines or 2 different hotel chains!  With many of these airlines, you can transfer at a 1:1 ratio. Having options to transfer your points increases your chances to land your desired award flights.

You can still get the same value as with the airline miles/hotel points mentioned above, but now you’re able to pick and choose which available airline you want to transfer to.  For example, I can transfer my Amex Membership Rewards points to ANA, and fly roundtrip in business class on Star Alliance partners to Europe or South America for 88K points! Yes, that’s roundtrip!  And Yes, I said Star Alliance, which includes United, Avianca, Turkish Airlines and more!

The Marriott Bonvoy points mentioned earlier are special since they are a hotel point, which can be used for hotel stays at Marriott properties, but they can also be transferred to over 40 airline partners, many of them at a 3:1 ratio.  The cool thing when transferring Marriott points to airlines in 60K increments is that you get a 25% bonus.

So here’s how the math works…. You transfer 60K Marriott points to American Airlines.  That becomes 20K American Airlines miles. On top of that, Marriott gives you a 25% bonus which equals 5K American Airlines miles.  So for that 60K Marriott point transfer, you end up with 25K AA miles.

CONCLUSION

I hope this clarifies some confusion about points and miles.  With so many points and miles out there, it can be overwhelming to learn at first.  All three types are very useful and you can save a lot of money on your trips by using the different types mentioned.

Don’t like reading? Check out the YouTube video.

YouTube video

The post Different Types Of Points & Miles appeared first on The Many Faces Of Travel.

Hello everyone!!  Welcome to our Beginners Guide to Free Travel.  This beginners guide to free travel can help you learn the basics to travel to just about any part of the world. I want to discuss what travel hacking is and some common misconceptions about it.  I want to show you how to earn free, or almost free travel and some common pitfalls you want to avoid.

BEGINNERS GUIDE TO FREE TRAVEL

What is travel hacking???  It is what can lead you to free, or almost free travel. You hear the term a lot on the internet, but what exactly does it mean?  Travel hacking is simply leveraging your airline miles or hotel points for free, or almost free travel.  It has allowed my wife and I to travel frequently and to some places that were out of reach financially. Travel hacking allows super exotic places, such as Bora Bora and the Maldives, to be within reach while working your normal 9-5.

Travel hacking doesn’t have to be used for far away places, but can be used for shorter, domestic trips as well. 

For example, you can use it for visiting your family back home.

Or if you have a favorite vacation spot that you like going to every year, you can travel hack that.

There’s no right or wrong way to do it.  You decide on how to leverage your points and miles!

The way it works is…. Airlines offer saver level award seats which cost you ‘X’ amount of miles, plus fees, for a one-way flight.

Hotels offer award nights for ‘X’ amount of points per night.

If you have enough miles or points, you can use them towards your next flight or hotel stay.  Simple enough, right?

LOYALTY PROGRAMS

First off, you need to sign up for airline and hotel loyalty programs.  They’re absolutely free, so there’s no harm in doing so. When you sign up for these accounts, they’ll provide you with an account number which you’ll then use to earn miles and points.

An example would be, let’s say you sign up for your FREE American Airlines AAdvantage account.  Once you’re given your account number, you can apply that account number to all of your American Airlines paid flights, to start earning miles for those flights that you take.  

The same thing applies to hotels.  Let’s assume that you sign up for your FREE Marriott account.  Once you have your Marriott account number, you can apply that account number to all of your Marriott paid stays to start earning Marriott points for those stays.

My favorite airline loyalty program is ANA because since my wife and I like to visit Europe and South America, ANA allows us to use very little points for round trip business class flights.

For hotels, I like Hilton because of their large worldwide presence, because of how easy it is to earn and use points, plus how easy it is to earn elite status for more perks during your hotel stays.

For those of you already involved with travel hacking, comment below on what your favorite airline and hotel loyalty program is and why!

SHOPPING PORTALS

Aside from paid flights and hotel stays, you can earn points and miles through shopping portals.  What’s a shopping portal? It’s basically a website that lists participating stores that allow you to earn additional points and miles, just by clicking through their link.  It’s kind of like Ebates, but for points and miles. Most major airlines have shopping portals. For hotels, Marriott, Hilton and Choice hotels have shopping portals.

So, for example, if you’re wanting to earn more United miles, you can shop through the United shopping portal, and click on the store that you’re wanting to shop from, make your purchase, and that’s it.  It’s pretty easy!!

If I do any shopping online, I usually scope out Cashback Monitor first.  This site will show me what the current payouts are for a certain store through different shopping portals.  So, let’s say, I’m looking to buy something from Best Buy. First I’ll check out Cashback Monitor to see what each participating shopping portal is paying out per dollar on Best Buy.  Then I decide which shopping portal to go through at that point.

Comment below on what shopping portals you like!

CREDIT CARD CHURNING

One of the most popular ways to earn a ton of points and miles is through credit card churning.  

Whoah there!!!!  Aren’t credit cards bad for your finances?  

Credit cards aren’t bad, it’s the way that some people abuse them that’s bad.  Many people spend way more than they should on credit cards, fall into debt, and are charged high interest rates.  However, if you treat your credit card like your debit card, stick to your normal spending budget, and pay off your credit cards in full, then you won’t spend a dime in interest and you can take advantage of the points and miles you earn by using that credit card.

Many popular credit cards offer sign up bonuses with a large number of points or miles, after spending ‘X’ amount of dollars within a certain amount of time.  

SIGN UP BONUSES AND CATEGORY BONUSES

An example of this is the Chase Sapphire Preferred card.  They’re currently offering a 60K point bonus after you spend $4K within 3 months.  Banks use this strategy in hopes of getting people to overspend, then later consumers have to pay large amounts of interest to the banks.  But we’re smarter and more disciplined than that.

By spending within your means and sticking to your budget, you can easily meet the minimum spending requirements needed to earn the bonus and not get into any financial trouble.  In a later article, we’ll discuss practical ways to reach the minimum spending requirements without breaking your budget.

Another nice thing about what these banks offer is category bonuses.  If we consider the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, they offer 2 points per dollar when using your card for travel or dining purchases.  For everything else, you earn 1 point per dollar.

Other cards offer category bonuses for groceries, gas, office supplies, advertising, etc.  Pretty much all spending categories are covered by one card or another, so picking a card that matches your spending habits shouldn’t be too difficult.

I have 2 cards that I really like and use most often.  First is the American Express EveryDay Preferred Card, which earns up to 4.5 points per dollar for groceries, up to 3 points per dollar for gas and up to 1.5 points per dollar for everything else. Second is the American Express Gold Card which earns 4 points per dollar for dining and 4 points per dollar for groceries.  The points I earn with these cards are extremely valuable and have several useful airline transfer partners.

Comment down below on what your favorite credit card is and why!!

CONCLUSION

So if you’ve been putting off that dream trip to Hawaii because it’s too expensive, you should really consider hacking your trip to Hawaii.  By leveraging your points and miles to eliminate the costs of your airfare and hotel stays, all you would really need to save money for is food, tours and souvenirs! I hope you found this Beginners Guide To Free Travel helpful and that you look forward to more content like this.

Don’t like to read? Check out our YouTube video!

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We successfully booked our flights to Asia!!!! You hear about using your miles to book flights, but what kind of value can you get out of your miles?  We’ll discuss that today and how we were able to get $16,176 worth of flights with our airline miles. You may have noticed some of the short videos we’ve been posting about our recent Asia trip.  We used our Alaska Airline miles for our business class seats to Asia and back. I’ll show you how we did that.

WHY ALASKA AIRLINES

Alaska Airline miles are one of the more valuable travel currencies out there because of the very useful partners they have.  They’re not part of an airline alliance, but they partner with several key airlines, such as Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, Emirates, Hainan Airlines, Icelandair and many more.

Another thing that I like is that searching for award space is very easy, and many of the awards are bookable online, so you don’t have to talk to anyone on the phone, or put up with crazy long wait times.

Since we were flying to Asia, and wanted to fly in business class, we decided to try Cathay Pacific since several travel bloggers rave about their first and business class cabins.  Cathay Pacific offers various routes from the US to Hong Kong, which is where they’re based out of. From Hong Kong you can fly to several cities in Asia as well, which brings me to my next point.

WHAT ARE STOPOVERS?

Another reason why I LOVE Alaska Airline miles is because they allow a free stopover on their one way award flights.  What that means is that we can book a flight from the US to Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific, stay in Hong Kong for a few days, weeks, etc, then fly out to another destination, in this case it was Bangkok, for no additional charge!  This flight ran 50K Alaska Airline miles per person.

On the way back to the US, we decided to check out a different airline, Japan Airlines.  This airline is based out of Tokyo Japan, which would allow us to take advantage of a stopover there, before flying to the US.  We flew from Bangkok to Tokyo, stayed a few days in Tokyo, then flew to the US for 65K Alaska Airline miles per person!

BOOKING AWARD FLIGHTS TO ASIA

To search for our Cathay Pacific flights, we used the British Airways website.  Once you’ve logged into the sight, hover over the “Book” tab and select “Book a flight with Avios”.

Next you’ll enter in your flight search information, dates, number of passengers, etc.  Then click on “Get Flights”

Next you’ll see this screen.  Make sure to select “No, I want to continue without stopovers”, then click “Continue”

After that, your search results will appear.  If there is award space available, it’ll show, if there isn’t then it won’t.  Notice the 3 Cathay Pacific options available, both in Economy and Business class.  We usually search for business class on long haul flights since it gives you a better value for your points.

Write down the flight information, or make a screenshot for your desired flight to Hong Kong.  You’ll need this later.

So now you found award space from your desired airport to Hong Kong.  If you’re wanting to travel to another part of Asia and stay in Hong Kong for a few days to utilize the free stopover, just search for the next segment the same way.

Enter in your search criteria

Here are your search results, showing multiple flights with business class award space.

Again, make sure to write down or make a screenshot of the desired flight information.  

CALLING TO BOOK YOUR FLIGHTS TO ASIA

Unfortunately when booking award travel on Cathay Pacific or LAN with Alaska Airline miles, you must call in to make the booking.  The good thing is that I’ve found Alaska Airline reps to be very knowledgeable and a pleasure to talk to. Plus, since we’ve already found the flights we want, all we have to do is feed them the information, making the booking go much smoother.

To do this, have your desired flight information ready, along with your Alaska Airline MileagePlan information with the required amount of miles and call 1-800-252-7522.  Go through the prompts to make an award booking. When speaking to the phone agent, be courteous. They want to help you out, so don’t be one of those dreaded callers that demands things.  Just let them know what you’re trying to book and that you have the flight information ready. Once you feed them the data, they verify the flight availability. Then they ask for passenger information, so make sure to have your passports ready too.  The calls usually take about 20-30 minutes and really aren’t too bad. If you have an agent who is rude or isn’t willing to help, just HUCA (hang up, call again).

JAPAN AIRLINE AWARD SEARCH AND BOOKING

So now that you’ve booked your award flight from the US to Bangkok with a stopover in Hong Kong, it’s time to search for your flights back home.  Again for our recent vacation, we chose to fly a different route home. This way we can experience a different airline and a different stopover city.  

Booking flights on Japan Airlines with Alaska Airline miles is easy.  You use the Alaska Airline site to search for the awards and you’re able to book it online as well.  Here’s how to do it.

Go to the Alaska Airlines website.  Then enter in your flight search information.  In this example, I’ll be searching for the Bangkok to Tokyo segment.  Then click “FIND FLIGHTS”

Here you’ll see your search results.  There is award space in business class on this Japan Airlines flight.  Take a screenshot or write down the flight information.

Next, do the same thing to find your Tokyo to US segment.  Again with Alaska Airline miles you can take advantage of a free stopover in Tokyo, which is what we did.  

After you enter in your search criteria, check to see if there are any award seats available.

Once you find the flights and dates that are available and that you like, take a screen shot of all the segments, or write down the flight information.  Here’s where you’ll do a new search to tie it all in together.

From the Alaska Airlines homepage, click on “All search options”

Then click on “Multi-city” and select “Use miles”. Then enter in your 2 segments where you found award space.  In this case it’s Bangkok to Tokyo on 9-9-19, then Tokyo to Seattle on 9-18-19. Then click “Find Flights”

Now your search results will show your award flight with the stopover included!

Select the option you want then click “ADD TO CART”

Once in your cart, notice the price for the award flight.  65K miles and about $88 in fees for a business class flight from Bangkok to Tokyo, stay a few days in Tokyo, then from Tokyo to the US.  That’s a heck of a deal!

At this point you’ll be required to log in to your MileagePlan account if you haven’t already done so.  All you have to do is follow the prompts to complete your booking. It’s super easy!

CASH PRICE OF OUR FLIGHTS TO ASIA

The cash price for our flights from the US to Bangkok was $4,697 per person

However we spent 50K Alaska Airline miles per person plus $122 in fees to book this.

With this award redemption, we got a value of 9.4 cents/mile!

($4,697 / 50,000 miles = 9.4 cents/mile)

The cash price for our return flights was $3,391 per person

But we spent 65K miles per person and about $150 in fees
Remember, these are business class flights!

For these flights we got a value of 5.2 cents/mile.  That’s an excellent value

($3,391 / 65,000 miles = 5.2 cents per mile)

The total cash value of the flights for both my wife and I was $16,176, but we booked them with 230,000 Alaska Airline miles!  Overall the value we got out of our miles averaged out to 7 cents/mile. ($16,176 / 230,000 miles = 7 cents per mile) Not bad if I say so myself!

HOW TO GET ALASKA AIRLINE MILES

Now you might be wondering, “well that sounds great, but how can I get so many Alaska Airline miles?”  Earning the miles is the easy part! You’ll notice on the Alaska Airline homepage towards the bottom, they have a 40,000 mile sign up offer for their credit card.  This will get one person most of the miles needed for a one way flight on Cathay Pacific. If you’re planning this trip for you and someone else, your travel partner can sign up for their own card too!

Again, when dealing with credit cards, you must be financially responsible and use it wisely.  Just use it like you do your debit card and you’ll be good!

CONCLUSION

Some more cards to consider are any of the Marriott Bonvoy cards offered by either Chase or American Express.  The points earned with those cards can be transferred to Alaska Airlines, plus you earn a 25% bonus when transferring points in 20,000 mile increments!  With 2 card bonuses, plus regular spending on those cards, you’ll have enough miles to book these flights for 1 person.

I hope you found this article useful and informative.  Let me know what you think down in the comments.  We’ll see you in the next one!

Check out our YouTube video

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FLIGHTS I AM PLANNING FOR

As cheesy as it may sound, since the host country is Qatar, it gives me a very good reason to consider Qatar Airways.  Many top bloggers rave about their business class seats and product. Not only do I want to try their business class product, but they have several nonstop flights from US cities to Doha.  Flights from the US to Doha on Qatar Airways in business class are 70K AA miles each way.  

My backup plan to get to Qatar would be through Turkish Airlines.  I have flown in their business class several times and it never gets old for me.  They offer great food, service and comfortable lie-flat seats that allow me to get some rest before I get to my destination.  The only drawback would be connecting in Istanbul. I’d prefer the non-stop flight, but I’m sure I could get over it at their business class lounge.  It’s fairly easy to find award space so I consider this to be a safe backup plan. For the Turkish Airlines option I would use Aeroplan miles.

HOW TO BOOK

Keep in mind that this may change in three years, but as of right now, this is the process of searching and booking these flights.  DISCLAIMER: The number of miles required and the websites may change from now until it’s time to book your flights for the World Cup.

For the Qatar Airways flight, I will use the British Airways website to find award space.  I plan to use American Airlines miles as the currency to purchase my flights. Here’s how to find award space.  

Log in to your British Airways account, then under the “Executive Club” tab, select “Spending Avios”

Then scroll down and select “Book a reward flight”

Fill in the flight information and click “Get Flights”

Select “No, I want to continue without stopovers”

Here are the available flights.  Notice that there’s an option for Qatar Airways and one for British Airways.  I won’t consider the British Airways option since the fees are super high. The one I would book is Qatar Airways.

Make note of the flight number, dates, times etc as you will need this information when you call the American Airlines center to book this flight.  Make sure you have enough AA miles in your account. When you’re ready, call AAdvantage at 1-800-882-8880. Let them know that you’d like to book an award flight and give them your AA account information.  Feed them the flight information. Viola!

HOTEL OPTIONS FOR THE WORLD CUP

It will be difficult to use hotel loyalty points to cover my lodging, since FIFA blocks out rooms at hotels.  This has been the case for the past two World Cups. No need to fear though, since we can use Barclay Arrival + miles or Venture miles to cover costs paid for lodging.  Here are some options for you to consider.

The first option is FIFA Hotels.  As mentioned before, FIFA blocks out hotel rooms at several hotels in host cities and they post them on their website.  The prices are very reasonable and the transactions are secure. They make it very easy to book a hotel stay during the World Cup.  The drawback is that you can’t use or earn hotel loyalty points for your stay. The charge does post as travel, so you can use fixed value points to cover those charges.  This is the option I would suggest using.

Another option would be to search for your stays through Booking.com.  I did this during the World Cup in Brazil and it worked out very well. Through this site, you get a mix of hotels, apartments, condos and homes that you can rent.  Prices are good and I like the fact that you can contact Booking’s customer service department if you have any questions or concerns. They have a messaging option to where you can communicate with the property, and they keep a log of the conversations in case you have any troubles before or during your stay.  You can also use fixed value points to wipe out these charges as well.

AIRBNB… USE WITH CAUTION

The last option I will mention is Airbnb.  I have used Airbnb in the past and have enjoyed all of my stays through them.  I have been able to use fixed value points to cover these charges which is great.  The prices, especially for larger groups are usually better through Airbnb and you most likely get a more “local” feel throughout your trip.  Up until now, my experience with Airbnb has been great!

A word of caution though with Airbnb.  During our planning during for the World Cup, we ran into issues where hosts would cancel bookings, only to inflate their prices and ask you to re-book at the higher price.  Lucky for us, when they cancelled it was still early on in the process and I still had the opportunity to search and find reasonably priced accommodations. Many people that I spoke with weren’t so fortunate.  They had booked and paid for their Airbnb, only to have the host cancel their booking about a week before their scheduled arrival. The host would inflate the price to extraordinary amounts and ask the customer to re-book.  By this time, it’s very tough to find any accommodations, so the customer is then backed into a corner where they feel they have to pay the high prices. Airbnb is aware of these issues, but have stated that they can’t do anything about that.

CONCLUSION

Attending the FIFA World Cup is very achievable and much more affordable than you think with the help of points and miles.  Planning for the World Cup is a little more tedious than other vacations you may have planned for, but with some patience and enough time, you can plan an extraordinary trip.  So if you’re planning on going to Qatar 2022, start saving and planning now!

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ALLOW TIME FOR PLANNING YOUR WORLD CUP TRIP

While you may think 4 years of planning is too much, it isn’t.  It gives frugal travelers plenty of time to save up some cash to spend on the trip.  While you plan to use points and miles to cover your flights and lodging, you still need to have money to cover your food, drinks, souvenirs, tours and any other costs you may incur.  Also, you’ll need money in case you come across an amazing flight or hotel deal that works out for the World Cup.  

If you save about $200 a month starting now, in 4 years you’ll have $9,600 saved to use for your trip.  That’s more than enough to cover your costs for the trip. You can adjust that figure up or down depending on your needs, but you get the idea that the more time you give yourself to save, the better!

GAME TICKETS

Getting tickets to the games can be tough, but with enough patience you can score tickets directly from FIFA which can save you thousands versus buying from a reseller.  In the past two World Cups, FIFA has offered Category 1-4 tickets. Category 4 tickets are only offered to residents of the host nation. With Category 1 tickets have the best views along the sidelines.  Typically Category 2 tickets provide views from the corners. Category 3 tickets are behind the goalie.  

There are different phases when trying to purchase tickets, and depending on what your goals are affects which phase you’ll try to buy tickets.  During the first phase, the teams eligible for the World Cup have yet to be determined. You can buy tickets depending on which cities you want to visit.  For example, if you were interested in only visiting St. Petersburg and Moscow, then you can try to purchase tickets for games in those cities, regardless of who plays there.  You can purchase packages to watch all of the games in your chosen cities, or single game tickets. You can buy a maximum of four tickets per game, per account.

During the second phase, the teams participating in the World Cup, the groups they’ll be in and where they will play their matches have been determined.  This is the phase that I get involved in since I want to watch my team and follow them to the cities they play. During this phase you can buy team packages for as many games as you’d like to see them play or individual games tickets.  For example, you can purchase a TST3 package, which means you want to watch your team’s first three games. TST4 is for the first 4 games, so on and so forth.

RANDOM SELECTION VS FIRST COME FIRST SERVED

You’ll notice that the first two phases offer a “random selection draw” and a “first come first served” date range.  The “random selection draw” is like a lottery. You apply for the type of ticket package or single game that you want.  At the end of that phase you are notified if your application was selected then you can pay for the tickets that you applied for.  You may be successful for part or all of the tickets that you applied for.

The “first come first served” phases are a little more interesting.  Usually the times when these phases open are not ideal for US residents, so you may have to set your alarm to be logged in for your chance to buy tickets.  Also, there are thousands of fans who are waiting to buy tickets so there may be long wait times before you’re able to get into the site. If the games or teams that you want tickets for are popular, it’s difficult to find available tickets for them.  Although it’s not easy, persistence is key to landing the tickets that you want.

PERKS OF THE WORLD CUP

A very cool perk of traveling to the World Cup is that many times you get free public transportation within the host cities.  This could save you a considerable amount of money! We took advantage of free shuttles from the airport to the city centers, free metro rides, and free shuttles around the city.  They also offer free shuttles to and from the games, however we didn’t really take advantage of those since we liked walking with the crowds to the game. Considering how much we would’ve paid in transportation costs, this is a huge money saver.

http://welcome2018.com/en/free-transport/#more

Another thing that most would appreciate is the fact that the host country usually eases travel restrictions regarding Visas.  From our experience both in Brazil and Russia, we didn’t need a visa, or got a special tournament visa at a much lower cost. The nice thing about these tournament visas (FanID) is that they are very easy to get and you don’t need to submit your passport anywhere to get it.  It takes a little bit of the stress out of planning for your trip, which is always welcome!

CONCLUSION

The World Cup is on many fans’ bucket lists and it is a very much achievable goal.  With enough time given to plan, you can take part in one of the world’s greatest sporting events.  The great thing is that you can take a huge chunk out of the costs with points and miles. In Part 2 of this series, I’ll show you which routes I’m going to consider taking to Qatar in 2022.  Are you planning on going to Qatar 2022?

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OUR FLIGHTS TO CUBA

When it was first announced that US flights would be allowed to apply for routes to Cuba, pretty much all US Airlines jumped on board to bid for their routes.  Since then, some airlines have pulled out of Cuba due to lower demand than initially expected. There are still a few routes to choose from where you can utilize your points and miles.  We booked award flights on United to get to Cuba, then booked award flights on American Airlines to get back home.

When you do book a flight from the US to Cuba, whether it’s a paid flight or an award flight, you will need to pick a reason why you’re going to Cuba.  Tourism is not a valid option when booking your flight. If you decide to go to Cuba, please do your own research to see which of these valid reasons best applies to your situation, and what all is needed to support your reason.

GETTING A VISA TO ENTER CUBA

Another thing that is needed to get to Cuba is the purchase of a Visa.  This is a bit different than other Visas I have applied for in that I didn’t have to go to a Consulate or submit a passport for my Visa.  I purchased my visa through Cuba Travel Services.  I had read articles and saw videos where other travelers purchased their visas at the gate awaiting their flight, however there wasn’t a place where I could do so for my flight from Houston.  Luckily I had purchased them ahead of time.

LANDING IN CUBA  

The visa itself is blank and only asks for your first and last name, date of birth, passport number and nationality.  Before boarding our flight to Havana from Houston, the gate agent asked to see our visa along with our passport. After a brief look, we were allowed to board.  While on the flight, we were given a few other forms to fill out in order to enter Cuba. When we arrived in Havana, and passed through immigration, the officer asked to see my visa and passport.  Then the officer asked for me to look into a camera for a picture. She then stamped my passport and visa and allowed me to pass on to customs.

At customs our luggage passed through an x-ray machine where we picked them up and met with a doctor.  The doctor took one of the forms we filled out on the plane and took it and allowed us to pass on through.  Next, since we didn’t have any items to declare, we could pass on to exit the airport. Many Cubans were stuck in this line since they were bringing in items from the US.

EXCHANGING MONEY

Once we were outside of the airport, there was a crowd of people, including taxi drivers waiting for passengers.  Here’s where you can get a taxi to take you where you need to go. Before we got a taxi though, we went over to the departures area of the airport to exchange money.

I had read a few articles stating to do this and it worked out great.  When you land in Havana, you may end up in either the main airport, or a small terminal off to the side.  We flew in on United and went through the small terminal. After exiting the terminal, we walked to the other side of the terminal, which was the departures area.  This was smart because the line to exchange money on that side of the airport is short or non existent.

Before heading to Cuba, I had done quite a bit of research and something that many travelers suggested was converting your US dollars to Euros prior to going to Cuba.  The reason for this was because Cuba adds on a 10% tax for exchanging US dollars to Cuban pesos (CUC). I realize that you’ll lose some when exchanging US dollars to Euros, but if you take Euros and exchange them for CUC, you will come out ahead in the end.  

Why are we talking about cash?  Well, as you may already know, US credit or debit cards don’t work in Cuba, so all of your purchases need to be made in cash.  While it’s a bummer because you can’t earn points while in Cuba, it’s not the end of the world. Exchanging money and getting fair prices was not a big deal at all, especially if you know Spanish!

GETTING AROUND CUBA

Taxis are abundant in Cuba, and they come in various forms.  One of the cheaper forms is a “taxi colectivo”. When you hail one down, you ask the driver if they’re headed in the area, or close to the area you’re wanting to go.  You’ll be riding with other passengers that are going to the same vicinity. They won’t drop you off on the doorstep of your destination, so be prepared in knowing the area where you’ll be going.  Colectivos tend to be older cars and what the locals use.

There are tourist taxis available, that look much like taxis you see in the US.  They operate like taxis here as well. They are more expensive, since they cater more to tourists.  Many of them have the yellow checkered color scheme so they are quickly spotted. There are other nice classics running around that operate as tourist taxis.  They operate like the tourist taxis mentioned above, but you’re riding in a classic!

There are “coco taxis” available also.  These are for two adults max. It’s basically a motorcycle modified with a small carriage in the back for two people.  These are more tourist focused as well, and it’s a cool experience, especially during the summer nights.

Then there are the classic cars.  While many colectivos are classics, they are not in the best condition.  The others are more for show. While in Havana, you can ride around in a classic that you choose for about 40 CUC for an hour ride throughout the city.  Nice classics were available in Varadero as well, but we didn’t take a ride in one there. These drivers have special licenses that allow them to run their business and purchase replacement parts for their classics.  

CONCLUSION

I’m very thankful that we had the opportunity to go to Cuba.  We’re not sure what the future holds and if US citizens will have the luxury of traveling there as easily going forward.  While I’m content with our Cuba trip, I’d love to go back and visit other parts of the island. We’ll see if we can fit it into our travel plans. I hope this overview of Cuba provides you with some useful information and tips that you can utilize if you’re planning on going to Cuba.  Have you visited Cuba?

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