Earlier I had written about finding one-way flights to Bali from Dallas for $271 on CheapOair.com. Since then Bali’s active volcano has caused China to cancel all flights to Bali until sometime in February. This made it necessary for me to have to repurchase tickets through Singapore Air, for around $475 per person from Los Angelos to Bali.
We had a good experience using Singapore Airlines from Bali, and I have found using google flights and then booking through the airline to be a much easier process than using CheapOair.com. The savings are probably not worth the hassle unless you find a really, really good deal.
I will still be using the Spirit portion of the original booking to get to LAX. With one checked and one carry on bag per person this comes to around $133 per ticket.
Oh well, maybe next time I will get to take advantage of a rediculously cheap fare.
Mike
Tuesday, 16 January 2018
Global Entry
Global Entry is a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Program which allows you to skip the long lines and makes it much easier going through screening when reentering the United States. Being in the Global Entry Program also gives you TSA precheck benefits as well. You can go through TSA Precheck security lines, and do not need to: take off your shoes, remove your laptop from the case, take out liquids from your carry-on, and take off your belt or light outer wear.
This morning I went in for my global entry interview at the DFW airport. I arrived early and was done with the interview before my scheduled appointment time. It was really just an appointment where they looked at my passport and took my fingerprints. I received an email in the afternoon, which said there had been a change to my application status. When I logged in I saw that I was approved and I am now waiting for my card to arrive by mail.
The first part of the application was all online, and fairly simple. You have to create an account and enter your information and pay the fee. You then have to wait a week or two for your application to be processed and approved. If it is approved you are able to schedule an appointment, which is the last step. I had to schedule mine for when I would be in Dallas, as the Indianapolis airport did not have a Global Entry office. This may be problematic if you are not in a major city. If you only want TSA Precheck you can apply for that instead, which costs $85 and is good for 5 years, same as Global Entry. This would be fine, if you do not leave the U.S. often.
One reason I applied for Global Entry was that the Chase Saphire Reserve card reimburses the application fee of $100 when using the card to pay. You could also get reimbursed for TSA Precheck. If you apply for this card by clicking the link above you can get a sign-up bonus of 50,000 points after spending $4,000 in the first three months. This is worth either $500 in cash back, or $750 in travel through the Chase Rewards Site. The card also includes Priority Pass Select, which will let you and a guest enter over 1000 airport lounges worldwide, where you can rest comfortably while waiting for your flight. My wife and I found using a travel lounge to sleep while in Singapore made our longhaul trip much more tolerable. Many lounges also include complimentary showers, food and drinks. With 3% back on travel and dining purchases and a $300 credit on travel, this makes the $450 annual fee more than worth it if you travel frequently. The travel credit and Global Entry credit benefits have effectively reduced the annual fee to $50.
I hope this is helpful to anyone considering getting Global Entry or TSA Pre-check. You can check available enrollment center and apply using the link below.
https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/global-entry/enrollment-centers
Happy Travels,
Mike
This morning I went in for my global entry interview at the DFW airport. I arrived early and was done with the interview before my scheduled appointment time. It was really just an appointment where they looked at my passport and took my fingerprints. I received an email in the afternoon, which said there had been a change to my application status. When I logged in I saw that I was approved and I am now waiting for my card to arrive by mail.
The first part of the application was all online, and fairly simple. You have to create an account and enter your information and pay the fee. You then have to wait a week or two for your application to be processed and approved. If it is approved you are able to schedule an appointment, which is the last step. I had to schedule mine for when I would be in Dallas, as the Indianapolis airport did not have a Global Entry office. This may be problematic if you are not in a major city. If you only want TSA Precheck you can apply for that instead, which costs $85 and is good for 5 years, same as Global Entry. This would be fine, if you do not leave the U.S. often.
One reason I applied for Global Entry was that the Chase Saphire Reserve card reimburses the application fee of $100 when using the card to pay. You could also get reimbursed for TSA Precheck. If you apply for this card by clicking the link above you can get a sign-up bonus of 50,000 points after spending $4,000 in the first three months. This is worth either $500 in cash back, or $750 in travel through the Chase Rewards Site. The card also includes Priority Pass Select, which will let you and a guest enter over 1000 airport lounges worldwide, where you can rest comfortably while waiting for your flight. My wife and I found using a travel lounge to sleep while in Singapore made our longhaul trip much more tolerable. Many lounges also include complimentary showers, food and drinks. With 3% back on travel and dining purchases and a $300 credit on travel, this makes the $450 annual fee more than worth it if you travel frequently. The travel credit and Global Entry credit benefits have effectively reduced the annual fee to $50.
I hope this is helpful to anyone considering getting Global Entry or TSA Pre-check. You can check available enrollment center and apply using the link below.
https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/global-entry/enrollment-centers
Happy Travels,
Mike
Wednesday, 20 December 2017
Another low medium spend card (IHG Premier from Chase)
This has been updated as the Old IHG Club Card is no longer offered.
The IHG Rewards Club Premier Credit Card has a bonus of 140,000 points right now which should get you at least a several free nights at Holiday Inns, Crown Plaza or InterContinentals and more. Redemptions start at 5k points, so you could possibly get up to 28 free nights out of the bonus. I'm not sure if you will be able to find them at that rate but I have been able to find redemptions for 10,000 at Candlewood Suites.
The minimum spend is $3,000 to get that bonus. The $89 annual fee is not waived the first year like the old IHG card. I do like that you get a free night every anniversary, so if you did keep the card and pay the annual fee you would be getting something in return. A reward night up to 40,000 points. You also get up to $100 towards TSA Pre-Check or Global Entry.
By holding the card you also get Platinum Elite Status, which has some reasonable perks like complimentary room upgrades and earning extra points. You also get the fourth reward night for free. There is no referral program I am aware of for this card, so just apply as normal through Chase.
Thanks for Reading,
Michael Wilson
The IHG Rewards Club Premier Credit Card has a bonus of 140,000 points right now which should get you at least a several free nights at Holiday Inns, Crown Plaza or InterContinentals and more. Redemptions start at 5k points, so you could possibly get up to 28 free nights out of the bonus. I'm not sure if you will be able to find them at that rate but I have been able to find redemptions for 10,000 at Candlewood Suites.
The minimum spend is $3,000 to get that bonus. The $89 annual fee is not waived the first year like the old IHG card. I do like that you get a free night every anniversary, so if you did keep the card and pay the annual fee you would be getting something in return. A reward night up to 40,000 points. You also get up to $100 towards TSA Pre-Check or Global Entry.
By holding the card you also get Platinum Elite Status, which has some reasonable perks like complimentary room upgrades and earning extra points. You also get the fourth reward night for free. There is no referral program I am aware of for this card, so just apply as normal through Chase.
Thanks for Reading,
Michael Wilson
Why I upgraded to a $450 annual fee card
I just upgraded my Chase Saphire Preferred card to the Chase Saphire Reserve card.
I did this as my first annual fee was approaching. I could have cancelled or downgraded the card and payed no fee, or else I could have kept it and payed the $99 annual fee.
Instead I opted to upgrade it to get 3X points on travel and dining and most importantly, Priority Pass.
Priority Pass gets you into over 1000 Airport Lounges around the world. Is that really worth the $450 annual fee you ask? Since the Reserve card automatically gives you a $300 credit towards travel each year, it is really a $150 annual fee. All you do is spend on travel and your account get reimbursed up to $300. The same level Priority Pass (Prestige) costs $399, so in my opinion this is a great deal if you travel enough to use Priority Pass. You and a guest enjoy unlimited entry into lounges around the world.
There are also other benefits to the card, such as the 50,000 Ultimate Reward Point signup bonus. I did not get this as I already cashed in on the Sapphire Preferred bonus. You also get 50% more on travel redemption through the Chase Reward site. This might make some of them worth looking into.
If you are interested in this card please use my referral link to apply and I will get 10k points. You can then refer your friends and family to get up to 50k bonus points a year.
(Update)
I have checked on travel redemptions since my account started displaying Reserve instead of Preferred. While I thought Flying from Bali to Indianapolis for 40K points by transferring points to United was good, I see that I can redeem flights for 36K points through the Chase site. From LA to Bali was 32k points. Both flights were with Singapore Airlines. The hotel redemptions also look pretty good. Another benefit I am taking advantage of is a $100 credit for applying to Global Entry. This will make getting through immigration much faster. I will also look into the discount rates on rental cars while in Dallas. I also noticed the site shows I have already spent the $300 on travel, so I should see the statement credit soon. So far I am very happy I upgraded.
Here's the link:
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/19/M0GHJYSNAE
Thanks for reading,
Mike
I did this as my first annual fee was approaching. I could have cancelled or downgraded the card and payed no fee, or else I could have kept it and payed the $99 annual fee.
Instead I opted to upgrade it to get 3X points on travel and dining and most importantly, Priority Pass.
Priority Pass gets you into over 1000 Airport Lounges around the world. Is that really worth the $450 annual fee you ask? Since the Reserve card automatically gives you a $300 credit towards travel each year, it is really a $150 annual fee. All you do is spend on travel and your account get reimbursed up to $300. The same level Priority Pass (Prestige) costs $399, so in my opinion this is a great deal if you travel enough to use Priority Pass. You and a guest enjoy unlimited entry into lounges around the world.
There are also other benefits to the card, such as the 50,000 Ultimate Reward Point signup bonus. I did not get this as I already cashed in on the Sapphire Preferred bonus. You also get 50% more on travel redemption through the Chase Reward site. This might make some of them worth looking into.
If you are interested in this card please use my referral link to apply and I will get 10k points. You can then refer your friends and family to get up to 50k bonus points a year.
(Update)
I have checked on travel redemptions since my account started displaying Reserve instead of Preferred. While I thought Flying from Bali to Indianapolis for 40K points by transferring points to United was good, I see that I can redeem flights for 36K points through the Chase site. From LA to Bali was 32k points. Both flights were with Singapore Airlines. The hotel redemptions also look pretty good. Another benefit I am taking advantage of is a $100 credit for applying to Global Entry. This will make getting through immigration much faster. I will also look into the discount rates on rental cars while in Dallas. I also noticed the site shows I have already spent the $300 on travel, so I should see the statement credit soon. So far I am very happy I upgraded.
Here's the link:
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/19/M0GHJYSNAE
Thanks for reading,
Mike
Sunday, 26 November 2017
Why you should use a Shopping Portal
I have mentioned using a shopping portal as a way to get points for travel or get cash back. These are often just a webpage with links to online shopping retailers. Airlines, banks and independant shopping portals exist so you have a range of options for how to be rewarded.
The hard part is remembering to always use a shopping portal before you click buy when you see that shiny new product on sale. Using a shopping portal is actually pretty easy. If you were going to use ABC airline’s shopping portal for example, you would go to their website and click on the link to the online retailer you wanted. From there on it is exactly the same shopping experience you are used to, except you will receive points to your ABC airline rewards account.
One shopping portal not associated with hotels, banks or airlines I have been using is Ebates.com.
It rewards you with cash back, and just for signing up you get $10.00 credit. You can choose to receive this through paypal or a check. They also have a referral program where you can earn $25.00 for referring your friends. Here is my referral link https://go.ebat.es/imsk/IOM2j6OSmI so if you sign up I will get $25.00 and you will get $10.00 (I know it is so unfair).
Another site similar to Ebates that I recently found is befrugal.com. I will get $10 and you will also get $10 for using my referral link. https://www.befrugal.com/referral/?ref=FWYEVXI
You should take a look at which portal is offering the best rewards for the retailer or product you are looking at. You can use sites like http://evreward.com/ or http://www.cashbackmonitor.com/ to see which portals have the highest reward for say Walmart.com. When I ran this search Ebates had the highest rewards in cash back at 6%. As Cyber Monday opens be sure to give shopping portals a check. Used in combination with a credit card like Chase Freedom, which is currently getting 5 points per dollar at Walmart and departent stores, you could be getting an additional 11% back on already rock bottom prices. Happy online Shopping!
Mike
The hard part is remembering to always use a shopping portal before you click buy when you see that shiny new product on sale. Using a shopping portal is actually pretty easy. If you were going to use ABC airline’s shopping portal for example, you would go to their website and click on the link to the online retailer you wanted. From there on it is exactly the same shopping experience you are used to, except you will receive points to your ABC airline rewards account.
One shopping portal not associated with hotels, banks or airlines I have been using is Ebates.com.
It rewards you with cash back, and just for signing up you get $10.00 credit. You can choose to receive this through paypal or a check. They also have a referral program where you can earn $25.00 for referring your friends. Here is my referral link https://go.ebat.es/imsk/IOM2j6OSmI so if you sign up I will get $25.00 and you will get $10.00 (I know it is so unfair).
Another site similar to Ebates that I recently found is befrugal.com. I will get $10 and you will also get $10 for using my referral link. https://www.befrugal.com/referral/?ref=FWYEVXI
You should take a look at which portal is offering the best rewards for the retailer or product you are looking at. You can use sites like http://evreward.com/ or http://www.cashbackmonitor.com/ to see which portals have the highest reward for say Walmart.com. When I ran this search Ebates had the highest rewards in cash back at 6%. As Cyber Monday opens be sure to give shopping portals a check. Used in combination with a credit card like Chase Freedom, which is currently getting 5 points per dollar at Walmart and departent stores, you could be getting an additional 11% back on already rock bottom prices. Happy online Shopping!
Mike
Thursday, 2 November 2017
Low Minimum Spend Cards with Big Bonuses
I have been thinking about which credit cards to sign up for next, but I don't want to worry about meeting a big minimum spend right now.
I love how easy it is to get the bonus on a card with only $500 or $1000 minimum spend. While not as huge of a bonus, the reward for how much you are spending is usually much better.
It can be hard to meet the minimum spends on some cards, especially ones that come with big bonuses. The Chase Saphire Preferred requires $4,000 US to get the 50k bonus points. The reward to spend ration only $500/$4000 = .125 if you are using it for cash back instead of more rewarding flight rewards. You can think of this as a 12.5% cashback discount on what you spent. There are tricks, like paying your taxes on a credit card for a small fee (about 2%). Or some people buy PIN enabled debit cards, buy money orders with them, then use them to pay off the card, to earn rewards or meet minimum spend, but I want to focus on some cards that are easier to get the bonus on. It should be noted that buying gift cards may not count toward some cards minimum spend.
I was approved for the BankAmericard Cash Back Rewards Card which has a low minimum spend of $500.00 and a bonus of $150 as a statement credit. It also has no annual fee.
Here are the rewards for spending:
1% cash back on every purchase, 2% at grocery stores and wholesale clubs and 3% on gas for the first $2,500 in combined grocery/wholesale club/gas purchases each quarter.
To me this seems like a no brainer. You get 30% back on spending $500 you would have spent anyways, and then you can continue to use the card for 3% off of gas. I think everyone has to spend $500 in a three month period anyways. The reward to spend ration is $150/$500 = .300
I also have mentioned I also have BOA's Travel Rewards card, which also has a minimum spend of $1000 and no annual fee or foreign transaction fee. You get $250 towards travel purchases and earn 1.5% on all spending. With these two cards you would always get at least 1.5% back, and up to 3% on daily spending. One thing to remember when comparing rewards points verse cash back is that reward points may be called higher than a cash back percentage. Chase Ultimate Rewards points are valued at 1.5 cents by some travel hackers as they can purchase premium travel experiences at a better price than cash. So two points/dollar back on the Chase Sapphire Preferred may be worth more like 3-4% to some.
Two Chase cards that have a minimum spend of $500 for their bonus of $200 in points or cash back are the Chase Freedom and Freedom Unlimited. No annual fees on either. You will also get $25
back for adding an additional card holder after they use the card. $350 in your pocket for spending $1000 you would have spent anyways. Thats a reward to spend of 175/500 = .35 so 35% cash back. If you already have one of these and refer someone else who gets the card, you would get $100 right now.
You can space getting these four cards out over a year, and it should be easy to meet the minimum spends. Some people worry this will hurt their credit, but I have better credit now than I did before I started travel hacking. A new credit card application or cancellation may temporarily make your credit score dip a few points, but it quickly goes back up. Your score is then positively effected by having a higher credit limit to use ratio. It is also positively effected by holding a credit line for a long time. This is why I still have my first credit card open, even though I don't use it. There are many travel hackers who have dozens of cards, and apply and cancel many times more than myself and have better credit ratings than me. You can also monitor your credit score for free with Chase and BOA. Mine is at 767 right now while a year ago it was at 757.
I think that getting three or all four of these cards are the way to start out using credit cards to earn cash back and travel rewards. Once you see how easy it was you might move on to some bigger bonus rewards by timing some big purchases to meet the minimum spends.
Happy Travels,
Mike
I love how easy it is to get the bonus on a card with only $500 or $1000 minimum spend. While not as huge of a bonus, the reward for how much you are spending is usually much better.
It can be hard to meet the minimum spends on some cards, especially ones that come with big bonuses. The Chase Saphire Preferred requires $4,000 US to get the 50k bonus points. The reward to spend ration only $500/$4000 = .125 if you are using it for cash back instead of more rewarding flight rewards. You can think of this as a 12.5% cashback discount on what you spent. There are tricks, like paying your taxes on a credit card for a small fee (about 2%). Or some people buy PIN enabled debit cards, buy money orders with them, then use them to pay off the card, to earn rewards or meet minimum spend, but I want to focus on some cards that are easier to get the bonus on. It should be noted that buying gift cards may not count toward some cards minimum spend.
I was approved for the BankAmericard Cash Back Rewards Card which has a low minimum spend of $500.00 and a bonus of $150 as a statement credit. It also has no annual fee.
Here are the rewards for spending:
1% cash back on every purchase, 2% at grocery stores and wholesale clubs and 3% on gas for the first $2,500 in combined grocery/wholesale club/gas purchases each quarter.
I also have mentioned I also have BOA's Travel Rewards card, which also has a minimum spend of $1000 and no annual fee or foreign transaction fee. You get $250 towards travel purchases and earn 1.5% on all spending. With these two cards you would always get at least 1.5% back, and up to 3% on daily spending. One thing to remember when comparing rewards points verse cash back is that reward points may be called higher than a cash back percentage. Chase Ultimate Rewards points are valued at 1.5 cents by some travel hackers as they can purchase premium travel experiences at a better price than cash. So two points/dollar back on the Chase Sapphire Preferred may be worth more like 3-4% to some.
Two Chase cards that have a minimum spend of $500 for their bonus of $200 in points or cash back are the Chase Freedom and Freedom Unlimited. No annual fees on either. You will also get $25
back for adding an additional card holder after they use the card. $350 in your pocket for spending $1000 you would have spent anyways. Thats a reward to spend of 175/500 = .35 so 35% cash back. If you already have one of these and refer someone else who gets the card, you would get $100 right now.
You can space getting these four cards out over a year, and it should be easy to meet the minimum spends. Some people worry this will hurt their credit, but I have better credit now than I did before I started travel hacking. A new credit card application or cancellation may temporarily make your credit score dip a few points, but it quickly goes back up. Your score is then positively effected by having a higher credit limit to use ratio. It is also positively effected by holding a credit line for a long time. This is why I still have my first credit card open, even though I don't use it. There are many travel hackers who have dozens of cards, and apply and cancel many times more than myself and have better credit ratings than me. You can also monitor your credit score for free with Chase and BOA. Mine is at 767 right now while a year ago it was at 757.
I think that getting three or all four of these cards are the way to start out using credit cards to earn cash back and travel rewards. Once you see how easy it was you might move on to some bigger bonus rewards by timing some big purchases to meet the minimum spends.
Happy Travels,
Mike
Not all Flight Search Engines are Equal
I have just been introduced to a new airline ticket search engine I am pretty impressed with. While I have been using Google Flights, Cheapoair.com, kayak.com and will continue to do so, I will also use Momondo.com
I found it while reading a post on how to find cheap tickets on https://www.nomadicmatt.com
I did a search for flights from Bali to Darwin and was able to get $95 on Momondo instead of the airlines direct fare of $125.00. It points you toward the booking site with the cheapest fare.
Somehow airline ticket booking agencies are able to get a discount on tickets, so if you book through them you can often get a lower price. This comes with some trade offs though. They usually wont buy extra bags for you so you have to deal with the airline anyways, wont let you cancel or change the flight under the airlines policies (24 cancellation policy is law for airlines), etc.
Usually I like dealing directly with the airline, but in the case of booking a multi airline itinerary an travel agent (or online travel agency) can simplify things for you and help you find the cheapest itinerary. In this case the savings alone will justify going through an online booking agency.
All for now,
Mike
I found it while reading a post on how to find cheap tickets on https://www.nomadicmatt.com
I did a search for flights from Bali to Darwin and was able to get $95 on Momondo instead of the airlines direct fare of $125.00. It points you toward the booking site with the cheapest fare.
Somehow airline ticket booking agencies are able to get a discount on tickets, so if you book through them you can often get a lower price. This comes with some trade offs though. They usually wont buy extra bags for you so you have to deal with the airline anyways, wont let you cancel or change the flight under the airlines policies (24 cancellation policy is law for airlines), etc.
Usually I like dealing directly with the airline, but in the case of booking a multi airline itinerary an travel agent (or online travel agency) can simplify things for you and help you find the cheapest itinerary. In this case the savings alone will justify going through an online booking agency.
All for now,
Mike
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