Happy Saint Patrick's (Paddy's / Patty's) Day

I have a 6am flight from West Palm Beach, Florida to Newark, New Jersey tomorrow, St Patrick's Day, but I'm not sure the green beer will be flowing at that ungodly hour and St Patrick himself but probably be turning in his grave if it was. Watch out for the leprechauns. Rumour has it they're all gold diggers -  Sláinte!

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Tags: .Happy Saint Patrick's (Paddy's / Patty's) Day..

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Travel Hacking - Tip #1 - Credit Cards

Travel Hacking - Tip #1: Credit Card promotions. I have earned over 1 million miles in less than 12 months without doing much travelling.  I have more than 20 credit cards which I pay back in full each month to maintain excellent credit.  This tip is mostly geared towards US residents and you do need to have good credit history. The deals outside the USA are not nearly as lucrative. 


Don't just apply for any credit card offer. You have to be patient and wait for the mega promotions.  I typically do not apply for a credit card offer of less than 40,000 bonus points/miles. You can find out about mega offers by monitoring just a few specialist blogs which I will list below. Note: Many of these blogs get a commission via the credit card links they offer their deals on. I have no issue with this because for the most part, they deserve it for saving you a lot of time searching for the best deals elsewhere. However, once I know a good offer is available, I always do some more research on the frequent flier forums just to see if the sponsored links the blogs are offering are really are the best deal available.

e.g. I heard about a 30,000 bonus mile promotion for opening a new Delta Airlines American Express card but when I searched the frequent flier forums I found a better bonus offer for 45,000 miles.  So you need to find the best offer which is typically a web link posted by fellow travel hackers and apply.


Step #1 - Check these blogs for 40K+ credit card sign-up deals
Frugal Travel Guy
Mommy Points
The Points Guy
Million Mile Secrets

Step #2 - Check the forums for potential better promos & offer codes
FlyerTalk
FrequentFlier
MilePoint


Step #3 - Apply for a personal and business card at the same time using the 2 browser trick. When you apply for a credit card, the application process often puts a tracking cookie on your computer and won't offer you the same deal twice.  Using 2 different browsers gets around this limitation and will typically be only registered as one 'pull' from the credit bureaus.


Step #4 - Bump the bonus. Many credit cards will match the better bonus offered after you apply so long as you email it and request it within 60 days.  Chase bumped my 50K Chase Sapphire bonus to 100K they were offering just a few targeted customers simply because I heard about the offer and asked them to.


Check out Ricks FAQ on this topic as you do need to be careful about how often you apply for credit cards.

Tags: ..Travel Hacking - Step #1 - Credit Cards..

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What exactly is TRAVEL HACKING?

What exactly is Travel Hacking? If there is one thing better than traveling, it has to be traveling for cheap or better yet, for free. Travel hacking is about getting cheap or free flights, hotels, car rentals etc.  This is usually done by racking up miles and points from limited promotions offered by credit cards, hotels or airlines. It is also done by knowing how and when to book flights, car rentals and hotels to snag the best available prices. Most people pay the standard price / the going rate for travel. People in the know pay less, sometimes much less, sometimes nothing at all i.e. FREE!

It's no secret I have a passion for travel.  Check the 'Trip Reports' link above for some highlights.  I also have a passion for traveling on a budget. I have been traveling for over 25 years and have visited 60+ countries so far. I have managed to do this without spending a fortune.  If you want to SAVE A LOT OF MONEY on your travels then keep reading. You will need to put in a little effort and do your own homework but I promise you it's worth it and the advice I'm giving is FREE! (now that's an example of a good deal!) - Follow the steps in each article below


Step #1: Travel Hacking with Credit Cards (<-- click the link)  

This is a schedule detailing the points I have earned - Use the scroll bars below or click here .

Tags: ..What exactly is TRAVEL HACKING?, Travel Hacking for Dummies, What is the definition of Travel Hacking, How to Travel Hack, Steps involved in Travel Hacking..

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Hotel Review - Sheraton Miami Airport

The missus and I are in Florida for ‘Spring Break’. She has a week off between semesters so we flew Newark to Miami direct on the newly merged United/Continental. We spent the night at the Sheraton Miami Airport which is conveniently located right beside the car rental area and a picturesque golf course.  Miami Beach Hotels are notoriously expensive ($300+) so we opted for the airport location 20 minutes away. I redeemed Starwood points for the stay and was able to use only 3,000 points for 1 night instead of a $200 standard rate (a great deal!)

When we checked in we were told because I was a Starwood ‘Plus’ member (simply because I have a Starwood AMEX card) we would get a ‘premium’ room facing the golf course and complimentary late checkout until 4pm (bonus!)  We headed into South Beach, Miami and splurged on one the best restaurants in Miami called ‘OLA’ which serves food with a Latin American theme.  Dinner & drinks total with tip came to a pricey $200 including valet parking ($20) but hey we’re worth it!  We made the most of the valet parking by walking around Collins Ave for a few hours and people watching.


The hotel is ok (not great).  There is a decent swimming pool and bar.  The walls are a little thin and the rooms have those connecting room doors so you hear more of your neighbours than you would like to.  We had major problems with our key cards not working and the morning staff not wanting to honour the late checkout but after a little persuasive complaining by the missus, the hotel waived the $15 parking fee and threw in 1500 points so our 1 night stay only cost us 1500 net points with free parking.  That my friends was a bargain and starts the theme of the next few blog posts called ‘Travel Hacking!’

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Tags: ..Hotel Review - Sheraton Miami Airport..

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Giving up Social Media for Lent

Its time to get back to basics.  I'm giving up social media for Lent.  Well, to be precise, ALL social media except for Facebook, Blogger, Google+ and Twitter. Give me some slack, as I have no desire to go full-on Opus Dei, but for 40 days and 40 nights, no more FriendFeed, Posterous, Flickr, YouTube, Picasa, Foursquare, Vimeo, etc etc. Wish me luck!..

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Tags: ..tGiving up Social Media for Lent..

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