Category Archives: Saving Money

New Club Carlson Visa Gets 2 – 3 Free Nights Near Panama’s Soberania National Park

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Panama is a fantastic place for birders!  Soberania National Park is less than an hour’s drive from the airport and there is even the Metropolitan National Park right in the city of Panama City!   The bird lists are very impressive!   Birders on a budget can stay at the Radisson Summit on points and drive over to the Canopy Tower for a day visit.  Birders with more to spend can also stay overnight.

There is a special way to get up to 3 nights FREE at the Radisson Summit or any of their other hotels with the Club Carlson Visa.  They currently have only a USA version of this card but they do say they will introduce cards in other countries.  ***Disclaimer, this is not an affiliate link, these links go direct  to Club Carlson’s site.  Just sharing an awesome deal!

The USA one with US Bank comes in 3 varieties:

Club Carlson Premier Rewards Visa Signature card Highlights

  • 10 points per $1 spent in eligible net purchases at participating Carlson Rezidor hotels3
  • 5 points per $1 spent in eligible net purchases everywhere else3
  • Up to 85,000 Bonus Gold Points – receive 50,000 Gold Points after your first purchase plus 35,000 points once you spend $2,500 on your card within the first 90 days1
  • 40,000 renewal bonus points each year when you renew your card4
  • Bonus Award Nights – When you redeem Gold Points for 2 or more consecutive Award Nights, your last night is free.2Exclusively for cardmembers!
  • Your upgrade is automatic5 – Your Club Carlson membership will be upgraded to Gold Elite Status after you activate and use your card
  • Already reached Gold or Concierge Elite Status? You will receive 15 qualifying nights toward obtaining or maintaining Concierge Elite status after you activate and use your new card6
  • Enjoy all of these benefits for $75 Annual Fee

Club Carlson Rewards Visa Signature card Highlights

  • 6 points per $1 spent in eligible net purchases at participating Carlson Rezidor hotels3
  • 3 points per $1 spent in eligible net purchases everywhere else3
  • Up to 60,000 Bonus Gold Points – receive 50,000 Gold Points after your first purchase plus 10,000 points once you spend $1,500 on your card within the first 90 days1
  • 25,000 renewal bonus points each year when you renew your card4
  • Bonus Award Nights – When you redeem Gold Points for 2 or more consecutive Award Nights, your last night is free.2Exclusively for cardmembers!
  • Your upgrade is automatic5 – Your Club Carlson membership will be upgraded to Silver Elite Status after you activate and use your card
  • Already reached Silver, Gold or Concierge Elite Status? You will receive 10 qualifying nights toward obtaining or maintaining Gold or Concierge Elite status after you activate and use your new card.6
  • Enjoy all of these benefits for $50 Annual Fee

Club Carlson Business Rewards Visa card Highlights

  • 10 points per $1 spent in eligible net purchases at participating Carlson Rezidor hotels3
  • 5 points per $1 spent in eligible net purchases everywhere else3
  • Up to 85,000 Bonus Gold Points – receive 50,000 Gold Points after your first purchase plus 35,000 points once you spend $2,500 on your card within the first 90 days1
  • 40,000 renewal bonus pointseach year when you renew your card4
  • Bonus Award Nights – When you redeem Gold Points for 2 or more consecutive Award Nights, your last night is free.2Exclusively for business owners!
  • Your upgrade is automatic5 – Your Club Carlson membership will be upgraded to Gold Elite Status after you activate and use your card
  • Already reached Gold or Concierge Elite Status? You will receive 15 qualifying nights toward obtaining or maintaining Concierge Elite status after you activate and use your new card6
  • Enjoy all of these benefits for $60 Annual Fee

Remember, I am not a financial advisor so it is up to you to make sure you should have this credit card.

Club Carlson is a great program for non-frequent travelers as they have several promos throughout the year where you can earn points, so even if you don’t want the credit card, still join Club Carlson and be on their mailing list for promos.  Usually chain hotels suit eco-travelers best as gateway hotels but we are lucky that Club Carlson has a great option right near the Soberania National Park.

Depending on which card you get, you will have 1 or 2 free nights right off the bat!  But these cards have a little something extra!  Did you notice this part?

Bonus Award Nights – When you redeem Gold Points for 2 or more consecutive Award Nights, your last night is free.

This means that to get this (or any other Carlson hotel), you would redeem 38,000 points and get the last night free!  This effectively reduces rewards to half price, a fantastic deal any way you look at it!  I would recommend staying here 2 nights, birding along Pipeline Road and into Soberania National Park, then move to one of the other hotels in the city, go birding at the Metropolitan National Park and check out the Panama Canal, Panama Viejo or any of the markets, redeem one night and get the second night free.  This makes for 4 nights all up in Panama free!

Priority Club Pointbreaks – Gems For Eco-Travelers

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Once you get into the miles and points games, you begin to get more familiar with the deals that come out periodically and how to best take advantage of them.  One of the best is the Priority Club Point Breaks.   These come out roughly every second month and allow you to redeem only 5000 points for any of the designated hotels.  While most of the hotels are in cities and may appeal more to business travelers, there are often bargains to be had in resorts and more exotic destinations.  Priority Club is a great program for non-frequent travelers as they have many promos throughout the year to get points.  I will be sharing these opportunities as they come up.  If you are in a hurry and have no points at all, you can buy Priority Club points or get their Chase credit card.  More details HERE.

Here’s a few from the current list that can benefit eco-travelers and are valid through 31 January 2013.

Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria – You will pass through here if you are headed to Palawan to see the endangered Philippine Red-vented Cockatoo.  I did this trip in 2012, you can read my article.

Intercontinental Jakarta Midplaza – Although Aussies will usually access the birder’s paradises of Seram and West Papua via Bali, people coming from Europe and North America are more likely to connect in Jakarta to an Indonesian domestic flight.  Seram has the Moluccan Cockatoo and more!  West Papua is full of fascinating birds including many species of Birds of Paradise, Palm Cockatoos, Eclectus Parrots, several Lorikeets, Pesquet’s Parrots and more!  I will be there next year!

Holiday Inn Suva – You would be passing through here several times if you are using the domestic flights or ferries to get to Taveuni to see Red-throated Lorikeets or Red Shining Parrots; or Viti Levu to see Masked Shining Parrots.

Hotel Indigo San Jose Forum Costa Rica – Useful if you are traveling to Costa Rica to head out to Carara National Park for Scarlet Macaws, Selva Biological Reserve to see Great Green Macaws or Savegre to see Resplendant Quetzals.

Remember, whenever you economize on gateway hotels, you have more money to spend on staying in nice eco-lodges and supporting the local economy!

Frequent Flyer Miles Earning Credit Cards – Australian Edition 1

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I am sure that many Aussies have looked with envy at the huge credit card signing bonuses available to Americans and the free trips they brag about in forums such as Flyertalk,  Milepoint and some blogs.  Amex Bluebird, Vanilla Reloads, Green Dots, Chase Sapphire Preferred and similar are out of  reach for most Aussies but cheer up!  While Australia doesn’t have nearly the amount of affiliate cards as the USA, there are still a few good options.  Disclaimer:  I do not have any affiliate relationships with any of these banks.  The links below take you directly to the bank’s website or the airline’s website.  I am not a qualified financial advisor and the links are only to let you know what is available.  It is up to you to analyze your own financial situation.  I personally RARELY carry a balance on my credit cards and if I do, it’s only for a month.  Interest charges can be very high, please be aware of these charges on the bank’s website.  The invitation I offer in the red text below is available to most people once they have a similar American Express card.

AMERICAN EXPRESS

These come in various types with different mileage earning partners.  Click HERE and let’s compare the options, scroll through the different options and take some time to read the T&Cs of each card.   There are two types of cards that will get you miles.  Travel cards are affiliated with a particular airline such as Qantas or Virgin Australia and will automatically sweep into the airline’s program each month.  Rewards cards will earn Membership Rewards points which you can transfer manually to your choice of programs.

When you click on each card in turn, the details of that particular card will show on the right.  For example we can see that the Velocity card has no annual fee and a 7500 sign up bonus.  You have to apply and be approved by 28 February 2013 and spend $300 on your Card within the first 3 months.  The Qantas version of this card is much the same so you would choose which program you want to earn points in first.

Now let’s look at the Rewards card which comes in several varieties.  The most expensive one, the Platinum Card has a $900 annual fee and you receive 45,000 Membership Rewards Bonus Points when you spend $500 on your Card within the first 2 months of receiving it.  While the fee may seem high, it does come with other benefits, so have a read through and see if they appeal to you.

Much cheaper is the Platinum Edge card with a $149 annual fee, a free flight on Virgin to your choice of several selected destinations.   These are short haul domestic trips.  The sign up bonus is 10,000 Membership Rewards Bonus Points when you spend $500 on your Card within the first 2 months.

And then there is the Platinum Reserve card with a $395 annual fee.  Some Aussies got grandfathered into this card when Amex discontinued the Gold Rewards Maximizer so we have a lower annual fee but no free domestic flight.  This is the currently offered version of the card.  There is no publicly available sign up bonus at present but I can refer you for a limited time special until 31 Dec.  You will get a large bonus and I will get a smaller bonus for referring you.  These bonuses come up throughout the year so once you have a card, you can then refer your friends and family and get bonuses for yourself!  The included flight with this card is much more generous and depending on your city of origin, you can even go to Bali or New Zealand!  For example if you live in Brisbane, you can go to Perth, Darwin, several cities in New Zealand- all flights which compensate for the annual fee.  Plus you get other benefits such as free lounge access via Priority Pass, travel insurance and more-you really need to read the whole description on the Amex site.

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The special offer is:

You will receive 40,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend $500 within the first two months of Cardmembership. If you have already applied for The Platinum Reserve Credit Card without using this recommendation, you will not be eligible for the bonus Membership Rewards points. If you already have an American Express Card, you will not be eligible for the bonus Membership Rewards points as this offer is not valid for upgrading Cardmembers. Please allow 8 to 10 weeks for the Bonus Points to be awarded once approval is made. Offer expires 31 December 2013. Subject to the Terms & Conditions of the Membership Rewards Program.  The email invitation you get will have the T&Cs and more details. 

UPDATE FOR 2013:  I can give referrals for the following American Express products:

PLATINUM CARD – You get 60,000 points

PLATINUM RESERVE CREDIT CARD – You get 40,000 points

PLATINUM EDGE CREDIT CARD – You get 15,000 points

GOLD CARD – You get 30,000 points

AMERICAN EXPRESS CARD – You get 10,000 points

If you would like a referral, please use this contact form.  I will need you email address to send you an invitation.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THIS OFFER, PLEASE USE THE CONTACT FORM AND GIVE ME YOUR EMAIL AND I WILL SEND YOU AN INVITATION!

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WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH MEMBERSHIP REWARDS POINTS?

You can either spend them directly with online shops or transfer them to airline partners.  Obviously, the biggest value is in transferring them to airline partners for free or greatly reduced flights.  In most cases, you will have to pay some taxes but if you transfer to Virgin Velocity there are options for using points to pay the taxes and even the checked bag fees!  Here is an overview of the Membership Rewards Program.  The participating airlines and transfer ratios are HERE and the participating hotel programs and transfer ratios are HERE.

OK, I AM CONFUSED!  HOW DO I MAXIMIZE THIS FOR ECOTOURISM?

I will tell you how I use my Membership Rewards points to best advantage having been a member for 7 years.  I use 3 transfer partners.  Virgin Velocity (usually to top off what I get from my NAB card), Singapore Krisflyer for cheap awards to Pacific Islands and SPG to use on either hotels or transfer to airlines in blocks of 20,000 to get a free bonus of 5000 miles.  Transferring SPG to American AAdvantage works best for me.  If you have a 40,000 sign up bonus and you use the card for your everyday expenses like groceries, phone bills, fuel, etc; you should have 50,000 within 6 months to a year.  Here’s some ideas!

Keas, Kakarikis, Kakas and maybe Kakapo if Sirocco is doing one of his tours in New Zealand.  Remember, you get one trip included with the card so use the points to take a friend!  45,400 with no additional taxes!   Here is an example.

Or how about the Pacific Islands?  Rimatara Lorikeets and Tahitian Blue Lorikeets in the Cook Islands?  Ultramarine Lorikeets in French Polynesia?  Shining Parrots in Fiji?  Although you will need some domestic flights at additional cost, you can get from Australia to the main airports of Rarotonga, Papeete or Nadi using a Star Alliance award with Singapore’s Krisflyer.    Awards within South West Pacific are the greatest bargains in this region!

I think I’ve probably overloaded you now with information and lots of studying to do, so I will continue next week with other mileage earning credit cards in Australia.  I have seen on Flyertalk how most people dislike seeing credit card posts all the time so I am not going to do that.  I will do one edition each week until I have most of the world covered, then just link them all on a master list.  If you have any specific questions, please ask in the comments.

***** PART 2 IS AVAILABLE HERE *****

Free Lonely Planet Book On Being A Volunteer

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One of the most rewarding things you can do as an ecotourist is to volunteer with an organization that is studying wild birds.  You get a much more in-depth experience than someone who can only visit for a few days, you will work with some of the world’s best conservationists and you get to do your share in helping to save the planet.  What a great way to go Green!

When I do posts on ecolodges, I will also be mentioning any volunteer programs they may have.  There are some great ones in Peru, Brazil and Costa Rica just to name a few.

Lonely Planet is currently offering their book “Volunteer – A Traveler’s Guide” for free as a pdf download.  This book normally sells for $19.95 but if you use this link, you can download it for free!   It is also available for free in the iBookstore – what a great way to pass time on a flight with no IFE (or with bad IFE)!   I don’t know how long this will last so don’t delay, download it now!

 

Top Travel Gear Outfitter – Scottevest Offers 30% Off For Cyber Monday!

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GEARING UP FOR YOUR ADVENTURE

I’ve been a traveler for many years.  I first started as a budget backpacker in the 80’s and 90’s, then when I discovered the world of miles and points I upgraded myself to more of a flashpacker.  My husband and I usually travel in business class for long haul these days and we stay in 4 and 5 star hotels at gateway cities before heading off to our eco-lodge in the rainforest.  The one thing that hasn’t changed is the importance of traveling light.  Many times, you will be transported to your lodge down a river in a small boat and they won’t have room for large suitcases.  Also, most airlines have extra fees for checked bags.  That is why we both now travel with only one carry-on and the most versatile travel gear on the planet – the Scottevest!

As birders, we have heavy camera gear, lenses, a laptop and guidebooks in addition to normal clothing.  Many airlines have such a small carry-on allowance such as 5-7kg, we would be stuck having to check a bag and risk damage to our gear if we didn’t have the Scottevest to help us sneak the extra gear onboard.  I usually put my netbook in the left pocket, some people put an iPad  or a Kindle there.  I have my iPhone in the top left pocket and documents in the pocket below.  I may have an extra lens in the right pocket or a sandwich if the airline doesn’t serve food.  My husband will have his pockets stuffed with birding guides, maps and any travel guidebooks.  We are never asked to weigh our Scottevests on check in and security doesn’t care as long as we don’t have LAGs or other no-nos.    They are very versatile for all weather conditions and have zip-off sleeves to turn a jacket into a vest.

 

Here we have an X-Ray view of both sides of a Scottevest so you can see exactly how much you can carry in one of these!

 

Scottevest has both a men’s and a women’s line with just about anything you could ask for-jackets, vests, pants, shorts, hats and many different travel accessories.  So what could be better than traveling with a Scottevest?  Getting 30% off on Cyber Monday!  Click on any of the images to visit their website.

***Disclosure:  I am a marketing affiliate of Scottevest and receive a commission on sales generated through my link.  I wouldn’t be recommending this product if I didn’t use it myself and absolutely love it!  Thank you for using my link!