Most Aussies probably already know that they must use PINs instead of signing from 1 August. Our credit cards have been PIN enabled for several years so this shouldn’t be a problem.
But if you are coming here as a visitor, don’t worry. The system will recognize a foreign card that doesn’t have PIN technology and you will be asked to sign. More information.
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It’s that time of year where we honor our Mothers! Mother’s Day is only 2 weeks away so it’s a great time to decide what you are going to do to make your Mother feel special, even if you happen to live far away from her such as I do. No woman can resist a beautiful bouquet of flowers and the good news is that flowers can easily be ordered online and sent to your Mother anywhere in the world……………………and by using the right links you can get miles for them!
Usually Chase’s Ultimate Rewards is my first port of call for click thru portals so I had a look here to see what was on offer. Always check ALL portals before making a decision as you will see later on.
Best offer here is FTD for 15 extra points. During the year, this is probably your best bet but around Mother’s Day, most airlines will put on special offers through their own portals.
I’ll use United as an example but the same principle applies to all airlines with shopping partners.
From the airline’s main website, go to the tab with the frequent flyer program, then look for the retail shopping partners. I don’t mean United’s online shopping mall (though they will also have flower offers) but the partner section.
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You will see lots of offers and the one we want is right at the top.
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30 miles per dollar is pretty good! Before you take that offer, it’s a good idea to check all the airlines you are collecting miles in such as American, Delta, British Airways or whatever to see if they have better offers. Since I am actively collecting United’s miles for a goal, I basically just need to compare Ultimate Rewards and what is on United’s website.
You will know you are in the right place if you see the United Airlines welcome message at the top.
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After you have chosen your flowers, there is still one last step to insure you get your miles. On the very last screen where you put the payment information, there is a place to fill in your United Mileage Plus number (or whatever airline’s program you used to click through). Don’t forget this step or you won’t get any miles!
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Miles usually post about 2 weeks after delivery. Enjoy your flowers and more importantly, appreciate your Mother, you only get one!
After checking out from the Radisson Summit, we followed the hotel’s shuttle to Albrook Mall so we wouldn’t get lost in the city. I didn’t trust myself to drive and not get lost in the old city, Casco Viejo. I was also concerned with security since we had all our belongings in the car and I had heard it was a risky part of town.
I parked the car at the Albrook Mall, took a photo of it with the shop in the background so we could find it again, then went to the taxi rank. I arranged a price with a taxi to drive us to Casco Viejo, show us around the highlights, let us have a few photo stops, then drop us off at the craft market for shopping for around $15 including waiting time. I find this is the best way to explore a city I don’t know very well but taxis are reasonably priced. I also felt more secure leaving the rental car at the Albrook Mall where it wouldn’t stand out.
A – Albrook Mall
B – Casco Viejo
C – Mercado de Artesanias
There seemed to be renovations going on and there were a lot of police standing around. The construction blocked a lot of the roads and the taxi had trouble finding places to park long enough so we could walk around a bit but he did his best.
There were crafts on offer at a market near Casco Viejo but we couldn’t find a place to park so decided to just move on to the main craft market.
CRAFT MARKET
Since I knew I wanted to take my time shopping (poor husband had to drag along while I shopped), I planned to let the taxi drop us and not wait. I figured we would be there over an hour and also get lunch there. The best part was seeing some of the Kuna ladies making molas. Molas are a kind of applique/embroidery technique to make beautiful pictures with fabric. You can use the molas as wall hangings, clothing embellishments, tote bags or pillow cases. I was especially pleased to see bird themes on many molas!
You can bargain with the shopkeepers, especially if you are buying multiple products but I found a more subtle bargaining worked better. I wanted to be fair to the craft makers since they do put a lot of work into these products so I didn’t go as hardcore as I would in the Middle East. I would express how much I liked something, but what a shame I didn’t have enough money………………maybe next time. If they were amenable to a discount, they would call me back and offer somewhat less, usually 10-20%.
Albrook Mall (as with other malls such as Metro Mall near the Courtyard) was a typical mall just like back home complete with food courts, nothing of interest to tourists unless you wanted to stock up on food or other staples.
What do you give the person who cares about conserving birds in the wild this Christmas? How about these gorgeous Arpilleras? They are hand-made by villagers in the Tambopata area. If you have ever been there, you will see them on sale at the airport in Puerto Maldonado. But if you can’t make a quick trip down there to do your Christmas shopping, the World Parrot Trust has them on offer and can be shipped in time for Christmas! This article shows more about how they are made and how they help conservation. I am the proud owner of 4 arpilleras!
While you are looking at the online store, check the left sidebar for more interesting gift ideas. This beautiful calendar is only $10 and offers a beautiful photo of a wild parrot each month! You can also buy parrot themed clothing, Balata figures of parrots or join the World Parrot Trust. This Christmas, treat you friends or treat yourself!
**These are not affiliate links, I get nothing from your purchase except the satisfaction of helping to save wild parrots!
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There’s no shortage of handicraft and antique shops in India and the good news for bird lovers is that many works of art feature birds! Some of these are for sale (the ones in shops), others I saw in hotels and restaurants and they were not for sale. I bought that saree! I don’t get to wear it often but it sure is beautiful! Here’s a few examples of bird art found in India.
I was hoping to find a video of how these are made as they are pretty cool! Although this video shows a close up of a “pregnant” elephant, I bought one of a “pregnant” parrot from the shop in the 2nd photo.
I was browsing through Amazon.com and found this really cute playgym for babies. I guess it’s never too early to start them off as budding eco-tourists!
This is my affiliate link for Amazon.com. If you use it to click through to buy this or anything else, thank you for your support!
Did you know that you can get free frequent flyer miles and points just for your basic every day living expenses? Over the last couple of weeks, I wrote about credit card options for Australians so right there if you can route all your expenses for groceries, petrol, utilities via the card (and pay it in full each month) you will accumulate a LOT of points.
There are also ways to earn points that don’t require a credit card.
QANTAS FREQUENT FLYER
1. Join Everyday Rewards. Then swipe your card when you shop at Woolworths, Big W, Caltex Woolworths Petrol, Dick Smith and BWS you will earn points. They sometimes email you special offers such as “Spend $25 on pet food and get 300 bonus points”. They have more recently been giving fuel vouchers as bonuses but hopefully they will return to bonus Qantas points soon but you always earn the base points, so why not turn your groceries, petrol and other shopping into free points?
2. Link your Optus phone and internet account and get 2 points per dollar for your normal phone and internet expenses. You can do this whether you are new to Optus or been using them for years. You pay the same bill you have always paid but now you are getting points for them!
3. Use Rental Rewards to pay your rent! In the example here, they show you how you can get 20,000 points per year!
4. Life Insurance can earn you 10,000 points. Check here for details.
5. Restaurants – if you like to eat out, check here to see if your favourite restaurant will give you points with your meal!
VIRGIN VELOCITY
1. Virgin Mobile – if you switch to Virgin Mobile, you will get a bonus of 4000 points plus $3 per dollar on every monthly bill thereafter.
2. On the same page, you will see bonuses for getting Foxtel, Quickflix, and tickets for events.
3. Online shopping – Velocity partners with Westfield and most of us do shop at Westfields pretty often so check to see if you can get points for it. They also have their own online shopping mall and partner with Ebay, the Iconic, Booktopia and more!
4. Insurance and Financial – maybe not an everyday expense but if these are services you are shopping for anyway, why not get points by using the click-thru link?
5. Wining and Dining – once again, if you like going out or joining a wine club you can get points!
I know if you are just starting out, this seems kind of daunting, but once you get started, it becomes second nature. If I get a bonus for pet food, I stock up on bird seed. I plan my grocery shopping for days when bonuses are on offer and fill my car with the maximum petrol voucher as those also get me points. It all adds up-it has only taken me a year to get over 16,000 Qantas points just from groceries, petrol and Optus! Purely free travel!
DOUBLE DIPPING
Oh and if you have a miles/points earning credit card you get to double-dip! That means you earn the points from the card and from the retail partner. For example, I spend $150 on groceries at Woolies. I pay for it with my Amex. I just got 130 Qantas points and 150 Amex Membership Rewards for stuff I had to buy anyways!
Tis the season to shop, so why not give some wonderful gifts that in turn give back to the environment? If you go to Peru to see the macaw clay lick in the Tambopata National Reserve, you will find these beautiful wall-hangings called arpilleras being sold at the airport gift shops and in some of the lodges. One of my biggest regrets is that I didn’t buy more of these when I was there and also some of the other crafts they have as they are absolutely gorgeous!
But even if you don’t have a trip planned, you can still get one of these gorgeous artworks for yourself or as a gift for someone!
These are handmade by indigenous artisans in the jungles of Peru. Each wall-hanging is an original; hand-sewn and unique. Your purchase will aid local communities and protect wild areas. These amazing one-of-a-kind fabric artworks support indigenous communities which in turn protect their local clay licks – an arrangement that benefits parrots and humans alike. Funds raised from each sale encourage this sustainable trade. There is more information here about how arpilleras support conservation and ecotourism.
OK, so now you want one (or 10) and you don’t plan to go to Peru in the near future? Don’t worry! They can be ordered from the World Parrot Trust and you have a choice of a USA based store and the UK/Worldwide based store. All profits go to support their conservation projects that save wild parrots around the world. I have seen many wild parrots rescued and returned to the wild because of World Parrot Trust over the years.
I have 4 arpilleras in my home and they are treasured featured artworks in my bird room. If you can’t go to the rainforest, why not bring the rainforest to you? (And then plan a trip there in the future!)