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Benefits of Flexible Points

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Towards the end of every year, I always start to look at the balances of my point accounts and start also looking at what I plan to do for traveling over the next year or two. Yes, I really do mean year or two. (Check out our post on our plan for our next Hawaii vacation.) I have found that using flexible points gives us the most travel options.

When I had started to look at the first trip to Hawaii for our family, I planned it out over 2-3 years to make sure I could do as much with points as possible. There are always risks planning that far out such as points needed for the flights or hotels go up or airline carriers changing flight options. We were fortunate that the choices we did gave us some flexibility in case of those changes.

Chase Ultimate Rewards

Over the last two years, I have moved to keep points in a program such as Chase Ultimate Rewards. This way my points aren’t locked up with Southwest, Delta, or Marriott. Using this program let us keep our flexible points in one place until we need them.

Using Flexible Points

For the trip to Hawaii we recently went on, I was short the miles needed for all the flights using United. They had nonstop flights that were worth us spending a little more on. By not having my points locked in, I was able to transfer from Chase to United to complete that booking.

Additionally, I was then low on points to finish the hotel booking through Marriott for the travel package for the boutique hotel. I was able to top off the account with Marriott with the points from Chase.

Benefits of Flexible Points – When things Change

During those two years, a lot of changes happened in regards to the points hobby.

  • Alaska Airlines lost the ability to book Delta fights.
  • Alaska gave the flexibility to book American, Alaska or Delta flights.

Starwoods/SPG was a considerable hotel favorite in the points hobby. Starwoods/SPG was purchased by Marriott and changed redemption rates. Additionally, they cut the ability to earn points by 1/3rd the price per dollar than previously. Rumors of other airlines being purchased, hotel groups consolidating, would force many to try to stay ahead of the game. Where having the flexible miles in something like Chase Ultimate Rewards allows transfer partners for hotels as needed with IHG (Holiday Inn), Marriott, or Hyatt (my personal favorite).

For airlines, you have many options including Southwest and United. You can always cash in Points through the travel portal at 1.25 cents per point or penny per point in statement credit. Another example of how flexibility is beneficial. Southwest recently began booking flight options to Hawaii. This gives more options besides United and Delta, and will likely continue to make travel there competitive.

The more flexibility you have, the better.

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Planning a Trip to Hawaii on a budget

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Our last trip to Hawaii was a three-year process in the making. We could have done it quicker, but I still wanted to maintain our other trips. So how do you go about planning a trip to Hawaii on a budget?

Figure out your flights. The majority of your cost is going to be getting to Hawaii. You can find decent deals on hotels and food can be as inexpensive or as expensive as you make it in most places. But flights are always the wild card when planning a trip to Hawaii on a budget. Here are our considerations for keeping costs down.

General Flight Considerations

To give you an idea of the airline costs; for the three of us to fly round trip from Chicago to Honolulu, it was 135,000 miles total. Joni and I can fly to Cancun from Chicago round trip for 20-25,000 combined usually. It is possible to get the points pretty quickly if you want to do the credit card sign up bonus game.

Southwest Airlines recently got approved for long haul flights from the West Coast to Hawaii. Their first test flight was completed with government review and they have just recently opened up flights to Hawaii. When the news initially broke about Southwest getting closer to having another carrier flying from the Continental United States, some of the other carriers started to run specials with some of the lowest costs seen in a long time.

It is believed that the increase in competition will drop the dollar amount and airline miles required for that once…or twice… in a lifetime trip. With this news, I am having to keep four different airlines as potential options.

Keep in mind what airline and what airport you want to travel out of when planning a trip to Hawaii on a budget. Are you ok with a layover? Want a straight through flight? Are you willing to travel super early or want to be flying all day? With a flight this long you may want to travel during waking hours or you may want to fly mostly overnight. These are important questions you need to ask before you book your trip.

Consideration # 1 – Inter-Island Flights with Hawaiian Airlines

Joni had mentioned she wants to go to Maui along with Oahu this next trip. So when we are planning our trip to Hawaii on a budget we have to consider this additional cost. Hawaiian Airlines runs cheap flights between the islands. I have seen prices ranging from about $150 round trip or 15,000 miles between the islands per person. Hawaiian Airlines has a secure online shopping portal where I already picked up around 4,000 miles in the last 4-6 months doing shopping at a couple online stores I like. This will definitely help our budget.

The other quick options for miles if I need for these on shorter notice is through Barclays. They have a Hawaiian Airlines card where just the general offer is 50,000 miles for $1,000 in purchases over 3 months. I also over the past year have seen an offer as good as 60,000 miles after one purchase. That would be 3-4 round trips between the islands for an annual fee of $99.

Flights to Hawaii

Option #1 – United Airlines again (Chicago to Hawaii)

This is what we used last time. Right now we are mostly getting our miles using their phone mobile app making purchases at Buffalo Wild Wings and Starbucks. I already have enough in the account for one round trip ticket. I don’t think Joni would approve on me going on a solo trip for this one. I do not want to lock miles hard into United Airlines as they do not have the best options for Las Vegas.

Option #2 – Southwest

This is more likely the direction we will end up going. I do prefer Southwest over United just as a personal preference. Most of my Southwest miles that I use for my Vegas trips come from the Ultimate Rewards program now with Milwaukee having non-stop flights there.

The superior flexibility that Chase has with their Ultimate Rewards points program is that I can transfer those points to either Southwest or United. This offers us great options when we are planning trips and will certainly come in handing when planning a trip to Hawaii on a budget.

Option #3 – Delta through Minneapolis

Delta is my second favorite airline. If I am not flying Southwest to Las Vegas, then most likely I am flying Delta. They have many non-stop flights all over; including some to Hawaii. Delta also has options for flights out from many of the regional airports to get to Minneapolis, Detroit or even Salt Lake City as places to connect from.

One of the new cards I have been looking at over the last 4-6 months is from American Express. Delta Miles take a long time to accrue using their branded credit card at 1 point per dollar for regular purchases. I do carry it and pay the annual fee as I am ahead just on bag fees every year and it also gets me earlier boarding.

But the American Express Gold Card gives 4 Membership Reward Points per dollar spent on Groceries and Restaurants. These points can be converted into Delta Miles. Groceries and restaurants are more substantial expenses in our household, so I am still working the math to see if the cost of the annual fee makes up for the difference.

So what is the next thing we will have to consider when planning a trip to Hawaii on a budget? Hotels… stay tuned we have tips for that too!

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Finding the Best Regional Fast Food

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It seems like our teenage daughters phone is always attached to her hand.  That phone always, and I do mean always, has YouTube playing in the background.  My generation listened to the radio for background music; she watches YouTube.  With all that time looking at strange YouTube videos, one of the things that she has learned about is the different fast food restaurants. There are so many around the United States that seem to be more regional fast food options compared to the McDonalds and Subway options. 

Regional Fast Food Options

Check out our favorite Las Vegas Fast Food places to eat!

One of the things I realized over the last year or two is that Las Vegas has a lot of regional fast food options. There seems to be one on every street corner. Ever since our daughter found out In-N-Out Burger was located in Las Vegas, she has been asking to go back. Trying the food at In-N-Out Burger is on her ‘bucket list.’  Here in central Wisconsin, we don’t have that as an option. 

One of my personal favorites is the French Fries from ‘Steak and Shake.’  There is not even a ‘Steak and Shake’ located in the state of Wisconsin, but there are several in Las Vegas. Iincluding one just off the strip at Hooters Casino.  

Maybe Shake Shack is your preference.  That is based off the east coast, but they have a couple in Las Vegas, including one on the Strip and one also included inside T-Mobile Arena.  Closest Shake Shack to us is now at the Mall of America in Minneapolis. 

Maybe you are looking for White Castle?  I would suggest skipping it personally as I was never a fan. However they do have several on the Strip.  Several of these have just have opened within the last several years. 

There are many other regional fast food places and have added other sit-downs ranging from Tilted Kilt to Twin Peaks to a 24 hour Buffalo Wild Wings right on the strip.  I would not be surprised to see more of the regional restaurants open their doors to the Las Vegas area. 

Next Regional Restrauants?

I would love to see a Whataburger or even Waffle House in Las Vegas. Maybe they will move in soon. After all, there is money to be made from tourism. Many people visiting Las Vegas want to try these regional pieces of Americana.

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5 Tips for Planning the Perfect Cheap Hawaii Vacation

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Previous posts I have always listed as something like “Las Vegas on the Cheap.” Unfortunately, there is nothing cheap on the islands of Hawaii.  So the biggest thing is reducing the costs.  This article covers some of our favorite cheap Hawaii vacation tips.

1. Flights for your Cheap Hawaii Vacation

When Joni, Cheyenne and I flew out to Hawaii, we did this on miles.  Luckily for us, we found an excellent redemption deal on United Miles for 45,000 miles each round trip for a non-stop flight from Chicago.  This still took a long time to save up for, but this also gave us time to plan out our trip.

Southwest Airlines is currently looking at having flights for Hawaii.  Rumors are that they will be available within the next year and that will most likely cause more significant competition meaning more affordable flight costs. These new flight option will be great for anyone trying to plan a cheap Hawaii vacation.

2. Plan for Parking Concerns

Something we learned while we were out there is that the cost of driving in Hawaii is unreal.  We did get a rental car deal going through Enterprise with our work account which was better than anything else I could find.  The rental cost isn’t the issue; the cost killer is the parking. 

With the island being so tight for space, parking costs are at a premium.  Most hotels charge for parking which will add another $40 a day to most hotel stays.  Vacations are also meant to be relaxing.  The bumper to bumper traffic that is so bad, that even the interstates have speed limits of 45 MPH makes it a pain to get from point A to point B. 

We ended up returning our car several days early because of this and the upcoming hurricane.  We did not want to deal with any weather damage claims and saved ourselves the extra parking fees as an added bonus.  The best benefit of the car was those off the path restaurants (Like KoKo Head Cafe) and getting to some of the tourist destinations (Like beaches and Shaved Ice) we wanted to see again.  

3. Best deals for Hotels in Hawaii

With Hawaii being so famous, you have many choices when it comes to booking your hotel stays. Options ranging through Marriott, Hyatt, and Hilton are plentiful. Almost every major hotel chain has a hotel and many let you use points you have accumulated.

We ended up staying at a boutique hotel that is part of the Marriott group right of Waikiki Beach.  Not only is this a great tourist destination it puts a lot of things within walking distance.

4. Best Tourist Destinations

Luckily Joni did the research on the site seeing and the best deals. If you don’t plan ahead and just show up at the events day by day, you will find the costs to be huge, or not even able to get access as entrances at certain items are limited. 

The “Go Ohau Card” is part of the “Go City Cards.”  These cards allow you to visit several tourist stops throughout several days depending on the options you purchase. Usually, these are a good deal if you plan to visit a number of the locations the cards offer anyway.

Our Go Oahu card gave us a choice of using a premium feature such as swimming with dolphins.  We were able to then purchase these cards through a shopping portal through Groupon to get even more travel points instead of getting them through their website alone.  The tours are highly recommended, especially the circle tour at the beginning of the trip.

The tours gave us a chance to see some of the tourist places around the island and even if we didn’t stop during the tour we were able to take our car and visit the next day. The things we did were:

  • Pearl Harbor
  • Oahu Hidden Gems and Snorkeling with Turtles
  • Makani Catamaran Sail
  • All of Oahu in one day Tour
  • Iolani Palace
  • Bishop Museum

5. Be Patient

This trip took almost two years for me to plan out and ten years of Joni asking for us to go to Hawaii. The biggest and probably most important tip is to be patient with your planning. Maximize your points and take advantage of points deals to get bonuses and extra savings. If you are looking for a cheap Hawaii Vacation, you will probably need to plan it for several months.

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Las Vegas Transportation – Planes, Trams and Automobiles

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Once you get to Las Vegas there are going to be additional expenses. You will need to pay for food, activities and the additional transportation costs of getting around.  Las Vegas transportation can be hard to understand. After all those hotels aren’t really that far apart are they? Um…. yes, yes they are. A lot of the decision on whether to get a rental car revolves around what you plan on doing or if you will be drinking.  

Las Vegas Transportation

When I first visited Las Vegas I never got a car rental.  I found it too much of a pain getting around with the traffic and the other tourists who had no clue how to get to point A to point B.  Nowadays, I have found it easier to get a car since I have been there so often.  Below are some of the expected costs without a car.  

City Bus

Your first experience with Las Vegas transportation is going to be at the airport. Getting to and from the airport you have the options for a city bus (also known as RTC), taxi or shuttle bus.  I’ve found that the City bus is a pain as they only stop at the airport a couple times an hour.  You then are trying to maneuver your luggage on a city bus to save a couple bucks.  Not worth the headache. 

Shuttle Bus

The shuttle buses cost about $6.00 one way and is my preferred method of travel from the airport if you aren’t getting a car rental.  Keep in mind though you are sharing the bus with others, so I have had a wait of almost 45 minutes to get to my hotel. Taking that long to get dropped off would typically only happen if you were one of the last stops the shuttle bus was making.

The shuttle bus is still a great alternative to the city bus when considering all your Las Vegas transportation options.

Taxi, Lyft, Uber

Taxi cab costs will vary around $10-25 depending on which hotel you are coming from or going to.  You have the possibility of getting long hauled, which has happened before to me where they take a longer way to try getting a bigger fare. 

I do use this on my return trips to the airport as the shuttle buses you have to Taxicab up earlier than you should to get to the airport on the flight home.  I have not started to use Uber or Lyft yet but that will be something I will be looking into on future trips without a rental car.

Tram

The trams are great if you are trying to quickly navigate between hotels. Not every hotel has a Tram (monorail), so you need to know which ones do and don’t. We almost always use the Tram between Mandalay Bay, Luxor and Excalibur. Other trams such as Mirage and Treasure Island we rarely have used.

The Tram that runs between SLS and MGM Grand charges you to ride. For additional information on the Trams check out this article on the Las Vegas Monorails.

Car Rental

My current favorite way to navigate Las Vegas transportation needs is getting a rental car. Right now this options is pretty inexpensive at around $25 a day after fees.  When I take into consideration if I go to an off-strip casino and the cost of having to use a taxi, I make up my cst. 

I use the rental car as an opportunity to stop at Target to load up on water and snacks compared to paying for it on the strip.  When you can get a case of water for the cost of two bottles on the strip it makes a difference.  I aso have found that eating options are cheaper off the strip. 

Another factor on your Las Vegas Transportation needs is taking into consideration if you are looking at going to the Hoover Dam or other tourist spots that are farther out of the way.  And don’t forget about those parking costs which can quickly add up if you aren’t prepared for thm. Check with your hotel to see what they charge.

So you can see we vary our transportation options when we visit Las Vegas, but you should be aware of what your options are and make sure you understand some basic navigation tips when visiting.

Happy Vacationing!

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Tips and Tricks for Kinney Chaos

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We get asked about a lot of things and since we cover a wide range of topics here is a list of our tips and tricks, FAQ and the blog posts that go with them. If you have a question we would LOVE to hear from you! Drop us a message by contacting us or commenting on this article!

Travel Tips and Tricks

What is Travel Hacking?

Should I hoard my points or spend as soon as I can?

How can I earn free trips? We earn free hotel stays and airfare by maximizing our reward points. Don’t get overwhelmed. If you are just starting out, pick one or two and get really consistent with those before adding more.

Here are some tips and tricks to help you get started.

What are your favorite hotls to stay at?

What are your tips for flights?

What are the best credit cards to have to get reward points and earn free trips ?

Quotes

Budget and Money Tips and Tricks

How can I budget?

How can I teach my kids about money?

How can I save money on everyday expenses?

Social Media Tips

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