…which you get with the IHG premium credit card by Chase, and it comes with about 150,000 points too! If you want to avoid being exposed to too much bright sun while on your much-needed, COVID-postponed thus long-awaited vacation, and instead, prefer to relax in the shade while admiring the beautiful turquoise waters beckoning at … More Another good reason or three to keep elite status with IHG…
Free Covid 19 testing (even for travel) in the Greater Boston area of Massachusetts The state of Massachusetts is working with Project Beacon, to offer free COVID testing at several different sites. This is a good thing! Why? Because they are giving free PCR tests by appointment, with results available within 2-3 business day! We … More Free COVID 19 testing (even for travel) in the Greater Boston area of Massachusetts
Flight! Are we ready? It’s been so long. I took my first one since January of 2020, on May 11, 2021. I did it! Some anxiety beforehand, quickly dissipated after arriving to our destination LAX. Was relieved to see that all staff and passengers (on American Airlines direct non-stop BOS-LAX, and LAX-BOS on JetBlue direct … More ♫ ♫ Volare, oh, oh…
Reduced mileage for award flights on Delta?! How about this? Instead of using the typical minimum 60,000 miles for round-trip tickets in economy for direct non-stop flights from Boston Logan to Paris Charles de Gaulle, you can travel this winter and spring on tickets that will set you back a mere 34,000 miles or points. … More Reduced mileage for award flights on Delta? Oh yeah!… How about a romantic long weekend in Paris for cheap money and cheap miles? Valentine’s Day is around the corner…Time flies! So why don’t you?
AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard Earn 60k bonus miles on American Airlines plus your first checked bag free. $99 annual fee- absolutely worth it, without a second thought in your first year, for sure. https://cards.barclaycardus.com/banking/cards/aadvantage-aviator-red-world-elite-mastercard/ There isn’t even a minimum spend! How crazy is that?! All you have to do to earn 60,000 AAdvantage® bonus miles is make … More Which card is the EASIEST and FASTEST way to get bonus miles on American Airlines? This card! Best travel credit card around December 2019…
To be (bumped) or not to be (bumped)? And if it were up to me, the answer would be YES, with glee, bump me, please! It’s so much fun and it hasn’t happened to me in quite a while… I came across this post https://renespoints.boardingarea.com/2019/12/19/my-tips-on-volunteering-to-receive-bumps recently and it explains nicely how bumping works, and there … More To be or not to be- bumped? That is the question…
The perfect Day of the Dead weekend in Mexico City. We had it! We did it! We LOVED Día de los Muertos. When to go to Mexico City? What to see for Day of the Dead? Places to visit in Mexico? I will try to answer all of your questions here. How to get to … More ¿Día de los Muertos en la Ciudad de México? ¡Sí! Day of the Dead November 2019 in Mexico City exceeded ALL of our expectations.
Some complimentary hotel toiletries are VERY nice but this is a better idea. Reduce plastic waste? Yes! I’m surprised we don’t read or hear more about this: a solid initiative to help reduce plastic waste by a big, international hotel chain. According to Marriott, the annual use of 500 million tiny plastic bottles will be … More Small toiletries can be a treat, but this is a better idea. Reduce plastic waste? Yes!
When taxes on a free ticket are just TOO expensive… what to do? Well, it’s very frustrating and even disheartening I would say, when you finally accumulate the miles you want on an airline you like, to fly to a destination you hope to visit, only to find out that the taxes and fees on … More When taxes on a free ticket are just TOO expensive; what to do?
How do you travel for free, and to such awesome places I’m often asked….well, here’s one recent example. I just came back from a fantastic and cheap, inexpensive if you prefer, one week visit to pretty Portugal this summer. We only “paid” 44,0000 miles each for our round-trip ticket from Boston to Lisbon, on … More What to do with one week in Portugal? What to see during a week in Portugal? How to visit Portugal on a budget?
Easter Island, wow, what a place! Stark, beautiful, slow-paced, not a single traffic light. Moai to admire every where you turn (even under water). Just lovely, and simple, no bells and whistles needed. Probably because it’s so remote. How remote is Easter Island? 2300 miles or a five and a half hour flight from the … More Easter Island! All this and scuba diving, too. And how is the scuba diving in Easter Island? Amazing!
Walk in Cartagena…Take an excellent guided free walking tour in the historic center, in English, with Edgar, the founder of the company (freetourcartagena.com.co)(and remember to tip him appropriately- he’s fantastic…). Discover, admire and appreciate this lovely city, country and people. Eat and drink street food in Cartagena… Sample as many of … More What to do in Cartagena, Colombia
Considered the largest waterfall system in the world, one thing is for sure, Iguazu Falls are gorgeous. Accessible from both Argentina and Brazil (and each side has its advantages) travelers often complain that is too expensive to visit them. But it doesn’t have to be that way, especially if you can plan ahead. Let’s say … More How to visit Iguazu Falls on a budget
Like Travel Hacking but finding it hard to make your minimum spend? Pay any bill with Plastiq again and again. If you are a fan of collecting bonus miles and points for free flights and free hotels to help you see the world on a budget, or you want to start collecting those points and … More Like Travel Hacking but find it hard to make your minimum spend? Pay any bill with Plastiq again and again.
INTENTIONAL ACTIONS MATTER You don’t have to spend extra money to receive bonuses that allow you to travel on a limited budget. You simply become more mindful about how you pay for everything you spend money on. This allows you to save money on travel, and create good karma in the universe. Best of all- … More How about a new hobby that pays you with opportunities to see the world? Mindful spending leads to proactive collection of bonus miles and points yielding free trips and meaningful travel, a green new hobby.
Just got back from Paris two days ago. Beautiful bright sunshine, blue skies, no clouds and no crowds. 50 degrees in December and a strong dollar against the euro: how could I not go? I had to do some business on Thursday (which paid for my expenses), so how could I not enjoy a long … More Paris
Who stays in a $1,000 a night Park Hyatt Hotel in New York City for FREE? I do. And with Travel Cutie’s help, dear reader, you can, too… What a perfect New York weekend! A Michelin-starred meal in a fancy French restaurant (http://www.danielboulud.com), a walk in Central Park on a sunny, summer day, FREE visits … More New York
Scuba diving in the Yucatan is always a thrill, even in fresh water! Our intention had been to dive a couple of days last week, in the azure sea, on the colorful reefs off the ivory-hued sandy shores of the still beautiful although ever-increasingly over-developed beaches of an oft-chaotic Cancun, but a sudden cold front swooped … More Mexico
A paean to Paris, unfettered and alive… For years I owned a place in Paris, a sixth floor walk-up (really 7th if we count them the American way): no elevator, alas, but that’s what made it affordable and justifiable- excellent cardiovascular exercise to counter the problematic effects of the deliciously rich food. Two sun-splashed rooms, in … More Free visitors guide to Paris
Renting a car abroad, and “on the road again”? Rent a car with Auto Europe. Sometimes driving in another country takes a little getting used to, but the beauty and the fun we experience and the wisdom and understanding we acquire by doing so are worth the efforts we make. In my travels, France has … More Rent a Car with Auto Europe
Delta and AirAsia. AirAsia is a Delta partner, which is excellent news! We can use our Delta SkyMiles to book free tickets in Thailand on Thai AirAsia… That means we can fly around inside Thailand on domestic AirAsia flights, and we can also fly roundtrip for international flights free from Bangkok, Thailand to Cambodia, China, … More Delta and AirAsia are partners!
Favela- a unique take on Brazil Watch one of my favorite short animated films (a minute and a half long). I wish I could have gotten it uploaded before the Brazil Olympics, but, better late than never. Can you recognize some of the world’s most famous architecture at the end? Travel Cutie … More Favela, Brazil
“My most memorable moment of a travel experience would probably be an impromptu scuba dive with wild dolphins in Belize” My second most memorable experience was being invited to and attending (on the spot!) a wedding in Solo, Indonesia, on the island of Java, which you can access from my menu, in the post on … More Most memorable
A big “gracias” to American, Four Points, LAN and Crowne Plaza, too, for a magnificent FREE trip to Machu Picchu and more, in pretty Peru. I highly recommend you visit. Does Andean culture interest you? Well, was I surprised to find out that for a free ticket from the US to Lima, Peru, I only … More Peru
Scuba diving in the Dominican Republic? Bayahibe has undersea beauty. FREE American, FREE Starwood- thanks for making travel my rewarding duty. Are beachfront resorts that serve unlimited amounts of food and alcoholic beverages your idea of vacation paradise? I unknowingly had thought that this was all there was to the D.R., and therefore had avoided it, but … More Dominican Republic
An Oakland wedding wow, San Francisco Bay Area treats, FREE flights on United, FREE hotel at Double Tree Suites! Two utterly magical west coast back-to-back long-weekend weddings can take a toll on your energy and on your wallet, too. But we didn’t want to let that happen; there was too much joyful reason to celebrate! … More San Francisco
Gift a FREE trip to London for someone-you-love’s graduation? Well, then, Delta is the one. For 60,000 miles I got a free transatlantic ticket to that city’s good food, good fashion, and good fun. Another niece finishing high school, another nice two weeks abroad to celebrate. One free ticket for a flight on Delta thanks … More London
Rhodes is a beautiful island, with many wonderful things going on. Odes have been written to its beaches, ruins, cobblestone streets, ancient villages, and my 5 FREE nights in its tony Sheraton. Not only all that, but we even took a beautiful day trip sail on the Aegean Sea to the lazy-days-in-the-sun jewel of a … More Rhodes
Chichen Itza is still an impressive pyramid site, even after the tremendous amount of development that’s gone on there. Tulum is even better, that wonderful complex of ruins in a majestic location at the edge of the Caribbean Sea. And the cenotes! Those pretty turquoise swimming holes are idyllic, and we also enjoyed Valladolid, a … More A FREE Westin on Mexico’s ocean for seven days and seven nights, brought us to markets and ruins and cenotes, then colonial city sights. Sure the beaches there are beautiful but alone just not enough for me. Luckily the Yucatan Peninsula has many other interesting places to see.
3x the FREE for 3x the fun. With United, Le Méridien, and then a Wyndham. This picture is of Amsterdam, which was the last stop on our two-week itinerary. We loved the canal mansions and gardens, the boathouses, and the Van Gogh and other brilliant art museums, and we were deeply moved by our visit … More Amsterdam, Dublin, Marrakesh
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