Travel for Less

Have I Finally Gone Too far?

2018-10-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

My friends and family think I have gone too far in my quest to save money traveling. You be the judge. There is a company called Airmule which will pay you to be a courier if you transport 1-2 pieces of luggage when you travel to/from the the US to China, India, Thailand or Korea. Well, I was starting a cruise in Shanghai, China this month and figured I would not mind earning an extra $150-$300 dollars to start my trip.

Let me fully explain how everything works. Airmule has been in business since 2015. I heard about the company through other travel bloggers, so I figured it was pretty safe and worth a try. My family and friends were not as sure. To start the process you sign up on the Airmule website and give them a copy of your itinerary and tell them if you can transport one or two pieces of luggage. Airmule supplies the suitcase. Then approximately 48 hours before your trip Airmule will let you know if you have 0, 1 or 2 bags they want you to transport. If you are assigned any luggage Airmule will pay you $150 per bag to transport between the US and China/India/Thailand/Korea and if you have a return ticket, $100 per bag back to the USA. When speaking with Airmule I was told they have 96.8% success rate matching a person to luggage from the USA to China.

I received a phone call just over 48 hours before my flight saying I would be carrying one piece of luggage (I had said I would be willing to carry up to 2). Winston, from AirMule, explained that I needed to download the app WeChat as this is what is used in China (Similar to WhatsApp). He explained that I would carry one suitcase that has been inspected and x-rayed for all the contents. He further stated that approximately 24 hours before my flight I should log into the Airmule website where I could see pictures of all the contents. Airmule gathers multiple individual shipments into one suitcase. For example, I was carrying three pairs of nike tennis shoes, vitamins, and baby items.

I received a message and a picture on WeChat saying to meet Airmule's partner, LAX Luggage Storage, in front of the Alaska Airlines terminal at 5:00 for my 7:00 am flight. My flight would take me from LAX to Seattle on Alaska Airlines then from Seattle to Shanghai on Hainan Airlines.

AirMule currently only works out of the following Airports:

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
San Jose International Airport (SJC)
Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
LaGuardia Airport (LGA)
John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)

If you are not starting or ending your trip in one of the supported airports, Airmule allows passengers connecting through supported airports to participate, within certain time frames and conditions.

As instructed, I called 15 minutes ahead of my arrival at the airport to coordinate my arrival with LAX Luggage Storage. I was handed my the suitcase and allowed to inspect the contents. The driver then sealed the luggage with blue tape. I signed a release form that said Airmule was responsible for the contents. The driver also took a picture of me with the luggage and sent it to the person who would met me in Shanghai.

After signing the release of liability I was on my way. You are probably thinking, "That's just a piece of paper. How do I know what I am carrying is not illegal?" Watch this quick 30 second video that explains how Airmule inspections work.

Usually at airport check-in you are asked if you packed the luggage yourself. I was not asked this but if I was I would, respond honestly and say, "no.” I would then identify myself as an air courier.

Once I arrived in Shanghai I was sent a picture of where to meet my contact after exiting immigration. I walked outside and he found me right away. He took a picture of the luggage. I must say the blue seal had been broken. I can only assume by TSA.

Two days later I saw the deposit into my bank account,

So I must ask you, “Am I crazy? Have I gone too far?”

If you say, “no” please use the below referral code so I can get referral credit and you can start earning money on Airmule.

Click here: https://account.airmule.com/c/kiml276

If you say "yes", you can still earn money making a referral even if you never travel with Airmule. You will receive compensation once the person you refer transports luggage for Airmule.

Airmule intends to add the following routes in the near future: Iceland, Dubai, London and France. I see more Airmule trips in my future.

Online shopping links

2018-10-04T20:30:00.000-07:00

Online Shopping Malls Mean Cash, Miles and Points

Thanks to everyone who attended last nights Travel For Less class offered through Clark Community College. I hope you learned a lot and are ready to start saving on your travel adventures. As promised, I have attached some web site links to what was taught in the class. All you need to do is click on the hyperlink.

Who doesn't want to save money? The first place to start to find which business has the best rebate: Cash Back Monitor. The best part is this website is not just limited to travel!

My favorite cash back site is Ebates. Disclaimer: Attached is my referral link.

Another cash back site is Mr. Rebates. This one was not mentioned in class but you will see it as an option if you start with Cash back Monitor. Sign up and compare Ebates to Mr. Rebates for which online shopping will give you the best return.

Hope you enjoyed the class!

I love the Seattle Seahawks

2018-09-05T14:17:00.002-07:00

This is a re-post from last year but if you live in the state of Washington make sure you read this and sign up again. Registration starts today.

Based on the title you are probably wondering what the Seattle Seahawks football team has to do with travel. Well, Delta Air Lines and Alaska airlines used to be partners. But now there is a turf war between Delta and Alaska for the Seattle market place. This turf war has even carried over to the football field this season.

Delta is the official airline of the Seattle Seahawks. Russell Wilson, the Seahawks quarterback, is Alaska's "Chief Football Officer." Anyone flying from Seattle airport while wearing Wilson's jersey will be able to board early. Not to be out done, if you happen to live in Washington state, (like I do), Delta airlines has a promotion where Washington residents can earn one Delta SkyMile based on each yard thrown by the Seahawks. The ZIP code on your SkyMiles account must be located in Washington state.

You can access this offer by clicking here.

Go Seahawks!!

I love the Seattle Seahawks football team

2017-08-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

Delta is the official airline of the Seattle Seahawks. Russell Wilson, the Seahawks quarterback, is Alaska's "Chief Football Officer." Anyone flying from Seattle airport while wearing Wilson's jersey will be able to board early. Not to be out done, if you happen to live in Washington state, (like I do), Delta airlines has a promotion where Washington residents can earn Delta SkyMiles based on each yard accumulated by the Seahawks. The ZIP code on your SkyMiles account must be located in Washington.

You can access this offer by clicking here.

Go Seahawks!!

National Parks Service 100 year anniversary=Free Admission

2017-04-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

The National Park service is celebrating its 100 year anniversary. April 15-16 and 22-23 will be free days at the 118 national parks that normally charge an entrance fee. Entrance to the remainder of the more than 400 national parks is always free. Go enjoy the great outdoors!

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/article143014259.html#storylink=cpy

What is Viator?

2017-02-01T07:22:00.002-08:00

As you know I travel all over the world. Before I go to a location I like to see the different activities that are available to me. I have found a website called Viator that lists everything from short 2 hour activities to multi day trips. As I mentioned yesterday, I will be going to Italy in April. I am using Viator to help plan my trip. Viator will book all the hotels and activites during a five day portion of the trip. I am also using Viator to book a 3 hour gelato and pizza making class. The variety of activities offered through Viator is amazing. In Istanbul I booked a home cooked dinner with a local family.

If you want to save $10 on your next Viator booking use the following code:

https://www.viator.com/raf/MKYROXOUY

Save $35 on your Airbnb stay

2017-01-31T06:00:00.000-08:00

Want something different than the typical hotel room? Why not try Airbnb? You can rent a room or an entire house. Airbnb is an online community marketplace that connects people looking to rent their homes with people who are looking for accommodations. Airbnb users include hosts and travelers: hosts list and rent out their unused spaces, and travelers search for and book accommodations in 190+ countries worldwide.

In April I am going to Rome. Last week I booked two separate Airbnb stays. Both were half the price of a hotel room and very close to the locations I wanted to be. There will be three of us on the trip so it was nice to rent out an entire location with a kitchen.

On the Airbnb website you have a variety of ways to search:

Room type - entire place, private room or shared room

Price - range from minimum to maximum

Size - number of bedrooms, bathrooms and/or beds

Amenities - wireless Internet, TV, kitchen, pool, pets, etc.

Property type - standard properties such as apartments, houses and bed & breakfasts, as well as non-standard accommodations such as castles, caves, igloos and tipis.

You can save $35 if you use the following promo code: www.airbnb.com/c/kiml191

Disclaimer: I also get $35 towards my next booking.

Free National Park Entry This Weekend

2016-08-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

FREE is one of my favorite words. To celebrate its centennial, the National Park Service is waiving its entrance fees from Thursday, 8/25 through Sunday, 8/28. Enjoy the weekend.

Help Louisiana Flood Victims And Earn United Airline Miles

2016-08-20T11:24:00.001-07:00

I just received the below email today from United Airlines.

"Our thoughts go out to all those affected by the flooding in Louisiana. Please join us in supporting our humanitarian aid and disaster relief partners – American Red Cross, AmeriCares, Feeding America and Airlink – as they provide critical aid to those impacted. If you choose to contribute, United® will reward your generosity with MileagePlus® bonus miles:

Donate $50–$99 and earn 250 bonus miles

Donate $100–$249 and earn 500 bonus miles

Donate $250 or more and earn 1,000 bonus miles

We will award a total of up to one million bonus miles to MileagePlus members who contribute to these organizations by August 31, 2016. Thank you for your support."

Just click here and help those in need.

Free National Park Days

2016-04-15T13:00:00.000-07:00

The National Park service turns 100 in 2016, and in honor of its centennial, national parks that charge entrance fees will be fee-free on 16 days. Those days include April 16 through April 24 for National Park Week. For the full list of fee-free days click here.

$50 or $70 off $100 bookings at Airbnb

2015-11-10T08:00:00.000-08:00

Want something different than the typical hotel room? Why not try Airbnb? You can rent a room or an entire house. Airbnb is located in 190+ countries. So why do I bring this up now? I was checking my American Express credit card and I noticed an offer to get a $50 statement credit if I spend $100 on my next Airbnb booking by 12-31-15. Not a bad deal.

If you don't already have an Airbnb account you can save an additional $20 off your first qualifying stay (generally $75 or more, except holidays) by clicking on my link here and setting up an account.

Log into your American Express account and scroll to the section that says "AMEX Offers & Benefits" to see what offers you have available. Not every AMEX card has the same offers but why not check your offers out.

Take a survey and earn Jet Blue points

2015-11-06T08:00:00.000-08:00

Last month I wrote about how to earn 50 miles on United Airlines by taking a one minute survey. Well, Jet Blue has joined the survey business too. You can earn 400 TrueBlue points by clicking here and signing up at Points For Surveys.

I don't fly Jet Blue that often but I enjoy being able to earn points without even flying. The nice thing about Jet Blue is there is no expiration for True Blue points. I already completed my first survey. Why not try it?

Great Emirates Safety Video

2015-10-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

Thanks to blogger, "One Mile at a Time," I came across this safety demonstration video by Emirates airline personnel. The difference is this safety demonstration took place this past Sunday, October 25, at a stadium in Lisbon in front of 65,000 fans. It is not your typical safety video. Hope you enjoy this and have a great weekend. Happy Halloween

Great job Emirates airline!

Uber and SPG Partnership

2015-10-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I had friends visiting from New York. They were staying in Portland at a SPG branded hotel. They happened to mention they take Uber everywhere. I asked them if they were aware of the SPG and Uber partnership. They were not so I thought I would mention it in my blog.

You can earn one Starpoint for every dollar you spend with Uber. You earn even more Starpoints while staying at an SPG hotel. Just sign in and link your accounts here and complete one qualifying SPG stay.

For those with elite status with SPG you can earn even more points during your SPG stay.

Hotel Groups

2015-10-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

In my travel class last week we discussed the importance of airline alliances and signing up for airline mileage cards. Tuesday we discussed signing up for hotel frequent stay cards. To make it easy to sign up I have attached the following links. Just click on the name of the hotel in red. The hotel names listed directly below the hotel name in red are all part of the same family. For example, if you stay at a Courtyard hotel, you will show your Marriott card.

Marriott

Residence Inn, Courtyard, Springhill, Ritz Carlton…

IHG

Intercontinental, Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza…

Starwood

St. Regis, Westin, Sheraton, Le Meridian…

Hyatt

Andaz, Park Hyatt, Hyatt Regency…

Hilton

Waldorf Astoria, Double Tree, Conrad, Embassy Suites…

BestWestern

VIB, Executive Residence

I am sorry if the links do not work on a mobile device.

Would you take a one minute survery to earn 50 United miles?

2015-10-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

I belong to the Opinion Miles Club. The Opinion Miles Club allows me to take surveys while earning United Miles. I got an email today saying I could earn 50 miles for a one minute survey. I know 50 miles may not seem like a lot. The best part is if you belong to United MileagePlus frequent flyer program by doing surveys you can keep your United miles from expiring. United miles expire 18 months after the last activity. Activity does not mean having to fly on a United flight. Completing a survey is considered activity.

If you don't belong to the United MileagePlus frequent flyer program just click here first and get your United airlines frequent flyer number first.

Once you belong to the MileagePlus program click here to sign into the Opinion Miles Club. You can even earn 300 miles by joining and completing your first survey.

Are you flexible?

2015-10-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday in my Clark Community College travel class we discussed the importance of being flexible in order to save money on travel. Are you the type of person who plans all your travel months in advance or the type of person who says, "Take me to the Caribbean anytime the price drops below $200."

I want to list several search options that are available for the flexible traveler. Depending on your travel criteria are three different websites. Just click on the links to check out your available options.

Criteria:

Destination (Google Explore)
Trip duration (Google Explore)
Airline Alliance (Google Explore)
Destination/Duration/Price Alert (Adioso)
Price (Kayak Explore)
Weather (Kayak Explore)

Kayak example: I asked to travel for $200 or less with the weather over 70 degrees.

Google example: I asked for a flight 3-5 days in duration on the Skyteam alliance anywhere in the USA. Below shows two of several examples.

Adioso is a great website to set price alerts. Have a place you want to go, don't care what time of year it is, but the price is to high, try Adioso. Example below:

Breast Cancer Awareness and American Airline Miles

2015-10-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. American Airlines is a partner with the Susan G. Koman Foundation. Previously American Airlines awarded 10 airline miles for every dollar donated to the Susan G. Koman Foundation. During the month of October American Airlines will award 20 airline miles for every dollar donated, with a minimum $25 donation. Why not earn airline miles while supporting a great cause?

Click HERE to donate now.

American

As our first-ever Lifetime Promise Partner, American Airlines offers AAdvantage® customers the opportunity to receive AAdvantage® miles for every dollar donated to Komen through the Miles for the Cure program. Traditionally, Miles for the Cure donors receive ten miles per dollar donated but, from October 1-31, 2015, American Airlines is conducting a special bonus offer of twenty miles per dollar donated through the Miles for the Cure program. Donate today! - See more at: http://ww5.komen.org/Donate/MilesfortheCure.html?terms=donate#sthash.wEsxtEy5.dpuf

As our first-ever Lifetime Promise Partner, American Airlines offers AAdvantage® customers the opportunity to receive AAdvantage® miles for every dollar donated to Komen through the Miles for the Cure program. Traditionally, Miles for the Cure donors receive ten miles per dollar donated but, from October 1-31, 2015, American Airlines is conducting a special bonus offer of twenty miles per dollar donated through the Miles for the Cure program. Donate today!

- See more at: http://ww5.komen.org/Donate/MilesfortheCure.html?terms=donate#sthash.wEsxtEy5.dpuf

100 Free Marriott Points

2015-08-12T06:00:00.000-07:00

If you are willing to answer six easy questions you can score 100 Marriott points. I love Marriott hotels and have platinum status so of course I took the survey. While Marriott points currently do not expire they can close your account due to inactivity. In February of 2016 Marriott is changing the rules and points will expire after 24 months of inactivity. So here is your chance to keep your account open. Just click on this link.

$35 Hotel Rooms

2015-07-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

I love IHG. IHG is the Intercontinental Hotel Group. The most common IHG hotel is the Holiday Inn. IHG has what is known as "5,000 point breaks". A person who has IHG points can get a room for only 5,000 points which translates to $35. IHG selects certain hotels throughout the world for their point break list, which is constantly changing.

Click on this link to see what deals are out there for bookings through October 31, 2015.

Entertainment Book + Ebates= A Great Deal

2015-07-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

The Entertainment book has lots of great coupons for restaurants. But it also has deals on hotels, car rentals and airlines. Right now many Entertainment books are only $5.00. While this sounds like a great price, if you go to Ebates.com first you will get 17.5% back.

If you don't already have an Ebates account. Please consider using this link

This deal is for a limited time so don't miss out. Go to Entertainment.com

Upcoming Travel Class

2015-07-07T23:23:00.000-07:00

For any of my readers in the Portland, Oregon/Vancouver, Washington area, I will be teaching a 2 hour seminar on how to travel more and spend less. This is the second time I have taught this class. The last class filled up and had a waiting list. The class is $49 and is taught through Clark Community College. My goal is to teach you enough information in 2 hours that you will more than get your money back from what you learn about travel savings. As of today, there are only 4 spots left in the class so hurry and sign up now.

When : July 20, 2015

Time: 6:30-8:30 PM

Where: Clark College Downtown Campus

500 Broadway, Vancouver, Wa. 98660

To register click here.

How to Get A Refund

2015-04-21T07:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome back Clark Community College Students:

The following websites will help you get a refund if prices go down.

Yapta: to monitor if airfare prices go down.

Tingo: Hotel booking site, refunds you if price drops after you book.

Dreamcheaper: Not a hotel booking site, but monitors if the price goes down. You determine a percentage to give to the company if the price goes down.

Autoslash: Booking site or tracking site to determine if car rental prices go down.

I hope all the class participants enjoyed the class and have learned how to travel for less! This is the final class blog so be sure to travel, travel, travel!

Websites to Check for Air Travel

2015-04-20T07:00:00.000-07:00

For all those participants in last week's Travel for Less class through Clark Community College I have put together a quick guide to the various links we discussed in class. This will save you time and headache as everything will be accessible in one place. Just click on the link and you will be taken directly to the website. This is the last blog for class participants. Feel free to read some of the past blogs and pick up a few tips that may not have been discussed in the class.

Favorite site to CHECK airfare: Matrix
Booking Site for flexible fliers: Adioso
Booking site for international travel: Vayama
Booking site for penny pinchers: Priceline

Free Entrance To National Parks This Weekend

2015-04-17T16:11:00.002-07:00

It is National Park week and this weekend you can get into those National Parks that normally charge a fee for FREE. Check below for other free dates.

On Monday I will continue another blog for the students of Clark Community College.