Sign up to Reward programs & SAVE MONEY

-
To save money on the go is always something handy to have, so collecting reward points and look out for deals helps. Here some of the tips you can go about doing this:


1. Sign up to Frequent Miles or Frequent Flyer programs
  • Sign up to Frequent Miles or Frequent Flyer, in most cases these programs are free (but go check). For example, Singapore Airlines' KrisFlyer program is free to join.
  • I would advise to have at least one airline miles program with One World and another airline program with the Star Alliance eg. KrisFlyer, if your country's main airline is with the Sky Team join that, ideally if its free. This way if you fly with other airlines within those 3 main alliances will you still accumulate miles or points in the program you've joined. Eg. Fly Thai Airways and can still get points in KrisFlyer. You just need to quote your membership number when booking the flight.
  • What do I do with these points? Well, if you save enough, you can reward yourself with a free flight or in some cases get a free upgrade to business class, with paying for an economy class ticket. Just go check that airlines reward gift redemption. Again, this will save you from spending money.


 2. Sign up to Hotel Reward programs
  • Go sign up to rewards programs like Expedia, Hotels.com, Marriott Hotels Rewards, Starwood Preferred Guest Loyalty Program, IHG Rewards Club, and others.


 For example, I'm with Hotels.com Rewards. If you book and stay at accommodation venues for 10 nights via Hotels.com without using a discount code, you will get the 11th night stay for free, except you have to pay the taxes.

 The way it works is it calculates the average (pre-tax) spend you make per night. Say the average spent is about $90 per night, then you can book some around that price for the 11th night for free (say its $100, maybe around $10 tax). You pay $10 only.
Credit: Hotels.com

  • For other programs like Marriott Hotels Rewards, Starwood Preferred Guest Loyalty Program, IHG Rewards Club, and others. I advise you to check if these programs allow you to link up with the Frequent Miles program.


 The reason for this, is because if you don't frequently stay at these hotels then it will take very long to save up for a reward redemption or your points may expire before you get to use it. By having it with be able to link with a frequent miles program, your points will get to good use and accumulate for a reward much quicker.

 If you frequently use hotels with those hotel reward programs and tend to use the hotel rewards, then you won't need to link to Frequent Miles program.
3. Annual fee-free credit card linked to the Frequent Miles 
  • If you have one, take advantage of it. But make sure you pay your bills within the interest free period to avoid fees and other unnecessary costs to you.
Remember: try NOT to go into heaps of debt. Be smart!


4. For Australian-based travellers, there is this reward program

  • Have you heard of cashrewards.com.au? Basically this is a cash-back rewards scheme that tracks your cookies via clicks.
  • Nearly all the hotel booking websites are on this program, essentially if you log into your account on cashrewards.com.au and do a search for your main booking website. For example, hotels.com, you will get 4.8% cashback on the amount you've spent on hotels.com (which takes into account any discount codes you use or rewards you collect).
Credit: cashrewards.com.au

 This is like a reward over another reward to benefit you. Note: cashrewards.com.au pays you the cash-back in 90 days clearing time (Minimum withdrawals must be at least $5.01 AUD). Not bad for the wait.

Another tip is cashrewards also does cash-back with eBay and AliExpress purchases. 



SUMMARY
I hope these extra tips will help you save money and boast your travel experiences with more cash back into your pocket. Feel free to comment, if you have any questions.

Now go #getlost and #havefun

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Opening a Portugal bank account remotely (easy step by step)

-
Image
Other than using the services of bordr.io (cost 350 Euros to open at the time of writing), the Portuguese bank account I found on the internet that you can open outside of Portugal is Banco Atlantico Europa . When you navigate to "Open Account" the following screens asks you to download its app on Android or Apple app stores. This is what the app looks like in the Android app store. Once you open the app, the following screens will appear and it states the relevant documents you need to upload via the app either from photos or pdfs. You will need to follow the steps to create a User ID, enter your email address, your cellphone number (even if its a non-Portuguese number), your residential address (in your country), your work profession (job title and employer name) and your NIF. Once completed you will need to upload these documents to prove your name (eg. passport), DOB, passport number, nationality, your proof of residential address (eg. driver's licence, utility bills,...
Read more

SEF Appointment (Resident Permit/Autorização de Residência )

-
After successfully obtaining your D7 (temporary) visa, there is usually a web link on your Portugal visa attached to your passport. This link provides you the information for SEF appointment (eg. date and location). The SEF appointment is to obtain your residency permit or known as the Autorização de Residência. Note : I did everything myself and did not use an agent or lawyer (which I hear other people doing). In most cases that I gathered, most appointments are located differently to where you live in Portugal. So there is some hassle to get there. But luckily in my case, my appointment location was in the same city I live in and I got there 45 minutes before the appointment schedule (not necessary, as I still had to wait about 40 minutes until my ticket number was called). When you arrive at the SEF office, you go to the staff/security and let them know you have a SEF appointment and he/she will check your name against the schedule he/she has and give you a ticket number. You ju...
Read more

DIY low cost method for a Portugal D7 visa

-
Image
I've always believed in doing things by myself as much as possible and trying to lower the costs of doing each activity by understanding the entire process. So I've written this post to explain the steps I took with my "Do it yourself (DIY)" application process and recorded the cost of each process. To begin with the process, I enquired about the D7 visa with the Portuguese Consulate in Sydney Australia, and this is the list of the requirements they provided me (note: amount requirements was based on November 2021 eg. minimum income in Portugal at the time): The official application form and passport requirements are self-explanatory. You should follow the steps accordingly esp. application of the NIF is the very first step, without this you cannot open a Portuguese bank account and sign a registered rental lease. 1. Application of a NIF Use either NIFonline.pt (cost 59.90 Euros plus extra VAT which totals to 73.68 Euros), bordr.io (cost 150 Euros), or AlgarveKnowHow ...
Read more