Flying International on Southwest

Up until a year or two ago, Southwest was exclusively a domestic airline. That's no longer the case. After their buy out of Airtran, Southwest picked up all of Airtran's international routes to central america and the Caribbean. 

Now, you can fly to a number of exotic locations with your favorite airline (I mean most of us LOVE Southwest, right? And many have the coveted Companion Pass? That's what I thought). Here's where you can jet off to:

• Cabo San Lucas, MX
• Puerta Vallarta, MX
• Mexico City, MX
• Cancun, MX
• Belize City, BZ
• Liberia, CR
• San Jose, CR
• Nassau, Bahamas
• Montego Bay, Jamaica
• Punta Cana, DR
• San Juan, PR
• Havana, Cuba

This is great news for anyone looking for a little tropical getaway.  We recently did this for the first time on our trip to Costa Rica and it was great, but a little different than other international flights and different than your typical Southwest Flight. Here's everything you need to know about flying internationally on Southwest.

1. Check In As Usual (Sort Of)
Anyone who has flown on Southwest sets their alarm for 24hours and 1 minute before the flight leaves, so you can get that coveted "A" boarding group. The same applies for international flights, but the actual process is a bit different. Because your passport needs to be checked at the airport, when you check in online or on your phone, you'll only get your boarding group number but no actual ticket. Your spot is secure, but you still need to go to the ticket counter when you get to the airport to have your passport checked .

2. Bring Some Food With You
If you're used to flying international to Europe or Asia, you're use to being fed and pumped full of wine every 45 minutes. The Southwest flights aren't like that. All juice, soda, coffee is still free, and they are quite generous with the upgraded snacks (our flight had bags of pretzels, peanuts, Oreos, Fritos and Cheese Crackers), but if you're like me and don't want to eat that kind of stuff, I'd advise you to bring your own meal. There's also no food for purchase. Our longest flight segment was 6 hours when we flew to Costa Rica, which I knew I'd definitely get hungry. I'd suggest a sandwich, salad, or bento box. I'd also bring some snack-y things like granola bars, nuts, or dried fruit incase you get munchy (PS - my favorite in flight snacks).

3. There's Still Free Live TV 
Like a lot of international flights, you will have some time to kill. They still offer the free live TV and movies are available for purchase just like normal Southwest flights. There was also WIFI for purchase. Bring your own laptop, smart phone or tablet in order to stream (there aren't any personal tv's on the plane).

4. Bring Your Blanket and Pillow
Unlike other international flights, there were no blankets, pillows or sleep masks waiting for us on board. These flights also weren't overnight, so that wasn't a huge deal. However, our flights were early and it's nice to be able to take a nap. I have an inflatable neck pillow that I'd highly suggest, since you can deflate it once you land so you don't have to lug it around when it's not in use. And as always, bring a scarf to cover up if you're cold!  

5. It's Pretty Cheap!
I was shocked at how affordable these flights were. We used our Southwest points, and each round trip ticket was 21,000 points. That is not a typo. That's about 10.5k each way. It costs more to go to California!!!! Now, I can't guarantee these rates, but I checked a lot of locations and a lot of date combos, and I was pleasantly surprised at the price. Many flights are under $500 pp round trip. And don't forget, you can always get your points back/flight $ credit if the price goes down (we originally booked at 36k points pp.... that's 15k points down!)

6. Be Flexible With Your Dates
The flights from Costa Rica went down 1-3x a day. The return flights was only available a few days a week. Check this before you plan your trip (use their "Flexible Fare Calendar" feature to see!)

7. Check Those Bags
Yup, 2 checked bags. For free. As always! We carried on, but checked our bags on the way back since we picked up some souvenirs that we couldn't carry on. 

What are you waiting for? Book your tropical vaca now. You can thank me when you're watching the sunset.

xo

Southwest Companion Pass

Ever since I heard about the Southwest Companion Pass, I've been CONSUMED with getting it. I neeeeeeeeeeed it! Do you have it? If you do, I'm incredibly jealous.

Since I was in the dark about this, I thought some others might be, too! So I've done my research and found out HOW to get it, and WHY it's awesome!

FACTS ON THE SOUTHWEST COMPANION PASS

The only way to get the Companion Pass is earning 110,000 Rapid Reward Points in one calendar year. This means January 1 - December 31. It's January 21, so let's hit the ground running with this New Year's Resolution :) 

The 110,000 RR points must be in one person's name. These points cannot be transferred from another Rapid Rewards account. You can't have 55,000 in your name and 55,000 in  your spouses name..... all 110,000 have to be in one name. No exceptions.

The Companion Pass is eligible for the rest of the calendar year (so, 2015) and the entirety of the following year. Which means as soon as you earn it this year, you're in the clear for the next year, too! Awesome.

The Companion Pass is only eligible for ONE person.... which you can change three times. So for example's sake, if I signed Matt up as my companion (duh!), I could switch it to my best friend, but still be able to switch back to Matt. It gives you one option, but just be careful you don't mess it up!

The Companion Pass is eligible for EVERY flight the holder books. SO, if I pay for my flight with money or miles, it doesn't matter - Matt comes with me for free. Please note that the "companion" must be with the holder of the pass, so he doesn't fly for free unless he's with me. 

110,000 points is enough for an average of 9 free flight segments. Reward flights start as low as 6,000 points (one way), and go up to about 18,000, depending on when/where you're flying (I looked at a bunch of different flights to get a sample). So even if you only earned the companion pass in December 2015, you have 110,000 free points to fly the next year - so you can pay for YOUR flights with points and your companion is still flying free. That's an incredible deal in itself.

There are several ways to earn points:

• The largest (and easiest) is to apply for the Southwest Rapid Rewards credit card with the current bonus offer of 50,000 RR points (if you spend $2,000 in the first three months of having the card)
• You earn 2RR points / $1 spent directly with Southwest (a $200 flight = 400 RR points). Please note this needs to be purchased DIRECTLY with Southwest (on their website or phone)... not through a 3rd party website or travel agent.
• You earn 1RR point/ $1 spent on the card on everyday purchases (a $35 tank of gas = 35 RR points)
• You earn the RR points for every flight you take with Southwest (this is not dependent on having the Southwest Credit Card)
• You earn RR points by shopping through the Southwest Shopping portal. You sign in & do your regular online shopping... but for extra points. Nordstrom is 5points/$1 right now, iTunes is 3p/$1, and Sephora is 4p/$1. 
• Please note if you do your spending on the credit card, you'll also get 2points/$1. If you drop $50 at Nordstrom, you'll get 100points for the credit card and 250points for the shopping portal, making your $50 worth 350 points

Let's do a little math. 

If you sign up for the RR credit card and are approved, you'll start at 50,000 points. If you book 12 Southwest segments (6 round trip flights) this year ON the credit card, average $200 per segment, each and average 1,000 RR points (12 segments total), that's an extra 16,800 points. Putting you at 66,800! 

Now, if you do $50 a month of shopping through the Southwest portal on the credit card, even at only 3point/$1 offers, you still will earn an extra 250 points per month, or 3000 points for the year... putting you at almost 70,000 points!

Now all that's left is 40,000 points to earn. If you spend $40,000 a year then you're SET. You might not think you spend that much, but chances are you come pretty close! It comes to just over $3,000 a month on the Southwest Credit Card (I'm only into responsible credit card using.... only spend it if you can pay it off!)

A few notes:

• If you're buying for 2 - which if you're not, the companion pass is a little useless anyway - you will get the double points for money spent, just not their actual flight points. So, buying 12 segments for 2 people, puts you up to 24 segments total at $200, making your points earned 9,600 points... or 21,600 points. The new average would be 71,600 before any portal shopping or regular spending on the credit card. 
• If you're traveling for work, see if you can purchase your own flight and invoice the company. Every extra point counts!
• This companion pass would work best for someone with a business parter (if you travel together often), a married couple/seriously dating couple or a family with kids. If you mostly travel alone or with a variety of different people, this wouldn't make much sense for you. 
• Choose the person who will fly the most often - for example, I travel solo for work more often, so I in theory will earn more points in the calendar year.  
• You can use up to $15,000 in balance transfers to the Southwest Card in the first three months that WILL gain you points. However, they're at a 3% rate, so I would not advise it.

You guys.... we can do this. With a little strategy, you can work your way to dozens of free flights! Who's with me?

xo

More on Cheap Flights:

Save Money on Round Trip Flights

How to Travel for Free

How to Travel for FREE

via

Free flights? Yes, please.

The answer? Frequent flyer miles.

It might take a little time & effort, but signing up for frequent flyer miles is definitely worth it! Even if you aren't completely loyal to one airline (like me!), the miles add up... especially when taking cross country or international flights. You might not be flying for free today, but it will pay off - I promise! I like to think of frequent flyer miles as a little investment account. The more I travel, the more I'm saving for the future :)

Here are some facts about frequent flyer miles, and tips to help you start earning NOW!

• Currently, most airlines use the model of miles flown per segment, and a minimum cap for short legs (i.e., Delta gives me 500 miles when I fly from Nashville to Atlanta, even though it's only about 200 miles). Use this calculator to see how many miles (approximately) you'll earn.

• Most airlines fall under three categories: Star Alliance (United), SkyTeam Alliance (Delta), or OneWorld Alliance (American Airlines). This is inclusive of many international airlines, even ones you've never heard of. This excludes only a few independent domestic airlines, like Southwest & Frontier, and international budget airlines like EasyJet & RyanAir. Check the links to see where your airlines fall.
• A friend flew on LOT Airlines to Europe over the Summer and on EVA Air to Thailand last Spring. Even though I've never heard of either one, they both fall under the Star Alliance, giving her several thousand miles with United (enough for at least one round trip flight!). Another great example is our AeroMexico flight that gave us miles with Delta!

• Each airline has a credit card that gives you miles per dollar, and can often come with additional perks. Delta SkyMiles Amex gives us free checked bags (not that we ever use them!), Zone 1 boarding, and double miles on all Delta purchases (flights, WiFi, in flight wine, etc). You can typically get a signing bonus of miles, upwards of 25,000! If you're interested in an airlines card, I'd suggest holding out for a large miles bonus (we waited for 50k!)

• You can earn miles while you're still on the ground. Each major airline has affiliate shopping programs that give you miles per dollar spent! You just shop through their portal and earn miles on things you were buying anyway. You can DOUBLE your earnings when you use your branded credit card through it's matching portal (Delta Amex on SkyMiles shopping, etc). I use Delta but I've heard good things about American, too.

• You can submit a request for your miles after your flight. Each airline has different rules, but it's good to know you have a little wiggle room.

• Miles don't expire... within reason. Delta miles NEVER expire. American & United require activity within 18 months. Essentially, if you fly once every year or two on an airline, you can continue earning miles. Also, you can often times "reactivate" miles for a small fee. 
• A former Continental (now United) lover myself, I had over 15k miles on the airline that had expired. I paid $25 to have them reactivated, and am using those 15k miles for a free one-way flight. Worth it!

• Most airline miles redemption start at 12k one way. If you fly from NYC to LA round trip, you'll earn close to 5k miles. NYC to London is 6500 round trip. Even domestics like NYC to CHI, Denver to LAX, Miami to Dallas are 1500-2500 miles round trip. 
• My trip to Italy will earn almost 10k miles. That's nearly enough for a one-way ticket!
• Side note: we used miles from our credit card to pay for flights to Italy. It's my favorite card!

Tomorrow I'll follow up with the beginner's guide to frequent flyer miles.

Have you ever used frequent flyer miles to earn free flights? Where did you go? Are you signing up for loyalty programs right now?!
xo

Why I Love Our US Bank Flex Perks Travel Rewards Credit Card (and so will you)!

Before I met Matt, I'd never even heard of US Bank, let alone used their services. Now that I've married into it, I don't know how I ever worked with another bank. Their customer service is actually helpful and they DON'T charge ATM fees. Let me count the ways I love thee.

Loving your bank. It's a wonderful thing.

Now, what's even better, is the bank you love so very much offering the credit card from heaven. Enter the US Bank Flex Perks Travel Rewards Signature Visa. 

And let's be clear - I am not being compensated for writing this. Although I should be, because I'm always singing the praises of this credit card. We put all of our monthly expenses (that are credit card charge-able... so basically everything except utilities) on this card so we rack up the points pretty quickly. We recently used it to book our flights to Italy. Yes, meaning we are flying there for FREE. 

It's perfect for people who love to travel, and here's why.

Points

• 1 point per every $1 spent. So if you spend $1,000/month, you'll get 1,000 points. 
• 2x points on the category you spend the most on in that month between gas, groceries, or airline travel. The best part about this is you don't have to sign up or choose - it automatically doubles your points for you.
• 2x points on cell phone expenses 

flying into NYC on my free flight thanks to my reward points

Rewards

• Reward flights are booked through Travelocity. This means you can book on ANY major airline. Unlike the Southwest card or Delta Skymiles Amex, your miles can go anywhere on any major airline through Travelocity. 
• Delta, United, Virgin, Jet Blue, Sun Country, Alaska Airlines, Spirit, American, US Airways, and Frontier and probably a few others on Domestic flights
• Aer Lingus, TAP Portugal, AA, British Airways, Delta, Finnair, Iberia, Lufthansa, United, Virgin Atlantic, Air Canada, US Airways, Swiss Air, Brussels Air, KLM, Air France, Air Europa, SAS, Icelandair, Quantas, Air New Zealand, China Southern, Cathay Pacific, Singapor Airlines, Asiana Airlines, Japan Airlines, Air China, China Airlines, Philippine Airlines, Fiji Airlines, Air Tihiti.... just to name a few International options.
• I just did a few searches and these are what came up. The sky truly is the limit.
• Here is the award travel chart. Unlike most mileage programs, the points are directly related to the money you spent. Unlike others (I'm looking at you, American Airlines) who charge more points for peak times. 

• You can also bundle hotels, car rentals and more to save points. 
• Last year we booked 2 flights to NYC and a gorgeous hotel for about 50,000 points total. 20k per ticket & added 4 nights in the Conrad New York in Battery Park for 10k points. An incredible deal for 4 nights in a hotel that costs over $500/night & flights that were ringing in around $350/ticket! Our almost $2,700 trip (let's be honest... I never would have paid $500 a night for a hotel in New York, but still) was paid for except a Metro Card and meals. That's what I call cheap & cheerful.
• You can read about all of the reward options here.

enjoying drinks in the Conrad Hotel bar... happy to splurge because of our free flights and hotel!

Perks

• Booking through Travelocity means NO blackout dates or times. You just have to decide what points you want to spend (there are always great options since you can choose from any airline)
• On paper, Flex Perks is "buying" your flight on Travelocity. This means you'll get all of your standard airline frequent flyer miles even though you've purchased with "miles"! This is a big perk when thinking about international flights! 
• Every ticket you book using Flex Perks rewards, you're entitled to $25 in flight credit. This can be used to buy in flight wifi, a glass of wine, movie rental, or a nice snack pack. It will automatically be erased from your statement.
• It has a chip to work with International purchases. When I was in Canada, I had no problems with this card whatsoever.
• Speaking of International, there are NO International fees associated. 
• Tons of other perks, like $25k in travel insurance, Hotels Perks (some offer free wifi or free parking) and more. You can read all about them here!

We MILK all of the perks from this card. It really pays off to have it! I am in no way condoning using credit cards to buy things you can't afford (I use Mint.com to do our budget), but there's no reason not to earn points for the things you would be buying anyway! Have I convinced you of the wonders of this card yet?

Do you use a rewards credit card? Do you like it? What makes it work for you? Does anyone love the FlexPerks card as much as I do?

xo