almostfreefamilytravel.com

23/06/2024

21/06/2024

Check out my new blog post! How You Can Earn 5x Chase Points This Quarter http://almostfreefamilytravel.blogspot.com/2024/06/how-you-can-earn-5x-chase-points-this.html


One of the easiest ways to earn 5x Chase Ultimate Rewards points is to activate the bonus categories on your Chase FREEDOM (no longer available) and FREEDOM FLEX credit cards. These cards are great no annual fee cards to have in your wallet. You can read here why I LOVE Chase Ultimate Reward points.

Past 5x bonus categories have included Amazon, hotels and restaurants.

This quarter the categories are gas stations (good for summer road trips), EV charging, select live entertainment and movie theatres.

You can only get the bonus on $1,500 spent in all categories total, but that's a lot of bonus points! You must activate your card by September 14th. Purchases are retroactive, but it's better to activate before the bonus begins on July 1st.

If you don't have the CHASE FREEDOM FLEX credit card yet, it's a good first card for your student or a good everyday card for you. You earn a $200 bonus on the first $500 that you spend. There's no annual fee and you earn 3x points on dining and drugstores.
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A blog about how to travel as a family for almost free

06/06/2024

Check out my new blog post! Is The New 85,000 Southwest Bonus Offer Right For You? http://almostfreefamilytravel.blogspot.com/2024/06/is-new-85000-southwest-bonus-offer.html

Southwest launched a new whopping 85,000 bonus offer this week on all three of its personal credit cards! First, I'll tell you about the offer and then I'll tell you why you may NOT want to jump on this.

The new offer is for 85,000 bonus Southwest points when you spend $3,000 on any of the three personal credit cards.

The Plus with an annual fee of $69

The Premier with an annual fee of $99

The Priority with an annual fee of $149

Each card comes with slightly different benefits like early bird check in, FREE upgrades, $75 Southwest credit and bonus anniversary points.

To decide on which card, you have to decide which benefits you will actually use. My favorite is the Priority card because although it has the highest annual fee, it comes with a $75 credit making the annual fee just $74 and you get four upgraded boardings per year. Love these when I forget to check in right at the 24 hour mark.

Here comes the catch! You can only hold ONE personal credit card at a time and you can only get the bonus every 24 months.

So with this offer, you have to decide whether or not you plan to earn the Southwest Companion Pass for 2025-26. The Companion pass is the best travel perk around. It is BOGO flights on any Southwest flight. No hidden charges, no fees, no limited availability. If there is a seat available on the plane, you can add your companion FREE. Well you do have to pay the $5.60 taxes.

I have had the Companion Pass for the past 10 years and used it to fly to Hawaii, Cuba, Florida, New York, Washington DC, and many more. It has saved me thousands of dollars in FREE flights.

Hyatt Kaanapali, Maui

BUT here's the catch! The best time to earn the Companion Pass is at the beginning of the year because the pass is valid for the year you earn it AND the following year.

So if you earn the pass in January 2025, it is valid for all of 2025 and 2026. BUT if you earn the pass in September 2024, then it's good for the rest of 2024 and all of 2025. A full 6 months less!

Make sense?

You earn the pass by collecting 135,000 Southwest points. The new 85,000 bonus offer puts you closer to earning the pass and if you read our Companion Pass plan, then you will know how to earn the pass quickly.

And you can only earn the bonus once every 24 months.

So timing is everything. But if you don't need the Companion Pass, this is a great offer!

If you decide to apply for this new offer, consider using my referral link here.

If would like help deciding what to do with this offer or future travel, join my travel coaching program.

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A blog about how to travel as a family for almost free

04/06/2024

Check out my new blog post! Why I Visited Two Capital One Lounges In The Same Day http://almostfreefamilytravel.blogspot.com/2024/06/why-i-visited-two-capital-one-lounges.html

They say once you experience something you can't go back. Well, that's how I feel about airport lounges. A quiet space amongst the chaos of the airport. A place with food, drinks and my favorite, coffee. A place with WIFI, comfy chairs and sometimes even a resting room and showers.

How much does this all cost? Nothing if you are holding a Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card or Capital One Venture X credit card. There are a few others too that include this benefit, but I'm going to focus on these two credit cards.

There are 1,500 Priority Pass lounges around the world and three Capital One lounges (Dallas, Denver, Washington DC Dulles). Everyone must present a valid boarding pass to enter and check in at the lounge desk. You can find a list of all the lounges worldwide on the Priority Pass website or app.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card includes the Priority Pass membership. Once you receive your credit card, just login to your Chase.com account and activate the membership. Priority Pass will send you a physical card in the mail. You can also access a digital card online. Through July 1st 2024, the pass includes some restaurants too where you are eligible for a $26 per person credit. The pass is good for the card holder and two guests. Authorized users also get a Priority Pass membership, however, it costs $75 per year to add an authorized user so that's not the best option.

The Capital One Venture X credit card includes the Priority Pass membership as well, but not the restaurant credit. It is also valid for the card holder and two guests. A benefit of the Capital One Venture X is that you can add authorized users for FREE and they ALSO get FREE Priority Pass lounge access for themselves and two guests. I added all three of my children as authorized users which helps them build their credit and gives them an emergency credit card plus they have access to Priority Pass lounges and the three Capital One lounges. Pretty sweet!

The Chase Sapphire Reserve is offering an increased bonus offer right now of 75,000 points for a $4,000 minimum spend, but it does carry a $550 annual fee.

The Capital One Venture X is offering 75,000 bonus offer for $4,000 minimum spend and a $395 annual fee.

Both are great cards and can have a vital part in your travel strategy. Join my travel coaching program for help to determine which one best fits your needs for your future travel goals.

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A blog about how to travel as a family for almost free

31/05/2024

Check out my new blog post! Why You Should Jump On This Bonus Offer Before It Ends http://almostfreefamilytravel.blogspot.com/2024/05/why-you-should-jump-on-this-bonus-offer.html


We are hearing that the increased bonus offer for the Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit cards is ending "soon."

Though we don't know exactly when soon is, if you are thinking about jumping on this offer, you should do it sooner rather than later.

These cards are my favorites because Chase Ultimate Reward points are so flexible. You can transfer points to dozens of different airlines, hotels, use them in the Chase Travel Portal or even pay yourself back though I don't recommend doing this.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred and Sapphire Reserve cards also offer great benefits and should have a primary spot in everyone's wallet and travel strategy. The Sapphire Preferred credit card is also an excellent card for a student once they have built enough credit to qualify.

Right now, you can earn 75,000 CUR bonus points with a $4,000 minimum spend. The Sapphire Preferred has a $95 annual fee and the Reserve has a $550 annual fee, but the Reserve card also comes with a $300 travel credit, $100 global entry credit, Priority Pass membership and an increased value for the points in the Chase Travel Portal.

I love CUR points because of their flexibility. You can:

transfer them to dozens of different airline loyalty programs

transfer them to several hotel chains (Marriott, IHG, Hyatt)

use them to buy hotels, flights, activities and car rentals in the Chase Travel Portal

pay yourself back

get a statement credit

75,000 points equals $750, however, if you use them in the Chase Travel Portal with your Preferred credit card, you get 25% more value making them worth $1,000. And if you combine the points with your Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card, then they will be worth 50% more in the Chase Travel Portal for a whopping total of $1,250.

If you don't have one of these in your wallet yet, this is the time. If you decide to apply, please consider using my referral link.
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A blog about how to travel as a family for almost free

29/05/2024

Check out my new blog post! Thank You Southwest For A Surprise LUV Voucher http://almostfreefamilytravel.blogspot.com/2024/05/thank-you-southwest-for-surprise-luv.html


Flew home from the East Coast a few weeks ago on Southwest Airlines. All was going well. The first flight took off on time, but the connecting flight was a different story. We arrived in Denver to change planes and found that our flight was delayed about three hours and now scheduled to leave after midnight.

The gate crew said it was a weather delay due to unstable weather in Florida where our plane was coming from. We had checked to see if there was another flight leaving Denver earlier that we could request to hop on, but no luck. So we waited.

The good news was that there was a Capital One Lounge in Denver and a restaurant included in the Priority Pass. The Priority Pass is a benefit included in the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card. You can read about this amazing perk here.

Our flight eventually took off and we arrived home late, but safe.

My experience with weather delays is that you are usually out of luck for compensation.

So imagine my surprise when I received this email a few days later.

Woohoo! Two $100 vouchers for the delay. Nice! But why? This google search may provide a bit of an answer.

Why did Southwest give me a voucher?

Flyers can receive a Southwest LUV Voucher if their flight is canceled or delayed within seven days of departure, they arrive three or more hours later than planned, and the delay or cancellation was caused by something Southwest could control, such as maintenance or staffing.

In my case, the gate crew told us it was a weather related issue. However, reading further there is another issue if your delay is pushed past midnight and/or three hours. Both of which were true in our case so that may actually be the reason we were awarded the vouchers.

As promised, a few days later this email showed up with a voucher number. The voucher had also been added to my Southwest account,

The voucher is a travel credit that has to be applied to a cash ticket. However, now that you can pay cash and points for a flight, you can actually use multiple forms of payment for the same ticket. So in theory, you could use the voucher and then use points to buy a flight. Once you cash in the voucher, it is non transferrable. But the first time you use it, you can actually use it to buy a ticket for anyone.

Thank you Southwest! Nice to be compensated without having to ask.

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A blog about how to travel as a family for almost free

07/05/2024

Check out my new blog post! Why You Should Apply For This 75,000 Bonus Offer http://almostfreefamilytravel.blogspot.com/2024/05/why-you-should-apply-for-this-75000.html


Two of the best credit cards for Chase Ultimate Rewards just increased their bonus offer! Woohoo!

The Chase Sapphire Preferred and Sapphire Reserve cards offer great benefits and should have a primary spot in everyone's wallet and travel strategy.

Right now, you can earn 75,000 CUR bonus points with a $4,000 minimum spend. The Sapphire Preferred has a $95 annual fee and the Reserve has a $550 annual fee, but also comes with a $300 travel credit, $100 global entry credit, Priority Pass membership and an increased value for the points in the Chase Travel Portal.

I love CUR points because of their flexibility. You can:

transfer them to dozens of different airline loyalty programs

transfer them to several hotel chains (Marriott, IHG, Hyatt)

use them to buy hotels, flights, activities and car rentals in the Chase Travel Portal

pay yourself back

get a statement credit

75,000 points equals $750, however, if you use them in the Chase Travel Portal with your Preferred credit card, you get 25% more value making them worth $1,000. And if you combine the points with your Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card, then they will be worth 50% more in the Chase Travel Portal for a whopping total of $1,250.

Like this redemption in the Chase Travel Portal through my Chase Sapphire Reserve account, this Hilton in Moorea has rooms at $938 dollars or 62,554 CUR points.

And if you transfer them to an airline or hotel, the points could be worth even more depending on the specific flight or the number of rewards needed per night.

Plus if you transfer points to IHG and buy three nights, you get a fourth FREE so that could be very lucrative.

Hyatt hotels usually fall in the sweet spot of redemption value as well.

You can only hold one of these cards at a time and you can only get the bonus once every 4 years. You can apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Sapphire Reserve here using my referral link.

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A blog about how to travel as a family for almost free

01/05/2024

Check out my new blog post! Woohoo! Another Client Success Story! http://almostfreefamilytravel.blogspot.com/2024/05/woohoo-another-client-success-story.html


I love using points and miles to save on travel, but what I love even more is to help others save on travel.

So far, dozens of people have joined my Travel Coaching Program and saved thousands! You read about the honeymoon couple who used points to score FREE flights to Italy.

Now we have another client success story!

This time, our client saved $3,200 on a month long trip to Iceland and Italy.

The client spent 4 days in Iceland and 3 weeks in Italy.

Here is how she used points to save:

Capital One Venture X Card

$395 (charge $ 4,000 3 months)

$300 Travel Credit (so card cost $99 but we split the charge)

$100 Credit towards Global Entry (got entry card coming back from Venice @ LAX)

75,000 bonus miles

Priority Lounge Access (used in Seattle and Venice)

American Express Delta

Used points to buy a $500 gc (they were giving a 10% discount on gc) used GC towards plane ticket home. Plus miles I had so my ticket was FREE.

Used points towards upgrade 2 passengers to Premium Plus coming home from Italy flew Delta Home

If you want to learn how to use points and miles to travel for FREE, consider joining my Travel Coaching Program. You get five short videos explaining the basics, a personal tracker and then 1:1 with me where we talk travel goals and set a plan in action. Then you can join our monthly live coaching session forever for FREE!

We look forward to helping you plan your next trip!

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A blog about how to travel as a family for almost free

28/04/2024

Check out my new blog post! How To Transfer CUR Points To Airlines and Hotels http://almostfreefamilytravel.blogspot.com/2024/04/how-to-transfer-cur-points-to-airlines.html


One of the best things about Chase Ultimate Rewards is the flexibility. You can transfer CUR points to a dozen different airlines plus Hyatt, IHG and Marriott. And you can do it on the fly!

Recently, I went on a college road trip and our plans were changing day by day. No problem. When I needed to book a last minute flight on Southwest, but I was short a few points, I just instantly transferred points from CUR to Southwest.

When I booked a Hyatt Hotel on short notice and I needed more Hyatt points, I could instantly transfer points from CUR to Hyatt.

Let me walk you through the steps to do this. It's a bit tricky at first, but once you know how, it's a breeze.

Here is a short video if you prefer to watch.

If you prefer to follow written steps, here you go:

Login to your chase.com account and open the CUR dashboard

Click on travel in the upper right hand corner, click on transfer points to partners

You will see a list of airlines and hotels, click the one you want to transfer points to

Click next and enter your loyalty number for the airline or hotel program (your name must match exactly)

Enter how many points you would like to transfer. This must be in increments of 1,000 and you can't transfer them back

Click submit. In my experience, this transfer will happen almost instantly especially with Southwest Airlines and Hyatt. But some could take a few days or even weeks.

If you would like help with this or any other travel needs, consider joining my Travel Coaching Program. You will get my points and miles video series, points and miles personal tracker, a 1:1 personal strategy session with me and group coaching forever.

All this for just $197.



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A blog about how to travel as a family for almost free

16/04/2024

Check out my new blog post! Unveiling Buenos Aires: A Journey Through the Heart of Argentina With Teens http://almostfreefamilytravel.blogspot.com/2024/04/unveiling-buenos-aires-journey-through.html

Ah, Buenos Aires. The land of steak, wine, tango and beautiful architecture. The city looks like it belongs in the heart of Europe and the sounds of tango music echo throughout the streets. You could spend months or even years exploring all that Buenos Aires has to offer.

But here are five that should top your list.

1. La Boca neighborhood - The photos above show the streets famous for its colorful houses and vibrant street art. Plan to spend an hour or two walking around this area.

2. Recoleta Cemetery - This historic cemetery is home to some very famous Argentine figures including Eva Peron, the beloved First Lady of Argentina and Juan Manuel Fangio, one of the greatest Formula One race car drivers of all time. If you follow this link, you can access a map of the mausoleums and lots of facts about the tombs like a scavenger hunt which is fun for teens.

3. Plaza de Mayo - is home to Casa Rosada (the Presidential Palace) and nearby Teatro Colon, one of the world's most famous Opera Houses. I love taking a FREE walking tour in every city that I visit. I find it's a great way to hear a local's perspective and personal stories about the city. Some of my favorite companies include Guruwalk.com and FREEtoursbyfoot.com and yellowumbrellatours.ie



4. Tango Lesson and Milonga - The Tango, a blend of African, European and Indigenous music and traditional dance, originated in the late 19th century in Buenos Aires. Today, tango remains an integral part of Argentine identity, celebrated as a symbol of passion, resilience, and cultural heritage. A unique experience is to take a Tango lesson and then visit a Milonga or dance hall. We booked lesson through Airbnb.com experiences, but you can do a google search and find lots of options.

5. Cooking Lesson with Saul - When we travel as a family, we love to take a cooking lesson. I feel like one of the best ways to get to know a country's culture is to learn about their local dishes. Some of the lessons even include a walk through a local market to buy the produce. But more than learning about spices and cooking methods, you can learn about history, traditions, and what life is really like for the local community. In this class, we learned how to make empanadas, chimchurri sauce, and dulce de leche with rum ice cream. Yum!

Right now, Buenos Aires is suffering from high inflation. You can read about what that looks like here. For locals, it's horrible, but for tourists, it makes for a very inexpensive vacation.

We chose to stay in Airbnb.com in the city because for a family of five we could get a large three bedroom/two bathroom apartment in Recoleta for under $100 per night. Food is also inexpensive due to inflation for example a steak dinner can run just $8.

Most of the experiences asked us to pay ahead of time in USD. Of course, we used points and miles to fly to Argentina.

If you would like to take a trip like this, join our travel coaching program and we will help you!



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A blog about how to travel as a family for almost free

11/04/2024

Check out my new blog post! Hot Tips: Maximizing Points and Miles to Slash College Costs http://almostfreefamilytravel.blogspot.com/2024/04/hot-tips-maximizing-points-and-miles-to.html

It's that time of the year, time to visit college campuses. If you are like me, you may be visiting campuses all over the country. This trek can cost thousands of dollars if you pay for hotels, flights, food and the car rental. Or you can save thousands by using points and miles. And since college tuition is closing in on $100,000, every penny saved is worth it.

I just returned from a two week mega college campus visit and I'm going to break it down so you can see how I used points and miles to save.

We started by flying Southwest Airlines exclusively because I earned the companion pass last year. This alone can make a huge difference. The Southwest Companion Pass is the best value around. BOGO for any flight, anytime for up to two years on Southwest Airlines. You can read about how I earned the pass here.

My daughter and I flew from San Diego to New York to Nashville to Providence, Rhode Island and back to San Diego. Four flights paid for with Southwest points and my daughter aka my companion flew for FREE. The value on the flights alone was approximately $1,200.

Now, let's talk about hotels. This was the Wyndham hotel we stayed at in Vermont. It was probably the nicest Wyndham I have ever seen. Two nights, one night I actually paid for because I wanted to earn a few more Wyndham points for my next trip. The second night was FREE with my Capital One travel credit. Here's the breakdown of where we stayed for the rest of the trip and how we paid for the hotels each night.

3 nights in New York - We stayed at a Marriott Residence Inn with an expiring FREE hotel night certificate and 40,000 Bonvoy points

2 nights in Vermont - paid for one night at the Wyndham, used the Capital One travel credit for the second night.

2 nights in Nashville - 24,000 points transferred from Chase to stay at the Hyatt House for two nights

1 night in Boston - stayed at the Hampton Inn and Suites with a Hilton FREE night certificate

1 night in Connecticut - used 23,000 IHG points to stay at a Holiday Inn Express

1 night in Washington DC - Holiday Inn Express booked through the Chase Travel Portal with 13,000 Chase points

1 night in Pittsburgh - 12,000 points transferred from Chase to Hyatt to stay at the Hyatt House

10 nights in hotels cost me $170. The savings are approximately $1,800. And guess what, all the hotels included FREE breakfast. Another savings of approximately $200.

We visited one Priority Pass lounge during our trip at the Pittsburgh Airport and ate at two restaurants included in the Priority Pass; The American Tap Room at Reagan National Airport in Washington DC and Providence Provisions at the Providence Theodore Francis Green Airport. Unfortunately, restaurants will be dropped from the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card in July 2024.

These visits saved us another $100 in meals.

The car rental was $700 for the two weeks. I paid for it with the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card so I earned 3x points and got great car rental insurance. If you had a lot of Capital One points, you could have paid for the car rental with that card and erased it.

I paid for the gas with my Capital One Venture X card for 2x points. I paid for meals with my Chase FREEDOM Flex card which gets 5x points on restaurants this quarter due to the rotating bonus categories.

We took a few Lyft here and there which I paid for with my Chase Sapphire Reserve for 10x points.

So in summary, this trip could have cost approximately $5,000.

$1,200 for flights

$1,800 for hotels

$500 for meals

$700 for the car rental

$200 for gas

$100 for Lyft

But with points and miles, this trip cost $1,200 and I earned thousand of points and miles to use on my next adventure.

If you would like support with your own points and miles planning, join my travel coaching program. It's affordable and you get one on one support, a customized tracker, live group coaching forever and my points and miles video course.

College trip
Southwest Sd-Syracuse
Syracuse 2 nights residence inn Marriott - free night and Marriott points
Burlington 2 nights Wyndham paid for one night used $91 capitol one credit for the second night
Nashville 2 nights Hyatt house chase transfer
Boston Hampton inn suites - Hilton free night
Vernon Connecticut IHG holiday inn express - paid ?
Silver spring IHG holiday inn express paid
Pittsburgh Hyatt house chase transfer
Providence airport restaurant credit -$30 each
Wash dc restaurant credit - $28 each
Pittsburgh club lounge - free
Flights
Sd-Syracuse southwest plus companion pass
Provence to Nashville round trip southwest plus companion
Pittsburgh - San Diego southwest plus companion https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM7DhSfi91XmHKjRT98dCsAxuI5OMJJ8s7U6fAqrqaxVxd6LLAqSZ1bhpMxZrULsYFuJHw-rTVXSMd3pq4ZVaTvR9I_uoOw4AXowT_k4G9hQhuHyGH6KA9ZonQJF2pWLoLcJoGo4o6UihEY_sse5XwLcr0Z7l0rOX2QuzfMNVHWSeo8hRVl1bejlTjxL4p/w640-h480/IMG_8286.JPG

A blog about how to travel as a family for almost free

02/04/2024

Check out my new blog post! How to easily find available award space http://almostfreefamilytravel.blogspot.com/2024/04/how-to-easily-find-available-award-space.html


In our travel coaching program, we are actually finding that most people are very good at earning points and miles. It's the spending that is hard.

Trying to figure out how to use the points and miles gets overwhelming.

Trying to figure out where the best deals are and how to transfer those flex points is difficult.

But now there are several FREE services out there that can help. Joining our travel coaching program is another way to get support and you can read about that here.

How to easily find available award space

We are going to focus on three FREE services: Roame, Points Path and Points Yeah. Roame and Points Yeah have a paid membership level as well where you get more information. Points Path says a paid service is coming soon.

Points Yeah and Roame are website platforms and Points Path is an extension that works with google.com/flights. I decided to test the different platforms by entering the same search criteria on all three platforms. I entered LAX to Rome in economy for 1 person departing around October 15th.

Once you download the Points Path extension, it automatically shows results when you search with google flights. For this search, it found the lowest mile redemption as a Lufthansa/United flight for 43,900 and $45 which it classified as a "great deal". Many airlines are not working with Points Path yet so it feels a bit limiting.

Roame is a search tool. I entered the LAX to Rome flight and it gave me 5 possible flight redemptions. It found an American Airlines flight for 26,500 miles and $5.60 taxes. Pretty good deal! It also found United Airlines, Jet Blue, Delta and Alaska flights for varying numbers of miles. I also like that Roame displays the transfer partners like American Express, Chase Ultimate Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy. But it is missing Bilt and Capital One.

Points Yeah is the most interesting to me. It gave results for Flying Blue which we are finding has great deals right now. It also managed to find an American Airlines flight for just 19,000 miles and $5.60 in taxes. Wow. I actually thought this was a mistake, but Points Yeah prompted me to book the flight on the American Airlines website and there it was.
I also like that Points Yeah includes Bilt and Capital One in its transfer list. It does not include Marriott Bonvoy though.

How to easily find available award space

Bottom line, these three platforms can help you figure out how to spend your points and miles to get the best value.

If you prefer personal and custom help reaching your travel goals, consider joining my travel coaching program and let's work together.



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A blog about how to travel as a family for almost free