Earning credit card sign-up bonuses is the fastest way to get credit card points or frequent flyer miles to put toward free travel. Typically, cards have a minimum spending requirement you need to meet in order to get the bonus. For example, the Chase Sapphire Reserve offers 50,000 points after you spend $4,000 in three …
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Wealthy people love golf carts that aren’t on golf courses
I’ve spent the past year covering luxury lifestyle and wealth for Business Insider. I’ve toured multimillion-dollar penthouses and mansions, visited the richest zip code in the US, and attended the glitzy Monaco Yacht Show. One surprising thing kept popping up in all of these places: golf carts. Specifically, I’m talking about golf carts that aren’t …
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The Chase Sapphire Reserve’s trip delay insurance benefit has saved my family more than $1,500 this past year alone
The Chase Sapphire Reserve is one of my favorite rewards credit cards thanks to benefits like up to $300 in annual statement credits toward travel and 3x points on dining and travel purchases. It isn’t just a great card for these “fun” benefits, though — it can also save the day when your travel is …
A couple who wanted to travel in retirement sold their 4,000-square-foot house to afford it, and they aren’t sorry
Joe and Karen Stermitz, both 62, wanted to retire and travel after corporate careers, but they realized that owning a home would make that impossible financially. They decided to sell their home, and now travel the world full-time and live in their overlanding vehicle, seeing the world and traveling slowly. Business Insider is looking for …
Inside Shaolin Monastery, the home of kung fu and Zen Buddhism, where thousands of boys as young as 5 train to be martial arts masters
The Shaolin Temple in central China was built in the Fifth Century, and is the original home of Kung Fu and Zen Buddhism. It’s nearly been destroyed many times by Chinese warlords, and more recently Chairman Mao’s Cultural Revolution. It’s a mecca for young boys (and some girls) who dream of escaping poverty, becoming warrior …
Boise, Idaho, has been called the best place for millennials to live in the US. I spent 4 days there, and a walk through downtown makes it clear why it’s so popular.
Boise, the mid-size capital of Idaho, is having a moment. Its population grew by 18.2% between 2010 and 2018, and Forbes ranked it the fastest-growing city in the US in 2018. Most out-of-state newcomers are coming from California, followed by Washington state and Utah. Microbreweries, luxury condos, and Brooklyn-esque coffee shops are popping up in …
Airlines are joining in on Black Friday with major flight sales — here’s how you can save
Black Friday is perhaps the single most famous and historically important day of the year for US retailers. Major airlines such as Delta, Emirates, Singapore, British Airways, Qatar Airways, Alaska Airlines, Southwest, EasyJet, Norwegian, JetBlue, and Ryanair are expected to post discounted flights and vacation packages for Black Friday. Only a few airlines have announced …
Why the Bonvoy Boundless hotel credit card is worth considering if you stay at Marriott hotels a few times a year
The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card is worth considering if you want to earn Marriott Bonvoy points on your everyday purchases without paying a premium-level annual feel. It’s currently offering new cardholders 75,000 points after they spend $3,000 within three months of account opening. This card also gives you automatic Silver Elite Status along with …
If you have a Chase Sapphire Preferred or Reserve, adding a no-annual-fee Freedom card can maximize your bonus points
The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve feature excellent travel rewards with bonus points for restaurant and travel purchases. The Chase Freedom and Chase Freedom Unlimited offer higher rewards on different purchases, and you can combine with points in a Sapphire account. Because they have no annual fee, there’s little harm in adding …
Haunting photos of the ‘Forbidden City,’ an abandoned military base that hasn’t been used in 25 years
The “Forbidden City” is a military base in eastern Germany that has barely been touched in 25 years. The complex was used as the Nazi command center during World War II and occupied 40,000 Soviet soldiers during the Cold War. Haunting photos of the abandoned military base show what the Forbidden City looks like today. …
A pilot and Instagram influencer with 500,000 followers shares her 8 best travel tips
Maria Fagerström is a Swedish pilot and Instagram influencer living in Spain. She shares insider secrets about her life as a pilot with her nearly 500,000 Instagram followers. She shared some of her best travel and packing tips with Business Insider. Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories. Swedish influencer and pilot Maria Fagerström uses …
The 9 best airline credit cards for earning miles to book free flights
If you want to book free flights, a credit card from an airline or a bank that partners with frequent flyer programs is a must. Not only will you earn miles on every purchase you make, but you can also earn a welcome bonus that can jump-start your frequent flyer account balance and help you …
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I’ve visited 87 countries so far, and I wouldn’t be able to do it without points and miles
I’ve been working toward my goal of visiting every country in the world for a few years. I’m currently up to 87 countries. While I’m not in any rush to finish, credit card points and miles have been a big part of my strategy to afford to reach my goal. Rewards credit cards like the …
Inside Emirates’ newest and most luxurious first-class suite
The Emirates Boeing-777 first class suite was unveiled last year. It won Best First Class at the 2019 TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice® awards in April 2019. Each seat is fully enclosed with a cabin door for privacy, emulating the experience of a 5-star hotel room. The seats also come with a personal dining service, video intercom …
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These are the 10 airports to avoid if you’re flying during Thanksgiving (AAL, DAL)
More than 31.6 million Americans are expected to fly this Thanksgiving holiday season, according to Airlines for America. That’s a 3.7% increase over 2018. American Airlines expects to carry seven million travelers this Thanksgiving season, while Delta expects to fly 3.2 million just during Thanksgiving week. The busiest day for air travel is expected to …
Planning a trip in 2020? Avoid Bali, Big Sur, and these other popular travel destinations ruined by tourists, Fodor’s says
Fodor’s Travel has released its fourth annual “No List,” highlighting the destinations, activities, and businesses travelers should think twice about in 2020. This year’s “No List” includes popular places like Big Sur, Bali, and Cape Town, select hotels and bars, and elephant riding as a tourist activity. Poison beer, dying coral, animal abuse, and hordes …
Equinox is moving into luxury active travel with $6,000 hiking trips to Morocco and a $2,000 running trip through Italy, and it shows the power of ‘wellness tourism’
Equinox Explore, the adventure travel arm of luxury fitness club Equinox, opened its inaugural set of trips for booking last week. The four 2020 trips will visit Florence, New York’s Hudson Valley, Costa Rica, and Morocco. Prices start at $2,350 per person. Equinox has 105 fitness clubs across the US and Canada, with memberships ranging …
What first, business, and economy class looks like on Emirates
Business Insider’s Rachel Hosie takes us on a tour through each class on Emirates’ double-decker Airbus A380. The whole lower level of the plane is made up of economy seats. To access business and first class you have to ascend a spiral staircase at the back of the plane. Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more …
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2 great babymoon itineraries to Arizona and New York that you can book on points and miles
You’ve likely heard the term “babymoon.” It refers to a vacation ahead of your new bundle of joy’s arrival, and these days babymoons are increasingly becoming a must-do for expectant parents. With good reason; it will likely be the last time for a while that you’ll spend some quality alone time with your significant other …
A couple who engineers all their trips to cost ‘nothing’ explains how they broke even on a $37,000 tour of the US National Parks
Lauren and Steven Keys, a millennial couple from Florida, traveled to all 61 US National Parks in 2019. While the trip cost about $36,800, they earned roughly the same amount during that time through side hustles, part-time work, and passive rental income. They paid for the trip upfront with savings, but their nest egg didn’t …
This cool website lets you design custom map posters and T-shirts of anywhere in the world — and the results are undeniably cool
Grafomap is a website that lets you design custom map posters and T-shirts of any place in the world. You can make one of your hometown, your college town, your favorite travel destination, or the place where you got engaged or married — you’re only limited by your imagination. We made posters and a T-shirt …
How spending a year 4,600 miles from home on an isolated Russian peninsula brought an American writer’s debut novel to the final round of the National Book Awards
Julia Phillips’ debut novel “Disappearing Earth” is one of five titles on the shortlist for the 2019 National Book Award in fiction. Phillips spent a college semester studying abroad in Moscow before receiving a Fulbright scholarship to spend a year in Kamchatka, the remote peninsula in far-eastern Russia. The novel is set in the Kamchatka …
I stumbled across the best perk of my United credit card, and I can’t figure out why Chase doesn’t shout it from the rooftops
If you have a United card issued by Chase, one of the best perks you can use is expanded access to economy-class saver awards on flights operated by United and United Express carriers. Cardholders need to log in to their United account before searching for flights with their miles. They’ll be prompted with the text …
The former consultant who launched the ‘Airbnb of yachts’ says she got her business idea after a taking a 6-month sabbatical — and watching her brothers struggle to sell their boats
Jaclyn Baumgarten, the CEO of Boatsetter, the largest peer-to-peer boat-sharing company in the US, was recently named to Inc.’s Female Founders 100 list. She founded the company in 2012 after realizing she didn’t want to keep shaping change in someone else’s business when she could run her own. She’s far from the only woman to …
From taking the pressure off ‘glamorous’ photos of their trips to a new focus on comments, here’s how travel influencers feel about Instagram hiding likes
Instagram started removing “likes” on posts by US users this month. With the change, users will be able to see likes on their own posts — but not on posts by others. Business Insider asked five Instagram influencers in the travel space what they thought about Instagram hiding likes. They told Business Insider that the …
A retiree who stopped working at 54 says he’s able to live and travel the world on $24,000 a year thanks to 3 money-saving strategies
Bill Davidson, 60, retired at age 54 after a career in marketing. He and his wife, Rose, prioritize traveling, and have made it possible even on a relatively small budget. He says that using credit card miles for airfare, being smart about timeshares, and moving to a more affordable area are key to his lifestyle. …
Thanks to a unique feature of the World of Hyatt credit card, I was able to earn Globalist status, with perks like suite upgrades and a personal concierge
The highest level of status in the World of Hyatt program is called Globalist, and it offers benefits like a personal concierge and four confirmed suite night upgrades per year. I was able to earn Hyatt Globalist status thanks to the World of Hyatt Credit Card. As a cardmember, I get 5 night-stay credits toward …