Like with Carnival, you are eligible if you have 100 shares of RCL stock. With Carnival, you get $250 (14+ nights), $100 (7-13), or $50 (5 or fewer) but with Royal Caribbean there are four tiers of benefits. It’s only one extra tier but those going on sailings of 10-13 nights will appreciate the extra hundred bucks! Here are the tiers:

• 14 nights+: $250 onboard credit per stateroom
• 10-13 nights: $200
• 6-9 nights: $100
• 5 or fewer: $50

These benefits are available for Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises (excluding Celebrity Xpeditions) or Azamara Club Cruises Sailings.

There are a few other caveats. The stateroom must be double occupancy and you get one benefit per stateroom, the one the shareholder is in. You can redeem the benefit as many times as you want by:

Provide your name, address, confirmation number, ship and sailing date along with a copy of your shareholder proxy card or a current brokerage statement showing proof of share ownership in Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd.
Via Mail: RCL Investor Benefit, PO Box 025511, Miami, Florida 33102-5511
Via Fax: 1-305-373-6699 Via Email: shareholderbenefit@rccl.com

I hope you can take advantage of it!

Perhaps it’s the recession, perhaps they want to say thanks, but double credit is back at BWI (and Philadelphia and Washington Dulles) and any flight into and out of those airports will receive double credit in the Rapid Rewards program. Travel must be booked between July 15th and August 15th and completed before September 30th.

All you need to do is register at this link.

Terms & Conditions:

The Rapid Rewards Award is free, but travel is subject to the government-imposed September 11th Security Fee of up to $10 per roundtrip. Travel good on Southwest Airlines published, scheduled service.

Terms and Conditions: One additional credit per one-way will be issued, except Business Select. Business Select Customers will receive 2.25 credits for flights less than 750 miles and 3.0 credits for flights 750 miles or longer. Member must register for this promotion between July 15, 2010 and August 11, 2010 to qualify, and registration must be completed prior to commencement of travel. Valid on new reservations only. Reservations must be booked between July 15, 2010 and August 15, 2010 for travel into or out of Philadelphia, Baltimore/Washington, or Washington (Dulles). Qualifying travel must be completed between July 15, 2010 and September 30, 2010. Rapid Rewards account number must be entered at the time of booking. Travel on an Award or Companion Pass does not qualify for promotion. Bonus flight credits do not count toward A-List qualification. Rapid Rewards credit will post to your account within four days of completing travel. Changes made to the itinerary after purchase may eliminate qualification for this promotion. All Rapid Rewards rules and regulations apply. BN029

The allure of free points and miles when you sign up for a new credit is really appealing but it isn’t free, even if there is no annual fee. There are the costs you can see and the costs you can’t. It’s clear that hotel stays will cost you money. It’s clear that spending money will, of course, cost you money! There is, however, one cost that you will pay that you may not realize and it’s a small hit to your credit score.

Your credit score is based on a variety of factors and one of them is the number of new accounts you’ve recently applied for. When you apply for a credit card, the credit card issuer will initiate a hard inquiry for your report and that inquiry will result in a small reduction in your score. The reasoning is that someone who is requesting more credit is riskier than someone who isn’t.

Normally, this isn’t a big deal. Your score will take a temporary hit but it’ll recover shortly. This is most damaging right before you need a large loan, such as on a home mortgage or a car loan. If you are planning on getting a loan like that within a year, I’d avoid apply for any new credit cards regardless of how many points they’re offering! If your score drops enough, you could end up paying thousands of dollars in interest or even be denied the loan.

If your score is high enough, you can check with a service like myFICO, or you don’t intend to get a loan in the near future, by all means go for it. I personally feel that you shouldn’t let your credit score dictate what you can and cannot do, but sometimes we need to bend a little to its will in order to get what we want.

So the next time you see a hot new offer for tens of thousands of miles or points, remember it does come at a small cost.

Earning Rewards

The rewards structure is pretty standard – 1 point for most purchases and 2x points earned on airfare booked through Ultimate Rewards. The points never expire, which is a fantastic perk, and there is no annual fee. A no annual fee travel rewards credit is very rare. Most credit card companies will waive the first year’s fee but charge it in subsequent years, but Chase doesn’t with the Sapphire card. No annual fee means no annual fee this year and no annual fee next year.

Here’s a little extra incentive that very few other rewards cards are offering: after your first purchase, you hit the ground running with 10,000 Ultimate Rewards reward points, worth $100 in rewards from many of their partners.

Redeeming Rewards

Ultimate Rewards is the rewards program and redeeming your points is as straightforward as at any other program. You can convert your points into gift cards from places like Best Buy and you can also convert it into products from vendors like Amazon. The redemptions start at 2,500 points so you can convert them fairly quickly.

If you prefer cash, you can do that as well by turning 2,000 points into $20. Some reward programs make it difficult, or at least expensive, to convert your points back into cash but not so with Ultimate Rewards.

Chase Blueprint

If you’ve seen the commercials about Chase’s new Chase Blueprint program, you’ll be happy to learn that it’s available on the Chase Sapphire as well. Chase Blueprint helps you map out a payment plan that works with your tendencies. There is a suite of budgeting tools to help make sure you don’t overspend and you can pick several ways to pay back your balances.

Overall, I’m impressed with the Chase Sapphire card because it’s one of the few travel rewards cards that doesn’t have an annual fee and has favorable point earning schedules.

Also, if you need extra passport visa pages, it’s currently free but will jump to $82 on July 13th (you can only get extra pages if you have fewer than 4 Visa pages remaining). Finally, if you wish to renounce your U.S. Citizenship, the price of that will jump from free to $450.

You still have a few days to file your documents and save yourself some money. Passport books for adults are valid for ten years while for minors they are good for only five.

If you’re considering travel insurance, check with your credit card company first because they may offer complimentary insurance if you make the purchase with their card. Not all cards offer this but many do and, like purchase protection and other benefits, it really pays to know what you get for free. You can spend the savings on your vacation!

Citi

Some Citi cards offer a Trip Cancellation/Trip Interruption benefit that will give you up to $1,500 in Trip Cancellation/Trip Interruption coverage in the event you cannot take or continue a trip you’ve paid for with your card. I noticed this benefit on my Citi Dividend World MasterCard in a recent mailing but it’s on several of their cards including:

• Citi® Gold and Platinum Select / AAdvantage® World MasterCard®
• Citi PremierPass® Card – Regular and Elite Level
• Citi PremierPass® Expedia.com Card – Regular and Elite Level
• Citi Chairman® American Express® Card
• Citi® American Express® Cards – Citi AAdvantage, Citi Chairman, Citi Diamond Preferred Rewards, Citi Platinum, Citi Premier Pass, Citi Select AAdvantage.

You can learn more here.

American Express

American Express also offers Trip Cancellation insurance included on some of their cards. Some of the cards were listed under Citi (Citi is the branded card, AMEX is the payments processor on those cards) but the insurance works in the same way – you usually get $1,500 per insured persons to a maximum of $3,000 for all persons combined if you cancel for a covered reason.

In addition to the included coverages for trip cancellation, several American Express cards offer other travel related insurance coverage such as baggage insurance, AD&D insurance, etc. You can learn more about all the travel insurances American Express offers here.

JPMorgan Chase

Chase has rolled out several cards that offer travel insurance, including their travel card – Chase Sapphire. The cards that do offer this type of insurance often have the whole portfolio of insurances – trip cancellation insurance, auto rental collision damage waivers, travel accident and travel delay insurance, lost luggage, baggage delay, roadside dispatch and travel & emergency services (that’s an exact listing of the insurances available on the Chase Sapphire).

The next time you go to book a trip, check to see if one of your credit cards offers complimentary travel insurance and save yourself some money!

(Photo: streamishmc)

We love staying at Disney resorts mostly because of the transportation benefits, you save a lot of money when you don’t have to pay for transportation to the hotel, car rental, and parking fees each day you’re in Disney. That’s just the start of it, between that and the Extra Magic Hours, there’s little you could say to convince me not to stay at a Disney resort.

Here are my reasons why it’s awesome to stay at a Disney resort:

Extended Extra Magic Hours

This is easily the biggest and best reason why you should stay at a Disney Resort. At Walt Disney World, one of the theme parks will open one hour early or stay open one hour later after regular park hours for residents of Disney resorts. These Extra Magic hours are awesome because you basically get the park to yourself and the lines for various rides are extremely short. On our last trip, we stayed at Port Orleans and took advantage of the evening hours every time they were available. At one point we were riding some rides over and over again, just because we could. There’s nothing like running through the queues and hopping onto a ride like you were a VIP!

Transportation

If you’re staying at the resort, you get complimentary transportation from the airport to the resort itself. You’ll also get access to free luggage transfers, so you don’t even have to wait for any checked luggage, and the luggage is delivered to your door within a few hours. It’s very convenient and a fantastic perk, there’s nothing like walking around unencumbered by huge bags to make your vacation feel like an actual vacation.

Transportation to and from the parks is incredibly easy when you stay at a Disney resort and there are Monorail and bus stops almost everywhere you’d expect them to be. If you stay at a resort, you just walk over to the nearest station and wait for the next bus to take you wherever you want to go. There’s no need to rent a car and pay for parking every day (and have to find your car afterwards), you just hop on a bus and go wherever you want. Parking at Disney can get pricey, it’s currently $14 a day at Walt Disney World.

Full Disney Experience

There’s something to be said about the magic of Disney and what a great job they do with their resorts. When you enter the imaginative world of Disney, leaving to go to a Holiday Inn can sometimes break that bit of that magic. If you’re really into it, staying at a resort extends the immersive experience twenty-four hours a day. The grounds of many of the resorts are also very well done and it can be fun walking them.

Flexibility

If you’re traveling with a large group and renting a single car, you’ll feel forced into sticking together or working off a common schedule. This can get a little trickier if you have teenagers who want to roam the park with their friends. Since you have free transportation, everyone can wander around on their own and simply meet up for meals.

This also affords you the ability to take a break or move around the parks more freely than you would if you were bound to a parked car. Feeling a little spent? Take a nap in the afternoon and “make it up” by staying a little longer during the Extended Extra Magic hours. Want to spend the morning in the Magic Kingdom but the afternoon in Epcot? Go ahead, you just take a bus back to your resort, no need to worry about where the car is.

Free Golf Club Rental

If you purchase a full round of golf at a Disney Championship Golf Course, you get a free Titleist and Cobra club rental if you stay on a resort! This can be a huge savings on both time and money if you plan on playing any golf while at Disney.

You don’t have to pay through the nose to gain these benefits, you can stay at any Disney resort and get free transportation. We stay at Moderately priced resorts but you could stay at a Value resort to maximize your dollars. The resorts do vary though, I remember using the restroom at the Polynesian (Deluxe resort at ~$365/nt) and the hand towels in the bathrooms were softer than the bath towels at Port Orleans!

(Photo: carlografia)

I found that American Airlines has two promotions going on: Century in the Making and the Penalty Challenge. Both give you 10% off American Airlines flights along with the chance to win more exciting prizes!

How do you get 10% off? Its easy and will only take you a few minutes to complete.

Century in the Making

With Super Bowl XLV coming to North Texas American Airlines has the Century in the Making contest to determine the most “Legendary Football Moments” in four different categories. Each catagory allows you to vote for the top 5 moments and gives you with a 10% off code, emailed to you for only one use. You can enter once per category:

First Day of Entry Period – Last Day of Entry Period
High School Moments: March 1, 2010 – April 18, 2010
College Moments: April 19, 2010 – June 6, 2010
Special Moments: June 7, 2010 – July 25, 2010
Professional Moments: July 26, 2010 – September 12, 2010

Once you have voted for the top 5 moments and entered your American Airlines frequent flyer number, you will receive an email with a 10% off code that is valid for “travel from the 48 contiguous United States to any destination worldwide, for up to four (4) people traveling together. This discount may be used for ticket purchases made between June 7, 2010, and September 7, 2010, for travel between June 7, 2010, and September 7, 2010.” Each category will have different times for ticket purchases and travel so read your email details carefully. This contest also enters you into the contest to win tickets to Super Bowl XLV and other miscellaneous prizes.

Here’s are the Official Rules.

Penalty Challenge

If you have more than 4 people (up to 6) in your party, or are taking two trips on American Airlines this summer check out the Penalty Challenge. To get the 10% off code, sign up to play the game, kick your 5 penalty shots, you will then receive an email with the code to enter to get your 10% off, and then you will receive an email with the 10% off code. This is only through June 30th for travel through August 31st so act quickly!

Here are the official rules.

Notes: If you don’t get American Airline’s emails check your spam folder, that’s where mine ended up first. You only get one 10% off email per contest so don’t delete the email accidentally! These contests are only good for purchasing tickets through the AA.com website.

I hope this money saving tips will allow you to enjoy a little more during your vacation this summer!

(Photo: boeingdreamscape)

You can get same day service if you submit it by 2AM Central Standard Time from Monday through Saturday and you can set the start date of the hold mail request for up to fourteen days in advance. As is the case with the regular paper hold request, you can hold mail for 3 to 30 days.

When you finish filing, be sure to write down your Confirmation Number. If you need to make a change, you’ll need this number (such as if you return home early).

Best of all, this service is free.

One of the reasons why I liked them so much was because they don’t ding you with fees every which way. The price you pay for the ticket is going to be the price you pay to get where you’re going. In an era when airlines will charge for you for the first checked bag, Southwest lets you check two bags without a fee.

Airlines with Free First Checked Bag

I wanted to specifically applaud the airlines that let you check in at least one bag for free – Air Canada, Air India, Alitalia, British Airways, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Jetblue, KLM Royal Dutch, Lufthansa, SWISS, and Southwest. Unfortunately, only two of those airlines (Jetblue and Southwest) are US carriers!

Airline Checked Baggage Fees

However, lately I’ve been flying to areas where Southwest isn’t the winner so I wanted to find out the baggage fee policies of each airline. Here they are:

• Air Canada: First bag free, 2nd is $30 and 3rd is $100 ($90 if you pay online).
• Air France: It varies depending on origin and destination, check with Air France.
• Air India: First two bags free, third bag is priced based on origin/destination and is as little as $90 and as much as $133.
• AirTran: First bag is $15, second is $25, and third is $50.
• Alaska Airlines: First three bags are $20 each.
• Alitalia: First bag is free, second bag is $50, third bag varies based on origina/destination but it’s at least $200.
• American Airlines: First bag is $25, second is $35, and third is $100.
• British Airways: First bag free, second bag is $48-$60, third bag is $112 paid online or $140 in person.
• Continental: First bag is $25 ($23 online), second is $35 ($32 online), and third is $100.
• Delta: First bag is $25 ($23 online), second is $35 ($32 online), and third is $100.
• Frontier: First bag is $20, second is $30, and third is $500.
• Hawaiian Airlines: First bag is $15 ($10 interisland), second is $30 ($17 interisland), and third is $125 ($25 interisland).
• Iberia: First two bags free, third bag is €150.
• Japan Airlines: Free for first two pieces each no more than 50 lb. (70lbs. in first and executive class). Excess is charged based on weight and varies based on origin/destination.
• Jetblue Airways: First bag free, second bas is $30 and third bag is $75.
• KLM Royal Dutch: First bag free, second bag is €55, third is €200.
• Lufthansa: First bag free, second and third bags varies based on origin/destination.
• Mexicana: First bag free, second is $40, third is $150.
• Midwest: First bag $20, second is $30, third is $50.
• Northwest: First bag is $25 ($23 online), second is $35 ($32 online), and third is $125.
• SWISS: First two bags free, third varies from $200 to $350.
• Southwest: First two bags free, $50 for the third.
• Spirit Airlines: First bag is $25 ($19 online), second is $25, third is $100. For travel 8/1/2010 and beyond, the rates will change. Members of their $9 Fare Club will be charged $15 for the first two bags on domestic flights ($20 international) and $75 for the third ($80 international). Non-members will be charged $25 for the first two bags ($30 international) and $85 for the third ($90 international).
• US Airways: First bag is $25 ($20 online), second is $30 ($25 online), and third is $100.
• United: First bag is $25, second is $35, third is $125.
• Virgin America: First three bags are $25 each.
• easyJet: Charges each piece of luggage you check based on weight.

The next time you’re flying, remember to take into account the airline baggage fees you might be charged!

(Photo: tttallis)