The Points Mom

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About Sandals Select Rewards

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Sandals Select Rewards is the loyalty program of Beaches and Sandals Caribbean Resorts.

Beaches Resorts are all inclusive family Resorts.  There are 2 Caribbean islands that have Beaches Resorts. Jamaica has two, one in Ocho Rios and one in Negril. There is also a Beaches Resort on the Island of Turks and Caicos.

Sandals Resorts, include Beaches Resorts and are all-inclusive Caribbean resorts specifically designed for romance, read as you cannot bring the kids! Sandals has resorts on many Caribbean islands such as Jamaica, the Bahamas, St. Lucia, Antigua, Grenada and Barbados.

Members of the program are entitled to certain “perks” during their stay such as special events, on property extras and recognition awards, including silver and gold sandals pendants (whoo hoo ) and a free one-week vacation upon completing 70 paid nights.  Lots of conditions to this free one week though.

As with almost all loyalty programs, your membership is free, however is there is the eligibility requirement that you are a past guest of Sandals or Beaches Resorts.  (I cannot join).  Also, I should note here, that there are some other ways to get to a Beaches or Sandals Resort for free, albeit very difficult, but you can read about that here.

As a member of Sandals Select Rewards, you can EARN points for every paid stay at any Sandals or Beaches Resorts.  You can then USE these points towards savings on future reservations.

Read about how to earn and accumulate Sandals Select Rewards points here

Read about how to use Sandals Select Rewards points here

 

 

 


SkyMall Files For Bankruptcy

UnknownMy kids love looking at the SkyMall magazine on planes.  In fact, last year, we ordered a folding bed from the catalog.  It comes in handy in some of those hotel rooms that do not allow a cot.  However….

Xhibit Corp, the parent company of in-flight catalog maker, SkyMall, has filed for bankruptcy protection.  One reason that was noted is that SkyMall, once the sole catalog provider for airline passengers, has faced increased competition from e-commerce providers, such as Amazon.com and eBay.com.  CEO Scott Wiley called the company a victim of evolving technology, dogged by the increased use of electronic devices on planes.

I am sad by this news.  My kids will be sad too the next time we fly.



About Bank of America Beaches Resorts’ Visa Signature Credit Card

Card Highlights

Beaches Visa Signature Credit Card is a Credit Card.

You can carry a balance and accrue interest if necessary. Note this is not advised by me. The points game does not work well, if you are carrying a balance and accruing interest. See #4 in Let’s Get Started To Earning Free Travel.

Card Rewards

Earn Bank of America WorldPoints with the card.  Learn about WorldPoints here.

Sign-up Bonus

Earn 10,000 bonus points if you use your new credit card account to make at least one Purchase transaction to your account within 90 days of the account open date.  APPLY FOR THE CARD HERE.

Annual Fee

No Annual Fee

Earn Miles on Spending

1.  Earn 2X points on Sandals or Beaches vacations and purchases made at resorts

2.  Earn 1 point for every dollar spent on all other purchases

The Points Mom’s Thoughts On The Card

Read Here about whether I think using this card will earn you a free trip to Beaches.

More About The Card

Apply For The Card Here

 

 


Caribbean Resorts Beaches And Sandals On Points?

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Posted 1/26/2015

We have not done a Caribbean Island vacation.  We all get restless sitting on a beach day after day, so for example, at Christmas, we opt for more adventurous destinations such as LondonCosta Rica and Israel.   Maybe as my kids get older and their workload intensifies, they will opt to chill out on a beach on their school breaks, but for now, the Caribbean is not for us.

However, many people that I know, head to the Caribbean almost every Christmas and/or February break.  One chain of resorts that I have heard is great for families, are the Beaches Resorts.  Beaches Resorts are all inclusive family Resorts.  Although, I have never researched these resorts myself, I believe that they are reasonably priced, they have an unbelievable amount of activities and large accommodations for families. There are 2 Caribbean islands that have Beaches Resorts.  Jamaica has 2, one in Ocho Rios and one in Negril.  There is also a Beaches Resort on the Island of Turks and Caicos.  My son Daniel is in the year of many Bar Mitzvahs.  He has one friend who is taking about 10 of them to Beaches Turks and Caicos in May.  Gulp!

Sandals Resorts, include Beaches Resorts and are all-inclusive Caribbean resorts specifically designed for romance, read as you cannot bring the kids!  Sandals has resorts on many Caribbean islands such as Jamaica, the Bahamas, St. Lucia, Antigua, Grenada and Barbados.

So if you are a family or couple, that like to go to Beaches or Sandals Resorts, how might you get there on points?

Well Bank of America offers 2 point earning credit cards specifically branded for Beaches and Sandals Resorts.  With the Bank of America Beaches Resorts’ Visa Signature Credit Card and the Bank of America Sandals Visa Signature Credit Card, you earn 2X Bank of America WorldPoints on Sandals or Beaches vacations and purchases made at resorts.  You can then redeem these WorldPoints (IF YOU HAVE A LOT), for free nights at Beaches and/or Sandals Resorts.  You can read about these unfavorable redemption options here.

Sandals Resorts also has its own loyalty program, Sandals Select Rewards.  Once you are a member, you will receive Sandals Select Rewards points for every paid stay at any Sandals or Beaches Resorts, which can then be used towards savings on future reservations. In addition, to reward your ongoing loyalty, you will be eligible to attain higher membership levels and earn milestone goals including a complimentary 7-night stay.  Your membership is completely free (the only eligibility requirement is that you are a past guest of Sandals or Beaches Resorts).  When you join, you will receive 10,000 enrollment points.

The best way, I believe to get to a Beaches or Sandals Resort on points, is to earn points using either a Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite MasterCard or a Capital One Venture Rewards Card, both cards offer 2x points on every purchase.  If you use one of these cards for most of your purchases, you can build up your points quickly.  You can then redeem points for these resort bookings.  Right now, the Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite MasterCard has a 40,000 sign up bonus offer and the Capital One Venture Rewards Card also has a 40,000 sign up bonus offer.

Apply for the Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite MasterCard Here

Apply for the Capital One Venture Rewards Card Here


Ways To Use Bank of America WorldPoints To Book Free Travel

Bank of America WorldPoints are earned with certain Bank Of America credit cards like the Bank of America Sandals Visa Signature Credit Card and the Bank of America Beaches Resorts’ Visa Signature Credit Card.  Once you have earned the points, how do you then use the miles for free travel?

You can redeem Points for: Airline travel, Car rentals and Hotel and resort stays.  You need to go to bankofamerica.com/worldpoints, or call the Redemption Center at 1.800.434.8313.

However, in looking at redemption rates, it is very hard to earn free nights as the redemption rates are extremely high!

25,000 WorldPoints gets you a $300 Discount Sandals or Beaches

75,000 WorldPoints gets you Three Nights at Beaches in September (hurricane season!)

100,000 WorldPoints gets you Three Nights FREE at any of the following resorts: Sandals Montego Bay, Sandals Royal Caribbean Resort & Private Island, Sandals Grande Ocho Rios Beach & Villa Resort, Sandals Carlyle and Sandals Halcyon Beach Saint Lucia.

125,000 gets you Three Nights FREE at any of the following resorts: Sandals Grande St. Lucian Spa & Beach Resort, Sandals Regency La Toc Golf Resort & Spa in Lucia, Sandals Grande Antigua Resort & Spa, Sandals Whitehouse European Village & Spa, Sandals Negril Beach Resort & Spa and Sandals Royal Bahamian Spa Resort & Offshore Island.

Click here To Learn How To Earn And Accumulate Bank of America World Points

 

 


Earning and Accumulating Bank of America WorldPoints

Below, I outline the main ways in which to earn and accumulate Bank of America WorldPoints

Points can be earned by using a Bank of America card that earns WorldPoints.

Some of these cards are the Bank of America Sandals Visa Signature Credit Card and the Bank of America Beaches Resorts’ Visa Signature Credit Card.  For example, with these cards, you earn 2X points on Sandals or Beaches vacations and purchases made at resortsand you earn one Point for every dollar spent on other purchases.  From time to time, special promotions may feature Bonus Rewards; details will accompany the offer with these cards.

 

 


About Bank of America Sandals Visa Signature Credit Card

Card Highlights

Sandals Visa Signature Credit Card is a Credit Card.

With a credit card, you can carry a balance and accrue interest if necessary. Note this is not advised by me. The points game does not work well, if you are carrying a balance and accruing interest. See #4 in Let’s Get Started To Earning Free Travel.

Card Rewards

Earn Bank of America WorldPoints with the card.  Learn about WorldPoints here.

Sign-up Bonus

Earn 10,000 bonus points if you use your new credit card account to make at least one Purchase transaction to your account within 90 days of the account open date.  APPLY FOR THE CARD HERE.

Annual Fee

No Annual Fee

Earn Miles on Spending

1.  Earn 2X points on Sandals or Beaches vacations and purchases made at resorts

2.  Earn 1 point for every dollar spent on all other purchases

The Points Mom’s Thoughts On The Card

Read Here about whether I think using this card will earn you a free trip to Sandals.

More About The Card

Apply For The Card Here

 

 


About Bank of America World Points

You gain access to the Bank of America WorldPoints program by being a card member of certain Bank of America credit cards such as the Bank of America Sandals Visa Signature Credit Card and the Bank of America Beaches Resorts’ Visa Signature Credit Card.  In the program, you can EARN WorldPoints. You can then USE these WorldPoints for free travel.

Read about how to earn and accumulate WorldPoints here

Read about how to use WorldPoints here