This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of IHG Rewards Club. All opinions are 100% mine.

Exploring new and old places with my family and friends is one of my favorite things to do. Visiting the lake area where I spent almost all of my summers from infancy through my mid twenties is still a wonderful experience, although it’s quite different than it was back in the day.  Being with and sharing memories with my friends and family in different places means the world to me….and also, opens the world to me. With travel comes expenses, and finding ways to save on those expenses when you are away from home is what most of us look to do. I’d rather spend smart and be able to enjoy a few extra days on a trip than splurge on extras we don’t need and have it shorter. When it comes down to it, for the majority of us, we’re going to be incurring expenses when we travel. Finding ways to accrue rewards is a really easy way to offset travel expenses.  Or at least, let you have more bang for your buck.

Easy ways to earn rewards points

Credit Card: Many companies offer rewards points based on purchasing that are able to be transferred into airplane tickets, hotel stays and vacation rentals. Credit Card Bonus periods: If you already have a card, watch for bonus periods.  Don’t be afraid to call and inquire when the next promotion may be!

Shopping online: Not just with a credit card, but check if places you shop online offer a bonus to earn extra rewards. Listen, if I’m already ordering flowers for someone, and I can also get myself a few extra points towards a family vacation? I’m all over that.

ASK: Call the companies with the rewards programs and ask what kind of specials they have. Get online.  Not just for shopping.  Start using social media- follow the brands and destinations where you’d like to travel.  Why?  There are so many brands that offer specials, discounts and even giveaways on social media and sometimes, they can be a huge savings, or a really big bonus reward point amount.  We all have smartphones for the most part, wouldn’t it be great if we could benefit from them?

Pay credit, NOT cash. This one I’ve waffled on sharing, to be honest. We buy anything and everything we can on our credit card every single month.  We also pay it off in full every single month.  If we don’t have the cash, we go without  (This actually also includes cars…) until we have the funds for it.  BUT, we earn rewards with those purchases, so every cent spent on gas, groceries, incidentals, oil changes, activities for the kids… all of that helps to get us rewards back. I absolutely do NOT recommend going on a charging spree to rack up reward points ever, but if you have the discipline to pay the card off in full each month, this has been a huge way for us to be able to do things like travel that we’d maybe not have been able to afford otherwise.

This year, the IHG® Rewards Club “Share Forever” Summer Promotion is helping make the expense of travel a bit less painful. It’s free to sign up, and once you do, you browse through the 4800 hotels within the company properties for a stay, and earn your points. Then you can cash in those points for airline points or even free hotel stays! Register Now 

Here is how it works:

1. Earn 500 Points for your next IHG hotel stay from May 1, 2015 – September 2, 2015

2. Earn another 500 points for that same hotel stay to share with another member! (Or keep the points for yourself!)

3. Earn from 68,500 to 115,500 “Share Forever” bonus points plus a maximum 58,500 bonus points to share, or keep. (Yes, you can share your points. I know this would be great for my sister who has a son halfway across the country at school- she can share points earned with him when he’s on trips).

 

One reader will win 1,000 FREE shareforever.ihg.com Rewards Points!

IHG Share Forever Summer Rewards Program

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