As I wrote about in this blog’s very first post, a great way to save money on flights is to try booking in different currencies. In other words, if you have the chance, book your flight in British pounds.

While this will vary airline to airline (and not all of them will allow you to do this), most airlines with a strong international presence will have this option. For example, I just now looked up a roundtrip weekend flight on United from Boston to San Francisco, a route I fly quite often. It priced out at $478, pretty typical for a trip with such short notice:

But after I switched the top from “United States” to “United Kingdom”, it yielded the following:

:

Based on the current low rate of 1 GBP=1.35 USD, this translates into $438, or a $50 savings, though you’ll want to make sure you book on a card with no foreign transaction fees.

Now, when I checked just an hour ago, the rate was a little higher, at 1 GBP=1.43 USD, so it’s very possible that it could continue to fall as the night goes on. But I wouldn’t hold off too long!

Find a good deal on your flight because of this? Feel free to post in the comments or email me.

Cities featured for now are Washington (DC), San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Boston. As I mentioned when I reviewed WOW Air, it’s certainly not the most amazing flight you’ll ever be on, but it gets the job done for the price.

If you book after September, you might have a good chance of seeing the Northern Lights, though regardless of when you’ll go, you’ll experience some great hot springs, including my personal favorite.

And of course, you can see (and eat!) beautiful horses.

I finally did get to experience my first airport lounge several years ago, when I was able to use one of the lounge passes that came with my United MileagePlus Explorer card to experience the Singapore Airlines lounge at the Taipei-Taoyuan airport. (I would not actually recommend applying for the card through that link, as there are routinely higher offers of 50,000 miles).

Unfortunately, having two lounge passes a year with limited use wasn’t really going to cut it with my travel schedule.

Thankfully, I discovered the American Express Platinum Card from Ameriprise. Now, some of you may have heard of the AMEX Platinum Card before, given its reputation as a fancy, high-end card. But you may have been turned off by the annual fee of $450. Luckily there are several different types of Platinum cards, and the Ameriprise-branded one does not come with an annual fee the first year (and despite the terms and conditions saying otherwise, you do not need to have an Ameriprise account to be eligible for one).

Now, the Platinum Card is awesome for many reasons, but let’s focus on the lounge access for this post. With the card, you get access to:

All American Express Centurion Lounges, which have kitchens run by high-end chefs that will prepare buffets with amazing gourmet food (like the braised chicken and other items below, from the lounge in Las Vegas), and a bar with incredible mixed drinks.

All Priority Pass lounges, a global network of over 900 lounges in most major airports in the world, including 13 of the top 15 airports in the US (sorry Denver and Charlotte). Now, to be fair, these generally aren’t as nice as the Centurion lounges, and can vary widely in quality. The Priority Pass lounge at the Seymour Airport in the Galapagos consists of just a couch with free chips, coffee, and juice (though the fact that this airport even had a lounge was shocking to me). On the other hand, the Airport Wellness Oasis Lounge at Singapore’s Changi Airport offers complimentary fish spa massages (definitely try it if you haven’t) in addition to a wide range of food and drink. But for the most part, a Priority Pass Lounge will usually give you complimentary soft drinks, juices and certain alcoholic drinks, hot and cold food that doesn’t require much preparation, and free wi-fi (like the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge at LAX pictured below). And even the most limited lounges are still often better than the noise of the airport terminal where nothing is free.

All Delta Sky Clubs, if you’re flying Delta. Out of the three major US carriers (United, American, and Delta), I find that Delta generally has the best lounges. Again, they’re no Centurion Lounge, but they’re generally very modern, clean, and offer a decent selection of food and drink. (I’m quite excited to try the one at JFK next week which has a roof deck).

All Airspace lounges, a weird network of four fairly subpar lounges at SAN (San Diego), JFK (New York), BWI (Baltimore-Washington), and CLE (Cleveland). When you enter, they give you a $10 credit that you can use, as nothing is free. The one at the San Diego Airport is nice enough, especially as you can watch planes taking off, but I’d avoid the one at JFK in favor of the much nicer Priority Pass lounges there in other terminals.

Now as you may have noticed in the title, I said “at least a year” of free access. Yes, if you hold on to the card for more than a year, you will be billed a $450 annual fee. However, one of the other benefits of the Platinum card is that you get $200 in airline credit per calendar year (i.e. if you get it now, you would get $200 now, then be eligible for $200 again on January 1). So if you spend at least $400 on airfare per year, the annual fee almost pays for itself the next year (though actually getting the credit can be a complicated process with very specific requirements, well-detailed on FlyerTalk). On top of that, you get a $100 one-time Global Entry credit, which is also good for TSA PreCheck. Essentially, you have no annual fee the first year and $500 of benefits, which will more than cancel out the annual fee the next year. Not a bad deal. And once you start regularly flying with TSA PreCheck, Global Entry, and frequent lounge, you’ll realize you don’t dread airports as much as you used to, and it might be hard to go back to old ways.

One important caveat though is that other than the Centurion and Airspace lounges, you will have to pay for any guests you bring with you to the Priority Pass lounges. If you regularly travel with guests (like a family) and want to make sure they can also get in for free, you might want to consider the Citi Prestige card, which allows you up to two guests for free (or more if family) at all Priority Pass lounges and American Airlines Admirals Clubs if you and the guests are flying American. Of course, it is good for many other reasons too.

Have a question about something? Feel free to email me or post in the comments.

Pictured above: The Virgin America Loft at LAX, a lounge which looks very nice, but overall lacks substance.

However, since the defeat of the Tibetan army in 1950, Tibet has been considered part of the People’s Republic of China, albeit as an autonomous region, despite continuous pleas for independence. Furthermore, it’s no secret that China has been actively trying to erode Tibetan culture at the expense of human rights and make it more in line with the rest of Chinese culture. And herein comes the difficulties with visiting it.

Note: This is not intended to be a guide to what to see in Tibet or an overview of attractions; this will come at a later point.

Booking a Tour

Unless you’re a Chinese citizen, you will be required to visit Tibet as part of a tour. While there is no official resource (that I know of) that lists all Tibet tour operators, you should of course research any organization before booking with one, and try to find one actually based in Tibet, rather than outside of Tibet (in order to ensure more money goes to the Tibetan people).

I booked with Budget Tibet Tour as their price was affordable and had good reviews. The tour was $780 (not including tips), included a Tibet visa (mandatory to fly into Tibet), lodging, guides, national park entry fees, and transportation. Food was not included. Unlike certain other countries, you will have a fair amount of independence and freedom, as you will be free to roam around and explore at night, and be given a time and place to meet the next morning. Obviously, like any guided tour, the sky is the limit for cost, depending on how luxurious you want it to be.

Getting there

While your tour company will often offer to take care of this for you, it is far cheaper to handle it yourself. You basically have two options: take a train there, or fly there. Though I can’t speak from personal experience, if time is not an issue, the train is supposed to be an incredible experience, and you can say that you’ve been on the highest railway in the world (so much that they will pipe in oxygen during high altitudes). The only downside is that it can take up to 48 hours from many major cities in China.

For those of you on a tighter schedule, you will want to fly into Lhasa Airport (LXA). As the only major carriers flying here are Air China, China Southern, and China Eastern, your route will most likely be either on Star Alliance or SkyTeam (sorry oneworld!) The good news is that Air China always has a plethora of award seats available, so if you have United miles (or miles with another Star Alliance carrier), it’s actually not too hard to book an award flight here, as I did last year.

Getting a Chinese Visa

As Tibet is legally part of the People’s Republic of China, you will also need a Chinese visa (assuming your country of citizenship requires it). However, if you’ve done this before (but now have an expired visa), it may be a little more difficult this time. Typically when getting a visa for China (or any other country requiring a visa), the process is to fill out an application, attach proof of airfare and lodging, and give or send it to your closest embassy/consulate.

But when it comes to Tibet, China does not want to encourage Tibet tourism, and therefore if you put Tibet on your China visa application, it will most likely be denied. Therefore, I would strongly recommend booking a fully refundable ticket to somewhere (else) in China, printing out the confirmation, and then canceling your reservation (if you don’t want to put that much on your credit card at once, as refundable tickets can be quite expensive, you can also cancel a nonrefundable for free within 24 hours of booking your ticket if you book on a US-based carrier). You can then do the same for hotel lodging.

Money

Tibet is part of China, and therefore uses the RMB. Major banks and ATMs can be found in bigger cities like Lhasa, less so in other parts. Credit cards are not very widely accepted.

Language

As you will be with a guide for most of the tour, you will also have a translator for all your needs. While older residents only speak Tibetan (a fairly difficult language to learn which will not have much use to you otherwise, though the alphabet will help slightly in Bhutan), younger residents also can speak Mandarin, and if you can speak a little Mandarin, you will be able to converse slightly with local residents. Very little English is spoken, and even tour guides’ English can be difficult to understand at times.

Politics/Sensitive Topics

Avoid discussing any of the following topics with your tour guides: Tibetan independence, political status of Tibet, exile of the Dalai Lama, the Chinese government, the relationship between the Chinese government and Tibet, decreased human rights for the Tibetan people, and so on. The police state is even more prevalent in Tibet than in the rest of China, and if you ask about one of these topics, at best you will get nervous laughter from your guide, at worst, a stern lecture. Many guides are constantly operating under the assumption that the Chinese government is monitoring them, and they can be severely punished for speaking out.

Health/Safety

As is often the case with police states, there is practically no risk of any violent crime happening to you. On top of this, Tibetan people are among the friendliest in the world, and are thrilled to have non-Chinese visitors (and may constantly ask to take photographs). Your bigger concern is the air. And I don’t mean air quality, which would normally be a concern in many other parts of China. Rather, Tibetan air is incredibly pure and clean. The issue here is elevation. When you land in Lhasa, you’ll be at an elevation of 11,710 feet, and regularly be at elevations far higher than that throughout your trip. If you have any breathing issues whatsoever (such as asthma), bring all necessary medication and more. On top of that, it may be a good idea to buy some of the canned air sold at most stores in Lhasa in case of an emergency. Be careful of doing anything that exerts too much physical effort at once; I had to catch my breath after 15 seconds of playing soccer with some kids in town.

Food

Most restaurants serve traditional Tibetan cuisine, though there are some restaurants serving Sichuan, Nepalese, and Indian cuisines, all reflecting their proximity to Tibet. Yak meat is especially prominent in Tibetan cuisine, though thanks to the Buddhist influence, it’s not impossible to get by as a vegetarian. What will be hard is if you only like eating “Western” food, as there is very little Western influence or restaurants in Tibet (though there are some knockoff versions of popular Western snacks sold in stores). Make sure to try butter tea at least once! Most meals will cost around $5-$6 USD.

Fried yak momos (dumplings)

So is Tibet for you? If you don’t mind getting out of your comfort zone, sacrificing some of your autonomy and exploring somewhere that doesn’t have the amenities you may be used to (but has more than enough culture, history, and beauty to make up for it), then yes. And more importantly, you may walk away being able to say you’ve seen a Tibetan mastiff in Tibet!

Credit card signup bonuses will generally award a certain amount of miles or points for completing certain requirements in a certain amount of time.

Getting the bonuses can range from extremely easy (such as receiving 25,000 miles upon being approved for a card) to seemingly impossible (such as receiving 250,000 points after spending $5,000 and making 10 separate transactions of $5,000 or more in a six month time period).

More often than not, cards tend to generally offer a moderate signup bonus after spending $1,000 in three months, or a really good signup bonus after spending $3,000 in three months. But every once in a while there might be an offer that comes along that requires one to spend more than they normally would in a certain time period to receive a bonus.

While I’m not here to make judgments about what is considered a “normal” amount to spend in a month, many people often draw the line at anything requiring more than $1,000 in credit card spending in a month. As a result, when the beloved Chase Sapphire Preferred upped its requirement to spending $4,000 (from $3,000) in three months to earn 50,000 Ultimate Rewards (up from 40,000), this caused a bit of pause among many people.

Now, if spending at least $1,333/month is routine for you, then this may not concern you. But if this is outside your normal spending habits, this shouldn’t discourage you from applying for this offer (or any other offer you like that falls outside your normal spending habits).

It just means that you need to learn about something called manufactured spend. In short, this essentially refers to using a credit card to make a purchase and have the amount of that purchase (or most of it) go back into your bank account. A humorous example of this was when people would use their credit cards to buy coins from the U.S. Mint and then deposit the coins back into their bank account, easily generating hundreds of thousands of airline miles.

However, as is often the case in this industry, it is getting harder and harder to “manufacture spend.” In this post, I hope to provide an overview of some basic strategies for doing so, as well as the ease and riskiness (in terms of account shutdowns) of doing so. This is not intended to be a comprehensive post covering every single strategy. I do not by any means consider myself an expert, but if you want to learn from experts, there are actually paid conferences you can go to on this, as well as a number of blogs that focus more on this.

The easiest, least risky, free-est way: Buy a gift card, spend a gift card

If you’re coming up on three months and you’re about about $500 short, consider buying a gift card for $500, and then spend the gift card down to zero. If you know that you’ll be spending that much money at a certain store/brand, it’s easier to buy a gift card directly for that place, rather than a flat-out cash gift card that can be used for anything, as the latter will often incur a fee (if you want to get the lowest fees ($3.95), go to a Simon Giftcard location). The downside to this is that you are determining your spending patterns in advance and not allowing for the potential that they could change (i.e. if you buy $1,000 of gift cards  and then lose your job, you’ll really wish you could put that $1,000 back into the bank rather than be forced to spend $1,000 that you would not have spent had you not bought the gift cards).

Another easy, low-risk, free way: Pay bills in advance

While this will vary depending on your provider, some (especially utility providers) will allow you to make a payment in advance (via credit card) and then have a credit be applied to future statements. For example, if you know that you’re going to be paying $70/month for Comcast for the next few months and are $400 short of meeting a bonus, you can make a payment of $420 upfront to Comcast and your monthly bill will be continuously subtracted from that negative credit. Unlike the first method, you will be spending money that you for sure were already going to spend anyway:

The easy, not risky, but not free way: Give someone else a cut

If you have a very big bonus to meet that you’re not sure normal spending can take care of, consider using a credit card for transactions that you would normally use your bank account for to avoid a fee. In particular, one that stands out is rent. If paying your rent consists of you using a service like Venmo to pay the master tenant in your house, you can link your credit card with Venmo for a 3% fee. Or if you’re the one responsible for paying the rent, you can use a service like Radpad, which for a fee (soon to be 3.49% across-the-board), will allow you to charge your rent to a credit card with them, and they will send a check to your landlord. While the idea of throwing away $35 dollars (on a $1,000 payment) may be off-putting to some, if you take a utilitarian view and view it as a necessary step to earn a bonus of $600, it can be worth it. Another common option is taxes, which, as I discussed previously, can also be paid via credit card for a small fee.

The kinda easy, not too risky, hopefully free way: Fund a new bank account

Many banks will allow you to fund an initial deposit with a credit card up to a certain amount. The only catch is that while some banks will code this transaction as a purchase (which is what you want!), others will code it as a cash advance, which can incur significant fees. In order to ensure this never happens to you, always call your credit card company beforehand and lower your cash advance limit to less than the amount of the transaction. The excellent Doctor of Credit website has an extremely comprehensive list of which banks will allow credit card funding, up to how much, and with which issuers.

The kinda easy, fairly risky, free way: Fund a prepaid card

Several prepaid cards allow you to fund them with a credit card, after which you can then transfer that money to your bank account. The most prominent one is Serve  from American Express, which allows $1,000 to be loaded every calendar month with an American Express credit card (and then back to your bank). The only problem is, this isn’t really how AMEX wants you to be using this card, and there’s a pretty good chance that you will be shut down after a few months of doing this.

The hardier, riskier, potentially less free way: Buy gift cards, and unload them onto a prepaid card

Given that this method is constantly changing, I’m not going to get too much into specifics here, as it could be out of date very soon. But the basic premise is that certain prepaid cards (like Serve) will allow you to load the balance of certain gift cards onto them (processed as a debit card) at certain merchants (such as Walmart), after which you can then transfer the money back to your bank. Again though, this is strongly discouraged by many banks and you can risk getting shut down. If you’re interested in this method however, I would recommend following any number of blogs that are dedicated to this.

The somewhat challenging, not at all risky, potentially very expensive way: Buy something and resell it for the same amount (or more)

Unlike many other methods, this is not going to annoy the banks and credit card companies. Buying $2,000 of premium concert tickets with the intent to resell them is the same as buying a $2,000 television with the intent of keeping it, in the eyes of your credit card company. The bigger issue here is that there’s no guarantee that you will be able to sell the product you’ve bought at the same or higher price. Legally obtaining in-demand concert tickets directly from the venue is already a difficult process, but you also run the risk that the artist whose sold-out, one-night only reunion show you acquired tickets for may decide to add three more shows, sending demand plummeting and potentially leaving you stuck with tickets that are not going to sell for nearly as much as you bought them.

The very easy, not at all risky, extremely expensive way: Make a purchase, but take your time paying off the balance

Some people often see an upcoming large purchase as a great way to meet a credit card bonus. But this is only true if you plan on paying off the balance in full the next month. While a $4,000 purchase may be a great way to get those 50,000 Ultimate Rewards from Chase (potentially worth $625), the APR (generally around 20% to 25%) on the card will generally cancel out any savings very quickly if you don’t pay off your balance in full, in addition to hurting your credit.

The somewhat easy, highly risky, very cheap way: Buy something then return it

While it may be tempting to make a large purchase on Amazon for the amount that you need right before the end of the third month, and then request a free refund afterwards, this is expressly prohibited by all the credit card companies. Some will even go as far as taking back the bonus from you, but even if they don’t, you still run the risk of your account being shut down.

The somewhat easy, highly risky (and illegal), pretty cheap way: Money order

In theory, it seems like a very easy way to manufacture spend would be to use a credit card to buy a money order for yourself (for a small fee), and then deposit that money order back into your bank account. In reality, this is one of the easiest way to tip off the relevant authorities to a potential money laundering scheme, and is a great way to get both your credit card and bank accounts shutdown, and maybe even a visit from the Department of Homeland Security, which I have read reports of. While that’s not to say it can’t be done (some people claim to have found banks that are more friendly to this and turn a blind eye), it generally should only be done in desperation.

The “Don’t Even Try It” way: Get a credit card processor, and keep making charges on it with your credit card (to then go into your bank account) until you have the points/miles/spending you need.

I don’t think I really need to address this one.

As I mentioned earlier, manufactured spend can be a very useful way to meet a minimum spending requirement, as well as to earn extra credit rewards. And depending how much you get into it, you could maybe ensure that you fly first-class the rest of your life (I have read accounts of people who managed to “spend” hundreds of thousands of dollars in a couple months, generating more than enough rewards for multiple first-class flights on the best airlines in the world). But like anything, it’s critically important to always be careful. Never make a credit card purchase if you can’t afford to be without that amount of money for a long time. And if you’re going to go against a bank’s terms and conditions, be prepared to be shut down at any point.

Have some more manufacturing spend methods that I missed? Feel free to post in the comments or email me.

Top Image courtesy of iStockphoto

However, as I’ve recently learned, earning status with hotels is a very different ballgame, and much easier. As I mentioned in my last post, many co-branded hotel credit cards will offer you a lower to midrange level of status as long as you hold that card. But given the fierce competition for loyalty among both airlines and hotels (especially with a particularly beloved brand being recently bought out by a less beloved brand), airlines and hotels will often offer what’s called a “status match”, where, if you present proof of holding a certain level of status with one brand, they will automatically match that status to an equivalent level with their own brand, incentivizing you to switch over. (Alternatively, some will offer what’s called a “status challenge”, where they will match your status after staying a certain amount of nights with their brand).

Note: While I do not encourage forgery or deception, if you’re wondering, yes, you can sometimes be matched by photoshopping proof of status in the hopes that they don’t verify it. However, results have been mixed, and consequences can be severe if caught.

Recently, I got word that Hilton was doing a status match which required proof of elite status with another hotel program, and proof of stay with yet another program in the psat year. While I already was Gold status with Hilton (which comes automatically with the American Express Platinum card, as does Starwood Gold status), I figured it would be fun to see how high I could go.

As I already held the second-highest level of status with IHG (thanks to the IHG credit card), I figured I would submit that, though in retrospect I could have also used my Platinum Hyatt status (thanks to the Hyatt credit card) or Starwood Gold status (thanks to the American Express Platinum card). For my proof of stay, I submitted the reservation I made last year at a Marriott hotel using my annual free night certificate from the Marriott credit card (which also gave me Silver status).

The next day, I was pleasantly surprised to receive an email from Hilton informing me that I had been matched to their highest status level, Diamond. I felt a little bit like the “One Red Paperclip” guy, having gotten there without paying anything:

Now, to be fair, the top-level status varies from program to program. In reality, Diamond status with Hilton doesn’t offer much more than the next-highest status, Gold, other than the fact that I earn 50% more points per reservation rather than 25% more points. My first stay as a Diamond member (at a suburban Homewood Suites) yielded only a welcome bag with two bottles of water, two Milano cookie packages, and a letter welcoming me with 250 bonus points, almost worthless:

Where this kind of elite status can come in handy is at nicer hotels with luxury suite options. For example, in the Penthouse Suite at the Conrad Bali (pictured at top), one night costs $1,377:

This is more than 10 times what the cheapest room there would cost:

But if you have top-tier status, you just might be able to swing this upgrade for free (and while obviously nothing is guaranteed, there have been successful reports of this happening).

Of course, I didn’t just stop once I received Diamond status with Hilton. I proceeded to email Best Western, Club Carlson, and Choice Hotels to politely ask them to match my Hilton status, attaching the email from Hilton as proof of my Diamond status. Best Western is known for having one of the most generous status matches, and they emailed me back the next day letting me know I had been upgraded to their top-tier status (which again, isn’t too different from their second-highest tier other than more points). Club Carlson is a little stingier with status matches, only matching me to Gold Elite status, though still good for upgrades. Choice Hotels matched me to Elite Platinum, which, sadly, is not good enough for an upgrade.

Regardless, as a result of smart credit card utilization as well as making other hotels compete for my business, I now have mid- to top-tier status at eight different hotel chains – despite never once paying for a hotel stay! Even though I rarely stay in hotels when traveling for personal reasons, this still is extremely useful as I travel a few weeks a year for work, not to mention often stay in hotels when attending weddings.

In short, if you’ve managed to earn elite status with a hotel or airline (regardless of if you do it the old-fashioned way or with a credit card), don’t just stop there. Make other airlines and hotels compete for you and see just how far they will match you. But no matter what status you get, don’t be this guy:

What if I told you that you could stay there once a year for $49? You might think I was crazy. And I probably would have too before I started getting into the credit card game. After all, that’s cheaper than getting a private room at a hostel in Tahiti:

But unlike airline credit cards, which are rarely worth keeping after the annual fee hits following the signup bonus, most hotel credit cards are actually worth keeping and paying the annual fee on every year, given that every year often comes with a free hotel night.

IHG

In this particular case, I’m talking about the IHG Rewards Club Select Credit Card, which for a $49 annual fee (waived the first year), gives you one free night every year at any IHG property in the world. On top of this, there is a signup bonus that often ranges from 60,000 to 80,000 points after spending $1,000 in the first three months (though it’s not always publicly available and may require some research to find this offer), which is good enough for two nights at a reasonably nice hotel, or one night at an extremely nice hotel. On top of that, you’re instantly granted Platinum status (the second-highest tier) as long as you have the card, which increases your chances of receiving an upgrade.

Of course, in the interest of not bankrupting IHG, it’s not as if you can get this and then use your free night at any property in the world on whatever date you want. IHG does limit the amount of free nights it allows per night per hotel, so if you want to use it at a place that regularly goes for $1,000/night, you might have to be prepared to book it almost a year in advance. That being said, hotels that don’t quite regularly go for quite as much often can be booked with less advance notice.

While the IHG credit card is the only hotel credit card that offers a free night every year at any property in the hotel chain, several other hotel credit cards offer more restricted free nights that can still come in handy.

Hyatt

While the Hyatt credit card also offers a free night every year (though it has a slightly higher annual fee of $75), this is limited only to Hyatt properties in Categories 1-4. Of course, if you’re familiar with the Hyatt brand, you know that unlike other hotel chains, it exclusively focuses on higher-end offerings. In other words, while you may not be able to stay at the absolutely nicest Hyatts in the world, you’ll still get to stay at a really nice hotel for free. Thankfully if you do want to experience one of the top tier Hyatts (select Category 7), this card usually comes with a signup bonus of two free nights at any Hyatt in the world (I recently got this card and am currently looking at using my free night at the Hyatt Andaz in Tokyo, where rooms can go for $1,000/night). It also offers Platinum status as long as you have the card.

Marriott

Like the Hyatt and IHG cards, the Marriott Rewards Premier credit card also offers a free night every year, in any Marriott property in Categories 1-5. Unlike Hyatt though, Marriott propertiets span a much wider gamut, and most hotels in Categories 1-5 in the US tend to be in suburban areas, or very cheap urban areas (though obviously in countries with a lower cost of living you’re more likely to find something in a major city). The signup bonus often runs as high as 80,000 points (usually after spending $2,000) with a $85 annual fee waived the first year, which is nice enough to redeem at any Marriott property in the world, as well as a free night certificate at any hotel in Categories 1-4. It also offers Silver status as long as you have the card.

Others

Unless you spend a lot of money a particular hotel chain every year, I wouldn’t recommend making a hotel card your primary card, but if that is the case for you, there are several more hotel credit cards that offer a free night every year after spending a certain amount of money in the year, like the Best Western, Choice Hotels, Hilton, and La Quinta credit cards. The Wyndham credit card will also give you almost half the amount of points needed for a free night every year with no spending threshold.

Have a question? Story to share? Feel free to post in the comments below or email me.

While I have yet to set up my site with credit card referral links that will pay me a commission if you sign up for a credit card through my links (as is often common on these sites), if you’re interested in getting on of the cards mentioned here and want me to get something for it, let me know and I’d be happy to refer you.

Blue Lagoon

The most famous one by far is the Blue Lagoon, which has extensively been used in many marketing campaigns and has been written about thousands of times. Given the surfeit of information available about it, I’m not going to spend much time on it here. Rather, I’ll leave it at this:

If you have time, it’s a fun yet expensive ($40) way to relax. While it is man-made, the striking blue color of the water is natural, and forms a beautiful contrast with the black basalt rock walls. However, if you are looking for an authentic Icelandic experience, this is not it. The only Icelandic people here are the staff. And unlike most other hot springs in Iceland, the atmosphere inside the pool is loud and raucous with free-flowing alcohol, a contrast to the serenity of other hot springs. But given its proximity to Keflavik airport, it can still serve as a fun welcome to Iceland, or one last way to relax before getting on a plane. If you are planning on going, advance tickets are a must regardless of the time of year. You will almost definitely be turned away if not.

Myvatn Nature Baths (pictured above)

If you like the pretty milky blue color of the water at the Blue Lagoon but hated the feeling of being overrun by tourists, this is the place for you. Located an hour or so east of Akureyri (and very close to Grjótagjá), admission is half the price of the blue lagoon, and provides a much quieter atmosphere, with the bathers consisting mostly of Icelanders and German tourists (the Germans really leave no stone unturned when traveling).

The beautiful mountain landscapes provide a great backdrop which one can look at for hours on end. On top of that, the cafeteria inside serves an unspectacular yet filling lunch for a very reasonable price (hard to find in Iceland if you want to eat something besides hot dogs). You also might see them selling something called “geyser bread”, which is bread that has been cooked in a volcano. It is extremely dense and bland. Don’t be tempted.

Secret Lagoon

Despite its proximity to the famous Golden Circle, this is rarely mentioned in conjunction with the various stops on the Golden Circle. Given its name, this is probably somewhat intentional, and I wouldn’t mind keeping it this way either.

It can be a little hard to find (especially in the winter when road conditions are less than ideal), but once you get there, you have a beautiful outdoor geothermally heated hot spring. Unfortunately, I didn’t get many pictures because there was so much steam everywhere:

Nonetheless, this is a great way to relax after a long day of driving around the Golden Circle, as you can dig your feet deep into the squishy mud below you. There is also a small boardwalk that goes around the pool where you can see mini geysers “erupting”, but I wouldn’t recommend dipping your feet in any of these, as the water is around boiling temperature.

Seljavallalaug Hot Springs

I would recommend this only for people looking for a true “off-the-beaten path” adventure. While geographically its not very far from the main Ring Road that encircles the highland, and quite close to the famous Skógafoss waterfall, it does take a little bit of (easy) hiking to get to. Thankfully, unlike Grjótagjá, Google Maps is very accurate for directions to Seljavallalaug:

Depending on what kind of car you have and what time of year it is, you should be able to follow pretty far up the road (Highway 242) until you can’t go any further. From there, all you have to do is stay on the path above, and you will eventually come to it.

On one hand, it’s not much more than a concrete pool fed by the runoff of volcanically heated water. On the other hand, part of what makes it so special is the feeling of accomplishment you get when you’ve been hiking for a while and come across something like this, not to mention the views of the nearby mountains aren’t too shabby:

I was quite at ease, and as you can see, you certainly don’t have to worry about being overrun by tourists.

While there certainly is more to Iceland than hot springs, it certainly is one of the country’s more unique attributes, and provides a great way to relax as you tour the country. Happy bathing!

The above is in no way meant to be a complete rundown of all the hot springs in Iceland; rather, it’s just my attempt to highlight a few particularly noteworthy yet different ones. There are many many more ones in Iceland that could be explored with enough time, and I’m sure there are even more that have yet to be discovered!

While you’ve probably never heard of it before, if you’re a Game of Thrones fan you might recognize it from a particular scene (insert joke here about eight inches of Snow).

The cave itself has been around for centuries and served as a popular bathing spot, but in 1975, a volcanic eruption rendered the cave unswimmable, due to an extreme rise in the temperature of the water. Thankfully, the cave has been cooling slightly every year since then, and is now tolerable for swimming (albeit still very hot).

Getting there

First, I would only recommend going here if you are spending a week or more in Iceland. It is located in the less-traveled northern part of Iceland, which takes quite a while to reach by car. (Though if you only have a few days in Iceland but really want to see it, you can always book a cheap flight from Reykjavik Airport (RKV, not KEF) to Akureyri Airport).

While Grjótagjá is easier to find in the summer, it can be a bit difficult finding it in the winter, especially given that it is not listed correctly on Google Maps. The blue star indicates where it actually is; the red pin indicates where Google thinks it is:

Highway 860 is clearly marked with a sign for Grjótagjá from both the entrances on Highway 1 (the Ring Road) and Highway 848, but you’ll want to enter from the Ring Road, as the road does not go all the way through certain times of the year.

Once you turn onto the road, be on the lookout on your right for a parking lot. There will usually be a few other cars there but if not, looked for a paved/groomed area where you can pull off. It is not very well-marked.

In addition to a small sign, there are two very nondescript entrances, looking like nothing more than a crack in the ground.

Getting down there

While you don’t have to go too far down, it is still somewhat of a scramble (especially in winter conditions), and you should wear appropriate shoes with sufficient traction. Do NOT go down in just your swimsuit, as it is extremely cold. It might also help if you have a flashlight of some sort, as it can be very dark.

The cave

Once you finish getting down, you will be rewarded with a spectacular sight like no other:

Be very careful! It is very slippery on the rocks down there!

Bathing

While the sign outside instructs people not to swim in the cave, this is generally disregarded. However, as I mentioned before, the water is very hot! While I did not have a thermometer with me, the temperature of the water is estimated to be roughly 113 degrees Fahrenheit, or 45 degrees Celsius. This is getting pretty close to the upper limits of what the human body can tolerate. Though I highly recommend getting in the water, you will not want to move around very much, instead just staying still and relaxing. The more you move, the more the temperature of the water will hurt.

Also, while nude bathing is generally not very common in Iceland, there is an expectation here for people to not wear any clothes into the water, solely to avoid contaminating the water with anything that might be found on a bathing suit. Obviously there is no one here to enforce this rule and no one will be stopped from entering with clothes, but it’s always a good idea to respect the local customs when traveling in a foreign country.

Getting out

Follow the sunlight!

But today only, Frontier is offering $20 one-way flights on a number of their routes (and generally cheap fares on their other routes)…if you leave Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday.

For example, you can fly $40 roundtrip between San Francisco and Phoenix (though remember that Frontier has a number of fees that they add on, including for checked bags).

Naturally, given that Frontier is headquartered in Denver, you’ll have the widest variety of cheap flights to choose from if you’re flying to or from Denver:

And while people in the Western United States will benefit more from this deal, there are a few great East Coast fares, such as the following between New York and Denver for $168:

This sale goes until midnight tonight, but it’s likely that many of these routes will be sold out well in advance (some already are), so get on it soon, if you have that kind of flexibility!

If you found a great fare, feel free to post about it in the comments.