Travel Well Hack: Orbitz Orbucks

If you've been following me for a while you know that I always seek to find a good travel deal. Earlier this summer I took a last minute trip to Vegas to drive to the Grand Canyon and Antelope Canyon. I booked the flight the morning of and because of late arrival I needed to reserve a room in a Vegas hotel to drive to the Arizona the next morning. While on the plane I searched every tool and then I remember I had 57.00 in Orbucks. After using the points the room came to $16.49 for one night and the resort fee was $33.60 for a total of $50.09. Yes, total and not per person! I booked this all during the flight. Orbucks

How Did I accumulate 57.00 in Orbucks?

I earned points from a package booked almost two years before and a hotel stay from the prior year.
I participated in twitter contests where I earned 25.00 Orbucks for submitting my travel photos.
I earned 11.64 orbucks for dining at a restaurant for a friend's birthday dinner. 10 of the points were due to sign up bonus. I looked up the qualified restaurants ahead of time and was ecstatic the chosen restaurant was on the list. Please note if you are in other dining programs you must use a different card than others to earn the points. Read more about earning points for things you do everyday!

How can you earn Orbucks?

Use all of the ways mentioned above plus participate in Orbitz Twitter chats; #AskOrbitz on Fridays. I have seen prizes of $50 Orbucks it's a dollar per dollar redemption. Bonus tip, use the monthly orbitz promo code of 10%-15% off plus orbucks for the ultimate WIN! In addition to Orbitz check out the other ways you score for travel giveaways on social media. My flight for the trip was $11.20 round trip for the redemption of Southwest points.

The Vegas Hotel

Mandalay Bay

This is the 6th hotel I've stayed in Vegas ( I think). While it's not my number 1 it was nice for one night and the buffet is reasonably priced and good food. One of the better buffets I've had. Read more about my Vegas reviews of restaurants and hotels. Bonus Tip: Sign up for the hotel's M-Life program which is their rewards program and includes a lot of resorts and links to your airline for airline points for your stay! Let them know when checking in to make sure the information is associated with the reservation. Check out more Travel Well Hacks.

Pin the Knowledge!

How to book a nice Las Vegas hotel for $50 or less using social media and restaurants!