Looking Back On The Past 20 Years Of Deals And Travels, What Were Your Favorites?

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Thank YOU For The Best 20 Years I Could Have Ever Imagined!

It’s been a wild ride!

Today is DansDeals’ 20th birthday and my 40th!

This blog has always been a passion project, sharing 2 of my great thrills, traveling our awesome world on miles, and the thrill of the deal.

Before DansDeals, I didn’t travel outside of North America and never imagined that I’d be able to travel the globe in economy, let alone in business and first class. I have heard from many others over the years who have told me the same!

I feel beyond grateful to have traveled to 7 continents and gain an appreciation for the world we live in, and I hope you can learn how to do it as well to experience the same!

I touched on some of these travels and deals briefly in our first podcast, post a comment if you’d like to hear more in-depth stories about any of the travels and deals below!

What have your favorite deals and travels been from over the years?

Here are just some of my favorites from over the years:

2004:

Planning a trip to Japan, while in Brazil. But it wasn’t on miles. In 2004 I earned 8 AA AVNYC free systemwide flight vouchers for flying twice between NYC and Florida or California during a price war with JetBlue:

 

• Free toilet paper. This one started it all!

 

2005:

Tokyo, January 2005:

 

 

• Earn free flights around the world with Wendy’s Cups. I turned those into tens of thousands of dollars of free flights that lasted for decades.
• Free flight from Fiji to LA 
• $750 Off $1,499 plus 12% Off Dell Laptops.

 

2006:

Hiking on Oahu, March 2006:

 

• Airfare to Hawaii and hotels for $87. My first trip to Hawaii, I’ve been back a dozen times since then, but those were all on miles.
• Free credit card processing from Google Checkout.

 

2007:

Surviving a riot in Sao Paulo, May 2007:

 

JJ and me on our first trip to Israel (and Egypt). I hacked round-trip upgrades for us thanks to codes in the Continental Privilege Pack:

 

• Fly JetBlue once from Pittsburgh, get 2 free flights 
• Unlimited Photo Prints for $0.99 shipped 
• Tudor hotel for $19 
• Free stuff from Google Checkout
• Transfer 40K Starwood into 12 round-trip Southwest tickets with a companion pass 

 

2008:

My best deal to date, marrying Mimi in Overland Park, Kansas, November 2008

• The start of dollar coins from the US Mint with free shipping
• Free flights on Spirit 
• LAN.com fuel dumping 

 

2009:

A free Suite in the Encore Las Vegas, March 2009:

 

Hiking in Kauai, December 2009:

 

• Hyatt Faster Free Nights: Stay twice at Hyatt and get a free systemwide night and 13.5K United miles without limits. We used this to generate weeks of free nights at Hyatt in Hawaii in 2009, and Europe and Australia in 2010.
• $292 Round-trip tickets from JFK to Rio 
• Transfer 20K Starwood into 62.5K Delta
• Free suites at the Wynn and Encore for Platinum cardholders.

 

2010:

Our first time in international first class, on Swiss Air, May 2010.

Mimi had no idea where we were flying to, the trip included Zurich, Frankfurt, Paris, Munich, Brussels, Tel Aviv, and Venice!

 

Venice, May 2010:

 

Nothing quite like getting a ride in a Panamera from the Lufthansa First Class Terminal to the 747, May 2010:

 

View from our free Bellagio Suite in Las Vegas, November 2010:

 

• Expedia.ca $300 off $300 coupon for travel to select cities. I was glued to my computer, completely unaware that there were dozens of people waiting for me to show up at a surprise birthday party. Unsurprisingly, that was my last surprise birthday party, but I wound up booking all of the guests free vacations to Las Vegas. I went with a friend to Vegas 2 days later and we had free airfare, a free Bellagio suite, free kosher lamb chops, and free Cirque du Soleil tickets.
• I got tens of thousands of free Pampers diapers thanks to Amazon’s war on Marc Lore’s Diapers.com in 2010 and in 2011. Amazon won the war and was able to force them to sell their business to Amazon prematurely. Marc Lore eventually took over Walmart’s e-commerce and would return the favor years later.
• Hyatt offered their final “Faster Free Nights” promo that offered a free night at any Hyatt with every 2 paid stays. For $100 I was able to make 2 stays to earn a free Hyatt night and earn 13.5K United miles and 6,000 Hyatt points. As more and more travel blogs started launching around this time and as the economy improved, the annual promotion dating back to 2002 was no longer sustainable.
• BMI offered free Star Alliance Silver elite status, which many people were able to match back and forth to other airlines.
• Transfer 50K AMEX points and get 90K Delta miles and 25K Delta elite qualifying miles.
• Transfer 20K Starpoints into 33,750 AA miles, back when those miles counted towards lifetime elite status
• Expedia $400 off $400 Bahamas Vacations.
• JetBlue airfare+hotels for just $99.
• JetBlue offered a $499 pass that allowed you to fly as much as you were able to!
• Free Logitech Webcam
• Small Business Saturday was launched and all AMEX primary and secondary cards got a $25 off $25 credit!

 

2011:

We traveled on an American OneWorld First Class round-the-world award ticket (sadly, no longer around) for a full month, and it was the experience of a lifetime!

Cathay Pacific 747-400 First Class from San Francisco to Hong Kong, complete with Cathay PJs:

 

 

Chabad of Phuket:

 

Le Meridien Phuket/Khao Lak, Thailand:

 

Not a bad villa with private pool for 2,800 Starpoints…

 

Monkeying around in Chiang Mai, Thailand:

 

Eleff and the elephant:

 

Daniel in the Tiger’s den?

 

Qantas 747 First Class, Hong Kong to Melbourne:

 

Australia’s Great Ocean Road:

 

Hiking in Tasmania, January 2011:

 

Sydney, January 2011:

 

Whitsunday Islands, January 2011:

 

Macau, January 2011:

 

Hong Kong, January 2011:

 

• The gravy train of ordering dollar coins from the mint came to an end. My local banks must have been thrilled. For years, I bought dollar coins on my credit card and deposited them into my checking account. The irony of driving $60,000 of coins at a time in a rusty old Chevy Venture was amazing.
• Fairmont offered lifetime Platinum status and luckily they even spelled out that it meant a lifetime of free annual nights in a suite and free spa certificates. I wound up with 9 lifetime Platinum accounts with 9 annual free nights and thousands of dollars in annual spa credit thanks to Living Social’s refer 3, get it free promo. Both Fairmont and Accor have tried to kill this off, but I’ve fought tooth and nail to make them honor their promises.
• The first 100K credit card signup bonus.
• My $0/Month and $0.00/Per Minute Landline Phone…still hanging on for existing users!
• Transfer 20K Starwood into 37.5K AA million miler lifetime miles 
• JetBlue flights from across the country to NYC or Boston for $25.
• Delta flights to Europe for $150 round-trip…in the days before basic economy.
• Amazon Payments allowed users to send and receive $1,000/month via credit card payments. Those were the days! The gravy train ended in 2014.
• I got hundreds of free gift cards thanks to the AMEX Gift Chain.
• Borders offered 50%+10% off the Artscroll Shas, and they even awarded up to $390 in rewards dollars afterward!
• JetBlue offered $25 transcontinental flights.
• BA Miles became BA Avios and domestic flights could be had for just 4,500 Avios.
• Small Business Saturday returned and was valid on all AMEX primary and secondary cards for a $25 off $25 credit!
• I signed up for years worth of free subscriptions to the Wall Street Journal and other magazines.
• Continental released tons of business saver awards

 

2012:

A DansDeals Seminar in Crown Heights, NY, June 2012:

 

View from our free suite in the Fairmont Pacific Rim Vancouver, August 2012:

 

 

We flew with 10 month old Rafi in American 777 First Class to Buenos Aires, May 2012:

 

And enjoyed my first Big Mac, McNuggets, and fries with that:

 

 

 

 

A DansDeals Seminar in Boro Park, NY, June 2012:

 

Rafi enjoying free Cathay 777 First Class to Vancouver on a glitch, August 2012:

 

Downgraded to Cathay business on the return, for shame:

 

When Singapore opened up A380 suites for saver award miles in December 2012, I ran to book our first couple suite for 57K miles each:

 

A free Aruba trip, thanks to JetBlue codes, October 2012:

 

City of lights, December 2012:

 

Flying home in USAirways A330 business class, Paris-Philadelphia, December 2012: 

 

• El Al had $336 tickets from NYC to Tel Aviv. They even allowed upgrades to nonstop flights.
• In a DDF only deal, BMI offered unlimited Avios for opening account. We flew to Vancouver in Cathay Pacific first class for free!
• In another DDF only deal, HP sent out $200 off $200 coupons to everyone who purchased an item from a price mistake.
• $372 and $498 and $550 round-trip tickets to Israel on Delta with a stop in Amsterdam that Delta allowed free changes to nonstop.
• Alitalia’s Japan site offered $316 tickets off any ticket, making for bargain travel to Europe and Israel.
• Miami to Argentina for just $291 round-trip
• A free RV and free gas in Canada
• Aegean made it so easy to earn Star Alliance Gold status
• 4 mile island: I missed part of my firstborn son Rafi’s first birthday party when United offered first class flights to Hong Kong for just 4 miles. United cancelled most of these, but several DDFers booked close-in tickets and wound up flying for just 4 miles!
• JetBlue had mystery coupons worth up to $300 each. I flew my family to Aruba for free!
• Small Business Saturday returned and was valid on all AMEX primary and secondary cards for a $25 off $25 credit!

 

2013:

Home for the next 19 hours on the world’s longest flight, Newark-Singapore, after a glitch opened up award space using United miles, February 2013:

 

JJ and me kicking back at the W Maldives, February 2013:

 

Swimming on the edge in the Marina Bay Sands Singapore, February 2013:

 

Flying home in Korean A380 first class on miles, February 2013:

 

When first class glitches happen, hop on plane the same day, get the best gelato in the world at Ba Li, and have dinner at Asian, what was the best kosher restaurant in the world:

 

 

 

A DansDeals Seminar in Lakewood, NJ, May 2013:

@DansDeals chazaras hashiur pic.twitter.com/3sI5vhhCMt

— Yitzy Levi (@YitzyLevi) May 8, 2013

 

Using 25K United miles to steal 2nd base in middle of an Indians game, May 2013:

 

 

Road-tripping with JJ and our incredible Grandfather to the NBA, NFL and MLB Halls of Fame, followed by watching the Indians beat the Rod Sox from on top of the Green Monstah, May 2013:

 

A DansDeals Seminar in Chicago, June 2013:

 

View from our free suite in the Fairmont Banff Springs, July 2013:

 

Lake Louise, July 2013:

 

Thank you @DansDeals. On our way to Hawaii. pic.twitter.com/emJdmL8m4c

— Naftali Levenbrown (@nlevenbrown) March 2, 2014

Look how many ppl on the aircraft r @DansDeals fans the plane was delayed over an 1 due to many strollers pic.twitter.com/meZKuxdLuS

— Ls Reports (@iPostFeed) January 26, 2014

 

A DansDeals Seminar in Cleveland, November 2013:

 

A DansDeals Seminar in Los Angeles, December 2013:

 

 

• Delta had most of their domestic tickets, including Alaska and Hawaii, for just $50 in first class! Thousands of DansDeals readers packed Delta flights. You can read some of the aftermath in this anniversary post.
• In a DDF only deal, we flew first class to Argentina for free with just an hour lead time before the flight when BA was not charging for award tickets.
• $50 off $50 hotel coupon
• On Mimi’s 26th birthday, USAirways offered flights from NYC to Israel for $461 and from Chicago to Israel for $302.
• For my 29th birthday, Norway’s Widerøe Airlines sold tickets on United to Europe for $127 and to Tel Aviv for $287. Price mistake? It turned out that Widerøe executives actually leaked the price mistake onto online forums in order to drum up business. Widerøe struck again a couple weeks later.
• When 100K points on Platinum was still doable unlimited times
• $373 round-trip NYC to Uruguay
• A free hotel night in Times Square
• A free suite at the Intercontinental New York Barclay
• JetBlue offered 80% off flights from NYC.
• Load a Paypal Mastercard for a $4.95 and get $50 to spend at CVS.
• JetBlue’s 90% off sale for flights from NYC made for insane bargains.
• The good old days of Vanilla Reloads and no 5/24 rules.
• Chase actually sold Visa gift cards with no fees and awarded miles for buying them. You could even load it to an AMEX Bluebird card to cash out. What a country!
• Walmart.com had lots of price mistakes one morning.
• $75 Amazon Gift cards for $50, with credits valid on all free AU cards 
• 50%+33% Off Chicco Products From Amazon
• We started a DansDeals Conga to get free credit card processing from Google…and Google loved it!
• Verizon had a glitch that allowed grandfathered unlimited data lines to get new phones for free
• Small Business Saturday returned and was valid on all AMEX primary and secondary cards for a $10 credit

 

2014:

I booked out the entire 4 seats first class cabin on TAM from Miami-Sao Paulo using miles, October 2014:

 

Probably the most impressive waterfalls on Earth, at Iguaçu Falls. (2014)

 

Beautiful Rio de Janeiro, 2014:

 

A DansDeals Seminar in Teaneck, NJ, January 2014:

 

 

 

A DansDeals Seminar in Five Towns, NY, January 2014:

 

Wasn't there, but I've been told @DansDeals 5 towns seminar had a bigger turnout than most Shabbos Shuva drashos. #KiddushHashem #MQM

— David/Dovid Bashevkin (@DBashIdeas) January 14, 2014

 

A DansDeals Seminar in Miami, June 2014:

A DansDeals Seminar in Boro Park, NY, June 2014:

 

A DansDeals Seminar in Monsey, NY, June 2014:

 

A DansDeals Seminar in Crown Heights, NY, November 2014:

 

Checked out the @DansDeals Seminar last night in crown Heights. Man is a freak of nature. Thanks Dan! #savemoney #gamechanger

— Graff Tours (@grafftours) November 20, 2014

 

Dan from @DansDeals swiping his Amex at a small business on "small business day". pic.twitter.com/RlirDUb4TN

— Life Saver (@Willihock) November 30, 2014

 

• Etihad offered tickets to the Middle East for just $187 round-trip.
• I joined ISIS for free credit card spending…they wisely decided to rebrand.
• United Plan B lives on and offers a path to saver business awards even when they’re not available.
• When Uber launched they gave away free rides like candy.
• Target REDcard made for fun times
• American released tons of first class award space to London
• AT&T Wireless offered $150 off $150 with AMEX Offers
• Children’s Place Price Mistakes from 32 cents
• Hotels.com offered free hotel nights
• The good old days of Citi Executive cards.
• A suite in Cancun for just $7
• Gap price mistakes
• A never ending supply of Dove Dry Spray Deodorant
• A suite at the Omni Berkshire Place NYC for just $49
• Alitalia had dirt cheap tickets from the US to Europe and Israel
• Transaero had tickets from the US to Israel for just $282-$352 round-trip.
• Saks OFF 5th and Living Social discounts stacked for 90% off
• Small Business Saturday returned and was valid on all AMEX primary and secondary cards for a $30 credit
• $66 off Shutterfly Photo Books
• Amazon had a price mistake on Green Toys

 

2015:

View from our free villa at Fairmont Mayakoba, January 2015:

 

View from our free villa at Fairmont Mayakoba, this time with free scotch thanks to Fairmont lifetime Platinum status:

 

 

American’s availability glitch to Israel, but rebooked onto United after a delay:

 

DDF DO Jerusalem, March 2015:

 

Davening at the Western Wall, March 2015:

 

DansDeals Seminar in Jerusalem, March 2015

 

@DansDeals worked for me! Took twice today #Uber #TheRoyals pic.twitter.com/QqmmUTeFG6

— Michael Cabasso (@MIKEcabasso) March 16, 2015

 

Finally tackling the United Island Hopper, April 2015:

 

 

 

Checking off Jellyfish Lake and Palau from my bucket list

 

Tokyo Skytree, May 2015:

 

ANA 777 First Class from Tokyo/NRT to JFK, May 2015:

• American/USAirways offered wide open business class space to Israel on nearly every date. They did it again just a month later and I booked my whole family to Israel for Purim, where I ran the last public DansDeals Seminar.
• This one wasn’t honored, but it sure was one to try for United first class tickets for $45.
• Delta offered $590 nonstop tickets from JFK to Tel Aviv
• Uber offered free Rolls Royce rides
• Getting paid to rent an Audi from Silvercar
• 10 Logitech Mice for 29 cents shipped from Staples
• Getting paid to take paper from Staples. I still have reams of paper from this deal!
• Getting free Hyatt nights from Rite Aid
• Free diapers from Sam’s Club with AMEX Offers
• Free messenger bag from Florsheim
• Free shredder from Staples
• With AMEX Express Checkout you were able to get a $10 account credit for making a $0.01 purchase, up to 11 times per card! I called it Small Business Saturday in July.
• Transaero had tickets between the US and Israel from just $302.
• On Talia’s 2nd birthday, Air Canada had tickets to Israel for just $163 round-trip.
• American had business class tickets to Asia for just $442 round-trip.
• Airbnb had $100 gift cards for $50 with AMEX Offers. I stocked up big time!
• Iberia had $398 tickets to Israel.
• British Airways and offered business class tickets to London for $440+30K Avios, with a rebate of 37K Avios. We booked. FiAAsco ensued. It took 8 months to resolve.
• Free stuff from Jos A Bank
• Free headphones
• Free toilet paper. A throwback to the post that started it all!
• The final Small Business Saturday was only valid for targeted cards for $10 or $20 in credit. Over the years I was able to rack of thousands of dollars in gift cards to local grocery stores, restaurants, and was even able to get a diamond ring set in platinum for Mimi to replace her engagement ring that was falling apart. Those were the days!

 

2016:

SUP in Maui, January 2016:

 

Flying SAS A330-300 business class, Newark-Oslo, March 2016:

 

Snowmobiling in Svalbard polar bear country, March 2016:

 

Experiencing the Northern Lights in Lofoten, March 2016

 

 

A father and son 747 bonding trip, April 2016:

 

In Oakland to see Cleveland’s first championship in 4 decades, June 2016:

 

 

Using 10K Starpoints to play on the DDF softball team at Wrigley Field, August 2016:

 

Using a million Starpoints to throw out the first pitch before game 7 of the 2016 World Series and get 2nd row tickets to the game was one of the coolest experiences of my lifetime, November 2016:

at least he's got the look down. pic.twitter.com/Ll17aApXro

— Michael (@freetravelguys) November 3, 2016

 

 

• 26K Starpoints for an overwater pool villa at the incredible S. Regis Maldives? I was there in no time!
• Delta first class award tickets to Canada for just 250 miles and no tax
• Delta flights to Vancouver for $10
• The Islanders gave away free tickets to get people to the arena
• Virgin Australia flights from Sydney to LA for just $148
• JetBlue handed out 75K points for completing a single round-trip if you had Virgin America points. I took my whole family on a cheap flight and pooled our bounty of easy points together for many years of free flights on JetBlue. Virgin America account holders then got 10K free Alaska miles and a 30% bonus when their points were transferred to Alaska.
• JetBlue had transcontinental flights for just $64.
• The Sapphire Reserve 100K offer was one of the best signup bonuses of all time.
• Using Starpoints to fulfill a lifelong dream of being called up to the mound for Game 7 of the World Series in Cleveland

 

2017:

There’s nothing quite like Emirates A380 shower class on miles, DC to Dubai, March 2017:

 

 

My first shower at 35,000 feet in the sky:

 

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi, March 2017:

 

Burj Al Arab, Dubai, March 2017:

S. Regis Maldives, March 2017:

 

Etihad A380 shower class on miles, March 2017:

 

Rome’s Great Synagogue, July 2017:

 

 

Nothing like a free Private Jet!

 

 

 

Watching the 2017 eclipse in Boonville, MO was magical:

 

 

 

The final United 747 flight, November 2017:

 

 

Google Express gone wild:

 

• Uber offered flat-fare packages from just $1.99 per ride.
• JetSmarter offered free private jet membership. I couldn’t believe it really worked! We flew to NYC for dinner and I took Rafi to an Indians game in Minneapolis for Father’s Day.
• Toys R Us had free Bugaboo strollers, video game systems, playgrounds and more.
• Amazon offered 80% off Handyman services on Prime Day. I had my backyard playground set up for cheap!
• JetBlue Vacations had a $250 off coupon, which made for free flights and hotels.
• Sprint offered free cell phone service in an effort to boost subscriber numbers
• On Mimi’s 30th birthday I went down to bake some waffles and got sidetracked for the entire morning as Air Canada had flights to Tel Aviv for just $150 round-trip. Readers shared what they booked and we went to Israel the next Shavuos with family that booked the deal.
• On my 33rd birthday, the Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos had all-inclusive 2 bedroom suites for $291 after $900 off.
• A couple of days later, Home Depot had a price mistake on LG appliances, which they honored.
• Airbnb had a $200 off $200 coupon.
• Ukraine Air had $170 tickets to Israel.
• Emirates had tickets from the Maldives to JFK for $100. The deal made the WSJ. Emirates first cancelled bookings, then decided to honor them.
• Walmart had insane discounts when you selected in-store pickup. They went nuclear against Amazon and ultimately discovered that Amazon would beat their pricing on everything so they ended the discounting.
• The Presidential Suite at the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego was bookable for the same price as a base room.

 

2018:

Praying at the Western Wall, May 2018:

 

Ushuaia, Argentina, December 2018:

 

Falkland Islands, December 2018:

 

Traveling to Antarctica was a dream come true, December 2018:

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Banana Republic had a $50 off $50 coupon that made for tons of free clothes.
• On Mimi’s 31st birthday we were in Miami when Hong Kong Airlines had $550 round-trip business class tickets to Asia. They honored the deal and asked travelers to spread the word.
• Booking fake Iberia tickets for $27 to get 90,000 Avios.
• Toys R Us had 50% off Bugaboo strollers, video game systems, playgrounds and more.
• Alaska Air had tickets to Hawaii for $98
• Carter’s had buy 1, get 3 free sitewide.
• Amazon’s Prime Day sale had free diapers after stacking coupons.
• Amazon’s Prime Day sale had free shampoo, wipes, and lots of other free products.
• A 20% off AMEX Offer stacked to offer a discount on the original price on Prime Day items, making for some incredible bargains. For example $429 Samsonite luggage was just $33 after stackable savings!
• The Angsana Velavaru Maldives has 2 bedroom overwater villas for just $300.
• Ashley Furniture Price Mistakes
• For my 34th birthday, QVC gave away free stuff.
• And Lowe’s gave away free gift cards
• And I got way too many free Google Home Minis
• And Google Fi offered gift cards equal to the price of any phone purchase, essentially making a Pixel cost nothing. I even made an extra $100 thanks to an AMEX Offer!
• SAS: Pay For 1 Adult’s Airfare And Send Up To 8 Kids To HEL For Free!
• Levi Benjaminson got the deal of a lifetime when he won 2 free tickets on the first and only kosher cruise to Antarctica of the 21st century. He even printed a Tanya on our Falkland Islands detour.

 

2019:

Trying out mock cabins on an A380 in Airbus Headquarters in Toulouse, January 2019

 

 

Bringing food to CLE when a United flight from Tel Aviv to Newark was directed here:

 

 

Taking Delta One suites from Detroit to Amsterdam for 49K miles, April 2019:

 

Keukenhof Gardens, Amsterdam, April 2019:

 

 

 

• Cathay Pacific had $30,000 first class tickets for just $845. You were also able to earn enough miles for another Cathay Pacific first class flight! They honored the deal with class.
• Air New Zealand had business class tickets to Australia for $1,500. JJ was thrilled when they told him they were honoring the deal as he took his family down under for a whole month.
• The Shoes.com and ELEVTD deal of the decade all started when DDF member EliJelly noticed last Wednesday that a pair of ECCO shoes was on sale for just $24.95. This was the first mention of the deal anywhere online! I posted a roundup of ECCO shoes on sale for $24.95 shipped followed by a roundup of other shoe brands also on sale for $24.95. Then came a post about down jackets on sale for $24.95. Then DansDeals commenter Mountain Man noticed that there were Ferragamo shoes on sale for $24.95 and we made a post on all of the designer shoes on sale from sister site ELEVTD for $24.95. A 20% off code then came out, dropping the price to just $19.96 shipped! Readers traded shoes and shared their insane hauls.
• Qantas had a 44% stackable transfer bonus that made for incredible bargains for travel on El Al.
• Amazon had mirrorless cameras and DSLRs for just $94 after insane Prime Day discounts.
• Amazon had the Ring Pro and an Echo Dot for just $64 (or $14 with AMEX) for Prime Day.
• American had tickets to Australia for just 10,000 miles round-trip
• American had tickets to New Zealand for just 10,000 miles round-trip
• American had tickets to Hawaii for just 10,000 miles round-trip
• JetBlue had tickets nationwide from just 200 points
• Frontier had free flights…if your name was Green or Greene.
• Amazon Fire 7 and a case for $21 or free with AMEX Offers
• CLEAR membership was available for a free year.
• Free stuff from Lenovo
• 4 stacking Kohl’s codes meant $55 of items cost just $15
• Kohl’s had 3 appliances for $6 shipped, plus you earned $15 in Kohl’s Cash
• For my 35th birthday, American and Delta had business class tickets to brazil for just $1,193 round-trip.
• HP had a Black Friday sale on a 10th Gen Core i7 Laptop for as low as $349.99, plus that stacked with a 20% off Chase Offer
• Alaska Airlines offered transcontinental tickets for just $56 and tickets to Hawaii for just $75.
• Blade offered helicopter rides between Manhattan and NYC airports for just $72.
• TAP had $359 round-trip flights to Tel Aviv
• United offered $421 nonstop tickets from Tel Aviv to NYC if you also took a short train ride. Enterprising readers even managed to get United to cancel the train ride.
• Go Everywhere offered yearlong activity passes across the country for a mere $20.20. They’re still valid today!

 

2020:

Cross-country RV trip, November 2020:

 

 

 

 

• Round-trip business class Delta flights to Sao Paulo for $412
• Buy TRYP Jerusalem hotel nights for $69
• Car Seats, Toaster Ovens, LEGO, Cribs, Bikes, Scooters, TV Stands, And More For $14.99 From Target
• TM Lewin dress shirts for $19
• Brooks Brothers Dress Shirts for $21
• CT free shirts for $22
• $4 shoes from DSW
• Round-trip from Atlanta To Santiago, Chile For Just $62 on Delta
• Round-trip from the US Mainland To The US Virgin Islands From $69 on AA

 

2021:

Moʻoula Falls, Molokai, February 2021:

 

Papohaku Beach, Molokai:

 

Exploring the incredible Iceland, July 2021.

Seljalandsfoss:

 

Gljufrabui:

 

Puffins on Vestmannaeyjar Island:

 

Skaftafell Glacier:

 

Jökulsárlón:

 

Snorkeling between 2 continents:

 

And an epic volcanic eruption:

 

An epic Southern Africa trip, empty of tourists due to COVID, October 2021:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• American awarded 240 miles for every $1 donated. I made a $10,000 donation and earned 2.4 million miles!
• 40K round-trip awards to Israel and 8K round-trip domestic awards on United
• Round-trip business class AA flights to Rio or Sao Paulo for $478 or 31K points
• Round-trip AA flights from Tel Aviv to JFK for $365
• Round-trip AA flights from Tel Aviv to LA for $464
• $964 round-trip business class fares to South America on AA
• East coast to Hawaii flights on American for just $88
• LA to Salt Lake City flights on American for just $10 or $13 from Baltimore
• JFK to LA and San Salvador in Delta One for 6K miles
• $75 off $75 of accessories from Verizon with AMEX Offers
• Transcontinental flights for $53 and Hawaii flights for $61 on Alaska
• $93 flights to Alaska on United
• $225 round-trip flights to Japan on AA and United
• Free spending at Best Buy and more with AMEX Offers
• Free Paypal spending with AMEX Offers
• Ecco dress shoes for $34
• $1.99 shirts, $2.99 cashmere sweaters, $4.99 shoes, and $9.99 suits and coats from Jos A Bank
• Signup For A $50 Charity Gift Card For Free!

 

2022:

Nothing quite like watching planes take off and land from the rooftop of TLV’s ATC tower:

 

 

Flying over an erupting Mauna Loa, Hawaii, December 2022:

 

Sunset in Maui, December 2022:

 

Polihua Beach, Lanai, December 2022:

 

• • Marriott refunds travel certificates at peak rates. In 2019 I redeemed 540K Marriott points for 120K Alaska miles and a travel certificate. I was then refunded 700K Marriott points, meaning that I profited 160K Marriott points and got 120K Alaska miles!
  • Free 15′ Trampolines from Amazon. My wife promptly put the one I got onto Facebook Marketplace. ;D
  • El Al BOGO flights, round-trips from just $351!
  • $5 6′ Trampolines from Amazon.
  • JetBlue allowed for free changes with no difference in fare!
  • $85 round-trip flights on Delta from JFK to Iceland
  • $21 JetBlue flights
  • United everyday business class award space to Israel, Maldives, and New Zealand pricing at saver levels
  • $645 premium economy round-trip flights on AA from Tel Aviv to JFK or Miami
  • $1,733 business class round-trip on AA from Tel Aviv to JFK
  • $835 or 54K points for round-trip business class flights on Delta from JFK to London
  • $208 round-trip flights on El Al from Boston to Tel Aviv
  • $565 round-trip for mixed business/economy on BA from Tel Aviv to the US
  • Wide Open Business Award Space Between The US And The South Pacific On Fiji
  • Wide Open American Business Award Space Between The US And Tel Aviv For 55K Miles
  • Wide Open Business Award Space Between Newark and Cape Town on United
  • 32K business class flights on Turkish to Tel Aviv
  • 10,000 Shutterfly photo prints for $6 shipped after $1,800 discount
  • $427 round-trip flights on AA from JFK to Tel Aviv
  • Free stuff with $120 off at Amazon after stackable Prime Day promos
  • $400 in free Revel ride credit
  • Amazon has massive price drops on furniture
  • Bugaboo Lynx Complete Stroller $427.05 From Nordstrom
  • Delta Business Class Award Space Between JFK And Brussels For Just 38.5K AMEX Points Each Way
  • Bruno Magli shoes for $24.99
  • Walmart had wild price mistakes sitewide
  • $25 free Dell credits

 

2023:

ANA’s new First Class is incredible. It’s even better when you book it for 55K Virgin miles. It’s even better when Virgin forgets to charge you the miles. 😀

 

You haven’t watched a baseball game until you’ve done so in Japan. Kyocera Dome Osaka, April 2023:

 

 

Kyoto, Japan:

 

 

 

Atomic Bomb Dome, Hiroshima, Japan, May 2023:

 

Miyajima, Japan:

 

Yellowstone is truly a national treasure, August 2023:

 

 

 

March for Israel on the National Mall, November 2023:

 

Flying JetBlue Mint to Paris with Qatar Avios, December 2023:

 

View from the Eiffel tower, December 2017:

 

Musee d’Orsay, December 2017:

 

Chabad shul in the Pletzel, where the Rebbe would daven from 1933-1940:

 

Tower Bridge, London:

 

Did you even visit London without Fish and Chips? Soyo, December 2017:

 

Helping a friend check off watching an Arsenal Game from his bucket list for his 40th:

 

View from the Park Hyatt Vienna, December 2017:

 

The Hofburg, Vienna:

 

There’s nothing like the nose of the Lufthansa 747-8 on miles, December 2023:

 

• Wide Open ANA First Class Suites Award Space For Just 110K Miles Round-Trip!
• Free flights from Capital One. I used this one rack up lots of United flight credits!
• Massive savings with Postmates codes. I used this one to get dirt cheap wine, scotch, and tequila, and gift cards!
• United everyday business class award space to Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent pricing at saver levels
• Qantas business and first class saver award availability drop
• Free $25 Microsoft gift cards
• $61 flights to Hawaii
• $100 of free diapers and detergent from Amazon
• Free accessories from Verizon
• Walmart furniture clearance
• Massive Toy Clearance Sale from Walmart
• Free tankless water heaters
• 99% off Priceline hotels worldwide

 

2024:

It took a whole lot of luck to fly a round-trip on United this year. Even better was flying it on a business saver award!

 

 

Just met this guy in a restaurant in Israel 🇮🇱

He has a message for the world. pic.twitter.com/qfJks4HSdv

— REAL JEW (@THEREALJEW613) March 27, 2024

 

Sometimes the best trips you can take are the ones from your backyard, watching the eclipse in Cleveland, April 2024:

 

 

 

 

 

Finally made it to Alaska, August 2024:

 

 

• Book United Saver Award Travel On Many International Routes On Select Dates In March 2024!
• Delta glitch opened up hundreds of business saver awards to Tel Aviv
• Free JetBlue vacation packages
• Free Amazon Products When Ordering From Lowe’s Via Uber Eats
• Signup For A $50 Charity Gift Card For Free! Give The Gift Of Tefillin!
• Free Blink cameras and other items with stackable Amazon promos
• Shutterfly glitch for more than 90% off deluxe layflat unlimited page photo books
• Ordering $100 of Costco items for just $10
• Ordering $124 of groceries from Amazon Fresh for just $5
• Spirit flights for $0.97
• Transferring AMEX points into Alaska miles with a 20% bonus
• Buy Alaska miles to get $57 AA flights
• Costco dress shirts for $3.97
• 20 days of DansDeals giveaways and deals!

Thank you!

I’ve been on a plane for 42 consecutive months since COVID ended, where should I go to next?

Looking back at all of the incredible deals and travels, it certainly helps me take a step back and appreciate all that I’ve got to do and experience in the past 2 decades.

None of it would have been possible if not for my amazing readers, I’ve said it before, but I don’t say it enough. You guys are amazing, and when you read my blog, use our links, and support our advertisers, it means the world to me and makes all of this possible.

Thank you and here’s to the next 20!

-Dan

What are your favorite deals that you took advantage of? Which deals do you regret missing? And what other deals did I forget to include in the roundup above?

Where were the favorite places you were able to travel to because of DansDeals?

Don’t want to miss a deal? See this post to set up deal alerts on your phone!