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How to make Delta work for you;

So here is the big question …. How to make Delta work for you; In less than a year I was able to earn Medallion Status with Delta Airlines. That is part of the reason why I am writing this. I want others to know how simple it is to achieve Medallion Status. This is not an ad. This is not a commercial. It’s my real life. My messed up crazy – are you kidding me life! Within Delta there are multiple ways to make Delta work for you. By using the Delta Skymiles American Express in conjunction with your planned trips for 2019, 2020 and beyond you can rack up a slew of miles and use them for free flights, upgrades and even Dom Perignon! < – – – YES! That happened at the Sky Club in LAX. I was able to have my first sip of Dom thanks to a few miles that I had in my account!

This was over a 6 month period.

My medallion status has been amazing since I earned it last December. So far I have had so many complimentary upgrades on flights for 2019 I have lost count. I would LOVE to keep that ratio going, yet another reason why the American Express pays for itself. I will say a lot of it had to do with the Delta American Express card in the beginning but depending on how much flying you are doing you might qualify faster. So what is Medallion status and why do you want it? There are quite a few perks for Medallion members but my favorite is the automatic and complementary upgrades issued 24 hours before the flight. Once you check in for your flight if there are any open Delta Comfort or First Class seats available you will be automatically upgraded to that section. This is all of course based on status and a Diamond member will out weigh and Silver member everyday but thats just another level to strive for! Another perk of the Medallion program is you can choose the Sky Club as one of your perks! I LOVE the Sky Club. I have actually been a member for over a year now. That’s a whole different article that I guess I need to write next!

One of the biggest questions is how much money do you spend per year that could be paid for using an American Express? If that number is $25,000 or more than you need to get one of these cards ASAP. Why not get a ton of perks just for what you normally spend. A little back story on me, I am a 31 year old photographer trying to make a living here on planet earth. I LOVE to travel and I convinced Scott to get the Gold American Express. It wasn’t until later that I discovered it all needed to be in my name with my skymiles account to have all the benefits work together. Hence, another reason why I am writing this. I want to help by allowing them to learn from my mistakes instead of having to make them also. You want to start off by figuring out how many flights you will or plan to take in the next 12 to 24 months. Are they International? Domestic? Some of both? I say this because you don’t want to use a card for say Southwest Airlines if you always plan to travel to France or Alaska. There are better cards and programs for you. But back to Delta … my one true love! I have been flying with Delta almost exclusively for the past 7 years. I had to decide between American and Delta when I was living in Key West. Delta’s route was better hands down, you hop on a 737 and fly from Key West to Atlanta and then Atlanta to anywhere! Whereas, with American I would have to get on a little puddle jumper to Miami then fly from Miami to my destination. Why not get where you are going on the first try?

If you travel domestically for the most part and then add a few international trips in there then Delta is for you! That is what my next 12 to 24 months looks like. Before you go and invest all of your time and money into a program, really look at what will work best for you. With Delta they have 3 different cards, the gold, platinum or reserve American Express. I started with the gold and now have the platinum. The annual fee on mine is $198 but it includes a roundtrip companion ticket to anywhere in the world I want to go. The reserve has the companion ticket as well for business class. The annual fee on that card is upwards of $500 last time I checked. Maybe someday…. but for now I am happy to have the 1 ticket for $200! That’s a steal!

Ok so now what? You know Delta will work for you but you don’t know where to begin. Once you have your American Express card you will want to see what things you do in daily life that can get you more miles. I personally use the card as my debit card. Anything and everything that can be charged to that card will be. Another way to pick up a few extra miles is when you’re out with friends and everyone is throwing in cash, pick up the bill and pocket the cash. You will get yourself anywhere from 20 to 200 miles just for doing something simple like making sure to use your card. There are also partner programs that allow you to earn double and triple miles. If you connect them they will automatically deposit miles into your account. I have that set up with the Delta hotel bookings, Airbnb and Lyft. Delta even has an entire section of their website just to show you different ways to earn more miles here. I am not going to lie. I will be putting a link in this article for you to sign up for your own Delta American Express card. I will be 100% upfront and honest that yes it gets me some bonus miles but for me personally I just want to help other people travel the world and see what a wonderful place we live in and what magical things are out there waiting for you! Apply for an American Express Card with this link. We can both get rewarded if you’re approved!

Coho Campground at Wynoochee Lake

Last month I got to spend some time in the peace and quiet of the Coho Campground at Wynoochee Lake. This is the same place that I stayed last year during my marathon camping trip of the Olympic National Forest.

They offer small walk up sites as well as larger sites for a camper. We were lucky enough to stay in the same site both times! The first time we drove up and got the last spot open. This time we went online and reserved the same site in advance because we loved the site. #55 was ours! The website only lets you reserve the sites a certain number of days in advance so start planning early. But you can also get lucky if someone cancels. So keep checking and have alternate dates is my best advice. Getting there is a challenge. I learned that if you take a road that is labeled private but really is public you will save 3 hours. When your directions and or GPS leads you to this same spot – road and there isn’t a nice lady mowing the lawn to tell you that it really is a road you can take. The GPS really isn’t leading you off the deep end. It’s trying to show you a MUCH shorter route. The road is called Cougar Smith Road and its about 30 to 45 mins from the campground. Use the address given in your reservation to navigate with your phone, GPS or I recommend both!

The is also a boat launch, picnic areas and 3 yurts over looking the water. Those are the rental prize! That’s what I want to reserve if I ever go back to this place again. To rent a yurt is very difficult unless you are 100% flexible with your dates. We rented a boat and did about 3 days of fishing without catching much. From what we can tell they don’t stock the lake so the small trout we did catch was a VERY tasty one! I wouldn’t recommend this lake for a small boat. It seems like the winds can pick up quick and a small boat can get blown around.

Camping alone and then camping with 3 kids are 2 completely different things … I am very lucky to have a best friend that has 3 kids I adore and love spending time with. They make camping more fun for me since I know these are the memories they are going to have when they grow up. I have those same memories but I was with my Mom, Dad and brother Wes. I think I get the best of both worlds. There are 3 adults and 6 little hands to help get dinner ready and that really matters when you first need a fire to make said food to eat. This year the campsite next to us had 3 kids too and it was awesome how they all bonded and played together. We even invited them over to our campsite for smores! YUM! The middle son of my friends told me before we went camping that he was excited to meet new friends. That came true for him. I hope that comes true for everyone.

For more information about the campground or for rates and rental info here is the official site for the Olympic National Forest.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/olympic/recarea/?recid=47807

***All photos were taken by me Victoria and are the sole property of TORsAdventures Media LLC. If you would like to use any of my images for any purpose the watermark MUST stay on the image. For more information please email me at TOR{at}TORsAdventures.com

Windy City LIVE

The historic Chicago theater across the street from the studio.

Last week I had the opportunity to visit the set for Windy City LIVE and also be in the audience for the show. Whether you are a resident of the City of Chicago or a tourist visiting YOU can also do the same thing! I have been in the audience for shows in the past but man has the game changed on how it all works! First of all is that its all done via an app that you download called 1iota. Weird name I know but my Aunt Linda told me about it when she was here in Chicago visiting family. She has used it to be in the audience for various shows in the Los Angeles area. To download the app just type the name 1iota in the app store and it should come up. Once you register you can see all the different cities and shows.

After you get a notification that you have a reserved ticket for the show you will arrive and wait in line until 11:30am when they start the process to get people checked in and through security. You are allowed to bring your camera and take as many photos as you would like. They actually encourage it for their social media. At 12:30 you are then led into the studio and seated by the shows staff. I ended up sitting in the front row but I will say that studio is pretty small and the audience can’t be more than 75 people.

The shows director I’m assuming then comes out and talks to you for a bit, he is trying to make the audience feel more comfortable and looking happy to be there. The hosts come out and read a short 15 second monologue to talk about whats coming up on the show. We were there for about an hour and a half total but they also asked at the end about us staying to film another segment for a show at a later date. They ask more in the hey … your sitting here and we are going to film this and your not really going to leave until we are done. I say that because I want you to know that you are on the show and production staff’s time. If you would like to know more about the process you can also check out their website here for more audience info. 1iota.com/show/388/Windy-City-LIVE