How to save money abroad and at home – free Miles, free food, super cheap Taxis, etc

04 Dec 2021 Leave a comment

by yannwithayahuasca in Free Stuff, Gratitude, Inspiration & Success, Review, Unrelated to Ayahuasca Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Read this to the end for the ultimate free Miles hack.

15% commissions at ATMs, really??
30% commissions at cash exchanges??

Are you tired of these levels of extortion? I am!
So here are a few tips i have come across out of sheer necessity! Yesterday i needed to get some cash out with a foreign card and the ATM wanted 15%. That was was going to add up to an abusive 45€ for 300€, ie you spend 300€ and receive only 255 € in cash! I said **** that & went home to figure out a better way. And i found it! Here it is.

If you are planning to go abroad, or are already abroad, find online banks that work on your mobile and that support bank accounts in various currencies. Two examples of that in the Czech Republic are Revolut and Air Bank. Beware Air Bank’s app is only in Czech, and also it seems that conversion rates with Revolut are WAY better than they are on Air Bank (EUR to CZK or vice versa).
Installing these takes a few minutes, is free, and will get you a free bank account. Air Bank will require a visit to the branch. So i highly recommend Revolut. Full disclosure, the link is an affiliate link, ie if you sign up & use their services i might receive something, however i wouldn’t recommend them if i wasn’t using them myself and if i wasn’t honestly convinced it was a good option. There may be better options out there, i’m just sharing my experience. Same goes for any other links here.

So yesterday, here in Prague, Czech Republic, i gave up on my cash withdrawal from my French card when i saw the immensity of the fees. Instead, i went into Revolut, where i have a CZK account AND a EUR account (and i have one in USD and i could instantly add one in any other currency, for free). So i went into my EUR Revolut account and asked to top it up from a card (it’s amazing you can do that). Simply add a card, in this case a French VISA from a EUR account, and the amount you specify gets credited instantly to your account. 300 € left my FR account and 300 € arrived on my Revolut account, within a few seconds. No fees whatsoever.

In order to withdraw, go into the EUR account and choose ‘exchange’, and convert the EUR into CZK. The commission? 3 € ! 1% instead of 15% at the ATM !
I was then able to transfer the CZK for free to my landlord’s Czech account, or i could have withdrawn cash at the ATM for free, and deposited it to her CZ account.

If you go outside of the EU, simply create an account in the currency you require. USD, GBP, JPY, etc.

If you want to save money whilst traveling, here is something i do : i use an Air France / KLM American Express. This Gold card isn’t cheap, it’s around 170 € per year, however, they have brought out a Blue card that is FREE FOR LIFE, and gives you 50 € back shortly after joining, plus a cashback on everything you spend. You also get 22000 Miles for free, which is pretty good, and the first year for FREE! In other words, you can get free Miles, free 3 month payments, 170€ off, and other advantages, for 1 year, and then just cancel if you like.

The advantages of the Gold card have really saved my a** sometimes : you pay 1 month later, and you can spread the cost of plane tickets over 3 months at 0% interest. That has really saved me many times when i needed to travel for work but couldn’t afford it. I never paid a single cent in fees or interest, AND the best thing is that every spent € is a free Mile, sometimes you even get more than that. Finally, the cherry on the cake is that this card gives you 30 free XP with the best airline loyalty program on the planet, Flying Blue. You only need 100 XP to get to the first level (free suitcase on every flight), and you can make 20 XP on a cheap short EU flight. So reaching 100 XP is very easy, especially if you fly once across the Atlantic.
The result is that i quickly reached Gold (level 2 of 3), which gives me 1 free suitcase per flight, a massive advantage, saving me up to 150 € per flight. I also get priority check-in, priority boarding, and free access to the Business lounge at every connection, meaning free drinks & free food, and sometimes the opportunity for a shower. None of this would have been attained without my Air France / KLM Amex card.

Note that you can use other airlines, you just need to buy the ticket on the Air France / KLM websites. That covers quite a few airlines, such as Czech Airlines, Aero Mexico, Delta, and many others.

Every month i accumulate free Miles thanks to my Amex card. And it also works with PayPal & other services, such as food delivery apps like Wolt, so i make Miles on the food i order, and on the online PayPal purchases too.

Another way to save a lot abroad is to install 2 or 3 competing taxi service apps, and to compare trip fares. I use Bolt and Uber, here in Prague, and what happens is that because you use them less often, they give you promo codes to encourage you to use the app more often. The result is that i often get discounts, sometimes big ones, like 40% off, and i can compare prices, sometimes saving me up to 50%.

Finally, if you want free food, register for all the food delivery services, such as Uber Eats, Wolt, Bolt Food, and wait. Don’t use the service, just wait. Sure enough, you will receive the most outrageous promotional offers. Check this out : Uber Eats in France sent me promos for 2x 12 € off, i didn’t use it, so they kept adding more on. The most they sent me was 10×10€ off ! Imagine, 100 € of free food!

If you know of other tips, please write a comment so we can all benefit.

Thank you
Yann

P.S. Oh, that ‘ultimate free Miles hack’, i almost forgot. You are not going to believe this. I invented this one myself, it works, and it’s free. It gives you FREE MILES without buying anything, instantly.

Here is what you need :

  • An Air France Amex
  • A PayPal account
  • 2 people, or two cards and two PayPal accounts.
  • No funds required, everything is advanced to you by American Express at no charge to you.

    Follow these steps :
  • When you get an Air France / KLM Amex, you can link it to your PayPal, as i mentioned above. This money will be charged to you up to 1 month later.
  • Your friend with an Air France Amex card also sets it up to use his PayPal account.
  • You send money to your friend via PayPal, for free, instantly.
  • This generates FREE MILES for you.
  • Your friend sends you back the same amount.
  • This generates FREE MILES for your friend.
  • Everything you send comes back to your bank account, at no cost.
  • At the end of the month, everything you ping-ponged back has generated Miles for you, AND for your friend.
  • Basically you are generated 2x the Miles of the amount that you send to your friend.
  • It’s a win-win for you and your friend, and, yes, it really works.

Enjoy ! 🙂

‘Who am I?’ – The Retreat

01 Aug 2020 2 Comments

The following video is in Czech & English, i hope to have a version with English subtitles for you soon, follow this blog & my YouTube channel for notifications. For more information on the retreat, use the email in the video.

Our latest retreat was in July 2020 and was overbooked. It was also, i promise, way more of a success than i thought it would be. 😉

Let me explain : we had several new elements/activities to our program, and i was concerned we couldn’t pull it off. We did, and the feedback during the closing circle was 100% positive, everyone was very pleased with their stay & their experience.

Even if you don’t speak the language, the video will give you an idea of what to expect.

The next retreat will be from September 2nd to 6th 2020, in South Bohemia, Czech Republic. There are cheap flights to Prague from all over Europe. And from Prague car-pooling can be arranged with other clients attending.

We have approximately 20 spots available, for a staff of 8 !

The food is 100% healthy & vegan, very tasty, and will not leave you wanting anything more. 🙂

For details & pricing, please use the email in the video. Beware that last time we were overbooked so i recommend you do not delay if you are interested.

Who is this for?
– Anyone who wants to find out who they are.
– Anyone with addictions or depression but not taking SSRIs.
– Anyone wanting to re-connect with themselves and find their purpose in life.
– Anyone curious about connecting to ‘The Source’ and feeling more, or wanting more gratitude in their life.

The retreat will be preceded by an introduction call, and followed by an integration call.

Video by yannwithayahuasca

On the other side of gratitude

02 May 2020 Leave a comment

by yannwithayahuasca in Books, Gratitude Tags: , , , ,

The Gratitude Guide

The Gratitude Guide, a handbook to more happiness in life, by Mr Jacob J Zylka-Zebracki

No râpé today, but still, some insights.

Finding gratitude in the ‘face of adversity’ may be the hardest thing right after self-acceptance, so-called “self-love”.
I have come to believe that it is our mission, in our best interest, in the best interest of life, of the universe’s thriving forces, in the best interest of joy & happiness, that we find gratitude, somehow, in the hard times. It implies ‘trusting the process’, trusting the Universe, trusting ‘God’. By the way, if the word ‘God’ bothers you, as i know it does some people, especially Atheists, then simply give it a meaning you can live with, something that doesn’t frustrate you or annoy you. It really is up to you what meaning you put in there. Have you pondered that maybe it bothers you because you don’t know what meaning to put into it? That you are disconnected from this Power, this Source of Everything, All of Consciousness combined? I don’t know, quite frankly, that’s your problem & for you to figure out. For your own sake, try to, though. Because we DO all come from the same Source, whether you want it or not, whether you believe it or not, and all Consciousness therefore comes from the same source too. And everything is connected to everything. There is nothing ‘separate’ in the Universe.

Back to our theme, though: gratitude when it’s not easy.

When we fail to find this gratitude, and i say this without judging those of us (including me) who do, we render ourselves victims of the circumstances. It means that a) we feel sorry for ourselves, b) we probably deny or don’t realize the part we played in attracting those said circumstances, and c) we are failing to trust the process, to trust God. Now i’m not a religious person, i’m neither Catholic nor Buddhist nor Jewish nor any of those things. I think that they are quite incompatible with spirituality. They are an easy trap to fall into, yes, but a trap nevertheless. Just my opinion, however, so don’t get too upset with me should you view things differently. Remember? Gratitude for our hardships! Oh, it is sooo hard to accept that people disagree with me on the obvious! SOOO hard! 😉

I have found, especially in the last few days, that by seeking gratitude, even for things that are, IMO, creating frustration for me, pretty f***ing strong frustration too (and i use those words deliberately…), that i create a learning and growth. I am only better off for it. What lies on the other side of gratitude is growth, and something a whole lot better than what i thought i was missing or lacking, or wanting. Ok, i still want to do those things, that hasn’t disappeared, but had i not gone through this frustration/problem and sought out the gratitude, i would have missed out on something a whole lot deeper & more beneficial to my Being & existence!

I’m not certain i can explain this further right now, so maybe try it. You can find meditations & advice on how to feel grateful quite easily should you want it. Search & you shall find. Try it & let me know how it went, why not? You can comment below, or email me from the contact section. 🙂

Be well, shine on, and let the world see & feel how friggin brilliant & lovely you are! 🙂

P.S. The book in the picture is a good place to start, and you can order it here (US) or here (UK/Europe). These are not affiliate links, the author is however a good friend and i hope to have him interviewed for this blog or for a podcast sometime this year.
I put this book in the ‘MUST READ in a lifetime’ category. Something that would be compulsory at school, were school about teaching & growing. Something every child & every adult should refer to on rough days or nights. Something we should all practice, for our own good, and that of all.