I am a master of using credit cards to get free flights. Below is an explanation of what to do.

PLEASE USE MY LINKS, it will give David and I points to use for our honeymoon!!!

Miles for Any Airline Through Capital One:

Give Us 20,000 pts REFERRAL LINK

Give Us $150 bonus REFERRAL LINK

United Airlines Miles through Chase:

Give us 10,000 pts USE MY REFERRAL LINK

How to: If your credit allows, apply for one of the following credit cards soon. Most offer bonus miles after spending $3000- if you act now, this can mean a free international flight!

Tips:

1) Look at the trip you want to book and how many points you need before applying to cards, make sure it will work on that airline first and with that card. I recommend searching google flights to see the best airlines, then go to the airline website and see how many points that flight is.

2) Get the card- make already needed larger purchases or ask family/friends if you can pay for them and they can pay you back.

3) Get points on next statement (can change statement date if needed), you can call the credit card to confirm when points will arrive.

4) Book flights - many airlines also let you do points plus miles if you need.

5) Don't do add-ons if they will not work with points, you can buy things like seat selection later normally (call airline to confirm this is so).

6) Generally these cards already have trip protection as a benefit so think first before buying this as an add-on to a flight.

7) Feel like a boss because you just cheated the system.

Below are three options/locations to stay with one hotel for each location and the relation to the Wedding Venue BRICK YARD 33 1/3美軍俱樂部

TAIPOWER AREA （recommend this area for convenience of gathering during the week before)

Taipower MRT is a good location as well. This is near to the office Chelsea works at. There is a night market and it is easy to get anywhere in Taipei from here. An Uber to the wedding venue from here would take about 45 mins and cost about $15-$22.

Guide Hotel 承攜行旅 - 台北台大館 is a great well priced hotel that we often have international guests stay at.

SHILIN AREA

Shilin District near Shilin 士林 MRT is an easy place to get around and is the best spot for the route to the wedding venue. It is 30 mins by bus to the venue area or a short 20 minute uber/taxi about $12-$17. There is a night market nearby and you can get anywhere in the city from here.

士林讚 Shihlin Metro Yes Hotel is one hotel in the area.

BEITOU HOT SPRINGS AREA

Beitou has lots of hot spring hotels. If you want to book a hot spring hotel you can look up the road from BeiTou MRT area you can see all the different hot spring hotels. This area will be a little bit longer MRT ride to anything in Taipei City, but it is about a 25 min drive to the wedding venue. Please note, you will need to have a pass on your phone showing you will go to the wedding for one of the roads as they limit traffic at certain times of the day.

Spa Spring Resort is one hotel in the area with reasonable prices per night.

YANMINGSHAN AREA

This is where we are getting married. It is a lovely little town in the mountains that is about a 30 min bus ride down to Taipei city (Shilin MRT stop). It is not great if you want to experience Taipei, but it is great if you want something more quiet where you can walk to the wedding. It will be considerably more expensive per night.

American Village Resort is a hotel right down the street from the venue.

Using a phone overseas:

1) check that phone is unlocked and has esim

2) download esim app. I like using Nomad

3) buy data for country you are traveling to

4) follow set up on phone

* you can buy a sim in the airport here

** you can also add international coverage to your phone plan, but generally this is expensive.

The MRT counters all have staff if you need help. The metro runs between 06:00-24:00 and closes after midnight. If your flight arrives in the wee hours of the morning be aware you will need to take a taxi. Taxi drivers are all safe and wouldn't think to charge you different than the meter. Taxi's are about $45-55 from the airport and there is staff that speaks English at the airport who helps you confirm where you are going with the driver. Just have your hotel address ready. There is no tipping here, so do not worry about paying anyone along the way. Just say thank you.

Generally, purchasing a metro card is easiest. There is a 5 day pass available for purchase called the Taipei Fun Pass that can be picked up at the Airport. Or you can purchase a card at any 7-11 and load it up with funds. Cards are 100 NTD- about $3.50.

The metro lines do have English spelling of all stops and English announcements. They are clean and there is no eating or drinking allowed. Do not even drink water or you will get yelled at.

The line are all color coded and google is very reliable to tell you how to get around. Transferring to busses is done with the same metro card and is also reliable with google information.

There are still many places that do not accept credit cards. Especially when buying food or small goods. You will need to either exchange money (can be done at the airport easily) or withdraw money from ATMs.

ATMs are readily available and most banks charge a small international fee for using an ATM so it is better to take out a large chunk at one time. You can check with your bank to confirm fees.

You do not need to have a visa as you can land with a tourist 90 day stay as an American. You do need to have a passport that is valid for at least 6 months. Please double check your passport expiration date.

Here is some information about the arrival card you need to do at least 72 hours prior to your flight…. see below.

Go to webstie: https://twac.immigration.gov.tw/

Click on "Submit arrival card" and fill in form. When you get to "ENTRY PERMIT" select 'permit-exempt'

When you get to "VISA TYPE" select 'visa exempt/ no visa'

For "PURPOSE OF VISIT" you can select "Others" (其他) and put attending a wedding or you can select "Visit Relative" (探親), you must enter the Relative’s name and mobile: Chelsea Davis / +8660958499701

If you need to enter my info it is: Chelsea Davis, phone: +8660958499701, address: 4F #12, 2 Alley, 112 Lane, JinJiang St, ZhongZheng District, Taipei, Taiwan