My friend, Sarah Page, recently took a trip to Brazil to escape the dismal winter weather in Buenos Aires that drove me to Brazil and then Europe myself. She and her friends used tips they learned from this blog to save money and earn extra travel rewards on the trip.

I will go through those tips below so you can learn from their experience. (Ignore the fact that she started in Buenos Aires.

I stayed two weeks at an Airbnb in Santiago, Chile at the start of the month. That's not uncommon for me, since I am a nomad. Here's where I slept every night of 2015 for reference.

When your Airbnb stay ends, you and the host have two weeks to review each other. The first review is hidden until the two weeks are over or both reviews are made.

I travel full time. FAQ:

“OK, but where do you live?” It’s equally true that I live wherever I am at that moment and that I live nowhere.
“Where’s your home base?” Nowhere.

I’ve learned that I like to stay in a place for at least several weeks to figure out its rhythms, my favorite restaurants, and meet new friends before I move on.

I will spend over 200 nights this year in Airbnb apartments--here's where I am sleeping in 2015--so three pieces of news about Airbnb caught my eye today.

Most (all?) AMEX cards are offering $50 off a $100 Airbnb purchase made by 12/31/15.
You can use AMEX Membership Rewards to pay for Airbnb stays.
You can earn Virgin America Elevate points for Airbnb stays.

Right now, if you sign up for Airbnb through my referral link, you’ll get $25 off your first stay, and I’ll get $25 off my next stay.

Until a few weeks ago, you could change the payment currency on Airbnb to the host's currency. That saved you Airbnb's ridiculous 3% currency conversion fee. As long as you paid with a no-foreign-transaction-fee credit card, you got the conversion done for a 0% fee.

Since I've spent most of the year in Airbnb properties, that saves me a lot of money.

Then Airbnb took that option away.

Update 8/19/15: This is dead. Airbnb removed the option. Now you have to do this to avoid the 3% conversion fee.

Right now I'm in Eastern Europe, visiting the capitals of Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania for a week each. Then I'll head to Belgrade, Serbia for around a month. For all of these stays, I'm staying at Airbnb properties. Check out "I’ve Been a Nomad for Eight Months.

Airbnb is now in Cuba, and I've booked myself a stay that I should currently be enjoying. (Since internet access in Cuba is not the easiest thing in the world, I've queued up this post in advance. Here's how I booked my flights to Cuba.)

My favorite site to book accommodations now lists properties in Cuba that you can rent online. Here's How Airbnb Works (Plus a $25 Credit You Can Use for Your First Stay). If you sign up through this link, we'll both get $25 on your first Airbnb stay.

Airbnb is now in Cuba, and I've booked myself a stay that I should currently be enjoying. (Since internet access in Cuba is not the easiest thing in the world, I've queued up this post in advance. Here's how I booked my flights to Cuba.)

My favorite site to book accommodations now lists properties in Cuba that you can rent online. Here's How Airbnb Works (Plus a $25 Credit You Can Use for Your First Stay). If you sign up through this link, we'll both get $25 on your first Airbnb stay.

Airbnb is the site I use to arrange lodging for the vast majority of my nights on the road. Whether I am coming to a city for four days or four months, it is the first place I look because:

Apartments have better amenities than hotels (kitchens, multiple bedrooms)
Apartments have better locations than hotels (residential areas and nightlife areas instead of business districts)
Apartments are cheaper than hotels

Last night, my mom and aunt were picking my brain about cheap lodging options in Europe.