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This post is part of our involvement with American Express for the Membership Rewards program. We have organised an amazing giveaway for you as part of it too i.e. $740 ( equivalent to 100,000 Membership Rewards points), to spend for yourself.
I was delighted to discover almost all the travel items that have made our travel life easier could be found on DavidJones.com.au so was a perfect match for our list of travel items that have made our road trip better.
Travelling with kids is a vastly different experience to when I was a backpacker, not just because I can’t party to the wee hours of the morning, or go from Africa to Antarctica the next day just because someone said how amazing it was to swim with the penguins.
Can you even do that?
One of the biggest differences with travelling with kids is the number of extra things you have to pack #LuggageExplosion.
I don’t even know how I used to cart my life around in a 20 litre backpack. Now it can barely fit into a 6 x 3 metre camper trailer.
The travel items that have made our road trip better might seem a little unusual, and not the sort of things you’d normally consider packing, but they have saved my sanity on several occasions and helped me feel a little normal amongst a very abnormal life.
Let’s face it, you already know you need to pack a suitcase and some bed sheets, but these are a few items you may not have considered as giving you a little more comfort after a day of bouncing around on those corrugated dusty Outback roads.
Let me explain more about Shop with Points
American Express has partnered with David Jones to bring Card Members a whole new way to shop.
You can now use your reward points to buy your favourite items online at David Jones.
By using your Card to shop online at David Jones, you can choose to pay for your entire purchase using Membership Rewards points, or use a combination of Points + Pay. We’ll be checking this out more to help furnish in a few weeks time when we settle in a home (that will be bigger than a 6 x 3 metre campervan).
I found the David Jones website easy to use the majority of the time. Sometimes certain products I was looking for disappeared from the category menu. Or they weren’t in the category menus, but when I used the search bar they appeared. Use the search bar and you should be able to find what you need.
Finding the points value for the products was easy enough. It’s just a matter of scrolling down to the Shop with Points drop down menu.
On a few occasions I needed to select the colour or the size of the product before the points value was shown but otherwise it’s pretty simple to find.
At the end after you add things to your basket you can choose to pay with your Membership Rewards points or use a combination of points and pay.
1. Mini Micro Scooter
The son of new friends we made on this road trip had a Mini Micro scooter and Savannah kept sneaking rides on it. It was her first time on a scooter and she learned how to ride it so quickly.
We later bought her a cheap scooter from Target and she could barely get it to move. We decided to buy her a Mini Micro for her birthday and it was the best investment ever!
She LOVES it and it’s amazing how fast she gets around on it.
The Mini Micro has helped us embrace longer walks again as a family. We bring her scooter so she can zip around on that instead of begging to be carried. They’re small and easy to fit in your car too.
Mini Micro Scooter: 17,415 points or $129
2. High Speed Blender
Without a doubt, the high speed blender is the best thing we’ve packed for our road trip. They’re heavy and expensive, but so worth it.
Health is priority for me, especially travelling with a need for gluten-free food. Having this blender means I can start my day with a green smoothie and make all sorts of goodies like raw caramel slice, chocolate balls and carrot soup.
I never want to travel without one again.
We use a Blendtec, but if I did it again, I think I would choose a Vitamix. (or I’m even considering a Thermomix.)
Vitamix High Speed Blender: 202,365 points or $1, 499.
3. Cold press juicer
A juicer matches perfectly with a high speed blender.
We have smoothies for breakfast and juices for lunch or a pick me up snack. It can be hard to get the nutrition you need when travelling; a slow press juicer makes ensures pure nutrients are soaking immediately into your blood.
I can’t get Savannah to drink them (that’s a whole other story) but Kalyra slurps them up, even the green ones.
Don’t forget to visit the local farmer’s markets to stock up on the fresh produce!
Kuvings whole Slow juicer: 84,915 points or $629
4. Packing cubes
I’m a terrible packer and organiser. I just throw stuff in and when I need to find something, my suitcase erupts and I get frustrated and cranky. Packing cells have saved my suitcase hell.
I have a cell for skirts/shorts, dresses, tops and underwear. I have them for the kids also. If I planned it better, I would have colour matched them to the different clothes styles as I often have to open each cell to find out what’s in there.
Packing cubes 3 pc set: 6,743 points or $49.95
5. Samsung Galaxy
A tablet is a lifesaver for travel with kids.
It gives them time to watch movies and play educational games and helps give us time out when we need it. It’s also been very helpful for Kalyra’s schoolwork and she loves to film her own videos and take photos on it.
We recently added an iPad into the mix to stop them fighting over it. But, I’m not an Apple fan at all so much prefer the Samsung Galaxy.
Samsung Galaxy 10: 80,865 points or $599
6. Ugg boots
My UGGies have been the best!!
They saved me during our time in Tasmania and Victoria when it was cold, despite being summer. I can’t tell you how much I love wearing them. Yes! I’m a true bogan and wear them out during the day as well. They were also a lifesaver on our recent trip to the White House!
David Jones don’t stock the brand UGG boots, but here is an alternative.
Emu Sheepskin boot: 24,293 points or $179.95
7. Heater and Fan
It didn’t take us long before we realised we needed some heating in the van of a night.
Since travelling the Top End we haven’t had to use it much, but it was a lifesaver on those freezing early mornings in some places. There’s nothing like getting out of a bed to a toasty warm camper trailer.
In some places in Australia a fan is completely useless. There’s just nothing you can do to cool down that intense heat! But, it’s better than sitting in hot, stagnant air. The fan has offered us a lot of relief.
Sunbeam ceramic fan heater: 10,118 points or $74.95
8. Nespresso Coffee machine
Now, we didn’t actually have a coffee machine on our road trip, but if I did the trip again I would definitely pack one.
Friends of ours had a Nespresso machine and they saved a ton of money making their own coffee each morning. They often made one for us too!
We are addicted to cappuccinos and have one almost every day. Ouch. In Australia, that’s a lot of money wasted on coffee. If you have the same addiction, find room for a good coffee machine on your road trip list.
I’d prefer a proper espresso machine, but I think for a road trip they are too big and expensive. (or buy one and then sell coffee to everyone in the camp ground and make your money back!)
Breville Nespresso: 45, 765 points or $339
[stripe text=”Shop with Points giveaway”]
Woop Woop. Time for one of you to go on a shopping spree at DavidJones.com.au
We’ve got $740 to give away, equivalent to 100,000 Membership Rewards points, to use online at David Jones.
How to enter:
- Have a browse on the DavidJones.com.au for an item you’d love to have on your next adventure.
- Check out how many Membership Rewards points your must-have items costs. To find the Membership Rewards points value of each product, simply select the item you want at davidjones.com.au, go to product page and scroll down to the “Shop with Points” dropdown menu. If you’re buying an item that gives you a choice of colour or size, you’ll have to choose those options first. Go ahead and explore
- Simply tell us in the comments:
If you had 100,000 Membership Rewards points to use online at David Jones, what would you love to get for your next travel adventure, and why you think it would make it better? Be sure to include the items’ cost in Membership Rewards points!
I’m looking forward to learning some great ideas from you for some must have travel items!
Terms and Conditions
- Giveaway closes March 29 2015 at 11:59pm AEST
- The winner will receive a promo code with the value of $740.74 to spend online at davidjones.com.au
- The winner will be contacted by email so please be sure to include it in your comment
- Winner’s promo code is available to use until 15 July 2015
- Only open to Australian residents aged 18 years and older
- Only American Express Primary Card Members enrolled in the Membership Rewards program are eligible to enter, including the David Jones American Express and David Jones American Express Platinum Cards
- Excludes the David Jones Storecard, David Jones American Express Card Members enrolled in the Qantas Frequent Flyer program, Qantas American Express Cards, Velocity American Express Cards, Low Rate Card, Bank Issued American Express Cards and all Supplementary Card Members.
- Winner will be judged by a third party based upon originality and creativity
- See full terms & Conditions at http://bit.ly/ytravelSWP
This content was created as part of my involvement with American Express for the Membership Rewards program.
