How to go to Italy and do all of the things without breaking the bank Update 2/20/18: There is still no minimum spending requirement for the Barclaycard AAdvantage® Aviator Red World Elite MasterCard discussed below. All you have to do is make one purchase. That means you can buy a pack of gum and then … Continue reading How we flew to Italy for (almost) free… and you can too!
I hate to start a post with such negativity, but we need to talk about cash back cards. Frankly, I just do not have many nice things to say about these cards. I'll try to dig deep and list some positive things about cash back cards, but don't expect too much! Most credit cards that … Continue reading My beef with cash back credit cards
I wanted to explain the differences between all of the types of credit cards and award currencies that I discuss on this blog. This is something that tends to be confusing for those who are new to award travel, so I hope this helps to clarify. Most credit cards that earn points/miles that you can … Continue reading 4 different types of travel reward credit cards
Don't make the rookie mistake of opening the wrong credit cards If you've been thinking about opening a credit card (or two, or three) to book an awesome trip, you've come to the right place! So, let's say you live in Atlanta. Atlanta is a Delta hub. As a result, you're most likely to … Continue reading Don’t make this rookie mistake!
The Starwood, Marriott, and Ritz-Carlton programs will be combined into one program on August 1, 2018. I wanted to expand on one of the changes mentioned in my post about what we know so far. My favorite credit card is devaluing in August Starwood Preferred Guest has been my favorite hotel loyalty program since the beginning … Continue reading My favorite credit card is devaluing in August
Not all points and miles are equal There are two sides to award travel: earning points and redeeming points. Just like with money, the goal is to earn more and spend (redeem) less. But it's not quite as simple as it sounds, because not all points and miles have the same value. It helps to … Continue reading Not all points and miles are equal
For the past 5 years, Starwood Preferred Guest has been my favorite hotel loyalty program. In addition to great redemption opportunities for free hotel stays, the program also has great airline transfer partners to which you can transfer points at a 1:1 ratio and with a potential for a bonus. In 2016, Marriott acquired SPG. … Continue reading Update: Overview of the new SPG and Marriott program (2018)
Long time, no see! I apologize for the hiatus. I've actually had a few posts in the queue for a while, but some changes have happened/are happening in the miles and points world-don't worry, travel hacking isn't dying!-but lots of things needed to be edited or just completely rewritten. In case you can't tell, brevity … Continue reading Catching up (April 2018)
How I booked 7 plane tickets to Hawaii's Big Island for $11 each Last year, we decided to book a family trip to the Big Island for January 2018. We chose the Big Island because besides being beautiful, there are plenty of activities and things to do! In this post I will explain how I … Continue reading How to book the cheapest plane tickets to Hawaii (2018)
Advice for flying with twin babies (or multiple young children) Traveling with a baby is hard. Traveling with 2 babies (and for us, another child) may seem impossible, but I promise if we can do it, you can do it. Our twins just turned 2 (no more free flights for them as lap infants!) and … Continue reading Flying with twins as lap infants (2018)
You can save money on hotels and flights by purchasing Starpoints at a discount! Starwood is one of my favorite loyalty programs. SPG is unique because unlike most hotel loyalty programs, you can transfer points to several airlines at a 1:1 ratio. So in addition to using Starpoints to book hotels, you can also use them … Continue reading Should I buy Starpoints at a 35% discount?