One of the frequent questions we get asked is, “Should I use miles/points or cash to book a trip?” Obviously, this depends a lot on your individual circumstances and what you want to do with your points. Ask yourself some of the following questions: Can I afford to pay for the flight and just get […]

We have a lot of people wanting to go to Japan (myself include) and it is reopening (finally) on October 11th. It is definitely on my radar and I’ve been wanting to plan a trip there soon. So, basically, this post is as much for me and my research as it is for our readers. […]

I remember many years ago staying on the Big Island in a timeshare and visiting the Hilton Waikoloa Village Resort. I thought it was the coolest resort ever and vowed to stay there “someday”. That “someday” finally arrived and here is my Hilton Waikoloa Village Resort review – was I as awestruck as before?   […]

After completing my sister’s trip to Maui, I visited the Big Island on points/miles. I had flown over to Maui using the Turkish Airlines great deal for 15K roundtrip. I added the Big Island portion of my trip after I had already booked my flight home from Maui. Since I wasn’t flying home from Maui, I lost […]

Everyone loves to use credit card points and miles for a stay in Hawaii so here is my Sheraton Maui Resort and Spa review. I recently used two 50K certificates + 6,000 points each night to book it for two nights. This resort is especially nice for families although the rooms have two doubles instead […]

Alex and I love the Marriott Wailea Beach Resort in Maui. Once we missed each other’s stays by 2 days and it was on purpose. She has crafted the greatest travel tip of all time – having a mom come babysit so she and Mitch can get away! So, I watched her four active boys (we […]

Every year my sister and I do a fall trip together. Last year was our epic Greece and Italy trip, but we stayed closer to home this year. Previous trips include one to Puerto Rico and one to Puerto Vallarta. We did our sister’s trip to Maui this year for less than $600 in hotel […]

If we had to say where most of our readers want to go with credit card points and miles, it would be Hawaii. And we get it, Hawaii is a dream destination. We’ve used a fair share of award redemptions ourselves for Maui and Kauai. Which are the best credit cards for a Hawaii trip […]

Our latest reader success story comes from Jennifer who is a pretty new points and miles user. She prefaced her trip report by apologizing for it not being a “glamorous” redemption. We love that using credit card points and miles is for everyone in different stages of their life. We repeatedly tell people not to […]

We love our credit cards for the points/miles we earn for free to nearly free travel. We also enjoy all the benefits each card offers us that make the annual fee worth paying year after year. Did you know that some credit cards come with cell phone protection? Let’s go over these as the cost […]

When booking award travel, it’s not always about luxury. You will see each of us book a lot of luxury travel. We like luxury hotels and business class seats of course and spend a fair share of our time with luxury travel. We have been doing this for about 5 years and continually are opening […]

Our reader success story today is from Azar who took her family to Maui, Kauai, and San Diego with points and miles. Here is her story: Our family took an epic family trip to Hawaii in July/August of 2021.  We are from Massachusetts, so we flew from Manchester, New Hampshire to San Diego. We spent […]

I seldom book in the travel portals, preferring to transfer points and miles and book directly with an airline or hotel. You may wonder why and so here are my 3 reasons why I seldom book in the travel portals.   Cancellations/Changes Difficult Because you are working with a third party, it is much harder […]

Flexibility is key. In fact, it is everything with using credit card points and miles. If you need to go to a wedding in Paris during the summer and have to have business class seats for flights on June 2-7 it could be hard. Especially if it is now April 4th and you want to […]

Using points and miles for a Maui trip is something we do quite often. This particular trip is one that my husband and I do each year with our grandchildren. A few years ago we decided to take a couple of grandchildren to Hawaii with us for a week every year. We have a few […]

We love apps to help keep us organized with our points and miles. Travel Freely is our #1 favorite free app and it keeps us on track with our 5/24 status, when annual fees are due, and if we are meeting our sign-up bonuses. We also love Award Wallet to keep track of our point […]

For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply. The $395 annual fee for the card_name is a no-brainer. I know that many people hate to pay […]

Our latest reader success story is by Carolina. She and her husband took their four children to Maui thanks to points and miles. Here is her story! We just went on a family vacation to Maui. We have four kids and I originally booked two nights at the Hyatt Regency Maui  (which included two beds and […]

Do I Really Need to Worry About the Chase 5/24 Rule? We get asked this question a lot. I would say that when you begin using credit card points and miles for travel, I would consider this rule. I know that when I started in the world of points and miles, I didn’t,  so I […]

Every year Hyatt seems to have an offer for a fast track to Hyatt Globalist Status. It might be corporate-sponsored like Jess just completed or a public announcement, or you can call and ask for a fast-track challenge like I did. This is how it works. Enroll in the program Stay at a Hyatt and […]

  When I travel, I look forward to the journey to get there almost as much as the destination itself. Well, maybe not THAT much but I do enjoy it. When you travel with points and miles and fly business class and use airport lounges, the journey can be part of the whole experience that […]