Many people have left their hearts in San Francisco, myself included. Having lived in Humbolt County, California for years, San Francisco, the city on the bay, was a frequent destination for me.  Let’s see how you can enjoy visiting San Francisco on points.     Getting There San Francisco Airport is an international airport so […]

It’s time for a review of the American Express® Gold Card. Unsurprisingly, I am a fan of American Express charge cards. Charge cards differ from credit cards because they require the statement balance to be paid off each month.  American Express charge cards are usually easy to be approved for (but require excellent credit), offer […]

One of the major airlines in the United States is American Airlines. Today, we are going to go over the credit cards that can earn you American Airlines miles. Citi Bank offers four great credit cards that will give you great bonus miles when you apply, get approved, and complete the minimum spend. Barclays also […]

  One of the United States’ major airlines is American Airlines. Let’s have a 101 tutorial on the credit cards that will let you travel on American Airlines with free miles. Citi Bank offers four great credit cards that will give you great bonus miles when you apply, get approved,  and complete minimum spend. Barclays […]

So many credit cards, so many types of reward points! It can get confusing, can’t it? Ultimate Rewards, American Express Rewards, Citi ThankYou Points, Marriott Bonvoy Rewards, Delta SkyMiles, etc., etc., etc. It’s hard to keep up with all the different types of reward points! Although it can get confusing, the good news is that […]

Our latest Reader’s Success Story comes from Valerie, who used points for a family trip to Dallas, Texas. They could take seven, yes seven, family members there for free! Here are her words: Years ago, my husband worked at Chase Bank and started understanding the beauty of credit card points. We opened both the card_name […]

One of the most asked-about itineraries we keep hearing about is an Oregon Coast road trip. Traveling the Oregon coast is a spectacular experience. Having lived near the Oregon coast, in Arcata, California, for 40 years, I have traveled to many of these places, many times. It is a gorgeous drive and definitely worth a […]

Not every family wants to travel internationally, so we want to share some ideas for family trips to parts of our own country. Our first trip is a family trip to Mount Rushmore and parts of South Dakota that I recently took and thoroughly enjoyed.  Who knew that South Dakota was so beautiful? I had […]

Our newest reader success story comes from Tara who is a recent convert to points/miles.  We love that she has already signed up for a couple of credit cards and sees the value of getting more cards. That’s the way to increase your points – keep those signups coming! We try to always have a […]

Our latest reader’s success story is from Azar who is using credit card points to make memories. Azar is a relative newcomer to points and milesbut she is really on the fast track! She used credit card points to make a trip to her sister-in-law’s shower possible with points. Azar is a great example of […]

What is your favorite place to travel to in the wintertime? I have one requirement – someplace warm!  A friend and I do an annual girls’ trip every winter, and our destination is any place warm. We went to Vietnam last year and to Thailand the year before. This year, it was Costa Rica, and, […]

Our latest reader success story comes from Mimi who was also the winner of our random drawing for reader success stories! She told us how she used points to get to California. We loved all your stories and know you can learn from each other about using points. Because of this, we will be including […]

One of my favorite trips using points and miles was one that I took to Thailand. Thailand had long been on my list of trips to take, and it did not disappoint!  Thailand was one of my very first trips that took with points/miles. It is a magical land of temples, elephants, Thai food, longtail […]

I have been doing some serious travel hacking for about three years and have amassed a lot of points. I have primarily used them when I travel abroad so I can fly business class – love those lie-flat seats!  Recently I went to Vietnam on award points – free/almost free trips are the best!! The best part […]

Have you ever wanted to visit the island of Puerto Rico? Do you wonder what you will do once you get to San Juan, Puerto Rico? Today, I am sharing all the fun things to do in Puerto Rico and how you can go and stay for free with credit card points! Recently, my sister […]

Are you planning a trip to the beautiful island of Kauai?  I have been going to Kauai every other year for over 30 years. This last trip we took two of our granddaughters and loved spending that time with them! Of course, we used some points and miles to get there! Now I may not […]

Have you ever thought about buying a timeshare? Are timeshares worth it and is it a good investment for you? I am not an expert on timeshares but I am the owner of four timeshares. One is in Utah and three are on the islands of Hawaii: Kauai, Maui, and in Kona, on the Big […]

  Hotel cards are a major part of our travel hacking plan.  Not only can we stay for free, with elite status, but we can also often get breakfast for free!  Free travel, free lodging, free breakfast, and sometimes a room upgrade – that is a travel point and miles user’s dream! Here’s the current […]

If you ever go to Istanbul, one of the things you have to do is have a Turkish Hammam or bath.  My daughter, Lindsey, and I were in Istanbul and put it on our must-do list.  Luckily, we called the second day we were there to get reservations.  Our first choice had no options until […]

My daughter Lindsey lives in London.  Often, when I go visit her, we take off for a few days to visit another part of the world because London is so centrally located to the rest of Europe.  She has always wanted to visit Istanbul, Turkey, so I used award points to make that happen. You […]

I am a bit of a travel addict but I started very late in life so I have a lot of destinations to get in now!  I am filled with envy at those who started young.  Traveling after high school, living in hostels, or backpacking the world sounds amazing!  At my age though, I prefer […]