This post is sponsored by IHG Hotels & Resorts. All reviews and opinions in this post are based on my personal views. IHG Hotels & Resorts launched their global loyalty program, IHG One Rewards, in April 2022.  With those changes, they added a new Gold Elite tier, renamed Spire Elite to Diamond Elite, and increased […]

One of the easiest ways to get a Hyatt free night is by getting a Hyatt Brand Explorer Award. Seriously, so easy. Hyatt hotels have many brands of hotels, including:   That is a grand total of 19 brands. To be honest, I am not at all familiar with a few. Hyatt knows this and […]

I recently returned home from a dream vacation to the Maldives. One of the many incredible aspects of this trip was our flight home in Qatar Airways Qsuite. Qatar is said to be the best airline in the world along with their Qsuite being the best business class in the world! I used American Airlines miles […]

I just completed one of my bucket list destinations using points and miles for a portion of it. Africa and Zanzibar on points and miles was an absolute dream! While we had purchased our safari on Travelzoo with cash, the flights, hotel in Arusha, and all of Zanzibar was done with points and miles. Here […]

Without points and miles, I would be reduced to being a budget traveler most of the time. Because of points and miles, I can be bougie on a budget. Points and miles have let me have some experiences I NEVER thought possible!   Lay-flat Seats I remember those days that I walked past people who […]

It’s no secret that I am a fan of IHG credit cards. They have given me great value internationally in Dubai and Vietnam. In both of those places, I got suite upgrades! I have also used IHG points to stay at beautiful Kimpton hotels in the USA. Redeeming IHG points at hotels like Holiday Inn […]

One of my “have to” purchases is gas and we spend a lot of money on fueling the cars in our household. If we have to pay a lot to use our cars, let’s at least get rewarded for it! Here are the best credit cards to use when paying for gas! Citi Premier Strata℠ […]

After watching Alex’s incredible trip to the Maldives, the number one question we keep getting asked is, “Which are the best cards for flights to the Maldives?” Let’s go over them!   American Airlines Credit Cards   The credit cards that give American Airlines miles have long been a favorite for booking on Qatar Airways […]

Our Christmas this year was weird. For the first time ever, my husband and I spent it without children and grandchildren. One family wanted us to go to Mexico with them but I was having back surgery soon so we decided not to go there. Another family got COVID 2 days before we were to […]

We love using points for hotel stays when we go on vacations. Using them for a staycation is another great use of our points, particularly using a free hotel certificate. Recently, it was my daughter’s birthday, who lives two hours away, so another daughter and I arranged to meet her in Denver for a girl’s […]

We get a lot of comments from our readers that they don’t want to pay a high annual fee for their credit cards. It’s important to understand that it is ALWAYS worth paying an annual fee the first year when you get the high welcome offer. It’s kind of like paying a discount for free […]

Prior to Covid, my husband and I had booked a tour to Machu Picchu. This got canceled and rescheduled for this fall. Although most of our hotels were with the group, our flights and some hotel stays were made with points and miles. I’ll add a few more possible hotels that are available as we […]

We can all agree on one thing. Earning points and miles is easier than booking award travel with points and miles. We all want the best deal possible and sometimes analysis paralysis keeps us from pulling the plug on a redemption. Let’s talk today about two different subscription providers that can help with that. Help […]

We love the bonus offers we get with all credit cards. There are so many different types of points though – airline, hotel, and, my personal favorite, transferable points. The most flexible credit card points are transferable points. There are several types of transferable points including: Chase Ultimate Rewards® American Express Membership Rewards® Citi ThankYou Points […]

For President’s Weekend 2022, my family and I escaped the cold winter and headed to sunny Scottsdale, Arizona. I have had my eye on the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Gainey Ranch for a while. I contacted the hotel to see if they would host my family. They agreed to host us for […]

Let’s talk about Delta Airlines and its credit cards. Personally, I really like Delta. Their seats are super comfortable, and I like to use them so I can use the Delta SkyClub Lounges! I get to visit Delta Sky Clubs almost anytime I fly Delta, thanks to The Platinum Card® from American Express.  Delta Airlines’ […]

We love our main four transferable points types of credit cards. Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou Points, and Capital One Venture Miles are all great ways to get free vacations. Can each of these transferable point credit cards get us to Hawaii?  Let’s check it out! Let’s see how many different […]

Here’s a reader’s success story that everyone wants to know about – the Maldives. And Turkey. And Paris. Three countries, one trip with points and miles! Unbelievable. Thanks for your submission Devan!   Devan’s Story Hi Alex + Pam, I wanted to submit a response about the redemption/trip that I recently went on! My partner and […]

Before you cancel a credit card, always call or chat with the issuer to see if you can get a retention offer for your credit card first. Often, banks don’t want to lose us as customers so they will give us a retention offer to entice us to keep their credit card for another year. […]

Have you noticed those “CLEAR” check-in stations near security at the airports? They are a way to make your airport check-in times go even faster and I’m all about that. Get me to my airport lounge! I have both CLEAR and Global Entry (which includes TSA PreCheck). This gets me through an airport security line […]

This post comes to us from our friend Jess over at Made Possible By Points. When Jess told me she was heading to Miraval Austin on points I asked her if she wanted to write a guest post about her stay. Visiting one of the Miraval resorts has been on both mine and my mom’s […]