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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 […]

Blue water and palm trees and white church

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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 […]

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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 […]

Wooden bridge near water

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

Hyatt regency Maui couple

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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 […]

man relaxing with headphones on in airplane seat

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  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 […]

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We talk a lot about using transfer partners and one of these partners, Iberia Airlines, can get you to Europe for 34K miles one-way in business class. If Spain is your destination, then this is ideal for you. If another city in Europe is your destination you can still make this work by flying to […]

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One of the biggest struggles when it comes to traveling to Europe as a family is the room occupancy limits at hotels in many cities. But what if you could get 50% off the standard rate of the second room? We did just that on a recent trip to London using the Hyatt Family Plan rate. […]

Boats in blue water

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I just saw a deal about purchasing IHG points with a 100% bonus. I have to say, that usually, purchasing points doesn’t make sense. We talked about purchasing points in a previous post but I’m wondering, does it make sense this time? I’m working on a $15,000 minimum spend on The Business Platinum Card® from […]

Arched rock formation in blue water

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Our latest reader success story is one to Cabo and comes from Kim. She took a trip to Cabo with points and miles – here is her story! For as long as I can remember, I have always saved my Chase Preferred Sapphire credit card points from the one and only credit card I had. I thought I […]

Colorful buildings near blue water

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Our latest reader success story comes from Sierra and a trip she took to Belize. We know that many of our readers have dreams of a Caribbean vacation. We are so happy to give you this trip idea from Sierra! Sierra’s Story My husband and I used 36,900 Southwest Rapid Rewards to fly to Belize. […]

Swimming pool surrounded by palm trees

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I love my hotel credit cards and keep them year after year due to the free annual night certificates I get when I renew them. Recently, I had a Marriott 50K annual certificate that I needed to use in a couple of months. I was already meeting my sister and stepmother in San Diego for […]

Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach

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The card_name is our favorite card for beginners. It also comes with a $95 annual fee, which isn’t bad. One of the benefits of this card is an annual $50 hotel credit, which brings the annual fee down to $45. But how do you use the Sapphire Preferred hotel credit? First, you must book your […]

White sand surrounded by turquoise water

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If you’re looking for an all-inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic, the Hyatt Ziva and Zilara Cap Cana are great options. These resorts feature luxurious accommodations, top-notch service, and plenty of activities to keep you busy. We recently had the opportunity to stay at this property and here’s our review. (This review is written by […]

White pillar near water and pink blossoms on trees

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Recently, Alex and I used points and miles for a trip to Washington D.C. We took her eldest son, Eli, as part of his birthday celebration. Washington D.C. is a fascinating place to travel and Eli soaked up all the history and museum outings as well as being our solo male traveler throughout the trip. […]

man cutting up a credit card

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Maybe you’ve had a card for a while and you don’t ever use it, or you used to use this credit card but now you don’t feel the annual fee is worth it. Maybe you signed up for a credit card just for the signup bonus and never had the intention of keeping it beyond […]

Blue lifeguard station in front of pier at ocean

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If you are looking for a budget-friendly, fun beach vacation for your family, look no further than Oceanside, California. It is much more inexpensive than San Diego, Newport Beach, and Huntington Beach and just as much fun! Complete with miles of beach access, an occasional seal or dolphin, and a pier, it has fun for […]

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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.   Perhaps you’ve never worried about having travel protection. That’s often the case until you’ve needed it. My […]

Busy airport

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Oh, what a summer! Unless you have been living under a rock, you have heard about all the canceled and delayed flights this summer. When you pair massive throngs of travelers wanting to get out and see the world again with a transportation system that was scaled back because of COVID, chaos was waiting to […]

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Editorial Note: Opinions expressed here are author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.