I love Southern California. My family always traveled there when I was younger, so I have wonderful memories of the beaches, amusement parks, and great weather. When Alex invited my husband and I to join them on their Spring Break vacation to Southern California, we were all in. Carlsbad, California, on points and miles, was […]

With the recent Hyatt award chart changes, the Hyatt Place Kyoto is one of the hotels making a rare downgrade in a category. It was previously a Category 3 Hyatt hotel, but as of March 26, 2024, it is a Category 2. This makes standard nights only 8k points per night! While traveling during the […]

Tokyo was the last city we visited on our 2.5 week family trip to South Korea and Japan. There are so many hotels in Tokyo that it was difficult to narrow down where our family of 5 would stay for our three nights. Pam and Jess had previously stayed at the Andaz Tokyo Toranomon Hills […]

Seoul, South Korea was the first stop of our family of five’s 2.5 week trip to South Korea and Japan. I originally booked two rooms at the Holiday Inn Express Seoul Hongdae with IHG points. However, after realizing we would want more comfort for our first few nights in Asia while we adjust to the […]

Our original plan for this trip was only to visit Japan. However, we were going to be visiting Japan during the Hanami Season – the Japanese art of springtime flower watching, aka Sakura or Cherry Blossom season. This is one of the busiest tourist seasons of the year in Japan. Finding five award flights (even […]

Like most of our readers, I usually pick our next trip destination and then plan and book everything for our family. I’m lucky that my husband is always up for whatever big plans I have for us, but I still occasionally ask if he has any ideas or requests. When I asked him what his […]

Laura shares her reader success story with us today – a winter escape to Arizona. I was raised in Arizona, and there is no better place to go to in winter! Here are all the details of her escape: Recently, my family just returned from a great winter escape to the Phoenix/Scottsdale area.  We flew […]

We just returned from Huntington Beach and Disneyland on points and miles. This time, we took another squad with us—five of the cutest, confident cousins who let us tag along on their adventures and pick up the bill. They range in age from eight to twelve, and all of them remind us that they are […]

We use points and miles for a lot of luxury trips, family vacations, and more. Another great way to use points is to visit family. In fact, that’s what got Jess into points and miles…being able to visit family for less. In this reader success story,  Amanda shares how she used points and miles to […]

Our latest reader success story is close to my heart as Lysandra and her family hotel-hopped in Cancun, Mexico.  Here is her report: I wanted to give a review of our recent points trip to Cancun as a family of 5 for winter break 2023. Our girls are 7 and 10, and our son is […]

Family hotels in Europe are harder to find than in the United States because they have stricter room occupancy limits. This is regularly a thorn in the side for many of our readers who travel with their families on credit card points and miles. Who really wants to split a family up into two or […]

It may seem too good to be true when we show you how to take a nearly free vacation on points and miles. However, we have hundreds of stories of readers who have also used credit card points and miles for nearly free travel. This proves that ANYONE can do this—even YOU! Here is a […]

Alex and I recently took her second son, Cruz, on his 10-year-old birthday trip to San Antonio. This trip became a tradition after we took her son, Eli, to Washington, DC. The ability to start fun traditions like this is made possible by points and miles and something that I always look forward to. The […]

Creating family memories is what we are all about. Recently, I had the pleasure of making those memories with three generations in Cabo on points/miles. Initially, my daughter Kasey and I had decided to go to Cabo and use points to stay at two different hotels—The Cape and the Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal. At […]

I originally found Jess through a viral real.  I was a lurker for some time, thinking, “why in the world would people pay an annual fee on a credit card when there are free ones?”  Finally, I said YOLO and used Jess’s link to sign up for the Chase Sapphire Preferred.  We met the spend […]

Hailey’s new mom reader success story is a brief but oh-so-sweet story that we just HAD to share it with you. Being moms ourselves, we can totally relate to the struggle of wanting to be with your young children and also wanting to travel. In today’s world, that can be next to impossible on one […]

Two summers ago, our family of five embarked on a huge Midwest national parks road trip. We started off in New York state in our minivan with three kids. We drove through 15 states and visited six National Parks—for a grand total of about 4,500 miles. Twelve of our 15 hotel nights were on points […]

Alexa is sharing her family backpacking trip to Ecuador with us today, which included using some credit card points and miles. Here is her story: I have been listening to your podcast for several months and really enjoying the rapport you have with each other and the great information that you share. Here is a […]

Scottsdale, Arizona is known for its beautiful weather, with over 300 days of sunshine each year. This makes it a great destination for outdoor activities such as hiking, biking, and golfing. Scottsdale offers a perfect blend of outdoor activities, family-friendly attractions, art and culture, and relaxation options, making it an ideal destination for a family […]

2023 was another year full of earning and redeeming points and miles for nearly free travel! This year we took more family trips than we have ever before. It was a great year full of making great memories! Here’s Alex’s 2023 Points/Miles Recap! Alex’s 2023 Points/Miles Recap February The first trip in my 2023 Points/Miles […]

Yosemite National Park beckons families with an irresistible blend of awe-inspiring natural wonders and a wealth of outdoor adventures, making it a perfect destination for an unforgettable family vacation. With an enchanting realm of towering waterfalls, towering cliffs, and ancient forests, Yosemite offers a unique opportunity for families to connect with nature on a grand […]