Deciphering points and miles “code,” so to speak, can be a challenge!  “If you add your Player 2 as an AU, he’ll be at 5/24 and won’t get approved for a CIP and you’ll have a tough time racking up enough points to fly in J.”  Got that?  Translation:  If you add your spouse as […]

Many readers want to know more about airline transfer bonuses because these can really help your miles go further. A transfer bonus is when you transfer points from a flexible currency like Chase Ultimate Rewards®, American Express Membership Rewards®, Capital One Venture Miles, or Citi ThankYou® Points to a travel partner, and you receive a […]

Airport lounge access is one of my favorite benefits, and I get it with some of my credit cards. I usually try to arrive earlier than I normally would when I fly so I can visit a lounge, have a small meal, and unwind a little. It is such a nice perk! Time flies in […]

Have you ever returned from an international trip to be met with a huge immigration line? Ugh, that used to be the worst for me! But then I got Global Entry. I can now breeze through immigration no matter what U.S. city I land in. Once, upon returning from Turks and Caicos, our port of […]

Credit card points and miles misconceptions—everyone has them, and we hear about them daily. In an effort to teach and dispel these misconceptions, let’s go over some of them.   People Who Use Credit Cards are in Big Debt This could be true for some people who can’t control their spending. It certainly isn’t true […]

Are you a single parent? Or if you’re married, does it seem that all your joint income goes towards the necessities and that there is never enough left for traveling? Do you often think, “If only I could take my family on a vacation?” We hear you. With the costs of housing, groceries, healthcare, utilities, […]

You’ve worked hard to create that stockpile of points and miles and now you are wondering, “When do points and miles expire?” Let’s go over that!  If you know the rules, you can keep your points and miles from expiring pretty easily.   Transferable Credit Card Points Here’s a breakdown of when the most popular […]

One of the questions that beginner points enthusiasts ask the most is, “When is the best time to get a new credit card?” I really wish I had a magic ball that could foresee when a bonus is going to go higher so I could answer that question. I remember when I finally got under […]

One of the things our readers often have questions about are credit card retention offers.  A retention offer is when a card issuer offers something of value to you—usually a statement credit, an annual-fee waiver, or a points bonus for a certain amount of spending—if you decide to retain the credit card instead of canceling […]

We often get questions about whether or not someone who doesn’t spend much can get value from this hobby. Can low spenders travel with points and miles? Absolutely! Ideally, you want to be spending at least $1,000 a month on things you can put on a credit card to meet your minimum spending requirement, depending […]

I know you’ve seen all our business-class flights, and we might give the impression that that’s the goal of using credit card points and miles, or that we never fly in economy-class seats. Business class may work for us sometimes, but there are also several pros to flying in economy class using points and miles. […]

Waiting in lines is such a pain when traveling with a family (and let’s be honest, even when traveling alone). But if you take advantage of some of your credit card benefits, you can significantly reduce the time you spend in lines at the airport. Many popular credit cards offer statement credits for Global Entry […]

At the end of each year, we should all go over a miles-and-points checklist to make sure that we’ve used all of our credit-card benefits, to see where we stand with our annual free-night certificates, and to check that we’re on target to achieve any status milestones we have in mind. There are also a […]

We are so happy to share our two courses with you—Award Travel Academy and Award Travel Academy Next Level. When we started our points and miles journey years ago, we spent so much time, energy, and frustration trying to figure out the complicated world of points and miles. I would have LOVED a course to […]

We have some quick airport security tips to help your time in airports feel more enjoyable. We like to take advantage of some programs to get us through security faster. Three of the ways we do that are using our TSA PreCheck®, Global Entry, and CLEAR memberships. The really great thing is that we can […]

What type of traveler are you? Knowing the answer to this question can help you create a plan for traveling with points and miles that coincides with your travel goals. You want to travel on points and miles and you plan to open credit cards. You can’t wait to get bonus points.  But do you […]

One strategy for earning points and miles that I’ve long thought about is earning Chase Ultimate Rewards® as an endgame. In other words, I think that concentrating on earning Ultimate Rewards makes a lot of sense. They are by far my favorite points and I am constantly trying to earn more of them. I primarily […]

The Southwest® Companion Pass is among the best deals in the points and miles world.  Either my husband or I have had the Southwest Companion Pass off and on for the last seven years. When you earn the pass, you get to fly someone with you for free (minus taxes and fees starting at $5.60) […]

All of us here at Travel Mom Squad are huge supporters of Hyatt award stays. We love the oversized value we get with our award redemptions when we stay at one of their hotels. Their loyalty program may be the best in the business.  Today’s post is all about the Hyatt Loyalty Program. The Hyatt […]

Using an airport lounge before travel or during a layover really takes the sting out of traveling. And, yes, I’ve been known to get to the airport early to eat and relax in an airport lounge! Some may call me crazy, but I call it peaceful, easy traveling. Today, I want to talk about how […]

Our question of the week is, “How do I erase my Capital One purchases?” Capital One Venture Miles can primarily be redeemed in three different ways: Capital One Travel Portal Transfer Partners “Erase” travel purchases Let’s go over #3 today. First, you need to sign in to your Capital One account. Once you’re signed in, […]