Category: strategy

  • The Hyatt Family Plan discount: how to book it and save

    I grew up in a family of five, and on road trips (which were most of the kinds of trips we took), we all just stayed in one hotel or motel room. Three kids = two kids in a bed and one on a rollaway, most times. If your experience is similar, you might be…

  • When you need to book award trips: some guidelines

    It’s January and I’m seeing lots of posts online in award-travel groups about people wanting to book trips on points for spring break to Hawaii and Europe in July … this year.  I mean … I guess it’s possible? But that’s not likely to happen unless you get extremely, extremely lucky. For popular destinations or popular times…

  • What does Alaska Airlines’ acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines mean for you?

    If you haven’t already heard the big news that was announced a few days ago, Alaska Airlines is going to be buying Hawaiian Airlines for about $1.9 billion. So if you’re like me, the first question on your mind was what that means for award travelers. (I also wondered about whether they’ll have a new…

  • It’s Companion Pass Season! Let’s gooooooooo!

    If you’ve been patiently waiting until mid-to-late October to apply for your first of two cards to earn the coveted, incredibly valuable, easy to use, unlimited-for-nearly-two-years Southwest Companion Pass, it’s time! Applying between now and early November will get you started on a solid timeline to open two Southwest credit cards before the end of…

  • All About the Southwest Companion Pass

    There’s no better deal in the points-and-miles world than getting the Southwest Airlines Companion Pass if you do a lot of travel within the US, the Caribbean, and Central America. The Companion Pass allows a companion to travel with you for free (plus taxes/fees) on any flight you take on Southwest, whether you pay for…

  • Earn a free Hyatt night without having a Hyatt card

    When you have a Chase World of Hyatt personal credit card, you earn a free Category 1-4 award night every year on your card anniversary when you keep the card open. This is a great benefit because you can easily redeem these free nights for a stay at a property where rooms go for $200+…

  • Whoomp! (There’s Your Referral Bonus)

    When you have a travel partner, whether they be your spouse, significant other, sister, parent—whoever else you can rope into earning miles and points—you should be thinking about these guys: The ’90s are back, baby! And you need to have Tag Team on your miles-and-points mind like it’s 1993 all over again. Banks offer referral…

  • Why you should hardly ever transfer Ultimate Rewards points to IHG or Marriott

    IHG and Marriott are transfer partners with Chase’s Ultimate Rewards program, which means you can transfer your Ultimate Rewards points to both of those hotel programs and use the hotel points for free stays. But my best advice to you is that you should basically never do this. Why? You’ll get way, way more value…

  • Travel With Miles and Points Intro Series: The Best Cards for Most Beginners (Part 3)

    This post lays out my best strategic suggestions for great cards that someone just getting started with miles and points will likely want to get and why. If you are itching to get started and want a quick and simple guide about what cards to start with and in what order, this is for you.…

  • When and how you should pay with points even when you don’t actually have any points to pay with

    Hotel and airline programs sometimes run sales on bonus points or miles. Sometimes you’ll see a 50% bonus on purchased miles, or a 100% bonus on purchased points. So why would someone buy points or miles in the first place when you can just earn them (for close to free) through a credit-card bonus? And…