Palm Springs is the perfect destination if you’re looking for a weekend getaway that’s equal parts relaxation and adventure. For more details, check out my saved highlights on IG @pointsandmilesteachers Flights / Transportation: Roundtrip Kansas City (MCI) to Palm Springs using our Southwest Companion Passes and points. The cost for the 4 of us to […]

Acadia National Park in fall is a bucket-list destination for families—think golden forests, crisp air, and views that stretch from the ocean to mountain peaks. Whether you’re hiking the Jordan Pond Path, watching waves crash at Thunder Hole, or catching the sunrise from Cadillac Mountain, this guide highlights the best things to do in Acadia […]

If you’ve ever dreamed of seeing the Pacific Northwest’s towering forests, misty beaches, and mountain peaks all in one trip — Olympic National Park delivers. My mom, my two kids, and I explored it as part of a 10-day semi–road trip through Washington, and it absolutely lived up to the hype. We flew into Seattle, […]

Rental cars can be an expensive part of travel. Some sites like Autoslash and companies like Costco and AAA offer discounted rates. The NEA is a teacher union that provides up to 30% discounts on rental cars. Your company or industry may have something similar. Using your Capital One Venture X card, you can also use […]

We recently returned from an epic road trip through Arizona and Utah. Along the way, we stopped at Zion, Bryce, and Grand Canyon National Parks, tons of little state parks, and National Forest spots near Sedona, and on our way back to Las Vegas to catch our flight, we made a pit stop at the […]

For my husband’s 40th, we took a four-night trip to Napa, where he drank his first-ever glass of wine! We spent two days winery hopping and took a day trip to Lake Tahoe.  Flights / Transportation: Roundtrip MCI to Oakland using my husband’s Southwest Companion Pass and points. The cost for the 2 of us to […]

This past May, my family of four went to Hawaii with my mom and aunt. We used points and miles to pay for our hotels, rental cars, and flights. It was an epic outdoor adventure! Flights / Transportation: I booked a set of one-way flights for this trip. We flew KC to Maui, Maui to Kona, […]