Most people think Wyndham is just Super 8 and Days Inn. It might be the most underrated family travel program in the entire points and miles world. Here is the reason: Wyndham Rewards uses flat pricing instead of the dynamic pricing that most hotel programs have moved to, and one flat price covers the whole […]

Understanding how IHG One Rewards works, from earning points to redeeming them for free hotel nights, can completely change how much you spend on travel. IHG is one of the easiest hotel loyalty programs to book with points, with everything from Holiday Inn to Kimpton and InterContinental under one roof. In this guide I will […]

June is a great month to take action on your points and miles strategy. Whether you’re looking to earn a big welcome bonus or squeeze more value out of the points you already have, there’s a lot to work with this month. Here’s everything you need to know. The Best Credit Card Offers This Month […]

If you’ve ever wondered how we: • Flew to Rome for $6 in taxes• Booked flights to Roatán for $6 per person• Used Wyndham for 15,000-point family rooms in Cusco• Booked Europe hotel stays for 15K–30K per night The answer is simple: Transfer partners. But you can only unlock that power if you have the […]

Every once in a while, a program comes along that sounds almost too good to be true. Earn points on rent.Earn points on your mortgage.No fee. That’s exactly why Bilt gets so much attention. But like most things in personal finance, the headline is only part of the story. This post walks through what Bilt […]

There’s a lot of noise online about the “best” card or the “perfect” setup. But real families don’t live in perfect spreadsheets. We’re paying mortgages.Helping kids with college housing.Buying groceries.Trying to plan one meaningful trip a year — not fly every weekend. So instead of chasing one magical card, many families do better with a […]

If you’ve been hanging around the points and miles world lately, you know Bilt has been busy. And their latest update might be my favorite one yet — because it gives everyday shoppers a brand-new way to earn Bilt points without needing a Bilt credit card. Yep, you can now transfer your Rakuten earnings into […]

Sometimes the best trips don’t go exactly as planned. When we landed in Oakland, our original plan was to drive straight to Yosemite National Park — but a record-breaking snowstorm had other ideas. Roads were closed, the park had no electricity, and all we could do was pivot. So we pointed the car toward the […]

After a few action-packed days exploring San Francisco, we slowed things down for the most peaceful stretch of our California road trip — three nights in Monterey and Carmel-by-the-Sea. This was the midpoint between the big-city buzz up north and the theme-park energy waiting for us down south. It ended up being our favorite part […]

If you’ve been ignoring Alaska Airlines because you don’t live near an Alaska hub, or because you’re a Chase family and Alaska felt like a separate universe, this is the post where I change your mind. Alaska’s loyalty program got a whole new identity. In October 2025, Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines combined their programs into […]