Generally, hotels attached to airport terminals don’t excite me. There are a few exceptions. One is the Westin at Denver International and, more recently, the Grand Hyatt at SFO. I was pleasantly surprised by my recent stay at the Grand Hyatt at SFO. Alex, Jess, and I arrived at SFO too late to continue to our homes following our recent trip to Singapore and Malaysia. We opted to stay at the Grand Hyatt at SFO on Hyatt points for only 18k/night.  Alex and I stayed in a two-double room, and Jess had a king room. These were all upgraded to runway view rooms due to our Globalist status ..read more

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 in economy) to Tokyo was difficult when planning our trip. So, instead, I started running award searches for all the big airports somewhat nearby—Seoul, Taipei, Shanghai, Hong Kong, etc. Seoul ended up being our best option for flights, and when I found five Delta flights booked through A ..read more

Finally! The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card has a public sign-up bonus increase! We’ve been waiting for this! The Chase Sapphire Preferred is our absolute favorite card for beginners to start with for so many reasons: Great transfer partners Redeem points for 1.25 cents/point in the travel portal 5x points on travel purchased through Chase 2x points on all other travel purchases 3x points on dining, select streaming services, and online grocery purchases There is a low annual fee of $95 with a $50 hotel credit when booked in the travel portal         Redemption Ideas ..read more

Getting a hotel room upgrade is easier than you think. Sometimes, all you need to do is ask. Of course, it helps if you are celebrating a special occasion too. Honeymoons, birthdays, and anniversaries are all things that can help your cause. However, writing a nice letter asking for an upgrade or letting the general manager know that you have wanted to stay in their hotel for some time can also work. Here are some steps that will help you get a hotel upgrade without having hotel status: Google the name of the hotel’s general manager or send a request to reservations if you can’t find that inf ..read more

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 dream trip destination would be this time, he quickly answered that it was Japan. Japan has always been a special place for him. He lived there for a few years as a kid while his dad was stationed in Okinawa. Now that the girls are the age he was when he lived there, he was excited to share that experience with our f ..read more

Ever wonder how to tackle a family trip to Korea and Japan without breaking the bank? Buckle up because today’s episode is a real treat! Our very own Digital Business Manager, Megan, joins us to share her savvy strategies for a dream family vacation on a budget. Imagine flying your family halfway across the world and navigating foreign cities, all made significantly more affordable through the magic of points and miles. Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify Listen on YouTube Megan and her husband, parents to three adorable kids (including seven-year-old twins!), took the plunge and orches ..read more

When we planned our trip to Singapore, we decided to country-hop to Kuala Lumpur on points & miles, too. Kuala Lumpur is Malaysia’s capital city and is known for its iconic Petronas Twin Towers, bustling street markets, and delicious street food. We had heard great things about it – what were our thoughts?   Flights to Kuala Lumpur We flew Singapore Airlines to Kuala Lumpur on a quick one-hour flight. It was a little less than 13K Singapore KrisFlyer Miles plus $55 for roundtrip flights. We used our Priority Pass accounts to get into the SATS airport lounge before our flight. It has m ..read more

Our Reader Success Story: South Korea goes perfectly this week as we’ve been visiting Asia. We often get asked how to use points and miles for a trip to Korea, so we are so happy to present Katelyn’s story to you!   Katelyn’s Story Using Points/Miles in South Korea My name is Katelyn. I grew up traveling from a very young age and have been to more than 26 countries. I have always loved traveling. Relocating to Hong Kong at 3 years old opened our chances to travel more as a family. Later, I moved to London during my college years, during which I traveled Europe, and now I am in California ..read more

On our recent trip to Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, we found ourselves with six hours to spend at the Singapore airport before flying back to San Francisco. Luckily, Changi airport is the easiest airport to find things to do, so we had no problem filling our time. Here are some things to do at Singapore’s Changi Airport. We flew in from Kuala Lumpur six hours before our flight, and we could not check in until three hours prior. Our first stop at Changi Airport was The Jewel.   The Jewel The Jewel is a huge shopping mall at the airport filled with restaurants, shopping, activities, and so mu ..read more

On our return flight from Singapore, we flew business class which allowed us to check out Singapore’s KrisFlyer Business Class Lounge at Changi Airport. It is their flagship lounge, and it is massive! There are so many places to sit and work. I was very impressed. Considering how much I enjoy the airline, the fact that this was an amazing lounge should not have surprised me. It is located on the level above security in Terminal 3. To get to it, turn left and go up an escalator. Although it is a very large lounge, it was quite full. We first turned right to go into the lounge, which was the sma ..read more