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    Dreaming of a trip Down Under? What if you could stay at luxury hotels for $0? I recently returned from a trip to Australia, where my stepdaughter and I spent five nights in wonderful Melbourne. We took a page out of Pam’s book and did some hotel hopping while we were there, too. Here’s how […]

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    My husband, daughter, and I recently took a road trip from Houston to Chicago. There are so many hotels from every brand imaginable in Chicago, so when we decided to stay downtown for four nights, I had quite a difficult decision to make. Ultimately, I decided on the Thompson Chicago. Here’s what we thought in […]

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    When it comes to Hawaii, you really can’t go wrong. But on a recent trip to Maui with my 9-year-old daughter, we decided to stay three nights at the Hyatt Regency Maui followed by three nights at the Andaz Maui. I guess Pam is rubbing off on me with her hotel hopping! Here’s how the […]

    White hotel with blue water in front of it

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    We’ve talked about how we keep our hotel credit cards that come with free night certificates each year because we can book a room for at least double the annual fee. Our hotel cards are credit cards for which we don’t mind paying an annual fee. Let’s go over booking with free annual night hotel […]

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    IHG has dynamic pricing which means that as the cash price increases, so does the points price. While we prefer the predictability of an award chart, the nice thing about IHG is that if the points price decreases, you can modify your booking and get points back! It’s basically like re-booking flights on Southwest Airlines […]

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    My family recently returned from a trip to the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach.  This place has been on my radar ever since my mom, Jess, and I went on a 2-night work trip here back in August of 2022. The resort was just as great as I remembered, and I am happy to report it […]

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    When Chase increased the welcome offers on two of their Ink business cards, I knew we needed to apply for at least one of them. I’m still in the midst of working towards the Southwest Companion Pass for 2023-24, so I had my husband apply for the Chase Ink Unlimited card. Not only did Chase increase […]

    outdoor bathtub

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    Small Luxury Hotels of the World is a group of 520 hotels in more than 90 countries that are independently owned and luxury-minded. If staying in a chain hotel isn’t your thing, and you like a unique experience, these hotels can be perfect! They are smaller than chain hotels, averaging about 50 rooms, and offer […]

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    Hyatt Globalist status is the most coveted hotel status out there, and for good reason. While it normally takes 60 qualifying nights with Hyatt to reach it, I managed to earn it in 2022 without staying quite so many nights. Here’s how I did it…   First, a Recap First, let’s recap exactly what Globalist […]

    Large tower in center of many streets

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    Our trip to Paris on Points and Miles came about because I needed a destination for 5 days after taking a dream flight with Singapore Suites to Frankfurt. Now Frankfurt was not a planned destination at all. The goal was the Singapore Suites flight before needing to be in London on October 10th. Suites are […]

    Street in Paris

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    On our recent trip to Paris, Alex and I decided to do some hotel hopping to see what our favorite recommendations would be for our readers. Changing a hotel every one or two days may sound horrible to some of you, but we like to check them out. Here are the results of our Hyatt […]

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    Paris is a bucket list destination in and of itself. But add in a chance to stay at the Park Hyatt Paris, and I was counting down the days to our trip for months! If you can believe it, the stay was even more magical that I had imagined. Let’s dive into what makes the […]

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    I remember many years ago staying on the Big Island in a timeshare and visiting the Hilton Waikoloa Village Resort. I thought it was the coolest resort ever and vowed to stay there “someday”. That “someday” finally arrived and here is my Hilton Waikoloa Village Resort review – was I as awestruck as before?   […]

    White hotel with palm trees

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    Did you get the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless deal for five 50K certificates earlier this yer? Wondering how to use them? Well here is my Sheraton Maui Resort and Spa Review. I recently used two 50K certificates + 6,000 points each night to book it for two nights. This resort is especially nice for families although the […]

    hotel and palm trees at sunset

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    Alex and I both recently stayed at the Marriott Wailea Beach Resort in Maui. We missed each other’s stays by 2 days and it was on purpose. She has crafted the greatest travel hack of all time – having a mom come babysit so she and Mitch can get away! So, I watched her four active […]

    Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach

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    Hyatt Globalist is Hyatt’s highest elite status and one that offers great benefits. Having a family member or friend with Globalist status can be a bonus due to the Hyatt Guest of Honor Booking. These guest of honor bookings can be made by someone with Globalist status on your behalf and you can then enjoy […]

    Hyatt regency Maui couple

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    Every year Hyatt seems to have an offer for a fast track to Hyatt Globalist Status. It might be corporate-sponsored like Jess just completed or a public announcement, or you can call and ask for a fast-track challenge like I did. This is how it works. Enroll in the program Stay at a Hyatt and […]

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    One of the biggest struggles when it comes to traveling to Europe as a family is the room occupancy limits at hotels in many cities. But what if you could get 50% off the standard rate of the second room? We did just that on a recent trip to London using the Hyatt Family Plan rate. […]

    Boats in blue water

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    I just saw a deal about purchasing IHG points with a 100% bonus. I have to say, that usually, purchasing points doesn’t make sense. We talked about purchasing points in a previous post but I’m wondering, does it make sense this time? I’m working on a $15,000 minimum spend on an American Express Platinum Business […]

    Swimming pool surrounded by palm trees

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    I love my hotel credit cards and keep them year after year due to the free annual night certificates I get when I renew them. Recently, I had a Marriott 50K annual certificate that I needed to use in a couple of months. I was already meeting my sister and stepmother in San Diego for […]

    Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach

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    The Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card is our favorite card for beginners. It also comes with a $95 annual fee which isn’t bad. One of the benefits you get with this card is an annual $50 hotel credit which brings the annual fee down to $45. But how do you use the Chase Sapphire Hotel […]

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