From Points and Miles to Passports and Memories

Send us Fan MailToday I have a short and sweet episode on some quick and easy solutions if you have smaller amounts of points sitting in multiple places. Support the show

Send us Fan MailToday I go into some of the wins and some of the loses in public transportation, and lessons that we learned along the way. Support the show

Send us Fan MailToday I go through some options that a family of five could use to get to Rome in spring of 2026. I also take the time to go through a ton of credits and perks that they can utilize in the process to help offset their trip. Support the show

Send us Fan MailToday my daughter gets a chance to explain our adventures in Disneyland, Paris and some of the high points throughout the day.  We talk about some incredible rides and some of the high points of the day. Support the show

Send us Fan MailToday I go over some of the things that we did in our trip to Belgium, and some of the things that we just didn't have time for. This was our outdoor adventure and ropes course. https://en.sortilege.be/Support the show

Send us Fan MailToday I dive into some of the humorous and more serious problems that I have run into during this adventure into the world of points and miles. Support the show

Send us Fan MailToday I do a mock redemption on a trip to London, and also take the time to go into how changing plans to come home from a mystery city save huge amounts in taxes and fees on the return trip, and you get to see another place! Support the show

Send us Fan MailToday I go over ways that typical people might spend their points and miles and explain (again!) how I might go in and do the same thing in a transfer portal for less.  I explain how to get the real power out of points and miles and encourage new listeners to dive in! Support the show

Send us Fan MailToday I go over the many misconceptions in the points and miles world.  I review what people think that we do and go over what it is that we actually do in order to maximize points and take the trip. Support the show

Send us Fan MailPart of the trick in points and miles is strategically opening new cards that fit your family and your spend.  Today I go over what our family's newest card is based off of raising expenses of summer, and give some ideas on how to weigh perks as you pick your newest cards as well. Support the show

Send us Fan MailToday I go over the secret sauce in points and miles! One of those things that you didn't realize that you were missing and is hard to understand until you start to see exactly how well it works! Support the show

Send us Fan MailToday I go over some of the things that we can do as a family of four for somewhat last minute trips.  We go over ideas of places to go on last minute flights within the budget of 200,000 Amex miles.  You may be surprised and how great some of these options are! Support the show

Send us Fan MailToday I compare our 4 higher annual fee cards, I go over what they each offer as far as credits that we have used, how much we paid for the fees, and if the fees have been more or less than what we have earned so far! Support the show

Send us Fan MailRather you are an old hand at points and miles or have found yourself new to the hobby we have all felt times that we are overwhelmed.  Today I go into what you can do when you start to feel overwhelmed and some of the solutions that you can take so that you can still find yourself going from points and miles, to passports and memories. Support the show

Send us Fan MailToday I go over some of the perks that we have in the world of free benefits and how we get to the term free in the world of coupon credit cards, and how to know if you can get the bang for your buck.  Support the show

Send us Fan MailThis episode I go over the 'rules' for counting points and how many points we earned without opening any new cards the first quarter of 2026.  If you are looking to maximize points without opening new cards, this is the episode for you! Support the show

Send us Fan MailToday I go over some of the deals that I found recently to help get my mom on her dream trip.  In the process I cover how waiting a bit can help you find a better deal and how it is ok to wait on some of the processes to get a better deal! Support the show

Send us Fan MailWe all want to earn a little more free with a little less spend! Today I go into some ways to get some discounts and extra points when shopping for excursions and activities.  Support the show

Send us Fan MailToday I dive into some of the accidental and fast ways to drain points as well as the ways that you might have points hiding in accounts and not know it. Support the show

Send us Fan MailToday I dive into how I started taking my points and miles journey from the planning world to the podcast world.  I go over my main reasons behind it, and hoping I can help other beginners as they dive into points and miles. Support the show

Send us Fan MailToday I go over some small mistakes that cost BIG points over the last year! Listen in to avoid making the same mistakes I did! Support the show

Send us Fan MailToday I go over some of the things we said and did on our last trip that we would not have been saying if we were not a points and miles family! Join us as we go over some silly and relieving things that we say when traveling in the points and miles world. Support the show

Send us Fan MailTo add on to last week's episode I go over some of the cards that people may already have, and some of the upgrade options that may be available as well.  This helps people figure out how to add on, how many points they may logically already have, and where to consider getting your next card if you want to amp up your game. Support the show

Send us Fan MailToday I go over some of the things you may already be doing right in your points and miles and travel journey! We talk about some of the perks and the many things that you may be doing without even realizing it! Support the show

Send us Fan MailToday I go over some points, flights, and and overall costs on a mock redemption from San Francisco to Finland over Thanksgiving. Support the show

Send us Fan MailToday we are going over our second large family redemption, the difference with our first one, and some of the changes we have made in the process of learning more about points and miles. Support the show

Send us Fan MailToday I have a chat and some interview questions to a great friend of mine as we review some of our points and miles highlights. Support the show

Send us Fan MailOne of the most common questions that I get is from people that have been stacking or hoarding points and what they can do now that they are sitting on a stack to earn enough to come back from an amazing adventure! Support the show

Send us Fan MailToday I am going over things to look for when you are considering opening a new card, as well as some information on the challenge that our family is taking on over the first quarter of 2026 to see how many points we can earn without opening new cards. Support the show

Send us Fan MailToday I go over some practical and fast steps that you can take to make 2026 the year that you are finally going all the places and doing all the things! Support the show

Send us Fan MailToday I go over our most recent family vacation on a cruise and dive into some of the activities that we would have paid for separately at home to answer the question: Can a cruise pay for itself?Support the show

Send us Fan MailToday I go over quick ways to go over the Citi strata elite benefits and how to make sure you are getting your calendar year offers! It is short and sweet as we all head into the holidays! Support the show

Send us Fan MailI go through many of the rewards that are expiring in December of 2025 and my plans on using them or how I have used them for this year, as well as some of my plans for how to use them in 2026. Support the show

Send us Fan MailToday I go through some of my favorite amazon purchases over the last year, how much we loved them, and which ones we use on a daily basis. I have provided the Amazon links, please know that I receive a small commission for anything purchased through these links. Sound Machinehttps://amzn.to/3Xnwd7FFamily passport holderhttps://amzn.to/4pJ6ZwEPower cord holderhttps://amzn.to/4pKOt77Taygeer Backpack Pinkhttps://amzn.to/3M7csPiTaygeer Backpack blackhttps://amzn.to/3M59vyN3in 1 wireless chargerhttps://amzn.to/4pDu2J5Kitsch shampoo and conditioner packshttps://amzn.to/4pb2X0cIflyhttps://amzn.to/4ixEShxRaycon earbudshttps://amzn.to/3Xr5I13Foldie crossbody baghttps://amzn.to/4rs8sJ9Universal plug with usb-c https://amzn.to/44A3a4vHanging toiletry bag https://amzn.to/4itOny0Luggage Scalehttps://amzn.to/489ipDURoame Travel An AI search site that I use daily as I am search flights for hobbies or our next trip! Comfrt HoodiesSuper soft, perfect for the plane! I need mine everywhere I go!Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

Send us Fan MailToday I go into some things to consider in the process of home renovations and how to earn more points in remodels and renovations. Support the show

Send us Fan MailToday I go into what we are doing as far as canceling and keeping cards as we are hitting our one year mark in our journey of points and miles.  Support the show

Send us Fan MailToday I dive into how to categorize holiday spending and purchases to earn more miles, more places. Support the show

Send us Fan MailToday I go over the other things that can be done with credit card points other than travel.  I weigh the costs and benefits of using them other places and go over how to get the most value out of your points! Support the show

Send us Fan MailToday I go into some easy ways to start if you see your redemptions further down the road, I also dive into some of the reasons that now is the time to start banking your points and miles. Support the show

Send us Fan MailToday I dive into some details on how people without major businesses can earn more points without worrying about getting business cards.  I dive into the details on ways to use the system, shopping portals, and maximize offer values to get as many points as you can.  Support the show

Send us Fan MailToday I take a dive into what it means to have and use transfer partners and why it is usually a better deal than booking directly with the credit card portal. Roame Travel An AI search site that I use daily as I am search flights for hobbies or our next trip! Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

Send us Fan MailToday I discuss and math the math on some of the multiple reward currency multipliers on cards compared to that of cobranded cards. I explain how some people may get excited about higher multipliers but then do some math to figure out if they are really the best options for you. Roame Travel An AI search site that I use daily as I am search flights for hobbies or our next trip! Comfrt HoodiesSuper soft, perfect for the plane! I need mine everywhere I go!Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

Send us Fan MailToday I go through the steps that I took to book our family's most recent redemption, and some of the hiccups we ran into along the way.  I go through real life steps and some of the real life issues that we ran into to help you out when you are ready to tale the steps to your first redemption!If you are interested in checking award availability on roam.travel I would really appreciate it if you would use my link below! https://roame.travel/subscription?via=amandaSupport the show

Send us Fan MailToday I go through some of the popular elite cards on the market that offer lounge access for families, I go into briefly the benefit of the travel credit, the net cost of the card, and use that to math out how many visits it would take your family to pay of the annual fee if you just used the travel credit and the lounge access benefit.  There was a similar episode recently, but since then many cards have changed their information so I updated the episode. Support the show

Send us Fan MailToday I go over some of the fast and easy things that you can do before or as soon as you dive in to points and miles to make sure that you are racking up as many miles as possible, without having to put too much thought or too many details into your strategies. Support the show

Send us Fan MailIn this episode I go into what cards we got our first year, what types of bonuses came into play and the amount of time and effort (which was little!) that we put into getting these points.  I also discuss where we plan on going from here in order to continue earning points in the year to come. Support the show

Send us Fan MailToday I dive into the details of 3 of our favorite family cards.  I go into the details of what annual fees are, how much we pay on each card, and what some of the benefits are that people might. not know or take advantage of.  All to help you answer the question of is the annual fee worth it?Support the show

Send us Fan MailToday I dive into some small but quick point comparisons and go over some of the questions that I have asked myself as we have been planning trips for our own family. Support the show

Send us Fan MailToday I answer the question of what I do to help explain the process and how I am able to amass about 200,000 points a year without spending anywhere near $200,000.  It comes down to sign up bonuses and triaging of the spending the best that we can to make sure that our points are never worth just .01 per dollar spent! Support the show

Send us Fan MailToday my daughter and I go into our recent quick getaway to Washington DC and the stops we made at a Capital One Lounge and Capital One Landing on our way through the airports.  We also go into a bit of deal on the epic reward costs that we found for 3 of us, but how a family member having that point currency made the trip happen, especially for a last minute getaway! Support the show