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2025 Travel Goals & Credit Card Strategy
The Dream: Japan Family Trip (Post-Christmas 2025 – Likely Dec 26th – Jan 4th) Current Chase Travel Points: 341,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points (Combined) Current Cards: The Plan: Estimated Travel Budget: This strategy should provide a solid foundation for our Japan trip. Remember to book flights and accommodations through the Chase Travel Portal to maximize your points value(1.5 cents per point value) Important Notes:
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Considering the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card for Your Next Adventure?
Unbeatable Sign-Up Bonus The IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card is offering an incredible deal: 5 free nights (up to 60,000 points per night) after spending $4,000 in the first three months. With a $99 annual fee, this offer easily justifies having the card for at least one year. If you’re unsure about keeping it long-term, you can always consider downgrading or product-changing to a no-fee card within the IHG brand. Ideal for Upcoming Trips If you’re planning a trip next summer, this card is worth considering. The sign-up bonus alone provides substantial value, allowing you to save on accommodations and enhance your travel experience. Benefits and Earning Rates While…
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How We Scored $8K Flights to Naples Italy for Just 110K travel points and $800: Our Spring Break 2025 Adventure Booked!
Last April of 2024, my wife Andrea and I took a memorable trip to Italy over Spring Break. Our adventure began with a luxurious business class flight from JFK to Florence, where we stayed for a couple of nights. From Florence, we took a scenic train ride down to Naples for a night and then moved on to Vico Equense, near Sorrento, for a two-night stay. Unexpected Changes and Highlights We had planned to spend another night in Naples before heading home, but our flight was canceled, forcing us to leave a night early. Despite this hiccup, we thoroughly enjoyed our time in this beautiful region of Italy and felt…
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Our Business Class Experience on Air France: JFK to Florence
In April 2024, my wife and I embarked on an unforgettable journey, flying business class on Air France from JFK to Florence. Here’s a detailed look at our experience and the fantastic deal we scored for this trip. The Air France Lounge at JFK Flying out of JFK, we had the privilege of accessing the Air France lounge. If you have a Priority Pass, you can enjoy this lounge too. The lounge offered free alcoholic drinks and a solid selection of food. We tried not to overindulge, saving room for the in-flight dining experience. Boarding and Seating Upon boarding, we turned left to find our seats right there. We chose…
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Summer 2024 Family California Road Trip: 10 Free Nights with Points
A Little Background As an AAU basketball coach, I have a tournament scheduled for the last weekend of July. Perfect timing for a California road trip! We’ll be making stops in Sacramento, Burbank, and Anaheim, visiting family along the way. Planning the Trip with Marriott Points Back in March 2024, Marriott ran a promotion for their Bonvoy Boundless credit card. After spending $4,000, you receive five free night certificates (each worth up to 50,000 points per night). With property taxes due, it was an opportune time to sign up for the card. Plus, the card comes with a free night certificate (up to 35,000 points) after your one-year anniversary. Not…
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Road to 2 Million Travel Points
Reaching our first million travel points was an exciting milestone, which I detailed in a previous blog post. Now, let’s dive into how we achieved our second million points and how we utilized them to create unforgettable travel experiences. How We Earned 2 Million Travel Points To reach 2 million travel points, we continued leveraging our strategic use of credit cards: Venture X: Our primary catch-all card, earning 2x points per dollar spent, netted us around 150K points through regular spending. AMEX Cards: We accumulated about 127K points, with the AMEX Gold card being our main card for groceries and dining, earning 4x points per dollar. The AMEX Platinum card…
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First 1 Million Travel Points: My Journey
My journey into the world of travel points truly began in March 2022, thanks to an invitation from my brother Nate to sign up for the Venture X credit card. Although I had previously dabbled with an Alaska Airlines credit card and an Expedia credit card, it wasn’t until this point that I really dove into the travel points game. The Start with Venture X What sold me on the Venture X was a YouTube video highlighting its benefits: lounge access, a $300 travel credit, 10K bonus miles each year, and 2x points on every dollar spent. At the time, the sign-up bonus was 100K points after spending $4K. Within…
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Our Family Christmas Adventure: London, Paris, and NYC on Points
Traveling with a family of six is always a challenge, both financially and logistically. However, with a bit of creativity and a lot of travel points, we managed to book an incredible trip to London, Paris, and New York City during the Christmas to New Year’s season without breaking the bank. Quick Summary: Using 330,000 travel points, we booked flights for our family of six from Seattle to San Francisco, London, Paris, New York City, and back to Seattle, saving us around $17,000 in airfare. Additionally, we used 316,000 points for 12 nights of accommodation, which would have cost over $5,000, leaving us with a total out-of-pocket expense of under…
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Winning the Travel Game: Chase Credit Card Points Strategy
New to the Travel Points game, we started our credit card journey with Capital One Venture X, then Amex Gold, and Amex Platinum. After a year with these three cards, I wanted to advance my game and began exploring the Chase Credit card setups. Since I was currently under the 5/24 rule (opening five personal credit cards in the last 24 months), I aimed to maximize the number of travel points I could get with our regular spend. I discovered that Chase has some of the best travel partners for hotel redemption, such as Hyatt, and has excellent domestic air travel partners in Southwest Airlines and United Airlines. Also, if…
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Unlocking Travel Rewards: A Business Owners guide with Chase Ink Business Trifecta
Are you a sole proprietor, blogger, influencer, or perhaps a business owner managing a kids sports club team or venturing in real estate? If so, your business expenses could be your ticket to incredible travel rewards. Let’s explore how Chase Ink Business credit cards can transform your spending into unforgettable travel experiences. The Chase Ink Business Credit Card Trio In the world of business credit cards, there are three standout options from Chase that should be in your arsenal: Chase Ink Business Preferred Chase Ink Business Unlimited Chase Ink Business Cash Crafting Your Trifecta Setup To maximize your rewards potential, consider the following sequence: Elevating Cash Back to Travel Points…
