Pittsburgh Travel Hackers

Tag: credit card rewards

  • Is The Chase Sapphire Reserve Worth The $795 Fee?

    Quick Answer… yes! There was a time when the thought of spending that much money just to have a credit card seemed insane. But here we are, considering adding a second one of these in our household. Why? Because, we think the sign up bonus of 150,000 points makes it easily worthwhile. Even if you…

  • Hooray for Trip Delay: A Chase Sapphire Reimbursement Story

    Tom’s description of using the Chase Sapphire trip delay insurance One of the joys of point and miles travel is the flexibility these bookings can offer. Many airline programs allow you to book flights on points and cancel up until boarding time and essentially get your points and taxes/fees back. Additionally, many premium travel credit…

  • Embassy Suites Aruba: A Great Family Resort

    I don’t hate winter, truly I don’t. However, even I enjoy a little sunny respite to get through the cold, dark months. My favorite time to escape is around January 41st, right around the time when Pittsburgh’s third polar vortex hits. Last year we didn’t plan a winter sun escape and I solemnly swore to…

  • Madrid and Beyond: Family Reward Travel to Europe

    Earlier in the summer our family took a two-week trip to Europe that involved lots of moving parts with people joining at different times, a tight schedule of dates we needed to work within, and varied accommodations in five different cities. If you had told me a few years ago that I would be able…

  • Maximizing Value and Offsetting Annual Fees

    In 2024 we paid a pretty hefty sum in credit card annual fees. When we first started maximizing our points and miles, I was very hesitant to spend money on annual fees – the whole point of this was to save money, right?? As time has gone on, we’ve come to find that between the points…

  • 2024 in Pictures and Point Totals

    We had a great year in points and miles – more adventures than I thought could be possible when we started this crazy hobby. The thing that continues to blow my mind is that there are still more sign-up bonuses to be had and ways to cycle back through earning these points all over again.…

  • Alila Ventana Big Sur: A Luxury Retreat Worth Every Point

    Does the internet need yet another swooning review of Alila Ventana Big Sur from a points and miles enthusiast? Probably not. Is the internet going to get another swooning review of the Alila Ventana Big Sur? You betcha.  Tom and I had the opportunity to spend two nights at this resort earlier in November, and…

  • October Surprise: Aeorplan Card

    Here’s one we didn’t have on our 2024 BINGO card of credit cards to open: the Chase Aeroplan Mastercard. Aeroplan is the rewards program of Air Canada, which we have used from time to time, but we didn’t decide on it because of our hopes to fly to Vancouver more often (though that might be…

  • Visiting Yosemite on Points and Miles

    Last month we pulled off a really fun five night adventure to Yosemite National Park.  Even though Yosemite has been one of the top places we’ve wanted to visit for years, we kept over-analyzing when the best time to go would be. Peak summer: too hot and not enough waterfall flow. Late May: perfect waterfalls…

  • Cinque Terre and French Riviera with Points and Miles

    The year was 2021. My sisters and I were hatching fledgling plans about going to France with our mom. As we discussed the scope of the trip, one of my sisters suggested we make it more involved and bring our spouses and kids. I said, and I quote, “We will NOT be bringing our kids…