Pittsburgh Travel Hackers

Tag: travel hacks

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • A Tale of Two Lounge Access Plans

    When we first started using more points and miles, I didn’t want to hear about airport lounges and other perks that certain cards came with. It just sounded like too many details on top of an already heavily-detailed game we were getting used to playing. But then I had my first sip of free champagne,…