Author: Kate
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My Favorite Chase Card (HINT: It’s Not the Sapphire Preferred)
The Chase Sapphire cards are arguably the most popular credit cards on the market. The Sapphire Preferred is almost universally recommended as the starter travel card, and more frequent travelers often rely on the Sapphire Reserve for lounge access and travel insurance. (Though there’s another card that provides both of these things with better value,…
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Hotel Review: Hyatt Centric Las Olas Fort Lauderdale
We spent one night at the Hyatt Centric Las Olas Fort Lauderdale for a kid-free anniversary getaway. You can read about how I booked that trip here. We had a great experience at the property and I believe it would be an excellent destination for a family trip, too. The hotel is only a 15…
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2024 Year in Review and 2025 Goals
On this, the last day of 2024, it’s time to take stock of my year in award travel. My goal with this post is to be totally transparent about how I, a normal person, went from zero to $60,000 in travel in the space of less than a year. Here are all the cards we…
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How to Get Free Hotel Room Upgrades
Room upgrades are a perk most commonly associated with elite status, but it’s possible to get upgrades even if you don’t have status. Ready for the secret trick? Here is it: Ask! Yes, it really is that simple. It won’t work every time, especially if you are traveling during peak times when the hotel’s occupancy…
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When Travel Hands You Lemons, Make Lemonade: Requesting Compensation
Murphy’s Law states that anything that can go wrong, will. While I’m not so much of a pessimist as to apply this to travel writ large, it is true that the more you travel, the more chances there are for travel mishaps. Fortunately, there are things you can do to mitigate your losses when travel…
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Anniversary Getaway: Fort Lauderdale on Points
My partner’s and my anniversary is in December, just a few days before Christmas. This is not an optimal time to celebrate. It’s cold here in North Carolina at that time, and we’re always too busy with holiday events to do much. This year, we decided to take advantage of an existing winter break trip…
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Wellness on Points: Miraval Resort and Spa
When you think of all-inclusive resorts, you probably think of unlimited piña coladas poolside with a DJ somewhere in the Caribbean. Most people will tell you that there aren’t any true all-inclusives in the United States, and that’s technically true. However, there is a small chain of domestic mostly-inclusive resorts that are very different from…
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How I’ve Made the Most of Positioning Flights
The term “positioning flight” typically refers to a short domestic flight you take to get “into position” for a big international flight. I live in Raleigh, but if I’m trying to get to Europe, I’m going to have a lot more options out of a major hub like IAD, JFK, or BOS (although I actually…
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San Diego Family Vacation: Spring Break on Points
I grew up in Southern California, and San Diego holds a special place in my heart. It has that amazing Mediterranean climate, without the traffic and density of LA. I take my son back with me to California every year to visit my family, and this year, I decided we’d bring my daughter too, and…
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Yes, You Can Qualify for Business Credit Cards
Pop Quiz Why Should You Care about Business Cards? Business credit cards are key to supercharging your points and miles earning. Some of the most rewarding cards are business cards; sign-up bonuses for some of the most popular business cards have reached 100,000, 200,000, and even 250,000 points in recent months. Additionally, business credit cards…
Kate's on a Plane 