Miles For Family

In 2017, my kids and I traveled on the Amtrak California Zephyr train from San Francisco to Denver in a sleeper car (see my post here). Since then, my kids have repeatedly asked for another overnight train trip. We finally made that happen when we traveled on the Amtrak Texas Eagle from Chicago to Dallas […]

Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship Overbooked, Guests Left Behind: This is not the first time that Royal Caribbean has overbooked a cruise. But, in the past, guests were notified in advance of arriving at the port. These guests didn’t find out until they arrived at the port to embark. See this post on Cruise Hive. Redefining […]

I traveled to Chicago with my two younger kids last week for a short trip before Thanksgiving. We had a lot of ideas on what to do during our short visit. Here is what we accomplished. Magnificent Mile Lights Festival We didn’t plan on this activity, but the Magnificent Mile Lights Festival parade happened to […]

Last week, I went on a quick 3-night trip with two of my kids to Chicago. I booked a Regency Club room at Hyatt Regency Chicago for just 14,000 World of Hyatt points a night (off-peak rate). Overall, we had a great experience at the hotel and found it to be a tremendous value on […]

Despite the fact that I consider myself a frugal traveler, I pay hundreds of dollars in credit card annual fees each year. Why? Hotel certificates that I get to collect as a bonus. Normally, I don’t have a problem utilizing them for travel plans we make anyway. While most folks try to maximize them by […]

I’ve been inspired to start exploring countries in Asia, as some of you may remember from my previous post. Of course, I’d love to spend a few weeks exploring multiple destinations. But, due to my family’s schedule, I’m going to compromise with a shorter trip with just me and my daughter next fall. To maximize […]