← Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways
Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways
How One Family Flew Business Class to Europe on Points — and Stayed in Style
00:28:54
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- [00:00]
A
Today's episode is sponsored by Fiji Water.
- [00:02]
B
No way.
- [00:03]
A
I love hydration same and Fiji Hydration no less. It really is from the actual islands of Fiji, as in 1600 miles from the nearest continent. It's bottled at the source and untouched by man until you unscrew the cap and you don't have to go all the way to Fiji.
- [00:18]
B
Although you have been to Fiji, Megan.
- [00:20]
A
Yes. And I was living off the Fiji water. I would get out of the ocean, take a little sip of Fiji Water. It tastes so good.
- [00:28]
B
And it's easy to get it here too. Fiji Water is the number one premium bottled water brand in the U.S. it's.
- [00:34]
A
My go to hydration for everything from beach days to jungle hikes or even just a little water on the hotel nightstand.
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B
Oh, you know, I love my gallon challenge. I gotta say, if you are not doing the gallon challenge every day, my hot take is you are not hydrated enough.
- [00:48]
A
Honestly, I agree. And did you know Fiji Water has more than double the electrolytes as the other two top premium bottled water brands? That's what gives it that extra smooth taste.
- [00:57]
B
Fiji Water is Earth's finest water, Megan. If I am doing an Orlando theme park in the summer, I'm like sometimes two G challenge, baby.
- [01:05]
A
That's a lot of bottles of Fiji Water and I love that they're travel size so that they fit in my crossbody bag.
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B
I'm plowing through my Fiji Water bottles and luckily, Fiji Water is environmentally responsible.
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A
Yes. Since 2022, the 330 and 500 milliliter bottles are made from 100% recycled plastic. Fiji Water continues to lead the top premium bottled water competition on launching 100% recycled plastic bottles.
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B
I love water and you know, if I see a Fiji Water bottle available, that's definitely the one I'm going for.
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A
Fiji Water. Earth's finest water.
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B
Stay hydrated.
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A
Like us travelers, a lot of listeners have asked us how to find, say, a hotel in Europe on points or a flight to Europe on miles.
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B
Today's guest has done all that and then some.
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A
And not just for one person or two people, but her entire family of four.
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B
Find out how she planned an entire trip. Flights, hotels, vacation rentals, all that in her recent trip to Georgia. That's the country, not the state.
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A
Welcome to Smart Travel, a deep dive into the tips, tools and tactics to maximize your travel dollars. I'm Megan Coyle.
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B
And I'm Sally French.
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A
And we're the travel nerds ready to help you plan your next big trip. Today we brought on another nerd Aaron Herd I was just so excited to rhyme that she booked business class seeds to and from Europe for her family, stayed multiple nights in hotels and vacation rentals on points and free night certificates on her trip to Europe. And she had stops in Turkey and Georgia.
- [02:32]
B
I am dying to hear about Georgia specifically. You know, I love watching the sport of weightlifting and arguably world's best weightlifter, Lasha Tallahassee is from there. I need to go see this country for myself.
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A
I need to go eat one of those cheese boats.
- [02:45]
B
I think the cheese boats are why Lasha is so strong.
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A
Wow. Okay, before we talk about Georgia though, give us that disclaimer.
- [02:51]
B
Sally oh yes, as always, we will talk about some credit card companies that are Nerd Wallet partners in this episode, but that does not influence how we talk about them. The benefits, terms and fees mentioned were accurate at the time of posting, but things can change. Some offers may have expired by the time you're listening, so for the latest details, follow the links in the episode.
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A
Description Starting off with some good news for Southwest Travelers Good news, finally, that.
- [03:15]
B
Is that Southwest Airlines and T Mobile announced a new partnership, which means unlimited free WI FI for all Southwest Rapid Rewards members. This actually kicks in on October 24, 2025.
- [03:28]
A
That was a quick rollout. I feel like we were just talking about them testing the WI Fi and it's already here.
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B
They got to do something good for the customers.
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A
The good news is that this is all Rapid Rewards members, not just T Mobile customers. So you have to become a Rapid Rewards member. But it's free to join, so there's no excuse not to do it.
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B
Yeah, you might as well sign up so you can also earn those points for your next trip anyway.
- [03:49]
A
And moving over to credit card signup offers, let's Talk about the IHG1 rewards Premier Credit card. This is a card with a $99 annual fee, but it's offering a really high bonus right now where you'll earn 165,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
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B
That is worth about $990 in hotel stays, according to NerdWallet's estimates of what those points are worth.
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A
And if you're not familiar with IHG, it's a hotel company that owns brands like InterContinental Holiday Inn Kimpton. I stayed in Intercontinental in Rome this year and I absolutely loved it. It was beautiful.
- [04:27]
B
I've stayed at an Intercontinental in Vietnam and they had pillow service. It was so fancy.
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A
What does that even mean? They fluff your pillows no, no, no.
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C
You could choose.
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B
They had a pillow menu you could choose. Like, do you want duck feather? Goose feather? Like, what type of pillow? I was like, I don't know. I just want a pillow.
- [04:41]
A
I want all of them. I want to try all of them.
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B
All right, going back to the card, they have one of those free night certificates, which we love. You will receive a certificate good for a night at any eligible IHG hotel or resort, up to 40,000 points on each anniversary as a cardholder.
- [04:56]
A
And if you're more of a bougie traveler, you off those awards with more points if the state costs more. So that $99 annual fee is really easy to justify if you're using that free night every year.
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B
I got to say, find me any hotel for less than $99. In this economy, I really think that such a great card benefit and then.
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A
Throw in the other benefits, like the fourth night free on awards days. I think that's a really important one. That's for any kind of IHG cardholder. This card also has automatic Platinum Elite status and bonus points at IHG hotels. So again, if you like traveling with ihg, now would be a good time to get this card.
- [05:32]
B
And one more piece of card news, that is that Delta announced increased signup bonuses right now over on their cards.
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A
Pretty much all of the Delta consumer cards have increased their signup bonuses right now. The highest offer is the one on the Delta Sky Miles reserve, American Express card. That's the very premium card. It has a $650 annual fee, and most people get it because it has Delta Sky Club access and also a companion certificate.
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B
One kind of annoying drawback is that it is limited to 15 visits per year to the Delta Sky Club, unless you hit the $75,000 annual threshold for spending that's in a calendar year to unlock unlimited access. Although I still gotta say, I feel like 15 visits is a lot.
- [06:15]
A
Yeah, it's more than the Amex Platinum. So if you need more than 10, but 15 is enough, then this would be a good card for you. The usual intro offer on this card is 70,000 Delta sky miles. So now it's 125,000 miles. So again, you'll get 55,000 more SkyMiles if you sign up for the card now.
- [06:32]
B
Ooh, that is quite good. That's worth about $1,500, based on NerdWallet's current estimates.
- [06:38]
A
And the other Delta cards that have up their offers, the Delta Sky Miles Gold American Express card, their offer is up to 80,000 sky miles and the delta Sky Miles Platinum card is up to 90,000 miles. So if you want to find out more about these cards and their benefits will link to our list of boosted signup offers in the episode description as well as all of these cards reviews.
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B
Okay, Lots of great offers out there. With all this chatter of Points and Miles, I think it's time we talk to our Points and Miles queen. That is Aaron.
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A
Our guest today is our go to for Points and Miles questions. I've interviewed her before on our sibling podcast Smart Money. Sean has interviewed her before on Smart Money. She's a travel Points and Miles and.
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B
She happens to be the director of travel here at NerdWallet. Welcome to Smart Travel. Aaron.
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C
Hey, Sally. Hi, Megan. Thanks for having me.
- [07:28]
B
Hi.
- [07:29]
A
Now, you just returned from an epic family trip to Europe, including stops in Georgia and Turkey. What inspired this particular trip?
- [07:36]
C
Aaron, man, let me tell you, like, my family is really bearing the fruits of my Points and Miles labors here. We really are the lucky winners.
- [07:44]
B
You got lucky, kids.
- [07:45]
C
Yeah, we really do. Because of Points and Miles, we like to travel a lot. We like to travel in style as much as we can. And so summertime, we're on a school calendar. So summer vacation really was our inspiration for this trip. But more specifically Turkey and Georgia. Turkey had been on our radar. We were really interested in going to see the hot air balloons in Cappadocia and to go see Istanbul. And then we recently met someone who was really well traveled and we asked her one of her favorite places and she said Georgia was a hidden gem.
- [08:15]
A
What did she say about Georgia? That you were like, oh, I should go there.
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C
Well, she said it's just beautiful mountainscape everywhere, which was absolutely true. And it's kind of undiscovered and it's right next to Turkey. So we decided to build that into our itinerary.
- [08:29]
B
I am saying it. The hot new destination in the coming years is going to be Georgia. You are ahead of the curve. There it is. Let's spell out for this trip, who were you traveling with? It sounds like your family. Let's spell out for the listeners who that is.
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C
Absolutely. So it's my husband and I and our two kids. They are ages 8 and 6.
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A
So you paid for this entire trip practically on points, I guess. Let's start with the flights. How did you go about finding the flights on Points?
- [08:53]
C
Because again, of Points and Miles, we are a little spoiled. We are a little bougie. And when we're going to fly a long flight, we really try to look for business class first, if at all possible, when you know how much better it is up there, it's really kind of hard to go back.
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B
Well, now those kids can never go back for the rest of their lives.
- [09:09]
C
I know.
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A
What do your kids say, like when they fly business class? Are they just like, this is normal or what is their thoughts?
- [09:15]
C
Well, they're very appreciative. They're very. We talk a lot about how this is not normal and we would never pay cash for this. And so we do have a lot of conversations. And they are now kind of accustomed to the finer things. So. Yeah, so we paid for the flights entirely with points, which was amazing, minus some taxes and fees. So I guess I'll back up and say that, you know, when you're traveling with a family, we are bound to a school calendar. And so it can really be hard to find not only multiple seats, but multiple seats on the dates that you need when we don't have a lot of flexibility and we have to be be back at a certain time. So for big trips, we are starting to think about flights like a year ahead, which I know to some people sounds crazy, but most airlines actually open their schedules about 11 months in advance. So about a year ahead, my husband and I start thinking like, what is our next big trip going to be for next year? And we start coming up with ideas so that when the calendars open around 11 months, usually we are ready to pounce on any deals that we can find.
- [10:14]
B
It does seem like most of the best deals are either super far out, like that 11 months out, or last minute. And there isn't really with points deals a ton of like the two or three months out.
- [10:25]
A
My question is, do you go into those 11 months like already having done the research about what the best business class is to get you close to where you need to go? Are you already looking at transfer bonuses? Like, what are you doing to prepare for that moment when the schedule opens?
- [10:38]
C
I start by looking at the Wikipedia page of the final airport destination that we're trying to get to. So in this case, if we were trying to fly to Tbilisi, Georgia, which is where we started this trip, I look at the Wikipedia page, you scroll down to airlines and destinations, and it will show you all the places that you can get to direct to and from that location and it shows the airlines. And so then I can start to get a sense of, okay, well here's the alliances that we should be looking at in order to get the most direct or, you know, one stop options to the City. So that's kind of where I like to start.
- [11:15]
B
What did you end up flying to get to Tbilisi?
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C
For this trip, we booked with British Airways, but we used American Airlines miles because of their partnership. So American is great because they still have a partner award chart for international partners. And so we knew how many miles it was going to take, and we found four seats, 57,500 AA miles per seat for business class the whole way there. Now, the downside is if anyone has flown business of British Air through London, you know that the taxes and fees are going to be steep on those tickets. So it would be a farce to say that these flights were free with points, because they weren't. We ended up paying about $700 each ticket in taxes and fees, plus the 57,500 miles each, which, yes, is pretty steep. But if we look at the cash price that we would have paid for those tickets, you know, five, $10,000 a seat, it's a good trade.
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B
It is so funny how taxes and fees vary, because sometimes in countries It'll be like $100 taxes and fees, and then sometimes it's like 700. It's wild.
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C
It is. And you know what's funny is that we did find this availability using British Airways miles themselves, which usually would be a great option, too, because they transfer from Chase and from Amex, and they have a lot of options of points that you can transfer in. And they often have transfer bonuses. So we could have taken advantage of that. But at this particular time, there were no transfer bonuses going on. And British Airways wanted 88,000 miles per seat plus taxes and fees, compared to 57,000 AA miles for the same ticket.
- [12:50]
B
And that's what I think is most interesting that a lot of people don't realize is you can book a flight with British Airways miles, and sometimes it'll be way more. And then you can book literally the same flight with American Airlines miles, and it's less. It's. It's kind of like shocking how that works out.
- [13:06]
C
It is. And then I'll say, in general, for anyone else who is traveling with children, Air France, the Flying Blue program is a great option to look at. If it lines up with where you're going, you can find as little as 55,000 miles one way in business class, which is amazing. But on top of that, Flying Blue offers 25% discount for kids on award seats.
- [13:28]
A
Oh, I didn't know that.
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C
Yeah. So that means the kids are only 41,250 miles each. So that is a screaming Deal when you can find it.
- [13:36]
B
Yeah. I didn't know that airlines did discounts for kids. I thought that was only, like, restaurants and theme parks did that.
- [13:41]
C
Yeah, it's just Air France, and it's a. It's a great kind of another hidden gem.
- [13:45]
B
And so as far as actually getting these points and miles, how do you get all these miles?
- [13:51]
C
Great question. Credit cards are definitely a key part of the strategy. I'm always looking to find a new signup bonus that is good and makes sense for our family. But really the deeper part of that is what we call a P2 strategy. So my husband is what I would call my player two, my P2. And so he is also strategically opening up cards when it makes sense as well. So instead of just our household getting one bonus and maybe him becoming an authorized user on my card, instead we'll map out a strategy and he'll open a card and get a bonus, and then I'll open a different card and get a bonus. So we have multiple new signup bonuses kind of flowing our way, and that really helps.
- [14:30]
A
Does he enjoy the player two game, or did it take some convincing to get him to be player two?
- [14:36]
C
It takes some convincing. He definitely likes the fruits of it. He loves flying business class. He loves the suites that we stay in. So he will tolerate it. But no, I can't say that he's as passionate about it as I am.
- [14:48]
B
I'm scared to ask how many credit cards are in the Herd household.
- [14:52]
C
Currently we have about 40 cards between the two of us. It's a mixture. We do have a. My husband has his own business, and then we have a side business ourselves. So we do qualify for some small business cards that are in that mix as well to help with our spending talk flights home.
- [15:08]
B
You flew British Airways there, and on the way home.
- [15:11]
C
On the way home, we used United miles to fly in Lufthansa business class. O.
- [15:16]
B
Nice.
- [15:16]
C
Yeah. So it was 88,000 United miles each, plus about $70 in taxes. So it was low in taxes.
- [15:22]
B
And I just want to ask, when you're finding all these flights, are there any tools you're using or do you just always browse with the airline websites themselves?
- [15:30]
C
Well, I've. I've been doing this a while, so I'm kind of old school. And I do like to start with the airlines. But more and more, I have really been reliant on so many of these really amazing tools that have popped up to kind of help do all the legwork. So tools like points. Yeah. Point me award tool. There's a lot of really cool tools out there that can help do the heavy lifting for you. So you don't have to know necessarily which airlines are in which alliance and where to start.
- [15:56]
A
Yeah, we've talked about some of those award tools on smart travel before and they're really great for flights. I think they still have some ways to go in terms of helping you book hotels. We'll talk about the hotels Erin booked on points and her free night certificates coming up next. Stay with us. Today's episode is sponsored by Claude.
- [16:18]
B
Megan, you and I were talking about how it seems like we do 18 people's jobs at once, and I think we should share a secret.
- [16:23]
A
We love AI, and not just any AI, but Claude. Built by Anthropic.
- [16:27]
B
We use AI in our work and in our everyday lives. But we should also say that a lot of people ask us about using AI to help plan travel. Claude is actually pretty great in this department.
- [16:36]
A
Yeah, so I'm heading to Europe with my family this fall. Instead of just giving me a generic itinerary, Claude helped me think through all the variables. Seasonal pricing patterns, transportation between cities, even local cultural events that might impact hotel availability. It connected dots across dozens of sources that would have taken me hours to piece together myself.
- [16:53]
B
What an excellent display of its research capabilities. We are talking comprehensive, reliable analysis with proper citations in real time, not just basic web searches that are probably going to be outdated by the time we're there anyway.
- [17:04]
A
What I love so much about Claude versus other AI tools is how it feels more like a collaborator. In our world, it's kind of like that travel agent that really wants to help you have the best trip ever.
- [17:13]
B
CLAUDE is the AI for minds that don't stop at good enough. It's the collaborator that actually understands your entire workflow and thinks with you, not for you. And of course, it goes beyond travel planning. Whether you're debugging code at midnight or strategizing your next business move, Claude extends your thinking to tackle the problems that matter.
- [17:30]
A
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- [17:42]
B
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- [17:43]
D
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- [18:13]
A
Okay, Erin, you still had some points left over after all of those flights and some free night certificates to use on lodging in Europe. How did you use those to cover your hotels for this vacation?
- [18:25]
C
In Tbilisi, which is the capital of Georgia, which is a beautiful city and I do really recommend it. And the food, you guys, is amazing.
- [18:32]
B
The food, you get one of those cheese boats.
- [18:34]
C
The cheese bread. Yes, it's a boat of cheese. Which. What could be better than a boat of cheese? Like, enough said.
- [18:40]
B
Yeah. And particularly baked in bread.
- [18:42]
C
It's all good. And butter. Don't forget the butter, of course. So the food was amazing. So in Tbilisi, we stayed for three nights at the Marriott there, which is a historic property and it was just beautiful, very centrally located. I would highly recommend it. For those three nights we used about 118,000 Marriott points, plus a 35,000 point free night certificate that I earned from from my Marriott Boundless card every year. The Marriott certificates are really nice because you can add points to it to make it worth more, which is not the case for every program. So for example, if you find a room that's 50,000 points, you know, for some hotel programs, you wouldn't be able to use your free certificate. You'd just be out of luck. But with Marriott, you can apply that 35,000 point certificate and then add 15,000 points from your account to top it up.
- [19:32]
B
Yes, I do find those merits are super flexible in using their certificates as far as traveling with your whole family. Often we talk about rooms in Europe are small, they don't necessarily fit four people. How did you navigate that?
- [19:45]
C
Yeah, it is definitely a challenge. We've traveled pretty extensively through Europe and it is always a challenge because of the occupancy rules in Europe. And so you do not want to just fudge it and show up and say like, oh, I booked a reservation for two adults and show up with your kids. Because that will not fly in Europe the way that it feels. Maybe we'll fly here in the US So in terms of like, how to find the space, I think the easiest way to start by asking some of the rooms if you're searching through their website. It won't show up if you're searching for four people, but sometimes those rooms will actually accommodate a rollaway bed or a crib. And so you just have to ask. And so that's where I start first, you know, can this room actually fit four? Another trick that I like to use is just searching in the travel portals themselves. So the CH travel portal, the Amex travel portal. Now you won't get the best value for that necessarily, but if it helps me to find a room that will fit four instead of having to book two rooms, then it's a savings for me. And so sometimes if you're searching Marriott by itself, Marriott will only show you the standard rooms that are available in points. But sometimes going through the portals will allow you to book those bigger rooms using your travel points that way.
- [20:57]
A
I found that to have so much more options than just booking through, for example, Marriott's program and using Marriott points. Like there's a bunch of rooms that you can't book with your Marriott points, but they do have them at the hotels. You just gotta go through the portal or actually pay cash or something like that.
- [21:12]
C
That's right.
- [21:12]
B
That's really interesting advice because I always feel like I just say book direct. It's always better to book direct, but maybe this is one case where it is not necessarily better to book direct.
- [21:21]
C
Exactly. And so, you know, again, you won't necessarily be getting the best value for your points, but overall, if I'm looking at booking one room instead of two, it's a win for me.
- [21:29]
A
Absolutely. The other thing I like booking direct is a boutique hotel because sometimes they're just like not on a certain program or maybe even a travel portal. How did you go about using your points to book some of these really unique properties?
- [21:42]
C
It's pretty straightforward. If you're searching in the portal and you search for the destination more and more these days, there are tons of vacation home properties that will pop up in there and boutique things and things that you wouldn't really be on your radar if you were only looking at Marriott or Hyatt. So for Georgia specifically, we went to this beautiful mountainous region right on the border with Russia called Kasbegi, Georgia. It's pretty remot. There's no chain properties there. And so through the Chase portal, we were able to find a cabin that was super cute, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, we had a fireplace, we had a little kitchen. And using my sapphire reserve, we were able to get a value of 1.5 cents per point. Now that will be changing later this year, as I know we've covered with the reserve, but that's a win for.
- [22:29]
B
Me and That's a big reason why I love these more general travel programs like Chase or Amex Travel, often above something like Marriott or Hyatt. Because when you're traveling in a place like Georgia that doesn't necessarily have all these merits to choose from, sometimes your only choice is these boutique hotels or these cabins in the woods. And often it's more possible to book these types of boutiques or cabins with something like Chase Points versus Marriott would never offer this.
- [22:56]
A
The other great advantage is that sometimes your extra points earning on booking through the travel portal or maybe even a travel credit applies when you're booking through the portal. Did you use any of those kinds of benefits on this trip?
- [23:08]
C
We did. And so that one involves my P2, because my husband and I both have Venture X cards because we really find so much value from those cards between the travel credit that you get through the portal and the anniversary points that you get every year. So my husband and I each have a Venture X card and we each had a $300 travel credit to use. And so I booked a few nights using my credit in the portal and he booked a few nights in his. And then we just contacted the property beforehand and. And told them, like, hey, you know, we're in two separate reservations, but we. We would like to confine them. Can we make sure that we're staying in the same room so that we don't have to actually check out and check back in? And it was completely fine.
- [23:46]
B
Yeah. Megan and I both love the venture X. That $300 travel credit is so flexible. As long as you just book in their portal. There are so many options, and that goes so far in justifying the annual fee on that card.
- [23:57]
A
Also, that's a great tip to just ask the hotel if they can combine those reservations, because if you don't ask, you don't know. You might not have to move rooms. It's amazing.
- [24:05]
B
Yes. Yeah.
- [24:06]
C
And from the hotel, you know, it's less cleaning. They don't have to turn over a whole room. Like, they would prefer you to stay in the whole room too. So.
- [24:13]
B
And that was for the cave hotel, right? I want to know about a cave hotel. Tell us.
- [24:17]
C
It's super cool. We had this beautiful view. And in the morning, at five in the morning, you could see the balloon starting right outside our window. And it was just super cool, especially for the kids. Like, oh, we're in a cave.
- [24:28]
B
And that was in Turkey.
- [24:29]
C
That was in Turkey. In Cappadocia.
- [24:31]
B
Okay, we gotta stay in a cave one day. And then you Also stayed in a very fancy Hyatt, also in Turkey. Tell us about that.
- [24:37]
C
We closed our trip with the creme de la creme, the Park Hyatt Istanbul. Again, we are, we're lucky to stay in these really nice hotels. Using points. We stayed at many, but the Park Hyatt Istanbul really blew us away in terms of especially what they did for the kids. So when we arrived, they wheeled out a whole kids reception area where the kids checked in and they gave them their own keys. And then when we got to the room, it was all set up and with Disney themed bedding, they had a little play tent set up, a candy tray. And so they really went above and beyond to welcome the kids, which was just so cool.
- [25:10]
A
If I was a kid, I would remember that for the rest of my life. I'd be like, this is my favorite hotel. We have to go back. I got my own key, right?
- [25:17]
B
And Megan and I are suckers for Disney anything. And I think you are too, Erin. So Park Hyatt Istanbul really stole everyone's hearts, it sounds like.
- [25:24]
C
Absolutely.
- [25:26]
A
So how many points was the Park Hyatt in Istanbul?
- [25:29]
C
So it was about 116,000 Hyatt points for the room. But then we were able to use a suite upgrade award so that we were able to get a bigger room, which when you're traveling with kids especially, we're on a long trip, having that extra space is really critical to everyone being happier.
- [25:44]
B
And how did you get that suite upgrade award?
- [25:46]
C
So I am a Hyatt globalist. And so as part of the the elite program, when you hit certain milestones, you can earn those rewards. But the cool thing is with Hyatt, you don't have to reach globalist status, which is the upper level of elite status. In these perks. Hyatt has something called a milestone rewards program. And when you earn 40 Elite Night credits, you can choose one of these suite upgrades. And they are so great, these suite upgrades, because you can apply them at the time of booking. Unlike some programs where they don't start looking for a suite until a few days before you check in, you can know right when you're booking, even if it's a year out, that you can apply that suite. And one upgrade award is good for a stay of up to seven nights. So it really is a fantastic perk. And to earn those 40 elite night credits that you need to start earning sweet upgrades, you can get points from the Wilder Hyatt credit card. And also award night stays count too, which is just fantastic.
- [26:41]
A
Talk about Maximizing your points on that stay.
- [26:44]
C
Yeah. And so if you don't want to do all that, the other secret is to find someone who does. So find a friend who is a Hyatt Elite, because those Sweet Upgrade awards can be gifted to someone else. So they could give you the Suite Upgrade Award and you could enjoy the suite for your whole stay as well. Wow.
- [27:02]
A
We're calling you Aaron next time we're near a Hyatt.
- [27:06]
B
You know, I was gonna say, like, what are the takeaways for this episode? And it seems like to me, number one is apply for adoption to be in Aaron's family. Number two, maybe I could just be your friend.
- [27:15]
C
Yeah, friends is good. My adoption is closed.
- [27:19]
A
But in all seriousness, how would you sum up all the tactics you use to book this amazing trip on points? Where can people start if they wanna to also be able to book their own trip like this?
- [27:30]
C
It's a pretty obvious tip, but really, number one is just to start earning more points, which does not mean that you have to open 40 credit cards. It doesn't mean that you have to open three new credit cards. But if you really want to get serious and earn more points, even if you've been using one credit card for five years, just opening one new card and getting that influx of points when you meet the requirements is a huge help for earning more points. And specifically, I really recommend earning more flexible points. So we call the Chase points the Amex points City, thank you points, because those points are so flexible so that when you're starting to search and when you're starting to plan your trip, you have lots of options and you're not locked into. I'm only looking at AA or I'm only looking at United. And so having that flexibility really can go a long way.
- [28:14]
B
All right, thank you, Erin, so much for telling us about your trip to Turkey, Georgia. Let's move into the next part of our show, and that is our hot takeoffs. Now, Erin, do you have any hot takes for us to share?
- [28:27]
C
Well, my first hot take is leave your kids at home because your trip will be a lot quieter and it'll cost a lot less points.
- [28:33]
B
I love it. Erin, you are talking to two dinks. So we do not have any kids to bring with us anyway, and that is the ultimate travel hack.
- [28:40]
C
There you go. Well, I guess my tip on that hot takeoff, though, is if you are bringing your kids, I really recommend that everyone create a frequent flyer mile for their kids. Frequent flyer account. Whenever you're paying cash, there's no age minimum for most of the programs and so your children can be earning miles on those flights as well.
- [28:56]
B
Well, do your kids secretly have like millions of miles to their names already?
- [29:00]
C
They have a few.
- [29:01]
B
That's pretty good. All right.
- [29:03]
A
I remember getting those little airplane wings as a kid too, when you're like a member or something. I don't know if they still do that, but I thought flying was really fun as a kid.
- [29:10]
C
Yeah.
- [29:11]
A
All right, well, thank you so much for joining us today, Aaron. It's been so fun.
- [29:15]
C
Thank you.
- [29:16]
B
Now, if you listeners out there have questions about using points and miles to book better trips just like Aaron did, email your questions to travelrdwallet.com if you have a hot takeoff about travel, email us also at Travel travel@nerdwallet.com We want to share your hot takeoffs on the show one day, so tell us what you got.
- [29:34]
A
If you want to connect with us beyond the podcast, give Sally and I a follow on Instagram.
- [29:38]
B
I'm miles with Megan Co. And I'm save with Sally.
- [29:42]
A
And you can also let us know what you think of the show by giving us a star rating, leaving us a review or comment on your favorite podcast app.
- [29:49]
B
Yes, that really helps other people find the show and it helps enable us to keep doing this show.
- [29:53]
A
Plus, if you have a friend who needs travel advice, please share the show directly with them. I'm sure they could use Aaron's tips.
- [29:59]
C
Yes.
- [30:00]
B
So please give us five stars, give us your comments, and of course, follow Smart Travel on your favorite podcast app, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and iHeartRadio to automatically download new episodes.
- [30:10]
A
This episode was produced by Tess Viglen and Hillary Georgie. Claire Socie helped with fact checking. Nick Karisimi mixed her audio and as.
- [30:17]
B
Usual, our brief disclaimer. We are not financial or investment advisors. The info provided here is for general educational and entertainment purposes. It may not apply to your specific circumstances.
- [30:28]
A
We hope you're inspired to keep your passport full and your wallet even fuller. Thanks, everyone. We'll see you next time. Hey everyone.
- [30:46]
B
Remember a bit ago when we told you we were soliciting feedback for our podcast survey? And we're giving away prizes to incentivize you to actually do it it.
- [30:53]
A
Well, the deadline is coming up. Fill out our listener survey, which helps us make the Smart Travel podcast even better.
- [30:59]
B
Okay, so what's in it for you? 1. We take your feedback seriously. So with it comes a better show. But two one lucky winner will get a Polaroid Go instant camera and six people will win the bagu Cloud. Carry on.
- [31:11]
A
Bag those Polaroid Go. Instant cameras are so sweet. A Polaroid for 2025, complete with a built in selfie mirror.
- [31:18]
B
So cool. I kind of think I want to get one for my wedding coming up. What do you think, Link?
- [31:22]
A
You totally should, but you're not getting this one. I'm going to send it out to one of our listeners.
- [31:26]
B
I know, I know. Okay, so tell the listeners how they can enter our survey to win this thing.
- [31:31]
A
Go to nerdwallet.com travelsurvey and complete the survey form by September 15th to shoot your shot. You can read the official rules for more details, which again can be found@nerdwallet.com TravelSurvey thank you and good luck.