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Benefits of Flexible Points

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Towards the end of every year, I always start to look at the balances of my point accounts and start also looking at what I plan to do for traveling over the next year or two. Yes, I really do mean year or two. (Check out our post on our plan for our next Hawaii vacation.) I have found that using flexible points gives us the most travel options.

When I had started to look at the first trip to Hawaii for our family, I planned it out over 2-3 years to make sure I could do as much with points as possible. There are always risks planning that far out such as points needed for the flights or hotels go up or airline carriers changing flight options. We were fortunate that the choices we did gave us some flexibility in case of those changes.

Chase Ultimate Rewards

Over the last two years, I have moved to keep points in a program such as Chase Ultimate Rewards. This way my points aren’t locked up with Southwest, Delta, or Marriott. Using this program let us keep our flexible points in one place until we need them.

Using Flexible Points

For the trip to Hawaii we recently went on, I was short the miles needed for all the flights using United. They had nonstop flights that were worth us spending a little more on. By not having my points locked in, I was able to transfer from Chase to United to complete that booking.

Additionally, I was then low on points to finish the hotel booking through Marriott for the travel package for the boutique hotel. I was able to top off the account with Marriott with the points from Chase.

Benefits of Flexible Points – When things Change

During those two years, a lot of changes happened in regards to the points hobby.

  • Alaska Airlines lost the ability to book Delta fights.
  • Alaska gave the flexibility to book American, Alaska or Delta flights.

Starwoods/SPG was a considerable hotel favorite in the points hobby. Starwoods/SPG was purchased by Marriott and changed redemption rates. Additionally, they cut the ability to earn points by 1/3rd the price per dollar than previously. Rumors of other airlines being purchased, hotel groups consolidating, would force many to try to stay ahead of the game. Where having the flexible miles in something like Chase Ultimate Rewards allows transfer partners for hotels as needed with IHG (Holiday Inn), Marriott, or Hyatt (my personal favorite).

For airlines, you have many options including Southwest and United. You can always cash in Points through the travel portal at 1.25 cents per point or penny per point in statement credit. Another example of how flexibility is beneficial. Southwest recently began booking flight options to Hawaii. This gives more options besides United and Delta, and will likely continue to make travel there competitive.

The more flexibility you have, the better.

Tips and Tricks for Kinney Chaos

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We get asked about a lot of things and since we cover a wide range of topics here is a list of our tips and tricks, FAQ and the blog posts that go with them. If you have a question we would LOVE to hear from you! Drop us a message by contacting us or commenting on this article!

Travel Tips and Tricks

What is Travel Hacking?

Should I hoard my points or spend as soon as I can?

How can I earn free trips? We earn free hotel stays and airfare by maximizing our reward points. Don’t get overwhelmed. If you are just starting out, pick one or two and get really consistent with those before adding more.

Here are some tips and tricks to help you get started.

What are your favorite hotls to stay at?

What are your tips for flights?

What are the best credit cards to have to get reward points and earn free trips ?

Quotes

Budget and Money Tips and Tricks

How can I budget?

How can I teach my kids about money?

How can I save money on everyday expenses?

Social Media Tips

KoKo Head Cafe in Hawaii – Restaurant Review

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This summer we were very fortunate and got to visit the island of Oahu in Hawaii. One of our friends recommended we try to visit Koko Head Cafe if we had the chance. On our second day, we decided we would give it a try.

Koko Head Cafe

The Koko Head Cafe merely is impressive. They are open from 7 AM to 2:30 PM every day featuring brunch style foods with a fun mix of items they are sure to have something there for everyone. Chef Anne Wong runs this little Pan-Asian inspired eatery.

I have to say this was probably the biggest surprise of our entire vacation. Not only was the food amazing, the staff was super helpful and catered to the locals and tourists alike. It was an amazingly refreshing experience.

Food

Cheyenne and Jason both love pancakes, french toast, and waffles. So when they found out one of the items on the Koko Head Cafe menu was a famous Cornflake French Toast, they were sold. This meal did not disappoint. They both gave it an A+ for amazingness.

KoKo Head Cafe meals

I had the daily dumpling special. My dumpling dish was the most fantastic meal I had for my entire vacation. When we visited the dumpling dish featured was beef and mushroom delightful dumpling, and while overall this is served as an appetizer it did not disappoint.

We loved this little restaurant so much; we made a point of returning before we left. All because we wanted to have our French Toast and Dumplings a second time. During our second trip, we tried the Coffee and Doughnuts which are a cinnamon sesame cake donut with a Kona Coffee Anglaise, and they were delicious as well.

Conclusion

The Koko Head Cafe is a must visit location. The food will not disappoint you and will leave you wanting more.

Travel Addiction Confessions You Need to Know

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Some people like to play sports for an adrenaline rush.  That is one of the reasons I go to UFC fights, after all, it’s the biggest adrenaline rush I have had without playing sports.  Over the last several months, I have looked back at my travel hacking and wondered if I do it due to the adrenaline rush or if it’s become a travel addiction. You are always looking for the next deal, the easiest way to get points.  It’s almost like any other addiction as you are looking for your next fix, best/cheapest way to get your next trip.
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Travel Addiction – Extra Miles

Over the last year, I have found I have miles for airlines that I do not know of any trips or reason to take planned to the areas that they cover.  Over the last year, I have started to use some of these off the path miles such as Alaskan Airlines to take partner flights to Las Vegas. My goals always had an endpoint, but it was more of just throwing out processes to see what would stick.
Travel Addiction

Challenge Accepted

Several years ago, someone told me “Miles will never get you a trip.  You are wasting your time…”.  So what started as something to maybe get one free Vegas Trip turned into several set goals.  The smaller of the goals was to reduce costs to flying to Las Vegas.  Back when I started, it was for people watching and the weather.  With the lack of humidity, it seems like that is the only place where my body does not hurt.  Over the years now it has turned into Las Vegas flights for UFC fights.  This little travel addiction has at least been able to pay for the airline flights each time.
Travel Addiction
The more significant challenge has been being able to provide memories.  Earlier this year I was able to fly to Hawaii with Joni and Cheyenne.  I do not know if I would be able to make this trip again due to the length of the flight.  Joni always said she wanted to go to Hawaii for our 15th wedding anniversary.  I always thought it would never happen because it would be too expensive.  “We will see…”.  That gave me three years at the time to get enough miles and hotel points for this trip.  Challenge accepted.  We were able to book the flights during our 15th year all due to miles.
Travel Addiction
Now that I have accomplished those two goals I have had a chance to sit back and look closely at my hobby.  Are there things I would do differently?  Yes.  But sometimes its the journey and the steps you have to take along the way.  Just make sure you take a step back to enjoy your life. Read our article about Why Travel? 5 Reasons You Should and you don’t let your travel habits become an actual compulsion.

Best Vacations for Teens

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Best Vacations for Teens

We believe that everyone should travel. That doesn’t mean you need to fly somewhere or even go far. You can travel in your own state or do a road trip and we encourage you to read more about why we think everyone should travel. Since we have a teenager, we get asked a lot where we think the best vacations for teens are. Now we travel a decent amount but we certainly don’t travel everywhere; and we’ve never been overseas. But we do have some favorites for you to consider when planning your best vacations for teens.

  • Las Vegas – Yeah that sounds odd, it’s a mecka of lots of things you probably don’t want your teenagers to know or see, but with that said there are also a lot of opportunities in Las Vegas you may not get other places. Sporting events, fights, lots of things to do that are family friendly.
  • Florida – Florida has many things to do from swimming at the beach, to planning a Disney destination vacation.
  • Wisconsin Dells, WI – There are so many waterparks and things to do here it’s often overlooked. Visit in the summer to take full advantage.
  • Hawaii – There is something extra special to be said about visiting an island. Combine that with all the great things to see and do and you can’t really go wrong. Plus a stop at Pearl Harbor lets you sneak in some learning too.
  • Mexico – We’ve only been to Cancun but I imagine the experiences are similar in other places around Mexico too. Try to get in a few excursions to see historical sites, dolphins and snorkeling opportunites you can’t get other places.

Need some other ideas? Check out this list of the 20 Vacations places for Teens by Travel Advisor.

Tips to make the Best Vacations for Teens memorable

  1. Anytime you are planning trips with teens involve them in the trip planning. If they feel invested in the trip they are more likely to enjoy it and not complain if something outside your control goes wrong. When we travel we make Cheyenne research wherever we are going. With today’s easy access to YouTube and social media reviews this isn’t that hard for her. She then gets to pick 1 must do activity as do each of us. That is the thing we make sure we do first so that we get everyone’s item in on our vaction. For example: When we went to Hawaii – Cheyenne’s must do thing was to visit the Dole Plantation which we actually ended up doing twice.
  2. Make them accountable. There is no reason your teenager can’t pack their own bag, be responsible for souveniers they want and help you navigate around the airport, etc.
  3. Plan downtime. We’ve found that most people want to pack everything they can into their vacation. I get that, I really do, but will you enjoy it if you don’t have some downtime? We’ve found that if we plan in downtime we enjoy the fast, action packed, busy days way more. This can be helpful if you have a rainday or something goes wrong like being able to move your tours if a hurricane threatens your trip such as when Hurricane Laine decided to visit us on our Hawaii trip. This is in my opinion the most important tip when considering the best vacations for teens.
  4. Plan your photos. Our daughter hates to have her picture taken. That’s probably because Joni takes about a million of them. We set the expectation up front we are going to take pictures, probably a lot them. If you don’t complain and you go along with them things will be easier and you will be happy we have them when we get back. With that said Joni tries to limit our family snaps to a handful a day so they aren’t overwhelming

Do you have other tips or places to making the best of vacations with teens? Comment or contact us to let us know so we can share with others!

Travel Hacking: Cheapest Time to Fly

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We get asked all the time what is the cheapest time to fly? Now if you aren’t really into travel hacking and points redemption, it’s going to depend on if you are putting a cost on your convenience factor.  Are you genuinely looking for the cheapest flight, therefore, the cheapest time to fly?

So… What is the Cheapest Time to Fly?

In all honesty, if you are trying to find the cheapest flights (for point redemptions or not) you will almost always find that morning flights and red eyes (Late night flights) are your best bet.

Morning Flights

One of the cheapest time to fly tips we have is to fly on a morning flight. A lot of people do not like getting up early to fly so this leaves options at great redemptions. When flying out it gives me several benefits.
  • I prefer to start my trip as soon as possible.
  • Airlines are less likely to delay morning flights.
  • On my flights to Las Vegas and Cancun, they plane usually does not sell. Being on a plane that doesn’t sell out, allows for extra room with empty seats next to you.
  • All Major airlines will give you an option for being bumped off a delayed flight, You will be asked to take a later trip and it will cost you more time in the airport. However it might be well worth your trouble. I have received vouchers for several hundred dollars in credits towards future flights for being delayed a couple of hours.
  • The main reason I prefer the early flights is traffic.  I hate traffic!  I would prefer to deal with traffic at 9 pm if doing a park and fly or driving at 3 am in the morning than sitting in Chicago during rush hour.

Red Eye Flights

Another time to consider for the cheapest time to fly is taking a Red-Eye flight. I prefer the red eye for the same reasons as morning flights.  I usually end up working the following day when I fly back from Las Vegas. Even if I fly back late at night and I can do this partially due to the time change.  When I land at midnight, my body is still in sync with Pacific (Las Vegas) Time, so it feels like it’s still 10 pm.  The time change combined with the red-eye flight allows me to drive in lighter traffic and results in fewer delays getting back.  Usually, the jet leg does not hit me till the next evening, so I would have already gone through my day of work before I would start to feel the effects and can sleep it off at that point.
So it can’t all be awesome right, or everyone would be taking these flights. The biggest pitfall of the red-eye flights is having a flight delayed or canceled. With living in Wisconsin, this does happen more often in those snowy winters.  You will be stuck if you are on the last flight of the day and it’s canceled or delayed. Canceled Flights due to weather has happened several times over the years, but I have found it is a chance worth taking.  You need to keep this in mind if you live in a weather-sensitive area like Wisconsin.
Travel Hacking what is the cheapest time to fly?
Please contact us or leave a comment below if you have other tips on the best time to fly.

Other Travel Tips: