Wonderland on Points | Credit Card Rewards & Budget Travel

Join Mary Ellen this week as she wraps up her enchanting anniversary trip to Switzerland with the help of credit card points. Experience the thrill of a mountain coaster, an epic sunrise atop Mt. Pilatus, a rainy day hidden gem in Lucerne, and the incredible Lindt Chocolate museum in Zurich. Mary Ellen also shares about getting a quick taste of Madrid during a layover. Discover the best strategies for using points and other savvy travel budgeting tips to make this dream trip a reality for yourself. This episode is your ultimate guide to planning an extraordinary trip to Switzerland. Don't miss it!

Join our Facebook Community

Sign up for our newsletter

Mentioned In This Episode

Lucerne Gameorama Museum

Mt. Pilatus Hotel Bellevue

Frakmungtegg Tobaggan Run

Lindt Chocolate Museum

Links

Chase/Capital One/Amex Card Links

FlyKitt- the BEST Jet Lag Solution!

30% off the CardPointers subscription!

Tripiamo Driving Tutorials

Our Favorite Travel Necessities

We receive a small commission when you choose to use any of our links to purchase your products or apply for your cards! We SO appreciate when you choose to give back to the podcast in this way!

This week, we're thrilled to share Mary Ellen's EPIC dream trip to Switzerland! Join us as she reveals how she transformed her dream into reality with minimal out-of-pocket expenses, thanks to the savvy use of points and miles. From breathtaking alpine vistas to charming Swiss villages, Mary Ellen's journey is filled with specific details and actionable tips to help you plan your own incredible adventure to Switzerland on points. Whether you're a seasoned traveler or just starting your points and miles journey, this episode is a goldmine of information you won't want to miss!

Join our Facebook Community

Sign up for our newsletter

Mentioned In This Episode

SBB Mobile App

Swiss Travel Pass

Mountain webcams

Gruyeres Castle

Info about Moleson

Paragliding Interlaken

Links

Chase/Capital One/Amex Card Links

FlyKitt- the BEST Jet Lag Solution!

30% off the CardPointers subscription!

Tripiamo Driving Tutorials

Our Favorite Travel Necessities

We receive a small commission when you choose to use any of our links to purchase your products or apply for your cards! We SO appreciate when you choose to give back to the podcast in this way!

Join us this week as we sit down with Betsey from @HerAlaskaTravels to chat about Alaska Airlines. We cover topics like achieving status, finding award sweet spots, and maximizing your points by flying partner airlines. Betsey also shares her incredible life story, from flying as an unaccompanied minor at age five to working in the Alaska oil fields as an adult. If you're interested in visiting Alaska, Betsey offers invaluable tips and tricks for touring her beautiful home state. This episode is packed with insights from a fascinating and inspiring woman. Don't miss it!

Join our Facebook Community

Sign up for our newsletter

Find us on Instagram:

Podcast Instagram

Jo

Mary Ellen

Betsey

Mentioned In This Episode

@Emilyeatsandexplores

@Onegirlwandering

@Sologirlstravelguide

Alaska Airlines Partner List

Alaska Tour Saver

Links

Chase/Capital One/Amex Card Links

FlyKitt- the BEST Jet Lag Solution!

30% off the CardPointers subscription!

Tripiamo Driving Tutorials

Our Favorite Travel Necessities

We receive a small commission when you choose to use any of our links to purchase your products or apply for your cards! We SO appreciate when you choose to give back to the podcast in this way!

Join us this week as we sit down with Betsey from @HerAlaskaTravels to chat about Alaska Airlines. We cover topics like achieving status, finding award sweet spots, and maximizing your points by flying partner airlines. Betsey also shares her incredible life story, from flying as an unaccompanied minor at age five to working in the Alaska oil fields as an adult. If you're interested in visiting Alaska, Betsey offers invaluable tips and tricks for touring her beautiful home state. This episode is packed with insights from a fascinating and inspiring woman. Don't miss it!

Join our Facebook Community

Sign up for our newsletter

Find us on Instagram:

Podcast Instagram

Jo

Mary Ellen

Betsey

Mentioned In This Episode

@EmilyEatsandExplores

@SoloGirlsTravelGuide

@OneGirlWandering

Alaska Airlines Partner List

Alaska Tour Saver

Referral Links

World of Hyatt Business Credit Card

Southwest Airlines Credit Card

Chase Sapphire Preferred or Reserve

Chase Ink Cards

Venture X Card

Amex Gold

AMEX Platinum

On today's episode we sit down with Ben from @BensBigDeal to chat about how American Airlines status program stands apart from all others. For example, you don’t even have to FLY on an AA flight before you can earn top tier status! Using tools like the AA Advantage Shopping and Hotel Portals can help you travel like an elite. We learned so many fascinating details about Ben and his background and how he became the points and miles guru that he is today. We can't wait for you to listen to this episode and learn more about the American Airlines program.

Join our Facebook Community

Sign up for our newsletter

Find us on Instagram:

Podcast Instagram

Jo

Mary Ellen

Ben

Mentioned In This Episode

Ben's Website

Ben's Podcast

Find Flights For Me

The Miles Couple

Point and Miles Doc

Links

Chase/Capital One/Amex Card Links

FlyKitt- the BEST Jet Lag Solution!

30% off the CardPointers subscription!

Tripiamo Driving Tutorials

Our Favorite Travel Necessities

We receive a small commission when you choose to use any of our links to purchase your products or apply for your cards! We SO appreciate when you choose to give back to the podcast in this way!

We were thrilled to sit down with Rob Dulgarion from the @TravelPointsRob Instagram page to discuss his incredible journey flying his family of seven in business class, by using credit card rewards points. While this was our original topic, we discovered so much more during our conversation! Listen in to hear about Rob and his wife's luxurious trip to Zanzibar in the coveted QSuites (also on POINTS!). Discover the benefits of the KLM Stopover program, the importance of always paying in local currency, and how Rob's family of seven managed to fly round trip on a budget airline for just $210. This episode is packed with valuable travel tips and inspiring stories from Rob's adventures, and we can't wait for you to learn from his family's experiences!

Join our Facebook Community

Sign up for our newsletter

Find us on Instagram:

Podcast Instagram

Jo

Mary Ellen

Rob

Mentioned In This Episode

V Family Travels Instagram

V Family Travels Blog

Rob and Beth's Points and Miles Course

Links

Chase/Capital One/Amex Card Links

FlyKitt- the BEST Jet Lag Solution!

30% off the CardPointers subscription!

Tripiamo Driving Tutorials

Our Favorite Travel Necessities

We receive a small commission when you choose to use any of our links to purchase your products or apply for your cards! We SO appreciate when you choose to give back to the podcast in this way!

In perhaps our most important and most meaningful episode yet, this week we sat down to chat with Jennifer Allen from @Wonders_Within_Reach about what accessible travel and inclusion looks like for those with disabilities. As a Spina Bifida mom, Jennifer is no stranger to a travel world that is often not created with accessibility in mind. She has dedicated her life to finding accessible options for all, and sharing her experiences with others. We talk about their journey using credit card points and miles to help navigate the world of adoption, as well as many tips and tricks to make travel easier for those with both visible and invisible disabilities. Jennifer shares some of her family’s experiences with international travel where the kindness of strangers has been paramount to the success of the trips. We hope to bring awareness to the challenges travelers with disabilities face, share a perspective that not everyone considers, and empower individuals with differing abilities (and their families) to get out and see the world. We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we loved recording it!

Join our Facebook Community

Sign up for our newsletter

Find us on Instagram:

Podcast Instagram

Jo

Mary Ellen

Jennifer

In This Episode

@Accessible.Adventures

Wonders Within Reach Blog

Becoming RentABLE

Links

Chase/Capital One/Amex Card Links

FlyKitt- the BEST Jet Lag Solution!

30% off the CardPointers subscription!

Tripiamo Driving Tutorials

Our Favorite Travel Necessities

We receive a small commission when you choose to use any of our links to purchase your products or apply for your cards! We SO appreciate when you choose to give back to the podcast in this way!

Finally the LONG awaited deep dive into the American Express Gold card. This card is a travel hacking staple for many reasons and now it's time to tell you why we love this card and what benefits it can bring to your points and miles strategy. Multipliers like 4x points on groceries and restaurants go a long, especially for large families with lots of mouths to feed. In combination with stacking opportunities using the Rakuten shopping portal, the Amex Gold racks up points quickly. While the annual fee may scare some, we dive into the many ways to offset it such taking advantage of Uber Eats and Grub Hub credits, ensuring you're getting more benefit from your card than fees. IF you already have an Amex Gold card, this episode is still for you! You may learn about benefits and hacks you didn't know existed! Make sure you're getting the most out of your relationship with American Express!

Join our Facebook Community

Sign up for our newsletter

Find us on Instagram:

Podcast Instagram

Jo

Mary Ellen

Links

Chase/Capital One/Amex Card Links

FlyKitt- the BEST Jet Lag Solution!

30% off the CardPointers subscription!

Tripiamo Driving Tutorials

Our Favorite Travel Necessities

We receive a small commission when you choose to use any of our links to purchase your products or apply for your cards! We SO appreciate when you choose to give back to the podcast in this way!

Travel can be very challenging with large families, more people means more rooms and more expensive trips. This week, points and miles educator, Amena from @HassansOnHoliday, joins us to chat about her family's adventures around the world using credit card rewards. We chat about maximizing everyday spending in seasons of earning, pacing credit card applications, utilizing bank bonuses and finding special family rates at some of our favorite hotels when we're ready to cash in our points for epic family travel. Every family's points and miles strategy is different and we dig into some examples with our special guest.

Join our Facebook Community

Sign up for our newsletter

Find us on Instagram:

Podcast Instagram

Jo

Mary Ellen

Amena

Mentioned In This Episode:

TravelMore Conference

Bank Bonuses:

Chase Bank Bonus

AMEX Bank Bonus

Links

Chase/Capital One/Amex Card Links

FlyKitt- the BEST Jet Lag Solution!

30% off the CardPointers subscription!

Tripiamo Driving Tutorials

Our Favorite Travel Necessities

We receive a small commission when you choose to use any of our links to purchase your products or apply for your cards! We SO appreciate when you choose to give back to the podcast in this way!

Today we bring our beloved team member Linsey onto the show, to recap our incredible girls' trip to Fort Meyers, Florida. We take you through all the details of how to recreate this epic trip on points and share a few stories along the way. We are so excited for you to hear about this amazing property and some our best budget tips for how to get the absolute most out of your next trip to Florida!

Join our Facebook Community

Sign up for our newsletter

Find us on Instagram:

Podcast Instagram

Jo

Mary Ellen

Linsey

Links

Chase/Capital One/Amex Card Links

FlyKitt- the BEST Jet Lag Solution!

30% off the CardPointers subscription!

Tripiamo Driving Tutorials

Our Favorite Travel Necessities

We receive a small commission when you choose to use any of our links to purchase your products or apply for your cards! We SO appreciate when you choose to give back to the podcast in this way!