Welcome to Travel Savvy Family – Your Guide to Traveling the World on Points & Miles

American Express American Express cards can feel overwhelming. Personal or business. Gold or Platinum. Points and perks. This guide simplifies it so you can build a smart Amex strategy without wasting annual fees or missing valuable benefits. At its core, Amex is powerful for families because Membership Rewards® points are flexible. And we love flexible, transferable points! The airline partners are fantastic and offer opportunities for both domestic and international air travel. While Amex has many airline partners, the hotel partners are limited. Of those three hotel chains, I prefer Hilton simply for the value. The transfer rate to Hilton is 1 Amex point: 2 Hilton points. This means that your Amex points go twice as far with Hilton. Additionally, if you hold the Amex Platinum (personal or business), you receive automatic Hilton Gold status. Hilton offers a Fifth Night Free benefit on standard room reward bookings for members with this elite status. In addition to this perk, you als...

  What Is the Companion Pass? The Companion Pass  allows you to bring one person with you  for free, excluding  taxes and fees  ($5.60 each way in the U.S.). You can change your companion up to three times a year. It works on flights booked with cash, points, or credits. Once you qualify, the pass is  valid for the remainder of that year  and the entire following  year. For my family of four, it’s the best perk out there. When my husband and I both hold Companion Passes, our kids fly free. Or he and I can take trips without the kids and only need to buy one flight! We’ve saved thousands this way (both in points and cash). Current Promo There is more than one way to earn a Companion Pass. There is the traditional way , where you are required to earn 135,000 Rapid Rewards points in a calendar year. Southwest also offers a promotional Companion Pass, where you can earn CP with just one card and one signup bonus. With each of the 3 personal cards, you...

  Capital One Venture Rewards The Venture Rewards card has a new, elevated offer! (as of 1/20/26) Spend $4k in 3 months and earn 75k points & receive a $250 Travel Credit to use in the Capital One Travel Portal. Annual Fee: $95 2x on ALL purchases $120 TSA Precheck on Global Entry credit Capital One miles can be transferred out to a variety of airline partners, but you can also use them to "erase" travel purchases made on your card (at a redemption rate of one cent per mile). This is perfect for cruises, vacation rentals, and other travel expenses that are more challenging to redeem points for. This is how we use our Capital One miles as of late. While this isn't the best value possible, it helps us to keep our out-of-pocket costs down with so much travel, and ultimately, some of it is not eligible for typical point redemptions. Capital One Transfer Details The Capital One Venture card earns a flat 2x miles on every purchase. You'll also earn 5x miles per dollar s...

If you’re new to travel hacking, now is a GREAT time to start . There are several elevated credit card offers available right now, and in particular, Chase has some of the strongest beginner-friendly points and miles offers we’ve seen in a while . If you’re searching for: The best credit card to start travel hacking How to use points and miles for your first free trip Which  Chase card makes the most sense for beginners This post walks you through exactly what I’d do today. If You’re Brand New to Travel Hacking, Start Here If I were starting from scratch, the first card I would open is the Chase Sapphire Preferred . It’s consistently one of the best credit cards for beginners who want to earn points and miles without opening too many cards or overcomplicating things. Why the Chase Sapphire Preferred Is a Great First Card 75,000 Ultimate Rewards after spending $4k in 3 months $95 annual fee: Reasonable and easy to justify long term Flexible Chase Ultimate Rewards p...

  Earning the Southwest Companion Pass At first, the Southwest Companion Pass sounded impossible — buy one ticket and your companion flies free, every time? But it’s real, and it’s changed everything for our family. We’ve flown to Hawaii (twice!), explored Grand Cayman together, slipped away to Mexico more times than I can count, and booked several spontaneous weekend trips. Even with Southwest rolling out changes, it’s still the best perk in the sky. What Is the Companion Pass? The Companion Pass  allows you to bring one person with you  for free, excluding  taxes and fees ($5.60 each way in the U.S.). You can change your companion up to three times a year. It works on flights booked with cash, points, or credits. Once you qualify, the pass is  valid for the remainder of that year  and the entire following  year. For my family of four, it’s the best perk out there. When my husband and I both hold Companion Passes, our kids fly free. Or...

How Chase Ink Business Cards Help Families Earn More Travel Points If you’ve already dipped your toes into earning travel rewards with personal credit cards, you may be wondering: What’s next? Here’s our answer—business credit cards. Especially the Chase Ink  lineup. These cards are a smart way to: Earn generous welcome offers Boost your everyday spending with valuable bonus categories Keep your travel points strategy going for the long run And no, you don’t need a registered LLC or brick-and-mortar business to qualify. Let’s break down how this works—and why it makes sense for families like yours. You Might Already Qualify for a Business Card This is where many people pause: Do I really qualify for a business credit card? If you earn income—or even plan to—from any small or side business activity, you likely qualify. You’re considered a sole proprietor, which is a valid business structure. This is very common and widely accepted by banks. Some examples: Selling items online (Etsy,...