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Feeling all the nostalgia today to be back Texas!

Feeling all the nostalgia today to be back Texas! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I'm currently near the Texas-Mexico border in McAllen—the place that really taught me how to use points and miles. And the last time I was here, life looked pretty different.
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Between 2013 and 2015, I traveled back and forth between McAllen and D.C.—a route that frequently runs over $500—on my entry-level copyeditor's salary. Points and miles wasn't a hobby back then—it was a necessity for sustaining a long-distance relationship I couldn't afford 😂
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I learned to get resourceful. I'd spend hours hanging out at my gate, volunteering to get bumped off of flight after flight in exchange for vouchers. This is also when status challenges, shopping portals and dining programs entered the picture—anything to help earn that extra mile per dollar spent.
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While I'm glad I'm no longer a regular on DCA-MFE, I'll still always remember those trips fondly. I'm very grateful for all the takeaways, and I'm very excited to be back (even if my favorite tamale place has since closed 😭). ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
How did you get into points and miles?

How do you search for flights?
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No matter what it is I'm doing travel-wise, you can bet Google Flights is the first place I'm going to gather info. While it may seem like its main function is providing flight prices, I promise it can be a powerful tool even if you're planning to use points and miles and don't need the cash prices at all!
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With Google Flights, you can...
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ✈️ Easily check schedules and filter by time of day. If I need an option that departs after work or arrives in time for an event, this is how I find it! ✈️ Search flights to/from multiple airports at once. This was clutch back in my DC days when I could use IAD, DCA and BWI on any given trip. But I still use it regularly when looking for the best options - later this week, I'm flying into MFE, but I also looked at HRL and BRO! ✈️ Filter by connection city. Since I connect all the time now, I love this feature for nixing itineraries that take me through cities prone to weather delays and cancelations (I love Chicago with all my heart, but no thank you to extra ORD visits)
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I wrote up a step-by-step guide (with screen shots!!) on how to do all of this and much more, and you can find it over on @bontraveler! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Do you use Google Flights? If not, how do you do your flight searches?

If you want to fly for free, you obviously have to

If you want to fly for free, you obviously have to have the points. But that's not all you need!
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You also have to find award availability--in other words, a free ticket you can book. Just because there are seats available on a flight for purchase doesn't mean they're bookable with your points and miles.
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In fact, if you're trying to use your points to fly internationally in first or business class, finding award space can be extremely tricky. What most people don't realize is that you often need to book it far, far in advance--in some cases, as soon as it becomes bookable, around a year out.
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So how do you ensure that you find what you need?! One popular way: Build your trip around the award space you find. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Now, I'll be the first to tell you that I don't actually do this 😂 I'm a big planner, and I have my next three years' worth of travel mapped out in the "Notes" section of my phone at any given time. I'm almost always selecting flights to target based on my tight schedule and then reverse-engineering to try to find a way to get those flights for free. But that strategy works largely because I'm okay sitting in economy and, from time to time, "overpaying" in points if I need to.
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Of course, sometimes you do get lucky. Earlier this week, I shared in Stories how I managed to book the elusive Etihad First Class, which just so happened to have open space on the exact date I needed (it's saved in my highlights under "Etihad Apts" if you want to see more!). But if you have your heart set on sitting up front, chancing it is not a strategy I recommend. Plan ahead!
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Tell me: Have you ever planned a trip around a cheap fare or award space you found? Or does the destination take precedence?

I may be in the desert right now (see Stories and

I may be in the desert right now (see Stories and my UAE highlight for more!), but over on the blog, it's all Asheville this week. Excited to be sharing ALL my recs for one of my very favorite cities in the U.S.
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Here's a sneak peek (save this post for later if Asheville is on your bucket list!): ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Get there ✈️ - Asheville works fabulously as part of a road trip (it's within range of so many other cities, including Charlotte, Durham, Atlanta, Charleston and Nashville). If you're planning to drive around a bit, you may find it easier/cheaper (in money and in points) to fly into one of the larger cities and then drive to Asheville. If you just want to do Asheville, though, there are nonstop flights from cities including Dallas, NYC, Chicago and DC. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Stay 🛎️ - @thefoundryhotel (there's a full review of this @hiltonhonors @curiocollection property on the blog!)
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See 👀 - @biltmoreestate, @blueridgenps, downtown, West Asheville, sunset at the @omnigrovepark
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Eat 🍽️ - @tableasheville, @benneoneagle, @therhuavl, @ganshanwest, @smokypark
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Drink 🍸- @floraasheville, @littlejumbobar, @thewaterbirdasheville, @sovereignremedies
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Catch the rest on 52citiesblog.com! Have you been to Asheville? What are your favorite things to do there?

Who here has Buenos Aires on your bucket list? 🙋🏻‍♀️
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It's been a while since I've done one of these mini IG travel guides, and I have lots of BA recs, so I figured I'd put them all into a post you can save for later!
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Get there ✈️ - Flying to Buenos Aires can take as few as 50K points or miles round-trip from the U.S., and all three major alliances have options for getting there. For starters, you can try:
⭐Star Alliance - Singapore KrisFlyer or Asiana to book flights on United, Copa or Avianca
🌎OneWorld - Cathay Pacific or British Airways to book flights on American or LATAM
🌌SkyTeam - Korean Air or FlyingBlue to book flights on Delta or Aerolineas Argentinas
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Stay 🛎️ - In terms of points hotels, I had a bad experience at the @anselmohotel (Hilton) and an okay time at the somewhat-outdated Park Tower (Marriott). Next time, I want to try the @palacioduhau, bookable with @hyatt points! But if you value neighborhood over ability to book with points, definitely look for something in Palermo.
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See 👀 - Plaza de Mayo/Casa Rosada, Palermo for food/shopping/cafes, Recoleta Cemetery ⚰️, El Ateneo (huge, famous bookstore 📚), Teatro Colon 🎭, the colorful neighborhood of La Boca ⚽, San Telmo neighborhood, Japanese gardens, Parque 3 de Febrero
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Eat 🍽️ - @oportoalmacen, @ninina.arg, @lamarbsas, @laalacenacafebazar, @mishiguenecocina, @dabbang_, @chocolates_rapanui and @jauja_helados for 🍦
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Drink 🍸- @painetvin, @floreriaatlantico, @adoradobar for ☕
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Have you been to Buenos Aires? Any favorites to share? Leave them below!

I almost never use my points to spring for busines

I almost never use my points to spring for business class, but on this trip to L.A., there was a particular reason I did: It was priced lower than economy class 😂
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The points world is full of tech quirks, but unfortunately, they won't all benefit you the way this one did. Here are a few problems you may run into when booking free flights (and how to avoid them!):
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❌You don't see award availability - Trying to check for availability on certain airline websites can be a lost cause. There are so many instances where one airline website won't display a partner's space correctly (or at all), but if you haven't done your research beforehand, you won't know and may just think there are no free flights available. There are tons of resources online about which websites you can use to reliably check award space - try googling "how to search award space on xyz airline" before you start for some helpful pointers. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
❌The availability you see isn't really there - This is called "phantom availability," and it's a thing. The last thing you want is to do a permanent points transfer only to realize you can't use those points to complete a transaction. You can confirm that space is available by checking for it on other partner airlines' websites, but given what I just told you about websites, the option I vastly prefer is just picking up the phone for a minute and confirming with an agent. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
❌Your points take forever to transfer - Not all transfers are instant! It depends on where you're transferring from (Chase, Amex, etc.) and which partner you're transferring to. There's no shortage of handy tables online that will lay out transfer times for you so you know what to expect. And if it's going to take a few days, definitely call and try to put your itinerary on hold until your points come in to make sure availability doesn't disappear while you're waiting.
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Any other tech quirks you've run into when using points and miles? Tell me about them below!

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