Much of our time in October was spent preparing for our trip to Italy. Our trip included our good friends Bill and Theresa and Jenn’s Parents. None of them had been to Italy before and we wanted to make sure that they had a great time. I spent a decent amount of time researching places to visit, things to eat, train tickets, etc.
Meanwhile, Jenn spent a good deal of the month making ensuring that our kids had everything they needed to survive while we were gone. Emma and Alex are 19 and 15, respectively and they are definitely at the age where leaving them for another continent is questionable. I am, however, a firm believer that giving children challenges is a great way to turn them into functioning adults.
I can tell you that Emma passed this challenge with flying colors. She was not only responsible for taking care of Alex while she was gone, but she also was working, going to school and taking care of Jenn’s Parents’ dog. On top of that, she was coaching a youth basketball team. She took care of all of that and made sure that our house didn’t turn into a scene from Lord of the Flies. We couldn’t be prouder of her.
Citi Strata Premier Card
Right before we left for Italy, Jenn applied for, and her application was accepted for the Citi Strata Premier card. This is Citibank’s premier card and it’s a pretty good one. It has a $95 annual fee and has some pretty good bonus categories.
10x on Hotels, Rental Cars, and Attractions booked through the CitiTravel.com
3x on Groceries
3x on Restaurants
3x on Gas and EV Charging stations
3x on Flights and Other Hotel Purchases
1x on Everything Else
Getting 3x on groceries, restaurants and gas means means the cardholder can get 3x on a large portion of their spending without worrying about using one card for dining, and one card for gas, etc. It is a great credit card for people who don’t want to think too hard about points and miles.
This card currently has a 75,000 point welcome offer when the cardholder spends $4,000 within 3 months. Citi points are valued at 1.8 cents per point by The Points Guy, so that bonus is worth $1,350. In order to get that 1.8 cents per point value, you would need to use one of Citi’s transfer partners, including some of my favorites like Air France/KLM flying blue and Avianca Lifemiles.
It has a $100 credit on a hotel purchase of $500 or more using the Citi Travel site. It also has some trip protections and no foreign transaction fees. Overall, it’s a really solid travel credit card and especially good for people who don’t want to manage multiple cards.
Ok, On to the Point Check
This was not a great month for spending on non-bonus cards. We’ve gotten a little lazy about what card to use. For the vast majority of the month, Jenn didn’t have a card where she was working on a signup bonus. She is usually the one yelling at me that we need to sign up for a new card, because she can’t stand not working towards a signup bonus. Because she didn’t have a signup bonus to work towards, she just used her IHG Premier and her Amex Business Gold, neither of which were particularly great choices.
Card Used
Spend
Points Earned
Point Value
Points Per $
Return on Spend
Amex Business Gold
$1,143
1,310
$26.20
1.1
2.3%
IHG Premier
$814
2,695
$13.48
3.3
1.7%
Ink Cash
$561
2,783
$57..05
5.0
10.2%
Venture
$372
745
$13.78
2.0
3.7%
Wyndham Business
$284
1,588
$17.47
5.6
6.2%
Total
$3,174
9,121
$127.98
2.9
4.0%
This month’s spending not devoted to earning a signup bonus
Because of that, the return on spend on cards where there wasn’t a signup bonus was 4%. I like to keep that number above 5% and lately we’ve been over 6%. Note to self – make sure Jenn has a signup bonus to work on.
Besides the spending on the above chart, I spent over $3,200 on my US Bank Triple Cash card, earning a little under $50 in cash back. That puts me more than halfway to the $6,000 in required spend to earn the $750 bonus on that card.
That meant that we finished the month with:
296,700 Amex Membership Reward Points
217,000 Chase Ultimate Reward Points
141,700 IHG Points
104,800 American Airlines Miles
85,400 Capital One Venture Miles
71,900 Marriott Bonvoy Points
30,400 Citi Thank You Points
11,300 Hyatt Points
5,000 Delta Miles
2,700 United Miles
$220 Cash Back
Using the Points Guy’s valuations, all of this totals to an all-time high for us of $15,800 in points, miles and cash back. We have some pretty big travel plans for 2025, so we’re going to need a big stash of points available. Hopefully I see some Black Friday deals so I can lock in some plane tickets!
Amsterdam is a city that I’ve dreamed of visiting for decades. The center of Amsterdam is a magical area where the canals and the buildings that line them are practically frozen in the 17th Century, when merchants trading goods from Asia brought wealth to the Netherlands. It was amazing to visit Amsterdam, even though it was a short stopover.
Taking Advantage of KLM Stopover Rules
We had the opportunity to take a 25 hour stopover on our way to Rome. When we planned our trip to Rome, there was a flight we liked from Chicago to Rome, but the layover in Amsterdam was only a little over an hour. That was a dangerous connection since we would have to go through immigration and security. We might’ve made it, but any delay would have made it close to impossible.
Our solution to the short layover was to fly in a day earlier and use KLM’s stopover rules to our advantage. KLM gives flyers the ability to stop in Amsterdam for up to 12 months on flight itineraries that stop in Amsterdam. This adjustment meant that we had a day in Amsterdam to defeat jet lag and do some wandering.
The KLM flight from Chicago to Amsterdam was comfortable and we landed at the airport without incident. Amsterdam has fantastic train service at the airport and in less than 20 minutes we were at Amsterdam Centraal for about 5 Euros a ticket.
Row houses along a canal in Amsterdam
We stayed at the Kimpton De Witt near Amsterdam Centraal train station. They were gracious enough to find us a vacant room and allow us to check in at around 8:30 AM. The staff was very nice and even gave us a 15 Euro drink credit for using the current Kimpton Password.
What is the Kimpton Secret Password?
Kimpton has a secret password program that allows guests to get a little something extra if they know the secret password and tell it to the clerk when checking in. It's meant to be a fun little way to create a little buzz for the hotel.
We dropped our luggage off at the room, took a quick shower and we were off and running.
Walking the Canals
We were planning to take a nap, since we, as usual, were unable to sleep on the overnight flight. But first we wanted to walk along the canals and, more importantly, get some breakfast.
Wheels of Gouda are on display at a traditional cheese maker near our hotel.
The place we stopped at was a small but very busy breakfast restaurant called Omelegg. Seating there was a bit of a challenge. We ended up having to sit next to each other at a booth because the other side had a bench that was being used by a different table. It was a little awkward, but it was fine.
The Italian Job at Omelegg
Jenn ordered the Italian Job and I got the Chicken Harissa omelette. Both were very good and served with soft slice of dark wheat bread and an arugula salad.
Row houses right on a canal. Watch out that first step out the front door is a little tricky.
The Kimpton De Witt is right on the edge of the Red Light District, so most of what we noticed at the beginning of our walk was a whole lot of weed shops and erotic boutiques. We also noticed more litter than I was used to seeing in Europe. There was a pretty pungent smell of marijuana in the air as well as cigarette smoke.
Classic Dutch Row Houses
While those things are a little unpleasant, Amsterdam is so unbelievably gorgeous it easily makes up for those shortcomings. The canal houses with their narrow five story design, brick exterior and big windows are beautiful. The tree lined canals and herringbone pattern brick streets make for an amazing backdrop for a sunny crisp fall walk.
The Church of St Nicholas
It’s nice to walk without a purpose or direction. We wandered the brick streets admiring the houseboats and tiny cars that lined the edges of the canals. It was a fairly peaceful walk with only the occasional car, bike or pedestrian that went past us. After about an hour the jet lag caught up with us and we returned to the hotel for a nap.
After our nap, we headed over to Brouwerij’t Ij. It was about a 25 minute walk from the hotel but a lot of it went through some gorgeous newer neighborhoods. Even though these neighborhoods didn’t have 400 year old row houses, the buildings kept the spirit of Amsterdam architecture. Many of them were block long buildings, instead of the narrow and tall buildings but they still were mostly 5 stories with shops on the first floor.
When we arrived at Brouwerij’t IJ I ordered a Tripel and Jenn ordered the Columbus. I loved the Tripel because it had less funk then many of the tripels that I’ve had in the past. Jenn had the Columbus which is an hoppy imperial beer which she also enjoyed. We sat out in their beer garden and watched traffic along the street which was mostly pedestrians and cyclists. It was lovely and we would’ve stayed longer but I wanted to check out Gollum Aan Het Water.
The beer and the atmosphere at Brouwerij’t Ij was great. I would recommend visiting when you are in Amsterdam.
Gollum has a series of bars around Amsterdam with an impressive beer selection, especially in bottles. Gollum was on my list of places that I really wanted to visit in Amsterdam. I was hoping to try some Belgian Ales that don’t make it to the US.
Just a portion of the amazing beer selection at Gollum Aan Het Water
We started with a Rochfort and an Orval then moved onto some regional craft beers and other Belgian Ales. The quality and variety of the beers served at Gollum was off the charts so I was a bit of a kid in a candy store.
Orval is a beer produced at Orval Abbey in Wallonia Belgium and the sale of the beer helps support the monastery.
To be fair, we had perhaps too many beers at Gollum. As is sometimes the case with us, we got to chatting with other folks at the bar. We met a nice gentleman, originally from England, and his Bernese Mountain dog as well as a couple of guys from North Carolina. The bartender was extremely friendly as well.
It’s always tough to drag ourselves away when conversation flows as easy as the beer. It’s even harder when those conversations are with interesting people from various countries.
Boats illuminated in the night.
Eventually, a little tipsy, we pulled ourselves away from Gollum we walked back towards the hotel. By this time, it was evening and the lights of Amsterdam were dancing on the ripples of the canals. Amsterdam is lovely during the day, but it’s even more enchanting at night. The wind was calm and the air was a touch chilly. It was a perfect night for a lovely walk through Amsterdam.
Montelbaanstoren, a tower dating to the 16th century is illuminated in the evening.
On our way back, we popped into a fast food Kebab place to fill up on hummus, falafel and fries. It hit the spot. I have yet to be disappointed by a middle eastern food in Europe. It is always so good and this was no exception.
Every McDonald’s in America should be replaced by Turkish Street Food – Immediately!
We Will Definitely Return
Doing a stopover in Amsterdam turned out to be a fantastic addition to our trip to Italy. It allowed us to enjoy one of Europe’s great cities without devoting a week to it.
Amsterdam did not disappoint us. Despite our initial negative reactions to the litter and smoke clouds in the Red Light District, Amsterdam is an almost magical city. The architecture, canals, the sheer volume of bikes just make for a uniquely Dutch experience.
We most definitely will be visiting Europe in the future and knowing just how great a stopover in Amsterdam can be, I think there is a good chance we will do this again. Next time, though, we might have to spend two days instead of one.
One thing that surprised me about our trip to Ontario was the number of wineries and vineyards that exist in the area between Niagara Falls and Toronto. According to Ontario Wine Appellation Authority, cool weather varieties thrive in this area, like Riesling, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir.
We were staying in Hamilton, having parked our camper for the week at Fifty Point Conservation Area. From where we were staying, it seemed like every exit along the Queen Elizabeth Way had signs for at least two wineries.
Maybe we should have popped into a winery and checked out what was special about the wine in the Niagara region, but we were more interested in checking out the beer scene. While we were in Ontario, we noticed that there were a few differences between beer culture there and beer culture in Iowa.
Production Breweries vs Brewpubs
Our first night in Ontario, we decided to go to Newark Brewing Company. It is a pretty large production facility set in an industrial area. There is, however, a large grassy side lot that makes the tap room feel like it’s much more out in the country. In fact, our server told us they were part of Harvest Hosts which is a group of wineries, breweries and other attractions that allow you to camp on their site for free. So that grassy lot might just be available for camping.
Dunkel Lager at Newark Brewing
This was the first of many production breweries we visited. Throughout our visit, one thing became fairly clear. Most of the breweries we visited were full scale production breweries first and taprooms second. It’s a different vibe from most of the breweries we visit in Iowa where most of the beer goes straight into kegs to be served at the brewpub. Some canning is done at these brewpubs, but a very low volume is sold, mainly at the taproom itself for carry out.
Session Beers and Low Alcohol Drinks
I love how the beer culture of Iowa has really grown over the last 20 years or so, but if I had one complaint it’s that Iowa craft brewers (and frankly most US craft brewers) brew too many high alcohol beers.
High alcohol beers are rich, flavorful and delicious but they tend to lack drinkabilty, and aren’t refreshing on a hot day. They also, predictably, make the drinker inebriated at a quicker pace, which creates its own series of problems.
At the first brewery we went to, we noticed that there wasn’t a single beer over 6% and most were 4%-5%. I had the Dunkel while we were there which was right at 5%.There are breweries in Iowa where finding a beer under 6% can be tricky, so being at one where everything was 6% or under was refreshing.
The next day we visited Collective Arts. That is a super funky production brewery in a highly industrial area in Hamilton. They served a micro pale ale at 2.9%. I had never heard of a pale ale that low in alcohol.
Later in our trip, we went to Fairweather Brewery which had a series of fruited ales that were 2% alcohol. They were called Chuggy, Jenn tried one of them and really liked it.
Throughout our trip, the focus that most of the breweries had was on beers with traditional alcohol content not Imperial or Double beers. The fact that a few also had beers under 3% was a nice little bonus. I wish this was something that we saw a bit more often in Iowa.
Our Favorite Breweries in Ontario
This isn’t really a full assessment of breweries in the Ontario area since we were only able to visit a few breweries in the week we were there. But I can definitely tell which ones we would’ve been visiting multiple times if we lived in the Hamilton area.
Collective Arts
I found this one by searching around on Google Maps and it didn’t disappoint. They have an amazingly funky vibe. Art is everywhere around the facility with murals on practically every wall. It’s a huge facility but they have a cool patio area where we sat for a beer. Next to the patio area is a large industrial room that looks like maybe its used for canning and barrel aging (I’m not sure about that, I didn’t go snooping). That room also has a bunch of cafeteria style tables in it for when its too cold for the patio.
Barrel Aging at Collective Arts Brewing.
Collective Arts also has a good carryout facility and we did pick up some beer for the camper. The cans also had some great artwork. The beers that we tried, both at the facility and back at the camper, were very well done. If we lived in this area, I think we would visit regularly. For more information on Collective Arts, visit their website.
Bench Brewing Company
Bar at Bench Brewing Company
Bench Brewing Company is a large production facility set off in the middle of wine country. The facility is in a very scenic country setting with an apple orchard and several wineries nearby. They actually have their own hop farm on site.
It has a little bit of an modern industrial vibe to it. The bottle and gift shop is actually two shipping containers that you have to walk past to get to the tap room. They have a large patio area and a large restaurant. Since it was a weekday afternoon, they were only offering service in the restaurant so we sat in a covered deck seating area at the restaurant. We had a little snack and a couple of beers. Everything was well done, the beers that we tried were all of session strength and well made.
Rows of hops at Bench Brewing Company
I would have liked to have spent some time in the patio area. Bench Brewing is in an idyllic and peaceful location, being at the restaurant wasn’t taking advantage of the location. If I were looking for a place to relax on a nice day, this would be the place I would want to sit outside and have a beer. More information about Bench Brewing can be found here.
Outdoor Area at Bench Brewing Company
Trust The Locals
We always like to ask the folks who work at breweries where they go for a beer. Most bartenders and servers at breweries are beer lovers themselves and tend to have very good suggestions. A couple that came up were Merit Brewing and Fairweather Brewing.
Menu at Merit Brewing
We did go to Merit Brewing and I understood the hype. There is some creative brewing going on at this facility. I’m not into sours, but I did have to try a small pour of the Wild Years, which is a brett saison with peaches and muscat grapes. Hats off to the brewer on this one, that’s a very creative beer and if you’re into sours, definitely worth a try. I also tried Young Rival, which I thought was a very good IPA. More information on Merit Brewing can be found here.
We also managed to make it to Fairweather, which wasn’t my favorite mainly because they did have a focus on sours, which again, I avoid. Jenn loved the low alcohol Chuggy beers. They are doing some creative things with sours. Right now they are serving a beer called Apsara that is a sour with peaches, milk sugar, vanilla and chai. If you love sours, I think this is a great brewery to visit. More information on Fairweather can be found here.
Silversmith Brewing
My personal favorite was a little brewery set in Virgil Ontario called Silversmith. It’s located in a little church that’s been converted into a microbrewery. It has a little patio out back where we enjoyed the warm weather and a couple of pints.
The Black Lager
I had The Black Lager, a schwarzbier which was delicious. I don’t know why schwarzbiers aren’t at every brewery to be honest. They are drinkable, flavorful, usually around 5%. They are just perfect all around beers that can be enjoyed year round. Silversmith not only brewed a great beer style, but they nailed it on the execution.
Silversmith is a converted church so I guess you can say you went to church if you go there.
Silversmith seems to focus on well executed classic beer styles and I appreciate that. There are so many breweries now that are going out of their way to invent new kinds of beer, and I applaud the creativity, but sometimes a well executed classic styled beer hits the spot. They are classic beer styles for a reason, after all. More information about Silversmith Brewing Company can be found here.
Belly Up to the Bar
The best thing about beer culture in general is the people. Wherever I am in the world, sitting at the bar is a fantastic way to talk to friendly people. Canadians have reputation for being extremely nice. Our week in Ontario confirmed that stereotype. We’re known in Iowa for being “Iowa Nice” and I can confirm that the folks in Ontario are just as warm and welcoming. Someday we’ll have to visit again.
Last week an article by CNBC indicated that Citigroup was in heavy negotiations with American Airlines to be the exclusive card issuer for American Airlines credit cards. These negotiations are immensely important for American Airlines because the revenue that comes from airline loyalty programs are now a huge portion of their income. It’s become so important, in fact, that it’s sometimes joked that airlines are credit card companies that fly planes. According to Delta CEO Ed Bastian, nearly 1% of the entire US economy is charged to Delta credit cards. The revenue from selling loyalty points to banks is a multi-billion dollar industry for airlines, and its a revenue stream they take very seriously.
American Airlines is in a strange situation because they have cobranded credit cards issued by two different banks. There are four credit cards issued by Citigroup which include three personal credit cards and one business card. Barclays technically has two personal American Airlines cards, but one is only available through upgrade, the AAdvantage Aviator Silver. The only Barclays American Airlines card with a current sign up bonus is the AAdvantage Aviator Red.
The fact that American Airlines has two banks issuing their credit cards is because of an American Airlines merger with US Airways over a decade ago. US Airways had a relationship with Barclays and after the merger US Airways credit cards issued by Barclays became American Airlines cards. American Airlines kept that relationship going, even as people began to forget about US Airways.
It makes sense for American Airlines and Citigroup to form an exclusive relationship. It would make the AAdvantage program more straightforward by reducing the complexity of having multiple card issuers. In the end, I think it’s highly likely that American Airlines will end their relationship with Barclays and form an exclusive relationship with Citigroup.
AAdvantage Aviator Red Card
If Barclays is going to get dropped from the AAdvantage program, it’s safe to say the Barclays AAdvantage Aviator Red card is going to go away. In some respects, good riddance, it’s not a very interesting card. It earns 2 miles per dollar spent on American Airlines purchases and 1 mile on everything else. You do get a free checked bag and preferred boarding but the annual fee is $99.
The thing that does make it interesting is that the signup bonus is incredibly easy to earn. Right now, there is a 70,000 mile signup bonus available through Frequent Miler’s website. What is the spending requirement? Signup and use it once. Literally, pay the $99 annual fee, activate the card and buy a pack of gum using the credit card and 70,000 AAdvantage miles are yours for the taking.
In addition, I’ve been eyeballing some deals to Portugal for spring break that are running around 22,500 AAdvantage miles one way per person. Having an extra 70,000 miles would top off our accounts enough to book the flights there, even though it wouldn’t be enough to get home.
Fear of Missing Out
I think that this is the last chance I have of taking advantage of one of the biggest no-brainers in points and miles. It’s legitimately buying 70,000 miles for $99. It’s not the best signup bonus the card has offered. Jenn got this card about a year ago when it offered 60,000 points for one charge and 15,000 for an authorized user and an additional charge to the authorized user card. However, it is definitely a solid deal, and waiting for a better deal at this point could mean that I miss out completely.
In the middle of writing this post, I actually did apply for this card and was approved. That’s fantastic and I will happily take my shiny new 70,000 miles from American Airlines. As a matter of fact, after I was approved, my daughter walked downstairs and I convinced her to apply for it as well and she was approved.
In all fairness, when I told her there was an annual fee she balked, but I told her if she would use her miles to pay for her ticket to Portugal, I would pay for her annual fee and she jumped on it.
Potentially Good News From the Exclusive Deal with Citigroup
Knowing that Barclays will likely be cut out of the American Airlines credit card business, it means that there will be less choices, and less available signup bonuses in the future. Still, it does raise the possibility of American Airlines becoming a transfer partner for Citi Thank You points.
American Airlines currently doesn’t have a transfer partner. Most major airlines have transfer partners, with Delta Airlines being a partner from American Express Membership Rewards points and United Airlines and Southwest Airlines being partners from Chase Ultimate Reward points. American Airlines was briefly a transfer partner of Citi Thank You points a few years ago, and was a transfer partner of Bilt Rewards very recently. A few months ago Bilt Rewards and American Airlines ended that partnership, and maybe that has to do with their negotiations with Citigroup.
With no current transfer partner, and with American Airlines negotiating a deal with Citigroup, there is a fairly good possibility that Citi Thank You points will become transferable to American Airlines. If that becomes a reality, I will definitely be attempting to earn more Citi Thank You points, because I find a lot of value in American Airlines miles.
In the end, I hope the changes that American Airlines makes to their credit card business with Citigroup works out to be beneficial to both them and their cardholders. Knowing how important that loyalty points are to the business of airlines puts a lot of pressure on them to have a good and profitable loyalty program. In the meantime, I need to figure out how I’m going to use these shiny new American Airlines miles.
The Avalanche Lake Trail is a beautiful wooded hike in Glacier Park. It is an extremely popular out-and-back hike in the park and follows the mostly whitewater Avalanche Creek to the gorgeous Avalanche Lake.
Getting to the trailhead requires a park pass to Glacier National Park as well as a pass to drive Going-to-the-Sun road. If you can’t secure a driving pass on Going-to-the-Sun road you can take the free shuttle service. We secured a road pass by booking a boat trip on Lake MacDonald, which you might find easier than getting a pass for the road by itself.
We found parking to be a little hard to come by, so you’ll either need to be patient and circle the lot next to the Trail of the Cedars for a while or arrive early in the day. Avalanche Lake Trail is around 5 miles round-trip, so you’ll definitely want to bring along some water, maybe a snack, and someone in your group should have bear spray.
We started on Trail of the Cedars, which is a very flat, easily accessible trail. It has a lot of wooden walkways to make things easier for folks with limited mobility.
Elevated walkway in Trail of the Cedars
This is a very serene hike with tall, thin cedar trees everywhere. It is a very heavily traveled path because of how easy it is to hike. We saw a lot of parents hiking with their young children who wouldn’t be capable of doing a more difficult hike.
Avalanche Creek carving out a passage in rock
Along the Trail of the Cedars is the Avalanche Lake trailhead and there is a park sign marking the entrance. Once you leave the Trail of the Cedars for Avalanche Lake Trail, the hike becomes more challenging. Alltrails.com has Trail of the Cedars rated as an easy hike and Avalanche Lake Trail as moderate. For most people, Avalanche Lake Trail will be fairly easy to hike, but you should be aware of your personal fitness before getting two miles into the hike and regretting your life’s decisions.
In some areas Avalanche Creek is somewhat narrow
The Avalanche Lake Trail roughly follows Avalanche Creek from the trailhead until you reach the lake. This is a fast flowing, whitewater creek. The creek in some spots has carved out smooth mini-canyons and in other spots opens up into wide rapids flowing over smooth river rock.
Where Avalanche Creek hasn’t been restricted by a rocky passage it opens up and widens into rapids.
According the data recorded from my Garmin on the hike, the hike to the lake is about 2 1/2 miles and the elevation goes from around 3,500 feet above sea level to around 4,000 feet in that span, The creek basically has the same stats. Any time a creek has a 500 foot drop over a couple of miles, there will be a lot of whitewater.
There are plenty of times that the trail veers away from the creek which lets you enjoy the forest. Most of the trail itself is fairly wide and comfortable to walk. There is quite a bit of traffic on the trail, but because the trail is wide, there is plenty of room to maneuver around other hikers.
Some of the mountains in the area of the trail.
After a little over a couple of miles, we arrived at the lake. In my opinion, there is nothing more stunning than a mountain lake, and this is a breathtaking one. The beach is filled with smooth rocks and the water is crystal clear. The water was extremely calm which made for a perfect mirror of the sky and mountains in the background.
Avalanche Lake from the beach at the end of the trail
The shore itself was lined with hikers and we found a little chipmunk who had grown accustomed to begging for snacks from the hikers. He was rewarded by one who gave him a little chunk of a snack bar.
Fairly tame chipmunk
While we were there, I caught the end of what was a young man proposing to a young woman in front of their friends and family. She said yes, and everyone cheered. Congratulations to the happy couple and I have to say that was an excellent choice of location for the proposal.
Avalanche Lake
After resting, having a snack, congratulating the couple, and taking a ton of photos and selfies, we headed back to the trail. The hike back is quite a bit easier, since now its dropping 500 feet over 2 1/2 miles instead of climbing it.
Tall pines along the trail
It gave us a second chance to view all of those beautiful rapids that the creek has created on our way back to the parking lot.
Avalanche Creek
The Avalanche Lake Trail is the most consistently beautiful trail that I’ve ever hiked. From the pine trees, to the mountains, to the whitewater and finally the calm mountain lake, there just isn’t a boring or ugly spot on this trail. It is beautiful from beginning to end and I would recommend this trail to anyone who has the opportunity to take it.
Niagara Falls is one of the oldest and best known tourist spots in North America. Dividing the United States from Canada, the St. Lawrence River has been carving out the landscape remaining after glaciers retreated at the end of the last ice age for around 10,000 years. Because of the 160 foot difference between the top and bottom of the falls and the massive amount of water that flows over the edge, it makes for dramatic views.
American Falls
We arrived in Niagara Falls, Canada around 10 AM, and parked in the parking lot near the amusement park. We paid $20 CA to park, but based on the reviews, I think that’s a variable price based on whether its a weekday, weekend, summer, etc. From there we walked down Clifton Hill, which is a street with all of the ridiculous tourist trap things like a wax museum, a Ripley’s Believe It or Not, and lots of gift shops.
Rainbow International Bridge and American Falls
Once we walked past the tourist traps, we finally got a view of American Falls. American Falls are the less dramatic falls to the north of the Horseshoe Falls, which is what most people think about when they think of Niagara Falls.
Looking towards Horseshoe Falls along St Lawrence River
We made our way down to the walkway that edges the St. Lawrence River. From there, we saw the entire wonder of Niagara Falls with Horseshoe Falls off in the distance to the right and American Falls directly in front. The walk from the end of Clifton Hill to the Table Rock Welcome Center by Horseshoe Falls is almost a mile walk.
Mist climbing from Horseshoe Falls
Walking along the St Lawrence River has a similar feel to a lot of popular tourist destinations. There are people lined up along the railing taking photos, people speaking in a variety of languages, and vendors selling keepsakes. This is one of those places where people are in a good mood, spending time with their families or friends and just enjoying a nice walk in a beautiful spot.
Horseshoe Falls from in front of the Table Rock Visitor Center
The Welcome Center was extremely busy, but I think that’s pretty normal. We walked past a fairly large gift shop to get to the ticket counter. The ticket counter was busy selling tickets for several attractions. The main ones are the White Water Walk, Whirlpool Aero Car, Power Station tour and the Journey Behind the Falls.
We decided to do the Journey Behind the Falls tour, and quickly jumped into line once we paid for the tickets. It took about an hour to get through the line, and they queue you through a museum-like area to teach you a few things about the history of the falls while you wait. Essentially, the tunnels only have so much space in them and they have to wait for others to leave before you can go down into the tunnels. We did notice on our way out that the line was three times as long, so I’m glad we arrived fairly early.
View from the observation deck on Journey Behind the Falls
Clad in the yellow ponchos that we were handed while in line, we headed down in the elevator. There is really only two attractions for the Journey Behind the Falls, the first one is the observation deck. The observation deck is a huge patio area near the edge of the falls. This really gives you a sense for the power and volume of the water rushing over the edge of the falls. It’s also the place where about a dozen selfies per second is taken because it is an absolutely beautiful place to take photos. Unfortunately everyone has their photos taken with an unflattering yellow poncho, so there are drawbacks.
View from behind the falls. It feels a bit like a scene from an escape from prison movie.
After we were done with the observation deck we headed back into the tunnels to see the falls from behind the water. Construction crews carved out tunnels behind the falls which allow you to see a very small part of the falls from behind them. It doesn’t really give you a great view, but it does give you a sense of just how powerful these falls are. The water rushing over the end of the tunnel is fast and loud.
Once we got our chance to stand up close to the end of the tunnel, we headed out and then went up to the restaurant on top of the Visitors Center. We weren’t hungry yet, but we wanted an opportunity to relax and enjoy a beautiful view of the falls. They called themselves a wine bar, but once we were seated, we realized that they had an interesting variety of local microbrews, so we ordered flights, all of us, except for Alex, of course, who I think got a lemonade.
My flight of microbrews with a peek at American Falls.
They originally sat us away from the railing, but we were asked to be moved when someone got up from a table by the railing and they were happy to let us move. The view from this restaurant is spectacular, and we had a pretty close view of Horseshoe Falls as well as American Falls off in the distance. We were also able to watch as one tourist boat after another approached the falls, stayed as still as possible and then retreated back to the docks. The number of full tourist boats that approach the falls is impressive. They are even color coded, with the tourists on American boats wearing blue ponchos and the tourists on Canadian boats wearing Red ponchos.
Tour boat from the American side (note the blue ponchos) approach Horseshoe Falls.
We finished up our drinks and headed back on the mile walk back to the car taking in the beautiful scenery along the way. We didn’t spend a ton of time at Niagara Falls, but I feel like we got a great sense of what it was like. We would like to experience Niagara from the American side, so there is a good chance that we will return and perhaps do a boat trip.
View from Wine Bar
All in all, it was a beautiful day to experience one of North America’s great natural wonders.
Normally, I’m the one who does the planning for our family trips. However, I recently found myself in Montana with a group of my old high school friends who made the trek to see our friend Mat get married. It was pretty obvious early on that they were on top of it and I could just show up and enjoy it. I knew that we would be going to Glacier National park as part of this, but I didn’t do an ounce of research on it before we left, which is very unusual for me.
Glacier National Park Entrance Sign
On the first night, we went to Tamarack Brewing for dinner. I was enjoying an IPA while we caught up on old times. The conversation switched to how we would secure passes to “Going-to-the-Sun Road”. Tracy said she would set a reminder for 7 p.m. the next day, which was during the wedding reception, to get the car pass.
Having done zero research for this trip I thought the pass was for “Sun Road” and she just said that in a weird way. Then I heard some of the others say things like “It will be fun to drive Going-to-the-Sun road” and “I’m glad they managed to get Going-to-the-Sun road open.”
I started to strain my ears and look quizzically at them. What’s going on, am I having a stroke? These are all smart, accomplished people, why are they talking like they just learned English last week? Once I figured out that the road was called “Going-to-the-Sun Road,” I was both a little relieved and still a little confused by why a road would be named that.
What is Going-to-the-Sun Road?
According to the National Park Service, Going-to-the-Sun Road is a two lane road built in the late 1920’s and early 1930’s. It is 50 miles long and essentially bisects Glacier National Park from Apgar to St. Mary. It is the only road that goes through Glacier National Park and is one of the most scenic roads in the United States.
The road is named for Going-to-the-Sun Mountain. It is unclear whether the origin of the mountain’s name is based on a Blackfoot Indian legend about the deity Sour Spirit teaching the Blackfoot to hunt or whether the explorer James Willard Schultz made up the name.
Getting a Pass for Going-to-the-Sun Road
The number of cars allowed on Going-to-the-Sun Road is limited. This is to keep the narrow two-lane road and especially the small parking areas on the side of the road from being overwhelmed by cars. Reservations for Going-to-the-Sun Road can be made at Recreation.gov.
There are two types of reservations, one that can be made 120 days in advance, if you have sufficiently planned ahead, and one that can be made at 7 p.m. mountain time, the day before. Tracy grabbed our pass at 7 p.m. which is why she needed to do it during the wedding reception.
The next morning we packed up the minivan and headed out to Glacier National Park. After a quick stop for coffee and breakfast, we had to check our park passes at one set of security and then our pass for the Going-to-the-Sun Road at a second security stop. Once we were through security, we were on our way.
Driving Along Lake McDonald
The drive begins from Apgar along Lake McDonald. Lake McDonald is about 10 miles long, about a mile wide and a pretty impressive 472 feet deep. The beginning of this drive is a beautiful and calm drive through the forest with Lake McDonald on the left hand side. It remains a pretty calm drive past Lake McDonald Lodge, the Trail of the Cedars and up until you hit the West Tunnel, about 20 miles into the drive.
Tunnel cut into rock face
The Ascent to Logan Pass
After the West Tunnel, there is a switchback and then a constant and gradual ascent toward Logan Pass. This is the beginning of a long stretch of road built on the edge of cliffs with long beautiful vistas, waterfalls and mountaintops poking out through the clouds.
View of a valley on the way up to Logan’s Pass on the Going to the Sun Road.
Being the driver is a definite disadvantage. Tim was our driver and while the rest of us were gawking over the views, he had to pay attention to the road. Going-to-the-Sun road is an active driving situation with narrow lanes, tight curves and frequent stops. The temptation to stare at the landscape instead of the narrow road has to be pretty intense.
Much of the early part of our ascent to the pass was marked by a lot of fog, but it made for dramatic views of the mountains and valleys when they cleared.
Ascending up towards Logan’s Pass, we entered the clouds.
At one point, we caught a quick glance of a Big Horn Sheep or a Mountain Goat right on the side of the road, just poking his head out from behind the stone wall, but it happened so fast my brain didn’t fully process it. We stopped at the next pull-off but couldn’t see him, so I don’t know what exactly we saw but it had horns and it was right next to the road.
Waterfall where Adler Creek goes under the Going to the Sun Road.
As we continued our ascent, we started to come across snow. It became very obvious why they aren’t able to open the roads until June or July because the amount of snow that has to be removed every year is massive. The remainder of the snow accumulation was still pretty deep by the side of the road in some spots.
According to the National Park Service, Glacier National Park receives an average of 157 inches of snowfall per year at its headquarters in West Glacier and much more at higher elevations. Opening Going-to-the-Sun-Road is a massive undertaking that starts around April and lasts for months. This past year, they had to deal with a drift that was 80 feet high, so it takes a long time for this snow to melt completely.
Snow on the side of the road, slightly before Oberlin Bend
We got out of the car on multiple occasions to take photos at pull-offs along the road, but we got out to walk around at Oberlin Bend. There is a wood and steel grate walkway there. There was still a considerable amount of snow left in the area and it gave us a sense of how long it must take for it to melt every year – this was June 30th!
It was still very snowy at Oberlin Bend
Logan Pass and the Highline Trail
Just a little bit further up the road from Oberlin Bend, we then had a chance to stop at the Logan Pass Visitor Center. There is some bathrooms and a cute little gift shop there. Steph and I took a little walk out the back of the visitor center and she showed me the people who were hiking the Highline Trail.
Mountain obscured by clouds near Logan Pass
Prior to the trip we briefly considered doing that trail, but decided to do the Avalanche Lake hike instead since it was considerably less terrifying. The Highline Trail is known for its breathtaking views and a section called “The Ledge” which is only 6-8 feet wide with a sheer drop over a hundred feet down. There is a steel cable to hold onto in this section. If you’re brave enough, parking for people doing the Highline Trail is available at Logan Pass Visitor Center.
Jackson Glacier Outlook
We got back in the minivan and continued on, now going downhill. We stopped at the Jackson Glacier Overlook, where a ranger explained to a fairly large group about the remaining glaciers in the park and how the number of glaciers and size has been shrinking since around 1850. That overlook, of course, has a view of Jackson Glacier, but it is quite far from the overlook.
Way off in the distance is Jackson Glacier, one of the 26 remaining glaciers in Glacier National Park. There were 80 at the end of the Little Ice Age, which ended around 1850.
St Mary’s Lake
We completed the drive by stopping at the Visitors Center at St Mary. There is a little gift shop in there as well as some museum-like exhibits about the history of the Native American people indigenous to the area.
St Mary’s Lake
As is going to be the case for most people on the Going-to-the-Sun Road, we needed to do the entire drive back to the start at Apgar, so we returned to the car for the 50 mile return trip.
Piegan Pass Trail
When we did the first half of the drive, we didn’t get to do a hike near St Mary’s Lake. We tried on the way through the first time to get a parking spot on one of the pull-offs near Piegan Pass Trail but couldn’t. On the return trip, after a little work, we were able to get a parking spot and get out and stretch our legs a little.
Bering Falls on Piegan Pass Trail
We walked a very short distance to see Bering Falls and then turned around and walked to along the path to a point which I believe was the end of Piegan Pass Trail. There is a rocky area jutting out into St Mary’s Lake there where there was a lot of great photo opportunities.
View of St Mary’s Lake from Piegan Pass Trail
Piegan Pass is a heavily traveled trail, at least in this area, so the odds of being approached by a bear is low. We did bring along bear spray just to be sure, but there were no signs of bears in this area. We hiked around 3 miles, and returned back to the minivan to finish our drive.
St Mary’s Lake from the end of Piegan Pass Trail
A Bear Sighting
Near the end of the return trip back to Apgar, we came across a traffic jam. Obviously, we weren’t expecting a traffic jam on Going-to-the-Sun Road, so we assumed that there must be an animal around. Once enough cars had cleared, we pulled off to the side of the road to see what was going on.
The cub is looking for mama, definitely thinks she’s across the road.
There was an animal making noise by the side of the road, and it was a sound I wasn’t familiar with. After a little while, I saw a baby bear head pop up on the side of the road. It was very clear that the bear was in distress and probably looking for his mama. Now, honestly while that is adorable, it’s also pretty terrifying since I’m assuming a stressed mama bear must be nearby as well.
The cub makes an attempt to cross the road but gets scared back into the tall grass by a car.
The cub made several attempts to cross the road, but kept getting scared off by traffic. Finally Tim jumped out into the road and stopped traffic so that the bear could finally cross and hopefully be reunited with his mama.
Tim stops traffic and finally allows for the bear to cross the road.
The Importance of Great Travel Companions
If you’re driving Going-to-the-Sun Road, you will be spending probably a minimum of 6 hours with people in a car, assuming that you are at least stopping once in a while to take pictures and enjoy nature. Spending that much time in a car, you might want to have people with you that you also enjoy spending a minimum of 6 hours with.
For me, this turned out to be a great group with whom to do this drive. We talked about the old days, our families, and a lot about travel. Obviously, I like to talk about travel, but sometimes feel a little weird about it. Honestly, I avoid the subject with people who don’t travel much, because they’re either not interested or I’m afraid it comes off as braggy. It’s something that I’m really passionate about and to have spent a few days with people who are as passionate about travel as me made for great conversations.
The crew being silly. From left to right: Julie, Tracy, Steph, Carrie and Tim.
I loved hearing about all of the places they’ve been and I’ve certainly taken some mental notes about places that I might want to visit based on our conversations. In between all of these conversations, there was also plenty of carpool karaoke, which I abstained from to save everyone else’s eardrums. In the end, it was a great time with some great friends.
I would definitely recommend driving Going-to-the-Sun Road if you get a chance. It’s an unbelievably beautiful drive. The variety of views from mountain lakes and snow covered peaks to waterfalls is astonishing. It’s also one of the few really accessible places in Glacier National Park for people who aren’t doing long hikes. Keep in mind that the number of car passes are limited and you will need to purchase those in advance. Then all you need is a full tank of gas, some great friends, and some snacks and you will get to witness one of America’s great treasures.
Once people learn that I save a lot of money on vacations by using miles and points, I often get asked “What credit card should I get?” The fact of the matter is that it depends on the type and location of the vacation. Where you want to go on vacation, when, and what style of vacation matters when deciding which card to choose.
Making a rational decision really matters when you’re making these plans because earning a bunch of points that are irrelevant to your plans can be extremely frustrating and counterproductive. Also, earning points in programs that require you to use more points than other programs means that you’re working harder than necessary to achieve your goals.
What about Spain?
Spain has been on our minds lately. Jenn and I have discussed going to Spain multiple times and we just haven’t pulled the trigger. We’ve discussed doing a beach vacation to the Canary Islands or a city trip to Madrid, but lately we’ve been discussing doing a week of a pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago de Compostela. It hasn’t worked out for us yet, but those tapas are calling me and I’m going to make it happen at some point.
Economy Flights
I’m an economy flyer. It’s not that I don’t want to fly business or first class, it’s just not that important to me. I really treat flights as a means to an end – just get me there. Look, I’d love to be more comfortable, but right now I’m trying to get a family of four across an ocean, and I don’t really feel like draining my points balances to do it. I’m not saying I won’t fly business or first class in the future, but right now it’s just not something I’m thinking about.
17,000 point is the typical off-peak price. Iberia’s hub is Madrid.
Flying Blue
20,000 to 40,000 one-way
$100-$170
20,000 points is fairly normal, some sales go as low as 11,500 points. Hubs in Amsterdam and Paris.
Virgin Atlantic
12,000 to 40,000 one-way
$170-$180
High fees, but 12,000 points are fairly easy to find, flights are usually KLM, Air France or Delta flights
Avianca Lifemiles
20,000-30,000 one way
$20-$70 (+25 booking fee)
Low fees and reasonable redemption prices. Avianca is usually good for United flights. Not as frequently available as Flying Blue and Iberia.
American Airlines
20,000-35,000 one-way
$5-$25
Low fees and reasonable redemption prices. Some flights that route through London have high taxes.
United Airlines
30,000-40,000 one-way
$5-$15
Low fees and high redemption prices, always check Avianca first before booking a United flight.
Award availability and pricing varies wildly, these prices may not be available when you want to book a flight.
The biggest problem here is that just because pricing for award flights are good and available in certain programs right now doesn’t mean that they will be available and good later. That’s why it is best to have the ability to use points with a variety of programs. Using a credit card with the ability to transfer points to a multiple programs is a good way to help you have the most options when it’s time to redeem those points.
Airline Award Program Transfer Partners
Point Program
Citibank
Chase
Amex
Capital One
Wells Fargo
Bilt
Iberia (Avios)
1:1
1:1
1:1
1:1
1:1
1:1
Flying Blue
1:1
1:1
1:1
1:1
1:1
1:1
Virgin Atlantic
1:1
1:1
1:1
1:1
1:1
Avianca Lifemiles
1:1
1:1
1:1
1:1
1:1
American Airlines
United Airlines
1:1
1:1
Transferring points from Capital One to Iberia Avios requires another step of first transferring points from Capital One to British Airways Avios and then to Iberia Avios. Transferring Citi Thank You Points requires a transfer to Qatar Avios, then to British Airways Avios and then to Iberia Avios.
I prefer to fly non-stop, if at all possible, and Chicago is our closest major airport. Most of the non-stop flights from Chicago to Madrid are on Iberia. That’s going to be my first choice. All major programs transfer to Avios, but Citi and Capital One don’t transfer directly to Iberia Avios, they both require transferring to a different Avios program and then to Iberia. That could create other annoyances that I might not want to deal with.
KLM/Air France Flying Blue is another great option, because they have a lot of flights that leave Chicago and fly to Spain with layovers in either Amsterdam (on KLM) or through Paris (on Air France). Virgin Atlantic and Avianca Lifemiles are great, but for Spain they are mostly booking partner awards, so they won’t be operating any flights to Spain. Their availability is going to be dependent on whether another airline allows them to book their flights. In other words, I would check for availability, but I wouldn’t count on them.
American Airlines sometimes has some amazing prices, but they don’t have any transfer partners so you would need to have an American Airlines card to earn those points. United Airlines usually has fairly expensive award prices, but their taxes are low and availability is good. It’s nice to have United as a backup option.
Hotels in Spain
For most hotel groups, I typically don’t consider transfer partners. The reason for this is because the transfer rates don’t make up for the fact that the points aren’t worth much. Most programs with the exception of Hyatt just aren’t worth transferring points to from one of the major bank programs.
Hotel Loyalty Program Transfer Ratios
Citibank
Chase
Amex
Capital One
Wells Fargo
Bilt
Hyatt
1:1
1:1
IHG
1:1
1:1
Hilton
1:2
Choice
1:2
1:1
1:1
1:2
Marriott
1:1
1:1
1:1
Wyndham
1:1
1:1
Transfer ratios of points from major bank travel award programs to hotel loyalty programs. For example Citibank transfers 1:2 to Choice Privileges, meaning 1,000 Citi Thank You Points can be converted to 2,000 Choice Privileges points.
If you are looking at a program besides Hyatt, you’ll probably want to get a cobranded hotel credit card if you want to build up free nights and points. The list of those cards and the pros and cons of each of those cards is too exhaustive to get into in this post, but I do think its important to be thinking about those cobranded cards when considering programs other than Hyatt.
The reason why Hyatt is different, is because their points are worth more than other programs. According to the Points Guy, Hyatt points are worth 1.7 cents per point. By contrast, Wyndham is worth 1.1, Marriott Bonvoy is .85, Hilton is .6, Choice is .6 and IHG is .5 cents per point. For example, Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer to Hyatt, Marriott and IHG at a 1:1 ratio. However, on average, you’ll spend more than three times as many Ultimate reward points booking an IHG hotel than a comparable Hyatt hotel when transferring Ultimate Reward points to those programs.
Hotels in Spanish Tourist Locations
Madrid
Balearic Islands
Barcelona
Canary Islands
Hyatt
6
35
3
11
IHG
14
5
9
8
Hilton
6
4
5
0
Choice
7
0
9
3
Marriott
23
11
17
6
Wyndham
2
0
0
3
Number of hotels in/near various locations in Spain. Counts are across all brands in a program’s portfolio.
When looking at Spain specifically, the good news is that Hyatt has a lot of hotels in Spain. They especially have a large all-inclusive hotel presence in the Balearic Islands, which is a huge hot spot for Europeans to enjoy a beach vacation. Marriott also has a large number of hotels in Spain. A lot of those are in Barcelona and Madrid, which would make them a good program to use if you were looking for a more urban trip.
Potential Strategies for Earning Points for a Trip to Spain
There are a million different ways to accomplish the goal of earning points and miles to go on a vacation to Spain. I think its helpful here to explain what I would do, and why I would do it in a certain way. It doesn’t necessarily mean that this would be the optimal strategy, but I think it’s indicative of how someone should approach it.
All-Inclusive couple’s beach vacation to Mallorca
There are numerous Hyatt All-Inclusive resorts in Mallorca. Of the ones that showed up on the search that I did, there are a number of Category A resorts (15,000 points normally, 12,000 for off-peak and 18,000 for peak) and the most expensive was the Secrets Mallorca which is a Category D resort (30,000 points normally, 25,000 for off-peak, 35,000 points peak).
The best bets for available flights to Mallorca for a low amount of points is probably going to be Iberia Airlines (Avios) or KLM/Air France (Flying Blue). You can move points from Citibank, Capital One, Chase, American Express, Wells Fargo or Bilt to Iberia or KLM/Air France. This means you have a lot of choices on which credit cards you might want to sign up for.
The good news here, is that there is overlap between acquiring points for Hyatt and acquiring points for those two airline programs. Both Bilt and Chase offer transfers to all of these programs. Bilt never really offers signup bonuses, which is a big negative in this case, but they do allow you to earn points paying for rent, which nobody else allows, so if you are a renter, the Bilt card is a no-brainer. However, regardless of whether the Bilt card makes sense in your case, you’ll still probably want to sign up for a Chase card that allows you to transfer Ultimate Reward points.
In order to unlock the ability to transfer any Ultimate Reward points to partner programs you will need one of these three cards:
Chase Sapphire Preferred ($95 annual fee, 3x on dining, 3x online groceries, 3x on streaming services, 2x on travel)
Ink Business Preferred ($95 annual fee, 3x on shipping, internet, phone, cable and travel)
The typical signup bonuses for these cards are 60,000 each for the Sapphire cards and 100,000 points for the Ink Business Preferred. Once you have signed up and earned the welcome offer bonus you can refer your spouse or significant other and earn a referral bonus while they also earn a signup bonus for themselves. Once you’ve done that, then it’s just a matter of filling in the gaps with either some other cards that earn Ultimate Reward points or by getting cobranded cards. Here are some examples:
Ink Business Cash ($0 annual fee, $750 cash back which can also be used as 75,000 Ultimate Reward points, 5x internet, cable, phone and office supply stores)
Ink Business Unlimited ($0 annual fee, $750 cash back which can be used as 75,000 Ultimate Reward points, 1.5x on everything)
Ink Business Premier ($195 annual fee, $1,000 cash back which can be used as 100,000 Ultimate Reward points, 2x on everything)
World of Hyatt ($95 annual fee, 30,000 Hyatt point bonus, category 1-4 free night certificate each year on anniversary date)
World of Hyatt Business ($199 annual fee, 60,000 Hyatt point bonus, up to $100 off stays each year)
Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard ($89 annual fee, 50,000 Flying Blue point bonus, 1.5x on everything)
I think it should be feasible to book a vacation like this for around 50,000 points round-trip per person in economy and if you wanted 6 nights in an all-inclusive, it could be another 90,000 to 180,000 points. That would mean the totals here would be 190,000 to 280,000 points. Just doing the minimum spend on two Chase Sapphire Preferred cards, with a referral bonus between spouses or significant others, would probably earn somewhere in the ballpark of 150,000 Ultimate Reward points, so it’s not too hard to pick a card or two that fills in the gaps here.
Family of four to Madrid for Spring Break
For this example, the information about the flights would basically be the same. You’ll probably find that Iberia or Air France/KLM will be the best programs to serve the Madrid Airport. From Chicago, you are likely to be able be able to book those round-trip economy flights for 50,000 points each (probably less if off peak). You would probably need to earn somewhere in the 200,000 point range just for the flights.
Instead of going with Chase as is in the first example, I would probably go with the Capital One Venture Card. Instead of a 60,000 point bonus, the Venture Card comes with a 75,000 point bonus. It also earns 2x on everything and has a 20,000 point referral bonus. Therefore, if you sign up for the Venture Card and refer your significant other and do the minimum spend, you will end up with a combined 186,000 points. An additional $7,000 in spending would get you to 200,000 points. If you need to transfer those points to Iberia, however, you will need to transfer them to British Airways Avios and then from British Airways Avios to Iberia Avios.
As far as lodging is concerned, European hotels typically don’t like to allow people to sleep four to a room so you would probably need to get two rooms. That’s not ideal, not only because it becomes twice the cost to get hotels, but also depending on the age of your kids, your sleeping arrangements might not be what your used to.
Personally, because of the two room problem, I would just get an Airbnb instead of a hotel. However, if you would like to stay at a hotel on points, I would probably be considering Marriott hotels. They have a lot of hotels in the Madrid area. In order to earn points/free nights for the stay I would go for the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card. Most of the time they offer three free night certificates as a sign up bonus. However, it seems like about once a year they offer five free night certificates, so if you time it right and your significant other also signs up at the same time, you could end up with ten free night certificates, and that would get you five nights of two rooms per night.
Conclusion
For the most part, whenever you want to fly somewhere, looking first at an airline based in that area better is always a good choice. In this case Iberia is a perfect example. It’s hub is in Madrid and they have very good award prices to Madrid. Luckily for the points and miles hobbyist, you can pretty much transfer any of the major bank programs’ points and miles to Iberia Avios. The second best option is Air France/KLM Flying Blue which also transfers from every major program.
This gives an incredible amount of flexibility when deciding which credit cards to use, however, if you are also looking at Hyatt simultaneously, you probably want to go with a Chase credit card because it also transfers to Hyatt. I think Capital One is a better choice for the Family trip to Madrid, even with the extra headache of having to transfer the points through British Airways to Iberia. While I would do an Airbnb in Madrid, if you do actually want to split your family into two rooms at a hotel in Madrid, the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card can be a great choice for racking up a lot of free nights quickly.
Whenever you are trying to determine the best credit card to sign up for to help out with the cost of vacation, it is always important to think about the desired destination first. Doing a little bit of analysis should help guide you to pick the right credit cards to help you get there. Once you’ve done that, it’s just a matter of executing your plan and enjoying your vacation.
I was having a conversation with some friends about travel when I made an off-handed comment “It’s probably cheaper to travel to Europe during Spring Break than to go to Florida.” As I started to defend my off-handed comment, I started to think, maybe I’m right. Okay, it’s probably not true if you’re paying full price for flights, but if you’re traveling on points, I think it might be absolutely true. As a matter of fact, I think it could be a tremendous savings, in addition to being a much more enjoyable experience.
I’m Kinda Done with Florida
We’ve taken multiple trips to the panhandle of Florida, as well as the coasts of Mississippi and Alabama. These trips were reachable by car in about 15 hours from our house in Iowa. These spots along the Gulf Coast weren’t necessarily my ideal vacation, but it was warm and the beaches are lovely. Frankly, we went there because we could do it in a week and it’s around 70 degrees in March along the Gulf Coast and it’s, I don’t know, negative 50 in Iowa, something like that?
However, everything that is located along the “Redneck Riviera” eventually just begins to look like a Waffle House and a t-shirt shop sitting on white sands. It’s true, Florida has some of the world’s most amazing beaches, but outside of that, I just don’t see the attraction. So whenever I would see the prices of an Airbnb, I would grimace and think, ‘but it’s just Florida’.
The main thing that was keeping us from doing something else was the cost of airfare. This is why we drove, and why we kept picking the Gulf Coast – because it was warm and close. Once we got into points and miles, the calculations changed, because we could fly cheaply. What I quickly realized, was that not only was Florida filled up during Spring Break, but so were vacation destinations in Mexico and the Caribbean.
What if we did something different, like Europe?
Destin Vs Barcelona
We’ve been to Destin, or at least near Destin a couple of times during spring break. It is probably one of the most sought after destinations for spring break and because of that the prices for vacation rentals are extremely high. Spring break is peak season for Destin, but for Barcelona it’s off-peak. Both of these locations are prized tourist destinations, but since Europe doesn’t really celebrate spring break like the US, prices are a bit lower than normal. The cost of the vacation rental makes a huge difference in the analysis here.
In the past, before we started to collect/use points and miles, we would’ve looked at the price of a flight to Barcelona in March and laughed. A quick check on Google Flights shows that we could get our family of four to Barcelona from Chicago for about $2,750 total, which is actually a really good price, but not really what we want to spend for spring break. Even with points and miles, the cost of just the fuel surcharges and taxes on round trip flights for four to Barcelona is over $1,000, but that savings does make it more palatable.
If we used our old method of spring breaking, we would just drive to Destin, which eliminates the need for a rental car, or public transportation pass. The cost, in the example below, is the cost of fuel for approximately 1,000 miles each way and 500 miles while in Destin. Assuming 25 miles per gallon and $3 per gallon for fuel, then the cost of transportation is $300. If we flew to Destin, we would have to rent a car which is $645 (midsized sedan for a week on Expedia), plus $60 for fuel.
I used a $200 budget in Davenport, Iowa (my hometown) as the basis for the cost of groceries in both Destin and Barcelona and compared them to Davenport using Numbeo. According to Numbeo.com, both are less expensive than Davenport for groceries, but Barcelona is considerably cheaper. The cost for meals was calculated as one inexpensive meal for four people daily, using the inexpensive meal price listed on Numbeo for each city. Barcelona was again cheaper for dining out.
The cost for public transportation was the cost of four public transportation passes for the amount of time that we would be in the city. The cost for the flights was determined by a search using Pointsyeah.com.
For the price of the Airbnbs, I picked the timeframe, zoomed the map into the area that I was looking at and filtered by minimum of 3 beds, 2 bathrooms. I then counted the number of available properties and chose the one that was priced at the 25 percentile. I picked the 25th percentile, because I think that accurately reflects “I’m cheap, but I have standards.”
Using this method shows how expensive Florida is during spring break. The 25th percentile property for a week during spring break in Destin was $4,388! Good lord. In Barcelona, which is notoriously expensive for Spain, it was $2,410. When all that gets added up, Barcelona ends up being more than $1,000 cheaper than driving to Destin. That’s kind of crazy, right?
Driving to Destin
Flying to Destin
Flying to Barcelona
Airfare (Using Points/Miles)
$0
$45 (and 84,000 American Airlines Miles)
$1064 (and 136,000 Avios)
Car Rental
$0
$645
$0
Fuel for Car
$300
$60
$0
Public Transportation
$0
$0
$183
Airbnb rental
$4,388
$4,388
$2,410
Dinners
$504
$504
$452
Groceries
$152
$152
$129
Total
$5,392
$5,842 (&88K AA Miles)
$4,279 (& 136K Avios)
Example is for a family of four renting an Airbnb at the 25th percentile in the area for 6 nights, with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Car rental is cheapest midsized sedan using Expedia. Assuming 500 miles of driving while at location and 1,000 miles each way to drive to Destin for driving example. $3 per gallon assumed for price of fuel and 25 mpg fuel efficiency for car. Numbeo.com used for cost of dinners and groceries.
Miami Beach vs Tenerife
One of my complaints about going to the Destin area during spring break was that it’s just not hot enough, so lets pick warmer destinations then Destin and Barcelona and compare Playa de las Americas, on the Island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands, Spain with Miami Beach. Both are major beach destinations and both are pretty warm in March.
Using the same resources (Numbeo for Restaurants and groceries prices, Airbnb website for vacation rental prices and Expedia for midsized car rentals) we see that once again it’s cheaper to go to Europe (using points), in this case the Canary Islands. Again the biggest driver for this is the cost of the vacation rental. Once you are able to shrink the cost of the flights by using points, everything else just is cheaper in the Canary Islands, especially since it’s off-peak.
On top of that, since it is off-peak, you probably won’t be sitting on a crowded beach or struggling to get table at a restaurant for dinner. Considering how much cheaper it is to do a vacation rental in Tenerife, I would argue that it’s competitive even if you had to pay full fare for the flight, and you wouldn’t have to deal with drunk college students at the beach.
Driving to Miami
Flying to Miami
Flying to Tenerife
Airfare (Using Points/Miles)
$0
$44 (and 82K AA miles)
$1140 (and 196K Avios)
Car Rental
$0
$325
$408
Fuel for Car
$396
$60
$112
Public Transportation
$0
$0
$0
Airbnb rental
$4,276
$4,276
$1,307
Dinners
$700
$700
$336
Groceries
$206
$206
$36
Total
$5,578
$5,611 (& 82K AA Miles)
$3,339 (& 196K Avios)
Example is for a family of four renting an Airbnb at the 25th percentile in the area for 6 nights, with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Car rental is cheapest midsized sedan using Expedia. Assuming 500 miles of driving while at location and 1,400 miles each way to drive to Miami Beach for driving example. $3 per gallon assumed for price of fuel and 25 mpg fuel efficiency for car for Florida and a little less than $6 per gallon for Tenerife. Numbeo.com used for cost of dinners and groceries.
Scottsdale Arizona Vs Split Croatia
What about a couple of places that are a little more quirky for spring break? Scottsdale Arizona is an interesting place to visit at that time of year, especially if you’re a baseball fan, because of Cactus League spring training that takes place every year. There is also some pretty good hiking within a reasonable drive.
Split Croatia is becoming a destination that people are starting to wake up to. It’s got great architecture, culture, and food, but it also has a mountainous coastline that dips into the crystal clear waters of the Adriatic sea. It’s an absolutely gorgeous city that I cannot wait to visit someday.
Using the same resources (Numbeo for Restaurants and groceries prices, Airbnb website for vacation rental prices and Expedia for midsized car rentals) it turns out to be much cheaper to go to Split than Scottsdale. Again the main driver is the cost of the Airbnb, with the vacation rental being about a third of the cost in Croatia than in Scottsdale.
Driving to Scottsdale
Flying to Scottsdale
Flying to Split
Airfare (Using Points/Miles)
$0
$44 (& 68K AA miles)
$899 (& 240,000 Avianca Lifemiles)
Car Rental
$0
$411
$300
Fuel for Car
$420
$60
$120
Public Transportation
$0
$0
$0
Airbnb rental
$4,513
$4,513
$1,556
Dinners
$553
$553
$345
Groceries
$172
$172
$60
Total
$5,658
$5,753 (& 68K AA Miles)
$3,280 (& 240K Lifemiles)
Example is for a family of four renting an Airbnb at the 25th percentile in the area for 6 nights, with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Car rental is cheapest midsized sedan using Expedia. Assuming 500 miles of driving while at location and 1,500 miles each way to drive to Scottsdale for driving example. $3 per gallon assumed for price of fuel and 25 mpg fuel efficiency for car in Scottsdale and $6 per gallon in Split. Numbeo.com used for cost of dinners and groceries.
Reality vs Example
The reality is that I’d never pay $4,500 for a week in vacation rental. I probably would’ve looked for a less desirable beach along the coast and found a much simpler place to stay. One of our kids is definitely sleeping on the couch. However, with the examples in Barcelona, Tenerife, and Split Croatia, there wasn’t any compromising. I could literally choose a great location and get a great price for a week in a vacation rental. Why? Because it’s off-peak, Europe doesn’t have a big spring break tradition like the US, and Americans don’t spring break in Europe very often.
Rethinking Spring Break
Spring break is a very important ritual for a lot of Americans, especially those of us who live in the Midwest, where winters are oppressive and people don’t leave their houses for months on end. That’s probably the reason why Florida and other warm destinations in the US get overrun by people just looking to escape the miserable, miserable winter.
However, taking a little time to think outside of the box could result in a vacation that you will remember for a lifetime, and the cost could be surprisingly inexpensive, especially if you are using points and miles. I mean, if you’d rather fight for sand space with a bunch of drunk teenagers in Miami instead of being in the Canary Islands, that’s fine, it’s just not for me anymore.
Grecia is centered around the big metal church in the center of town called Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes.
We spent about a week in Grecia, a community with a population of about 15,000 residents, located in the Central Valley of Costa Rica. Of the places where we ate and drank, there were a few that stood out in our minds that are worth a visit while in town.
There were some places that we didn’t care for so I won’t mention those, but there were a few that we really enjoyed and I thought I’d share them here, in case you find yourself in the Grecia area.
El Chante Gastrobus
El Chante Gastrobus is a funky restaurant with a couple of school busses that form the side walls of a pavilion. One of the busses is used as the kitchen while another has diner style tables where the seats used to be.
There is art everywhere at El Chante with murals on the busses as well as tables made out of what appear to be a variety of reclaimed materials, including a bus door.
My impression of the food was that it was pretty good, not fantastic. I ordered a dish that had french fries, queso, pulled pork and toppings.
The beer selection had pretty much all of the typical Costa Rican staples such as Imperial, Pilsen, and Bavaria. They also had some other fairly normal international favorites like Corona, Stella Artois, and Heineken. There was a good selection of mixed drinks. This place seems like a perfect place to stop and have a few drinks and maybe a snack. It’s a pretty fun place to hang out.
Table made out of two barrels and a bus door
As a bonus for El Chante Gastrobus, it is located basically in a huge parking lot. Parking can be difficult to find in Grecia, and I appreciated being able to park my car easily and walk in. There was a small charge, maybe $2-$3, which is pretty standard in Grecia.
Los Jardines Vivero y Cafe
We saw this restaurant while driving by it one day and said that we had to stop in there. It turned out to be a great decision. This is just a great restaurant that serves traditional Costa Rican food in a really fun atmosphere.
We came in for lunch and everyone ordered Casado which is a Costa Rican combo meal traditionally served for lunch. They are various combinations at different restaurants but here it came with rice, beans, plantains, a mini-salad, and your choice of protein. They also gave us iced tea and ice cream with the meal.
We had Casado a few times while in Costa Rica and this was our favorite. I thought everything was extremely well done and the plantains were perfect.
Los Jardines has a lot of antiques and little gardens scattered around the restaurant. It makes you want to walk around and get a look at all of the little touches that they have set up throughout the restaurant. We even sat at a table where all of the seats were swings. It was just a nice, fun place to have a meal.
I have read a lot of reviews talking about how busy it gets there, and I will say it was almost empty for lunch, so that might be a great time to check it out. The food was great, the atmosphere was fun and the prices were pretty reasonable. Definitely worth a visit.
Vuelta al Mundo
In downtown Grecia, across the street from Grecia Park is Vuelta al Mundo. It’s located inside Mangifera Hostel. Its tucked in the back of the building in an open area. Its menu consists of dishes from around the world.
Kebab Wrap
This is a great place to go if you have a group of people arguing about where to go for dinner. We had gyros, pasta carbonara, and a kebab wrap, but there were also dishes on the menu from China, Uruguay, Costa Rica etc. We also had an appetizer called Bitterballen which is some kind of fried breaded meat balls from the Netherlands.
Gyros
They also had a good selection of local beer as well as some interesting European selections.
Pasta Carbonara
It’s difficult to be able to cook a variety of international foods effectively, but I think they handle it well. It was a also a comfortable and interesting dining area and the service was very good. It’s definitely a great stop if you’re hanging out by the park or the main church.
Menu of available juices at Vuelta Al Mundo
La 33
North of Grecia on Calle Brenes there is a local favorite called La 33. How do I know this was a local favorite? Because the entire time we were there there was a parade of delivery drivers and pickup orders coming and going. This is a small and very busy restaurant.
The dining room was full and we were lucky enough to get a table as someone was leaving. The prices were very inexpensive and the food was well prepared. Jenn and Alex got Tacos Birria and I got Taco con Papa.
Jenn said the Tacos Birria were the best she’d ever had. I will say I didn’t care for the Taco con Papa, but in all fairness I didn’t expect to, even though it was well made.
I had heard of Costa Rica’s take on tacos and I wanted to try it even though I was suspicious. The taco itself is shredded beef wrapped in a tortilla and fried to a golden brown. It’s then served with French fries. Sounds delicious, right? Then they add a side of shredded cabbage (I might have gone with lettuce, but ok). Lastly, they top all of this with lots of ketchup and mayonnaise.
Taco con Papa
I tried the taco thinking that maybe I was missing something, but no, I just don’t think mayonnaise and ketchup belong on that. I mean if it was sour cream and hot sauce it would’ve been amazing. Anyway if that sounds good to you, you should definitely try it.
Beer Designers
There are a handful of craft brewers in the area including Cerveceria San Roque and Beer Designers. However, as far as I can tell, if you want to visit a brewery near Grecia, it has to be Beer Designers and it has to be on Saturday night.
The production area has a beautiful view of the valley between the ridges where Calle Brenes and Calle San Roque are.
Since we love going to breweries and the only available one was Beer Designers on Saturday, that’s where we went on Saturday night.
Bar area at Beer Designers
We got a chance to try a couple of IPAs which were both very good. Jenn really liked their Dorado Dragon which is an IPA with dragon fruit.
For me, the standout was Lobejo which is an American stout. It’s a was rich and flavorful. Overall it’s just a great example of an American Stout. I consider myself to be a bit of a beer snob, and that was easily one of my favorite stouts, and I’ve tried alot of them.
Dorado Dragon has a nice reddish hue
We had a chance to talk to the brewer and a couple of the locals while we were there. It seemed like the word hadn’t gotten out on them yet because while they definitely had quite a few regulars, they weren’t that busy. The quality of their beers wasn’t matching the amount of business that in my opinion they should be getting.
We were able to pick up a 4 pack to go
A great bonus for Beer Designers is that it is right next door to La 33, which I mentioned earlier as a great place to get takeout. I don’t know if it’s okay if you bring it over and eat it at Beer Designers but I think I would at least ask if I could, because that would make for a great combination.
Cuisine in Grecia Costa Rica
There are actually quite a few great options for eating in the area around Grecia Costa Rica. We obviously weren’t able to visit all of them in less than a week. For the best dine-in experience I would go with Los Jardines Vivero y Cafe. If you just want an inexpensive and delicious authentic Costa Rican experience, I think La 33 is great. For just a nice comfortable hang out I would definitely think El Chante Gastrobus or Vuelta al Mundo and if you like craft beer, check out Beer Designers on Saturday night.
There are also at least two ice cream shops around the park and I would highly recommend going to at least one Costa Rican soda while you are in town. “Sodas” are just small mom and pop shops that sell inexpensive authentic Costa Rican food.
There is a pretty impressive amount of good food options in the Grecia area even though doesn’t have a huge population. A lot of people head to this area for because the weather is beautiful, the people are lovely and frankly the Airbnbs are pretty cheap. If you are thinking about heading to Grecia for those reasons, you definitely won’t be short on food options.
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