I bet you 100 dirhams you’ve heard of Emirates, the flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates. I bet you 1,000 dirhams you haven’t heard much about Emirates Skywards, the Dubai-based carrier’s frequent-flyer program.

Ironically, Emirates continues to deliver the highest levels of service and therefore earns the highest levels of praise.

The American Express® Gold Card is a rather compelling choice for foodies looking to maximize the return on spending. The card earns a rewards multiplier on purchases at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets, and the perks include dining credits at select restaurants and Uber cash credits for Uber Eats orders.

When making purchases with the Amex Gold Card, you’ll earn rewards at the following rates:

4X Membership Rewards points per dollar spent at restaurants worldwide (including take-out and delivery)4X Membership Rewards points per dollar spent at U.S.

During the coronavirus pandemic, banks that issue travel rewards credit cards had to pivot and added bonus earnings in various spending categories, such as streaming services, groceries and home improvement stores, to make their products more compelling when travel was put on hold.

Since then, card issuers also have added more ways to redeem rewards and travel credits. One of the most noteworthy redemption options is Chase’s answer to Capital One’s Purchase Eraser—Pay Yourself Back.

You might have noticed that the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card or the Chase Sapphire Reserve get recommended a lot in the points and miles community. There’s a good reason for that.

Rewards earned with these cards can be transferred to a number of airline and hotel loyalty programs, making it possible to book all kinds of travel for free (or almost free).

If you’re a Delta Air Lines flyer, you might think the cards offer little value to you because Chase doesn’t partner with Delta SkyMiles. However, don’t dismiss the Sapphire-branded cards so quickly.

The American Express® Gold Card, with its high reward rate in certain spending categories, is one of the best rewards cards to hold for dining and travel lovers.

The card’s elevated welcome bonus is enough to book a flight in business class on multiple airlines.

With its Giza pyramids, Sahara Desert and the Nile River, Egypt is known for many things and therefore is a popular travel destination. I must admit that this African country had been on my bucket list for an embarrassingly long amount of time, and I’m happy to share that I finally checked it off the list.

Egypt opened borders in July to travelers who can provide a negative PCR test for COVID-19. A visa is also required for U.S. citizens.

Capital One Venture Miles have been somewhat unpopular among the true experts in the points and miles community. The program isn’t among the top dogs because rewards don’t transfer to partners 1:1 and therefore aren’t as valuable. The points are kind of like candy corn. It's still candy, but it's not what kids want to find in their bags after a night of trick-or-treating. However, things are changing for the better.

Capital One has expanded its program by adding several new transfer partners and improving points transfer rates for select loyalty programs.

Capital One has increased the welcome offer on its popular Venture Card to up to 100,000 miles. It might sound like a lot, and it is, but it’s not going to work for everyone. Let’s take a look at why you should and shouldn’t try to get your hands on this increased bonus.

Capital One Venture Card New Welcome Offer of Up to 100,000 Miles

First of all, the new, limited-time bonus offer on the Capital One Venture Card is tiered.

Many things that were supposed to happen in 2020 didn’t. Perhaps this is one of those things we’re glad was postponed—World of Hyatt implementation of peak award pricing. Unfortunately, the change will indeed come in July 2021, although we don’t know the exact date yet.

The Andaz Maui

World of Hyatt to Implement Peak/Off-Peak Point Redemptions 

Standard Rooms

At the moment, an award night at any Hyatt hotel is priced based on the hotel’s category.

Few things sound more appealing than a relaxing vacation after how high the anxiety levels have been during the past year. For those looking for a domestic trip, Hawaii might be a logical choice even though safety measures are still in place to travel there.

To avoid a 10-day quarantine upon arrival, visitors need to present a proper negative COVID-19 test. With that, you can head straight to the beach on most islands.

While planning a trip, though, you’ll notice that all major domestic carriers fly from the mainland to Hawaii.