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.

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.

Although a large welcome bonus is as good a reason to sign up for a new credit card as any, it doesn’t hurt to make note of a card’s other benefits before clicking “Submit” on an application page.

You can get free checked bags with co-branded airline cards, free annual night certificates with hotel cards and lounge access with premium cards.

The American Airlines AAdvantage program doesn’t partner with any flexible bank rewards program, with the exception of Marriott Bonvoy points that transfer to the airline at a ratio of 3:1. This makes it that much more difficult to earn miles with the program.

However, it doesn’t mean that you can’t use points and miles to book award tickets on American Airlines flights. You just have to know where to search for them.

American Airlines is part of the Oneworld airline alliance, which consists of 13 full members (with Alaska Airlines joining in March 2021).

Wildlife safaris, natural wonders, bustling markets—with 54 countries to choose from, Africa’s got it all. Figuring out which loyalty program to use to fly to the second-most populous continent might be a drag, so we’ve come up with a guide to help you.

Whether you’re looking to fly with Oneworld, SkyTeam or Star Alliance carriers, we’ve got some solid options for mileage redemptions with each alliance.

Air France-KLM Flying Blue

Flying Blue is an interesting option to consider when searching for award space from North America to Africa.

To keep the What’s In My Wallet series going—and so that we can actually call this a series—I’ll go next and take you on a socially distanced tour of my wallet.

Some of my credit cards have high annual fees. Some have mid-range fees. Others are no-fee cards. Every card I apply for serves a purpose, and once that purpose is served, I decide whether to keep it or cancel.

Whether it’s eating a croissant near the Eiffel Tower, skiing in the Alps or riding in a gondola across Venice canals, Europe offers a lot of reasons to visit. In fact, France, Spain, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom were in the top 10 most visited destinations by international travelers in 2019, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization.

It’s no wonder that many travelers seek award flights to Europe.