Vote for MileValue as Best Miles & Points Blog

MileValue was nominated by USA Today as the Best Miles-and-Points Blog. Through November 7, 2016, you can vote for MileValue here.

You can vote once per day, just by clicking vote without having to give any personal information.

Winning this beauty contest would be nice, but I already feel like a winner. I've written a miles-and-points blog for almost five years. My job is to help people achieve lifelong travel dreams.

Introducing New MileValue Writer Sarah Page Maxwell

Please welcome Sarah Page Maxwell as the newest member of the MileValue team. She will write several articles a week of the type you already enjoy on MileValue. She'll also bring her own voice and travel experiences to MileValue to complement mine.

Boipeba, Brazil

Sarah Page has been living in Buenos Aires, Argentina for four years, and we met through the expat community there a few years ago.

My 2016 Spring & Summer Travel & Life Plans

I'm a nomad. Here are my current travel plans. Also see Late 2015 Travel, Early 2016 Travel, and Where I Slept in 2015.

I have a clear picture of where I’ll be until about October 2016. Last week, I booked a flurry of awards, mostly with obscure mileage programs to lock in my dates for 2016.

Happy Fourth Birthday to MileValue

Saturday was the fourth anniversary of the site's first post: How Much Are Frequent Flier Miles Worth? A Guide. I celebrated by taking the day off.

Thanks to everyone who has read the site, used the MileValue Award Booking Service, or applied for a credit card using a link on this site. Your support has allowed me to make a living by typing up tips for cheap, free, or luxurious travel on my laptop all over the world.

I decided to start this site in February 2012 when I was in Rwanda.

How I Got a Passport in Three Days at a Passport Agency

My beautiful, old, extra-pages-added-later passport was set to expire in May 2016. Since many countries don't allow entry unless your passport has at least six months remaining validity, I knew I should aim to get a new passport by November 2015. I was in Argentina from October to December 2015 before coming back to Hawaii for 10 days before heading to Asia for a month.

Those 10 days in Hawaii would be my only chance to get a new passport, so I would need to apply for and get the passport within 10 days.

2016 Travel Goals

Greetings from Bangkok!

With 2015 in the books, and my rundown of last year's travel here, I thought I'd share my upcoming travel plans.

I pretty much know exactly where I'll be in January, have a few options for February, see March and April pretty clearly, and then have no idea what I'll do from May on. Here's my best guess through mid-May.

Lines Represent Itineraries Not Segments

First I'm going to hop around Thailand and Singapore with my Romanian friend.

2015 Year in Review

2015 was a great year of travel for me, and hopefully for you too.

The year started in a hot tub in Chilean Patagonia, admiring a lake and snow-capped mountain in the twilight.

Merry Christmas Eve from MileValue

Merry Christmas, Mele Kalikimaka, and Feliz Navidad to all MileValue readers. I'll be too busy Christmas shopping and traveling over the next few days to post, so look for new posts on Sunday or Monday...

What I’m Thankful For

I am taking my usual Thanksgiving hiatus until Sunday or Monday. Enjoy your time with family, friends, and great food. We will get back to travel hacking next week.

224 Dead in Russian Plane Crash over Egypt. ISIS Claims Resposibility

A Russian airline's A321 has crashed shortly after taking off from Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, killing 224 onboard. (The airline's name is variously given as Kogalymavia or Metrojet.