Hi friends! How are you? Hope you’re having a happy Monday! I’d love to hear about your weekend and what you were up to! Today, I’m sharing a very exciting Alinea review!

In 2017, we took an AMAZING trip to Chicago to celebrate our 10th anniversary. We met up with our friends Betsy and Jeremy (who live in San Diego) for a weekend of fun, including ridiculous restaurants, a show (HAMILTON! It was everything), and lots of shopping.

Whenever we meet up with them, it’s like no time has passed at all. Since we move so often, we’re lucky to have friends all over the world. I feel so fortunate that our time in San Diego introduced us to these wonderful friends, who are really more like family.

I’ll be recapping some of the adventures, including where we stayed + all about Hamilton in the am, but for now, let’s talk about the food.

Chicago Eats: Alinea Review + Menu Details

Oh, the food.

In Chicago, there’s an awesome restaurant every 20 feet or so. I could stay there for 2 weeks, go all out for every meal, and not even begin to touch all of the best dining possibilities. While we depended on your amazing suggestions + online reviews to make restaurant decisions, going into the trip, we knew there was one place we had to go: Alinea.​

Alinea Chicago Booking​

The Pilot and I are huge fans of Chef’s Table on Netflix -it’s one of the few shows we both like- and when we saw the episode featuring Alinea and Chef Grant Achatz, we knew we had to go at one point or another. When we de

I’m excited to share a full review of the new Great Wolf Lodge in Scottsdale, Salt River, AZ. This kid-friendly resort has lots of fun options for families. Read on for the good… and the bad. 😉 

Hi friends! Hope you’re having a wonderful morning.  Today I’m sharing a full review of the new Great Wolf Lodge in Scottsdale! It’s a super fun and kid-friendly resort that the WHOLE family will love! Let’s take a look at this review to see what we thought so you can see if it’d be a vacay your fam would like!.

We spent 3 days and 2 nights at the brand-new Great Wolf Lodge, which is basically a kid’s dream come true. The girls lost their minds! I’d seen a few posts about Great Wolf Lodge over the years and was excited finally to take the crew. When I found out this summer that we were getting one, I booked our rooms the first day that they opened the system for reservations. The site crashed multiple times during the process. I was able to snag a room for the end of the month, which ended up being their grand opening weekend. The room rates were pretty fair, and I was happy to pay them.

Great Wolf Lodge Scottsdale Review

Great Wolf Lodge is a family-friendly resort with a lodge “campfire” kinda vibe to it. The two wolf mascots, Wiley and Violet, and other characters, stroll around the property for photo ops, and they have quite a few fun amenities.

Activities at Great Wolf Lodge Scottsdale

I was pretty blown away by the amount of activities they offer on-site. They have a mini golf area, gold panning, a mine exploration activity, an indoor ropes course, a mini bowling alley, a rock-climbing wall, and a full indoor water park. The waterpark is climate-controlled to 86 degrees year-round and has various slides, a lazy river, a wave pool, a giant splash pad, and a baby/toddler area.

Inside the resort, they also have a Build-A-Bear workshop, a kids’ area (where they offer childcare), a candy store, and MagiQuest.

MagiQuest ended up being one of the biggest hits with the kids. It’s an indoor scavenger hunt using magic wands (that you purchase for around $20). You pay an additional $15 to participate in the MagiQuest game, and as you find different spots throughout the property – they’re marked with a little green leaf – you flick your wand at the object and something will happen.

Sharing my tips on how to use credit card points for travel. Check out all of the details here!

There are some things in my life that I regret. That one time I moved to Tucson and was having a crisis and got bangs. Quitting my MBA program when I was more than halfway finished. Aaaaand not signing up for reward credit cards sooner.

We often heard our friends talking about credit card points, but since we had debt in the past, it was something we avoided. We kept hearing about free flights and lounge access, so about 10 years ago, we decided to go for it. It’s been a total gamechanger. Since then, we have traveled multiple times for free, enjoyed hotel upgrades, lounge access, and have been rewarded for everyday spending through points.

How to use credit card points for travel

How to Use Credit Card Points for Travel: Maximize Rewards for Flights, Hotels, and Lounge Access

In this post, I’m going to share some tips on how to maximize your credit card rewards for travel and share my experience with the American Express Platinum Card, including its pros and cons. I’ll also share my favorite tips for getting the best airfare deals!

Ways to Use Credit Card Points for Travel

1. Free Hotel Stays & Upgrades

Many travel credit cards allow you to redeem points for free hotel nights at major chains like Marriott, Hilton, and Hyatt. Some cards also offer automatic elite status, which can lead to room upgrades, late checkout, and free breakfast. When I book through the Amex travel portal, we’re able to see which rewards we’ll receive, whether it’s late checkout, early check-in, a resort credit, or a room upgrade when available. You also get $200 credit each year for their Fine Hotels & Resorts collection.

(Free room service at our upgraded Venetian suite in Vegas. Our flight was also free)

Tip: Look for transfer partners where your points stretch further. For example, American Express Membership Rewards points transfer at a 1:1 ratio to Hilton Honors but often have promotions offering extra value. Sometimes you can get 2 for 1 points so it’s worth it!! You can do this directly through the American Express website.

2. Booking Flights & Scoring Airfare Deals

One of the best ways to use credit card points is to book flights. You can redeem points directly through your card’s travel portal or transfer them to airline partners for even better value.

Best ways to find airfare deals:

Use Google Explore: