BY Alex Miller - January 2, 2023

About Upgraded Points & Our Team

Upgraded Points (“UP”) was launched in 2016 by founder Alex Miller with the mission to show travelers the real value of points and miles, as well as upgrade their overall travel experiences.

UP works every day to achieve this goal by publishing free, super in-depth, and intuitive content that aims to give our readers everything they’re looking for and more. Our travel and finance experts regularly spend hours researching and crafting just a single piece of content.

However, the team doesn’t just focus on new guides and the latest news. With the travel and credit card industry constantly evolving, content quickly becomes outdated. That’s why we routinely review and update thousands of articles on the site — many as often as every month.

We love hearing success stories from readers who consume our content and then are able to snag that elusive hotel or flight upgrade, take the family to Disney by using points, or even experience luxurious travel without breaking the bank. That’s why UP exists and that’s what excites us.

UP has grown quickly since launching in 2016, welcoming ~30 million visitors in 2022 with thousands of press and brand mentions across the web. UP is very proud to be regularly seen and featured across top-tier publications such as The New York Times, Forbes, Travel & Leisure, Business Insider, Fox Business, Washington Post, CNBC, TimeOut, and many more.

UP can also be found on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, including our Level UP Group on Facebook where 10,000+ avid travelers share, connect, and can ask our team anything to do with travel or credit cards! We also host popular “how to” videos that highlight a particular strategy or tip to maximize your travel.

Alex Miller

Founder & CEO

Alex has been traveling for over 25 years and he has his parents to thank for this. Born and raised in England (and living there until he was 27), from a young age Alex was lucky enough to set out on numerous family trips all over the world.

During university, where he studied Business & Management with Spanish, Alex studied abroad for a year in Alicante. After graduating in 2007, his passion jumped to another level when he and 5 friends visited 10 European countries in just 30 days — all on a shoestring budget.

This travel bug turned into a full-time obsession when Alex moved to America in 2011 after falling head-over-heels in love with Erin.

Alex has since earned tens of millions of travel points and miles, mainly through maximizing every opportunity to earn the most points possible on each dollar spent.

These points and miles have helped Alex to fly some of the most awarded international first-class products in the world, including Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, Emirates, Etihad, British Airways, Lufthansa, and more.

Alex is regularly called upon by mainstream publications to discuss travel and finance, including CNBC, Forbes, Fox Business, Fox News, Insider, Lonely Planet, The New York Times, and The Washington Post.

Countries Visited: 34
U.S. States Visited: 29
Highest Hotel Status: Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite
Highest Airline Status: Oneworld Gold
Favorite Airline Alliance: Oneworld
Favorite First Class: Etihad Apartment (A380) and New Singapore Suites (A380)
Favorite Business Class: QSuite (A350)
Best Redemption Value: Our Around the World Trip — 611k miles for $55,000+ of value
Favorite Type of Points: Chase Ultimate Rewards
Top 3 Cards in Wallet: Chase Sapphire Reserve®, Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express

Erin Miller

Content Contributor

Erin currently maintains her status as Alex’s adventure-seeking partner-in-crime and contributes to Upgraded Points through in-depth content creation and relationship management.

She caught the travel bug just after high school when her grandmother took her on a 2-week, whirlwind trip around Europe. That was that — she’s been gallivanting around the globe ever since (26 countries & counting)!

Alex’s persistence with cracking the points game wide open has allowed her to experience some incredible, new destinations and some pretty fantastic flight upgrades. She’s fully invested in this lucrative industry hack with many points-earning credit cards in her wallet. She’s constantly choosing the best card for the purchase at hand, capitalizing on category bonuses and checking portals to maximize spend.

And it’s definitely worth all the effort — with 8 different first and business class products under her belt, Erin swears it’s an insane way to fly, that will never (ever) get old.

Erin has been mentioned in a number of publications, including Business Insider, Forbes, Lonely Planet, U.S. News & World Report, and WTOP.

Countries Visited: 26
U.S. States Visited: 28
Favorite First Class: Etihad Apartment (A380)
Favorite Business Class: Singapore Airlines (777)
Best Redemption Value: Singapore Suites from JFK > FRA> SIN
Favorite Type of Points: American Express Membership Rewards
Top 3 Cards in Wallet: Chase Sapphire Reserve®, Chase Freedom Unlimited®, and American Express® Gold Card

Leigh Rowan

Director of Special Projects

Leigh Rowan brings a wealth of travel expertise and industry connections to the constantly-growing UP Team. Leigh has been a world traveler since his teens and has visited over 60 countries on 6 continents (Antarctica, he’s coming for you next!), oftentimes traveling with his family in premium classes for little more out-of-pocket cost than an economy ticket.

Leigh met his wife on an airplane (Alaska Airlines; OAK to SEA!), and they’ve been traveling together ever since, and even now, with little ones in tow! His 3 children (8, 5 and 2 years old) have had American AAdvantage Gold and Delta SkyMiles Silver Medallion status — with a little luck and grit, they’ll both be at Platinum on each airline, soon enough! Fun fact: Leigh has saved each of the boarding passes for each of his kids’ flights (and the stack is ever-growing!).

Anchoring our West Coast presence, Leigh lives and works in San Francisco’s busy entrepreneurial and tech scene. He brings years of experience in the finance, frequent flyer and loyalty program, and technology sectors. When he’s not helping UP strike new relationships with advertising or tech partners, he’s helping busy executives manage their travels via his company Savanti Travel.

Leigh studied Italian at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and did a brief stint in culinary school in Italy. You can follow Leigh’s frequent travels, occasional pictures of food, and infrequent musings on Twitter.

Leigh is also a top-tier Virtuoso travel agent and can be reached at [email protected] for booking assistance.

Countries Visited: 60
Favorite First Class: Tie between Cathay F on the 777 and JAL F on the 777
Favorite Business Class: 3-way tie (are those allowed?!) between the food and Champagne on Air France’s 777, the spaciousness of Asiana’s A350, and the overall service and experience of Cathay’s 777
Best Redemption Value: 15 cents per mile for Etihad First (SFO-AUH) for my best friend for his honeymoon!
Favorite Type of Points: Chase Ultimate Rewards
Top 3 Cards in Wallet: Chase Sapphire Reserve®, The Business Platinum® from American Express, and Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card

Kellie Jez

Director of Operations & Compliance

Kellie joins the UP team after spending 9 years in the education sector, both in Higher Education and K-12. Over the years, she found her professional passion revolved around compliance, data reporting, and process implementation/refinement.

Kellie has always enjoyed traveling but was welcomed to the world of points and miles when her husband showed her how to make the most of those points and miles to travel to Dubai, France, Thailand, Hong Kong, and a few more. Her favorite trip to date was their honeymoon when she got to fly Singapore Suites, The Apartment on Etihad, and Emirates First — all on points and miles.

Kellie, her husband, and 2 dogs (Alley and Scotty Cameron) live in Austin, Texas where they spend time hiking, golfing, and watching a lot of soccer and basketball.

Kellie holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Master’s of Education from the University of Texas at Austin.

Countries Visited: 10
U.S. States Visited: 20
Favorite First Class: The Apartment on Etihad
Favorite Business Class: Lufthansa
Best Redemption Value: The Apartment on Etihad AUH > JFK. Retail Value: $9,260. Redeemed for 99,244 Membership Rewards points (resulting in 9.3 cents per point).
Favorite Type of Points: American Express Membership Rewards
Top 3 Cards in Wallet: American Express® Gold Card, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express

Keri Stooksbury

Editor-in-Chief

Keri was born and raised in Atlanta and first traveled abroad to England on a fellowship while earning her B.S. in Marketing at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She now makes Doha, Qatar her home.

As an expat for over 5 years, Keri has lived in Qatar (2 times, 10 years apart) and in Singapore. She has enjoyed amazing travel and adventure opportunities across the globe and has traveled to 35 countries. Her favorite travel destinations include Jordan, the Maldives, Seychelles, Thailand, and Turkey, and she is planning a spring safari trip to South Africa.

Previously the Assistant Editor of a local Houston website, Keri has spent most of her career in corporate marketing for Domino’s Pizza and was also the Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Qatar.

Editing with Upgraded Points for over 3 years, as Editor-in-Chief, Keri manages the editorial calendar and oversees the efforts of the editing team, as well as the work of over 10 content contributors, reviewing thousands of articles in the process.

With 20+ years of personal experience utilizing points and miles earned from flights, hotel stays, and credit card spending, as well as promotional bonus opportunities and sign-up bonuses, Keri is able to maximize airline and hotel award redemptions for her family of 5.

Countries Visited: 35
U.S. States Visited: 28
Highest Hotel Status: No loyalty = no status!
Highest Airline Status: Delta SkyMiles Platinum Medallion
Favorite Airline Alliance: Oneworld
Favorite Business Class: Qatar Qsuite
Best Redemption Value: A 2-week tour of Christmas Markets in Europe, including 5 countries and 6 cities, all on airline miles and SPG points, as well as a Walt Disney World trip with friends that was paid for with Disney Dollars earned from referral bonuses from her Disney® Premier Visa® card
Favorite Type of Points: Capital One miles
Top 3 Cards in Wallet: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, IHG® Rewards Traveler Credit Card

Nick Ellis

Editor & Content Contributor

Nick was born and raised in West Michigan and caught the travel bug after a last-minute decision to study abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina after his sophomore year at the University of Michigan. After that, he got into the points and miles game to help fund subsequent spring break trips to Europe.

Nick has now traveled to 35 countries, largely thanks to travel rewards. Some of his favorite places include Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Tokyo, Japan, and Italy’s Amalfi Coast. Next on his travel bucket list is a trip to the Middle East where he’ll visit Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon.

Nick now lives in Michigan and most recently worked for The Points Guy where he was a writer and editor for more than 5 years.

You can follow Nick’s adventures in NYC and elsewhere on Instagram.

Countries Visited: 35
U.S. States Visited: 25
Highest Hotel Status: Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite
Highest Airline Status: Delta SkyMiles Diamond Medallion
Favorite First Class: Emirates A380
Favorite Business Class: Qatar Qsuite
Best Redemption Value: Using Marriott Bonvoy points to cover the cost of 3 rooms at the St. Regis Punta Mita over the New Year’s holiday when rates were close to $2,000 per night
Favorite Type of Points: American Express Membership Rewards
Top 3 Cards in Wallet: American Express® Gold Card, The Platinum Card® from American Express, and Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Juan Ruiz

Editor & Content Contributor

Juan has been writing and editing stories involving credit cards, loyalty programs, travel, and personal finance topics for more than 10 years. In addition to working and contributing to a number of outlets including The Points Guy, Forbes, and Business Insider, Juan was recently the editor-in-chief at Money Under 30 where he led a team of personal finance journalists. He is also an adjunct professor at Florida International University and a licensed real estate agent.

Juan’s insatiable case of wanderlust began in elementary school, with his parents sending him as a solo traveler to Bogota, Colombia in order to spend summers with his grandma and extended family. Today, Juan has visited 40 countries, including studying abroad in Australia. Some of his favorite places include Tokyo, Uruguay, Paris, and Rio de Janeiro.

Juan, his wife Stephanie, and 3 daughters live in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where they embark on travel adventures across the world using points and miles earned from more than 25 credit cards he possesses. His crowning achievement is showing his 3 daughters the world, through a global lens.

Juan holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Florida International University and a Master’s of Education from the University of Miami.

You can follow Juan on Instagram and Twitter.

Countries Visited: 40
U.S. States Visited: 27
Highest Hotel Status: World of Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Honors Diamond
Highest Airline Status: American AAdvantage Gold, JetBlue Mosaic
Favorite Airline Alliance: Oneworld
Favorite Business Class: Qatar Qsuite
Favorite First Class: Singapore First Class Suite
Best Redemption Value: Cathay Pacific long-haul business class for 4 at 50,000 Alaska miles per person. Cash value? $35,000!
Favorite Type of Points: Chase Ultimate Rewards
Top 3 Cards in Wallet: American Express® Gold Card, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, The Business Platinum Card® from American Express

Jessica Merritt

Editor & Content Contributor

Jessica has studied points and miles for more than 5 years. She is a current contributor with U.S. News, covering credit cards and loans, and is the publication’s former personal finance managing editor. Passionate about supporting consumers, Jessica helps readers get the most value from their money, whether the currency is cash, points, or miles.

With a family of 5 and as an owner of a local board game brewpub, Jessica’s travel these days consists mostly of short domestic getaways and camping trips. Some of her favorite destinations are Key West, Orlando, Denver, D.C., and points within the great state of Texas, though she’s always researching a new trip!

Jessica lives in the Houston area with her husband and 3 kids who are always ready to hit the road, and, if given the choice, would probably sleep in a hotel or at a campground full time.

Jessica holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Houston.

Countries Visited: 4
U.S. States Visited: 23
Highest Hotel Status: Hilton Honors Gold
Favorite Airline Alliance: No loyalty here!
Best Redemption Value: Nearly-free visits to Disney World for a family of 5, 2 years in a row!
Favorite Type of Points: Chase Ultimate Rewards
Top 3 Cards in Wallet: Chase Sapphire R eserve®, Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card, and American Express Cash Magnet® Card

Stella Shon

Editor & Content Contributor

Stella was born in Los Angeles but grew up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where she lived for nearly two decades. Stella attended college just a stone’s throw away from her childhood home, graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Go Heels!) with a bachelor’s degree in media and journalism. She also studied abroad at the Sorbonne in Paris, which then fueled her desire to continue seeing the world using travel rewards.

Stella now calls New York City home. With three airports practically in her backyard and plenty of airfare deals to be found, Stella easily flies 100,000+ miles every year. She has been a points and miles enthusiast for more than six years, and her work has been featured in media outlets like The Points Guy, LendingTree, MoneyUnder30 and Slickdeals. Most recently, Stella was a corporate communications analyst at JetBlue.

Stella carries a dozen credit cards in her wallet but is always reevaluating her points and miles strategy. Some of her favorite trips—all paid for with her credit card rewards—include a five-day trip trekking through Morocco, a week campervanning in Iceland with her mom and a 48-hour jaunt to Antigua, Guatemala. Already on the books for 2023: ANA first class from Chicago to Tokyo for 60,000 points, Delta One from New York-JFK to Honolulu for just $300 (thanks to a regional upgrade certificate) and some R&R in the Dominican Republic.

You can follow Stella on Instagram and Twitter.

Countries Visited: 25
U.S. States Visited: 22
Highest Hotel Status: Hilton Honors Diamond, World of Hyatt Discoverist
Highest Airline Status: Delta SkyMiles Platinum Medallion, JetBlue Mosaic
Favorite Airline Alliance: SkyTeam
Favorite Business Class: Singapore Airlines
Favorite First Class: All Nippon Airways (ANA) – 777-330ER
Best Redemption Value: Award mistake fares exist—a one-way lie-flat business class seat EWR-CDG-CMN for 12.5k EVA Airways miles on TAP Air Portugal.
Favorite Type of Points: Chase Ultimate Rewards and Bilt Rewards
Top 3 Cards in Wallet: Bilt World Elite Mastercard® Credit Card, American Express® Gold Card, and Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Chris Dong

Editor & Content Contributor

Chris is an obsessive traveler with an eye for luxury hotels and local, authentic experiences. He loves sleeping in opulent five-star suites (in the air or on the ground!) just as much as he enjoys eating at hole-in-the-wall noodle joints.

As a freelance travel writer and editor, he focuses on timely travel trends, points and miles, hot new hotels, and all things that go (he’s a proud aviation geek and transit nerd). Ultimately, he believes luxury travel, local experiences and loyalty programs can all go together.

Formerly full-time at The Points Guy, his work can now be found at AFAR, Travel + Leisure, Conde Nast Traveler, The Washington Post, Insider, and Lonely Planet, among others. When he’s not traveling, Chris calls Los Angeles home after nearly ten years of living in New York City.

You can follow Chris on Instagram and Twitter.

Countries Visited: 50
U.S. States Visited: 34
Highest Hotel Status: World of Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Honors Diamond
Highest Airline Status: American Airlines Platinum Pro
Favorite Airline Alliance: Oneworld
Favorite First Class: Cathay Pacific First Class
Favorite Business Class: Qatar Qsuite
Best Redemption Value: ANA First Class, Cathay Pacific First Class, Japan Airlines First Class.
Favorite Type of Points: Amex Membership Rewards and Bilt Rewards
Top 3 Cards in Wallet: American Express® Gold Card, Bilt World Elite Mastercard® Credit Card, and Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

Christine Krzyszton

Senior Finance Contributor

Christine was born in Northern Michigan but spent most of her career operating her own business developing and managing insurance and financial services offices throughout the state. Her previous experience involved building and writing business plans in the mergers and acquisitions sector in New York, as well as staffing in the insurance and financial technology software field.

Her successful insurance and financial services career has been an excellent foundation from which to source her knowledge for many of Upgraded Points’ travel insurance articles.

Additionally, Christine has a collection of over 2 dozen current credit cards, including those issued by American Express, Chase, Citi, Discover, U.S. Bank, and previously Barclays and Capital One. Her goal is to learn every aspect of the cards’ attributes with a hands-on approach in order to translate that experience to her in-depth comparison and benefit articles. Beyond using the cards for earning and redeeming rewards, we won’t even mention the hours she spends reading each card’s Guide to Benefits.

Although Christine applies for cards on a consistent basis, she keeps a close watch on her credit score to maintain an excellent credit rating averaging between 820 to 840.

Her favorite use of points includes purchasing premium class fare tickets with The Business Platinum Card® from American Express to receive the 35% points rebate. Keeping a healthy balance of hundreds of thousands of points allows her to purchase several business class flights each year. She’s also a fan of the Chase Sapphire Reserve® which she uses to purchase bargain business class fares with Chase Ultimate Rewards points to receive 1.5 cents per point in value.

Christine now makes Northern Michigan her home, but she also travels over 200,000 miles each year, most of it internationally. She uses her miles to position to cities where deals can be found, preferably in business class, and uses rewards points to pay for the flights. She also uses her earned systemwide upgrades to fly in business and first class.

For over 10 years, Christine has been writing about her weekend travels, personal finance, and travel tips. She has been a contributor to various online travel blogs, a regional men’s magazine, travel newsletters and lifestyle blogs, and authored a book, “How To See the World in a Weekend,” about her weekend travels.

She has nearly 5 million flown miles, elite status on all 3 major domestic carriers, and is a 3-million miler with Delta Air Lines.

You can follow Christine on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Countries Visited: 98
U.S. States Visited: 45
Highest Hotel Status: Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite, Hilton Honors Diamond
Highest Airline Status: Delta SkyMiles Diamond Medallion
Favorite Airline Alliance: SkyTeam
Favorite First Class: Emirates First Class A380 Suite
Favorite Business Class: Delta One Suites
Best Redemption Value: Avios for short-haul flights
Favorite Type of Points: Chase Ultimate Rewards
Top 3 Cards in Wallet: Chase Sapphire Reserve®, The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, and Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card

Katie Seemann

Senior Content Contributor

Katie fell in love with travel during a semester abroad in college spent in Nottingham, England. During that time, she got to see Scotland, Ireland, London, and Amsterdam and knew she wanted to see more of the world.

Fast forward to 2015 when Katie discovered the world of points and miles. She jumped in full force and hasn’t looked back. After starting her own blog, Zen Life and Travel, in 2016, she began freelance writing in 2017. In addition to being a contributor to Upgraded Points since 2018, she also writes for Forbes Advisor and has previously written for Million Mile Secrets.

Over the years she’s collected and redeemed millions of points and miles and currently has 16 cards in her wallet. Hyatt is her hotel brand of choice because the value you can get using points is tremendous. Because of that, her Chase cards get a lot of use since Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer directly to Hyatt. Her favorite cards are the Chase Sapphire Reserve® for travel and dining, Chase Freedom Flex℠ for bonus category spending, and Chase Freedom Unlimited® for everything else.

As for flying, Southwest has been her go-to airline in recent years, primarily because she’s in her sixth year as a Southwest Companion Pass holder. Katie and her family get thousands of dollars of value from the Companion Pass each year. More recently, she has become a fan of American Airlines, mostly because the new Loyalty Points program makes elite status simple and achievable through non-flight activity.

When she’s not traveling, Katie spends her time at home in Ohio with her husband and 9-year-old daughter, probably planning her next getaway.

Katie is active in the points and miles community on social media and even helped organize a “Women in Points and Miles” meetup in San Diego.

You can follow her adventures on Facebook, Twitter, and especially Instagram where she loves sharing her travel experiences and showing how to use points and miles to make luxury travel affordable.

Countries Visited: 24
U.S. States Visited: 26
Highest Hotel Status: IHG One Rewards Diamond, World of Hyatt Explorist
Highest Airline Status: Southwest Companion Pass, American AAdvantage Platinum
Best Redemption Value: Lie-flat business class seats between the U.S. and Africa for $75 round-trip using United MileagePlus miles on Ethiopian Airlines — it wasn’t the most luxurious business class but it was a great deal for such long flights!
Favorite Type of Points: Chase Ultimate Rewards
Top 3 Cards in Wallet: Chase Sapphire Reserve®, The World of Hyatt Credit Card, and The Platinum Card® from American Express

Stephen Au

Senior Content Contributor

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Stephen has been privileged to enjoy many premium cabin products and 5-star hotels.

As one of the foremost experts in credit cards, over the past 4 years, he has amassed a portfolio of over 70 credit cards, both personal and business. Stephen has personally tested, first-hand, almost every major rewards credit card on the market today, spanning banks such as American Express, Bank of America, Barclays, Brex, Capital One, Chase, Citi, City National Bank, U.S. Bank, and more.

Stephen’s work has been showcased multiple times in leading publications, including The Washington Post, U.S. News, Yahoo! News, and CreditCards.com.

His company, Au Points and Awards Consulting Services (AuPACS, pronounced OW-PAX), focuses on building ultra-customized credit card plans and curating points-funded dream vacations for clients, primarily business owners and even corporations. AuPACS has booked 200+ trips for its clients, both business and leisure vacations. AuPACS currently books 4 to 6 business class flights per day for clients with a yearly volume of $4 million in points travel booked.

Stephen also guides his clients through the best credit cards for their individual situations. In fact, he has helped his clients amass an average of 500,000 additional points every year, thanks to his innovative, proven credit card optimization methodology. To date, Stephen’s clients at AuPACS have booked over $3.5 million in luxury points travel aboard products like Emirates first class, Etihad First Class Apartments, Cathay Pacific first class, and more.

In addition, he is also a specialist in helping cash-strapped business owners consolidate and reduce high-interest debt. Stephen’s business owner clients include medical practice owners, software entrepreneurs, construction and real estate developers, e-commerce CEOs, private equity fund managers, chiropractic specialists, wealth management offices, and more.

Stephen understands that the subject of redemptions, often known as the most difficult part of points optimization, can be overwhelming. His technical background enabled him to create a data-driven process that helps his clients find the most efficient use of points within their parameters.

When he isn’t building relationships, Stephen is also a third-wave coffeepreneur and owns a product wholesale business.

You can follow Stephen and his travels on Instagram and LinkedIn.

Countries Visited: 24
U.S. States Visited: 22
Highest Hotel Status: Hilton Honors Diamond and Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite
Highest Airline Status: American AAdvantage Platinum Pro
Favorite Airline Alliance: Oneworld
Favorite Airlines: American Airlines — favorite domestic airline as they continue to offer a distinct product for ultra-premium first class passengers through Flagship First class; Air France — fantastic product with good award availability, an excellent all-around European airline when using points; Singapore Airlines — excellent business and first class products with reasonable award availability at a fair price with low taxes and fees
Favorite First Class: Cathay Pacific (777) for its spa lounges, cabanas, classic Hong Kong luxury, and the widest first class seat in the world
Favorite Business Class: EVA Air (777) for its Rimowa amenities, pajamas, amazing food, and top-notch service
Best Redemption Value: 25 cents per point flying in ANA first class
Favorite Type of Points: American Express Membership Rewards
Top 3 Cards in Wallet: Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card, Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, and The Platinum Card® from American Express

Jarrod West

Senior Content Contributor

Jarrod has been writing about the ins and outs of credit cards and loyalty programs, along with airlines and hotels, for over 6 years. He is regularly called upon to share his expertise on the latest news within the space, and has been featured in publications such as Matador Network, The New York Times, RetailMeNot, and Yahoo! Finance.

Jarrod has over 20 credit cards in his wallet and has tested out dozens more in order to vet the very best card options for readers. As he is constantly sampling new cards, Jarrod also earns (and redeems) over 1 million points and miles each year. This allows him to book luxury travel experiences the world over, and save tens of thousands of dollars in the process.

He first became fascinated with the world of travel rewards as the perfect way to visit dream destinations without breaking the bank. Now, he is on a mission to help others realize their travel goals and upgrade their travel experiences.

He holds a B.S. in Economics from Northern Kentucky University and now calls New York City home. Jarrod also runs his own website, the Freequent Flyer Blog, where he has helped readers earn over 20 million points and miles (approx. $200k+ in travel savings) through his free credit card consultations. Outside of writing and traveling, he loves trying new restaurants, reading, and cheering on Liverpool F.C.

Follow Jarrod on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Countries Visited: 20
U.S. States Visited: 23
Highest Hotel Status: World of Hyatt Globalist
Highest Airline Status: American AAdvantage Platinum Pro
Favorite Airlines: Qatar (world’s best business class), Emirates (elegance in every detail), and Air France (fantastic inflight food and wine offerings).
Favorite Airline Alliance: Oneworld
Favorite Business Class: Qatar Qsuite
Favorite Type of Points: American Express Membership Rewards
Top 3 Cards in Wallet: The Platinum Card® from American Express, American Express® Gold Card, and The World of Hyatt Credit Card

Chris Hassan

Social Media Manager & Family Travel Contributor

Chris has years of marketing and hospitality experience, so running the social media channels and writing about family travel is a natural fit for him here at Upgraded Points.

A Boston native now living in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Chris has a passion for sharing travel tips for families and has been featured on BBC News, Parents.com, The Washington Post, The Weather Channel, and other publications.

Chris earned his B.S. in Hospitality & Tourism Management from the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst, studied hotel management even further in Switzerland, and then worked in luxury hotels in New England for years after graduating.

After meeting his wife and catching the travel bug in Europe, Chris and his young family always make travel a priority. With grandparents in each hemisphere, international travel has become an integral part of his kids’ lives, and being able to pay for it with points and miles makes it easier to afford.

While he is no stranger to flying long distances in the back of a plane with 2 kids, being able to fly business or first class and lie-flat is the preferred way to go. Chris is a firm believer that kids belong up front just as much as any other well-behaved paying customer.

You can follow Chris on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Countries Visited: 21
U.S. States Visited: 24
Highest Hotel Status: World of Hyatt Globalist
Favorite Airline Alliance: Star Alliance
Favorite First Class: Etihad Apartment (A380)
Favorite Business Class: United Polaris — his preferred way to get between the U.S. and Brazil
Best Redemption Value: TAP Miles&Go via United Airlines between North and South America
Top 3 Cards in Wallet: Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card, Citi Prestige® Card, and Cartão Pão de Açúcar Itaú Platinum

Amar Hussain

Senior Content Contributor

Amar was born and raised in England and sadly didn’t catch his bout of wanderlust until his early twenties.

Playing catch up, Amar embarked on an 11-country round-the-world gap year after graduation and then became well and truly hooked. The first gap year inspired a second which ended up being a 23-country down-the-world trip from Canada to Antarctica.

Since then Amar has endeavored to turn his gap year into a “gap life” and has spent the last 13 years traveling the 7 continents. He has also lived in places such as Australia, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Mexico.

Amar’s travel experiences started off in the humble roots of budget and backpacker travel, but as he’s matured so have his tastes (whilst still looking for a deal!). Now he wants the finer things in travel such as a bed or cabin on his flights, and that’s where his passion for points developed.

Amar holds a B.S. in Management & Strategy from Aston University, still runs the travel website OnlyWanderlust.com, and has contributed to publications such as Forbes, Entrepreneur, Huffington Post, Elite Daily, and Business 2 Community. You can follow him on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Countries Visited: 63
U.S. States Visited: 9
Favorite First Class: Singapore Airlines (A380)
Favorite Business Class: Virgin Atlantic Upper Class (787)
Favorite Airline Alliance: Oneworld
Best Redemption Value: BA Travel Together Ticket (first class)
Favorite Type of Points: American Express Membership Rewards
Top 3 Cards in Wallet: Chase Sapphire Reserve®, Chase Freedom Unlimited®, and The Business Platinum® Card from American Express

James Larounis

Senior Content Contributor

Jamie first got hooked on miles and points during a high school choir trip to Europe, where he flew in Lufthansa first class (thanks to his dad’s then US Airways miles) because economy was sold out.

Years later, he started The Forward Cabin blog to teach friends and family about miles and points and delve deep into the inner workings of airline and hotel programs.

He’s helped organize Frequent Traveler University, where he’s spoken in depth about the loyalty programs of American AAdvantage, Amtrak Guest Rewards, Kimpton Inner Circle, Marriott Bonvoy, and World of Hyatt. In addition, he helps run the twice-a-year Loyalty Summit, a professional conference attended by heads of loyalty programs at major airlines, hotels, and credit card issuers.

Highlighting his knowledge of airline customer experience, Jamie was featured in American Airlines’ “Elevate” training program presented to all frontline employees in 2016 talking about the essentials of customer service.

Among several media spotlights, he’s spoken at Princeton University and the New York Times Travel Show, been quoted in Condé Nast Traveler, The Fiscal Times, Forbes, New York Magazine, The New York Post, The New York Times, Skift, and Travel and Leisure Magazine, been featured on CNN, written for InsideFlyer and Road Warrior Voices/USA Today, and makes occasional guest appearances as a featured expert discussing the travel industry on major cable news media worldwide.

One of the largest projects Jamie is involved with is business development at SELECT black card, where he is responsible for new benefit acquisition in the travel sector. Through his relationships, Jamie was able to sign major brand relationships with Celebrity Cruises, Hawaiian Airlines, Hyatt Hotels, Priority Pass, Royal Caribbean, Silvercar, Tumi, and others.

Jamie holds a B.S. in Political Science from the University of Mary Washington and is a certified Advanced Life Support provider with the Commonwealth of Virginia. In his spare time, he volunteers as an emergency medical technician on an ambulance, leads community CPR and first aid classes, and is on the board of directors of his local Rotary Club. His proudest accomplishment is earning the Eagle Scout award with the Boy Scouts of America.

You can follow Jamie on Twitter and Instagram.

Countries Visited: 30
U.S. States Visited: 35
Highest Hotel Status: World of Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite
Highest Airline Status: American AAdvantage Executive Platinum
Favorite Airlines: Qantas for the onboard food and lounges, Hawaiian Airlines for the island vibes onboard, and Alaska Airlines for the cheese plate in first class (if you know, you know!)
Favorite First Class: Qantas first class (A380)
Favorite Business Class: Qantas business class (B747)
Best Redemption Value: 4,500 British Airways Avios from Longreach to Brisbane, Australia
Favorite Redemption Points: American AAdvantage miles
Top 3 Cards in Wallet: Chase Sapphire Reserve®, The Platinum Card® from American Express, and The World of Hyatt Credit Card

Carissa Rawson

Senior Content Contributor

Carissa is a native Californian whose taste for travel began during her 7 years in the U.S. Air Force. A former Arabic translator, her first serious journey overseas was to Jordan, where a 6-month deployment taught her a lot about people and a little about award travel. What started as a curiosity quickly became an obsession, and soon she had launched her own website teaching others how to travel for free.

After years of running her own blog, she joined up with The Points Guy full-time to write about the best in rewards travel, flight deals, and the ever-elusive elite status. Since then she has contributed to many different websites, including The Balance, Business Insider, and Forbes.

When she isn’t writing about award travel, you’ll often find her scanning fare calendars and searching mattress runs, usually from some sort of Priority Pass lounge. She is a United 1K member and a soon-to-be Hyatt Globalist, though her heart will always lie with Hilton.

Carissa is a firm believer in value for money, whether that means she’s legging it on a $200 cash fare to Europe or sipping Champagne up front courtesy of an award flight. She’s also made good use of upgrade certificates and even, when she’s feeling fancy, redeemed miles for a premium cabin upgrade.

You can follow Carissa on Twitter.

Countries Visited: 51
U.S. States Visited: 36
Highest Hotel Status: Hilton Honors Diamond
Highest Airline Status: United MileagePlus 1K
Favorite Airline Alliance: Star Alliance
Favorite First Class: Cathay Pacific
Favorite Business Class: United Polaris
Best Redemption Value: Alaska Airlines via Cathay Pacific to the Middle East
Favorite Type of Points: Chase Ultimate Rewards
Top 3 Cards in Wallet: Chase Sapphire Reserve®, The Platinum Card® from American Express, and Citi Prestige® Card

Daniel Ross

Senior Content Contributor

Daniel’s passion for aviation started when his dad and his brother would head to “watch the planes” from Newcastle, his local airport, when he was a kid. A few years later the love for aviation was combined with a passion for travel when at the age of 13 he boarded a plane on his own for the first time to visit his aunty in Barcelona.

His baptism into the points and miles world was through his first editorial gig at The Points Guy (TPG) after completing an M.S. in Air Transport Management at the University of Loughborough in England. During his time at TPG, he wrote over 700 articles focussing on everything from breaking news and the hottest deals to flight reviews and in-depth points and miles explainers.

Daniel’s globetrotting has taken him to 49 countries, including Brazil, Oman, Ghana, and Venezuela. Having spent time living in Brazil, France, and Spain, he speaks Portuguese, French, and Spanish fluently. As a keen linguist, he can get by in German and Catalan and is currently teaching himself Dutch and Greek.

You can follow his adventures on Instagram.

Countries Visited: 49
U.S. States Visited: 13
Highest Hotel Status: Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite
Highest Airline Status: British Airways Executive Club Gold (Oneworld Emerald)
Favorite Airline Alliance: Star Alliance
Favorite First Class: All Nippon Airways (ANA)
Favorite Business Class: Virgin Atlantic Upper Class — it’s the crew for Daniel
Best Redemption Value: ANA first class NRT-LHR for 60,000 Virgin Points and $35 (cash value of ticket $20,523!)
Favorite Type of Points: American Express Membership Rewards
Top 3 Cards in Wallet: The Platinum Card® by American Express UK, Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Card, and Curve

Victoria M. Walker

Senior Content Contributor

Victoria M. Walker is an award-winning journalist, travel reporter and the founder of the “Travel With Vikkie” newsletter.

Victoria has been featured as a travel expert on NPR, MSNBC, Newsy, and FOX 5 in Washington, among others. She contributes to Upgraded Points, AFAR Magazine as Special Correspondent covering the U.S. South, and The New York Times Real Estate “Build” section. She was formerly the Senior Travel Reporter at The Points Guy.

Between 2017 and 2019, Victoria first served as an adjunct and then full-time multimedia journalism lecturer at her alma mater, Howard University. Victoria taught Multimedia Storytelling, Intro to Media Production, and Digital Media Literacy. She holds a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism from the Howard University School of Communications.

You can follow Victoria on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Countries Visited: 26
U.S. States Visited: 27
Highest Hotel Status: World of Hyatt Globalist
Favorite Airline Alliance: Star Alliance
Favorite First Class: Emirates first class (A380)
Favorite Business Class: Etihad business class
Best Redemption Value: Park Hyatt St. Kitts Upgrade from King Bed to Plunge Pool Suite: used $90k points and $75 per night, but would have cost $3,600+ in cash
Favorite Type of Points: Chase Ultimate Rewards
Top 3 Cards in Wallet: American Express® Gold Card, Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, and Amtrak Guest Rewards® Preferred Mastercard®

Christy Rodriguez

Travel & Finance Content Contributor

Christy lives in San Diego with her husband and daughter. Her study abroad to Italy in college ignited her passion for travel.

Luckily, her husband worked at Southwest Airlines, so they were introduced to the exciting world of “non-rev” travel. This allowed her to visit over 30 countries – mostly on standby. After he left that role, she dove into the world of credit card rewards points so that they could keep traveling for free!

The card that started it all was the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, which she still has to this day. 2-3 other cards round out her wallet (currently in rotation is The Platinum Card® from American Express and the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card).

Having a baby hasn’t changed much – she can’t wait to show her daughter this beautiful world! (She also has no clue how lucky she is to only fly in business class so far.)

Besides travel, Christy’s other passion is personal finance. She holds a B.A. in Accounting and an M.S. in Finance, both from Texas A&M University. She is also a Certified Public Accountant.

She knows it’s absolutely achievable to have an “exceptional” credit score while earning tons of rewards on your card. In fact, her credit score has consistently stayed above 800 since beginning this journey in 2009.

You can follow Christy on Instagram.

Countries Visited: 36
U.S. States Visited: 31
Highest Hotel Status: Marriott Bonvoy Lifetime Platinum Elite
Favorite Airline Alliance: Star Alliance
Favorite Business Class: Singapore Airlines
Best Redemption Value: 2 seats in Singapore business class from SFO-Singapore nonstop (17 hours!) to celebrate my 10th wedding anniversary
Favorite Type of Points: Chase Ultimate Rewards
Top 3 Cards in Wallet: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, and The Platinum Card® from American Express

Ashley Onadele

Content Contributor

Ashley didn’t travel internationally until she was in her early twenties when she and her then boyfriend, now husband, gifted themselves with an all-inclusive trip to Cancun, Mexico after graduating from college. Since then there have been a few more all-inclusive resort stays, over a dozen more countries explored and the added addition of two kids. Ashley’s travel adventures have evolved to match her lifestyle. While she and her husband still enjoy coveted time away without the kids, the majority of her travel now revolves around family.

Points and miles have made otherwise impossible travel goals a reality for Ashley and her family, and her favorite thing in the world is showing other parents how to pursue the dream of travel through a combination of points, miles and savvy travel tips.

When Ashley isn’t traveling, she’s obsessing over a new fiction novel, spending quality time with her kids and husband or the likeliest activity of researching where her points and miles will take them next!

Countries Visited: 15
U.S. States Visited: 10
Favorite First Class: TBD!
Favorite Business Class: Singapore Airlines (traveling in March)
Best Redemption Value: Honestly, anything that saves me $$$ is a good redemption to me.
Favorite Type of Points: Chase Ultimate Rewards
Top 3 Cards in Wallet: American Express® Gold Card, Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, Chase Freedom Unlimited®

Lori Zaino

Content Contributor

Lori was born in Chicago but has lived in Madrid, Spain, for nearly two decades. Bilingual in Spanish and English (and forever attempting to learn Italian and Thai), she loves digging into diverse languages and cultures through travel.

Just as comfortable backpacking as she is at the Ritz, Lori loves creating budget-meets-luxe itineraries to far-flung, exotic destinations. An OG Ryanair flyer, Iberia expert, and Platinum Marriott Bonvoy member, she finds ways to maximize her points and miles to have unconventional and exciting travel experiences from Sri Lanka to Guatemala to Myanmar to Sicily.

She’s camped in the Malaysian jungle with orangutans, salsa danced the night away in Cuba, used her points and miles for Emirates first class, hiked Machu Picchu, and floated in the Dead Sea. These days, she’s introducing her 2-year-old son to the world of travel (he’s already lounged on the beaches of the Caribbean and seen the Eiffel Tower), but she still enjoys traveling solo, with friends, and with her husband. Her favorite destinations include southern Italy, Ibiza, and Thailand.

Lori has written for publications such as CNN, NBC, The Points Guy, Insider, Forbes Advisor, Bankrate, Culture Trip, Viator, The Sun, The Infatuation, and beyond, and has been quoted in Travel & Leisure, TIME, MSN, Mic, and more. Lori has also been a guest on the Miles Away podcast and BYU Radio.

You can follow Lori on Instagram, Twitter, and LoriZaino.com.

Countries Visited: 58
U.S. States Visited: 40
Highest Hotel Status: Marriott Platinum
Highest Airline Status: American Airlines Platinum Pro
Favorite First Class: Emirates
Favorite Business Class: Qatar Qsuites
Favorite Airline Alliance: Oneworld
Best Redemption: Regularly transferring Chase and Amex points to Iberia for business class flights between ORD-MAD
Favorite Type of Points: Chase Ultimate Rewards
Top 3 Cards in Wallet: Chase Sapphire Reserve®, The Platinum Card® from American Express, Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

Leo Miller

Head of Security

It’s a dangerous world out there, and someone needs to step up and protect us from online spam and intruders!

Leo, our lab mix pup, decided to take on this highly important role (in exchange for a steady supply of his favorite peanut butter biscuits, of course).

He’s our special little guy, a big member of the Miller family – and our head of security! 😉

Earn Points

Use Points

Business Credit Card Reviews

Business Guides

Air Travel Guides

Airline Points

Earn & Use Hotel Points

Hotel Loyalty Program Reviews

About Upgraded Points & Our Team

Alex Miller

Erin Miller

Leigh Rowan

Kellie Jez

Keri Stooksbury

Nick Ellis

Juan Ruiz

Jessica Merritt

Stella Shon

Chris Dong

Christine Krzyszton

Katie Seemann

Stephen Au

Jarrod West

Chris Hassan

Amar Hussain

James Larounis

Carissa Rawson

Daniel Ross

Victoria M. Walker

Christy Rodriguez

Ashley Onadele

Lori Zaino

Leo Miller

Advertiser Disclosure