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 CNBC, Travel + Leisure, The New York Times, ValuePenguin, The Points Guy, LendingTree, Slickdeals, MoneyUnder30 and USA Today. 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
