Where Are We Going? The UP Team’s Fall 2026 Travel Plans

Our team is crisscrossing the globe this fall. From the Faroe Islands to Japan, and Brazil to numerous parts of the U.S., here’s where you’ll find us, how we’re getting there, and how we’re keeping costs down.

Ryan Smith, News Managing Editor

I’m pretty excited about my fall plans. Not gonna lie.

I’ve been working on a goal to visit every state in Mexico, and I’ll complete that by the end of October. During that time, I’m visiting several UNESCO World Heritage Sites, staying at the Thompson Zihuatanejo, and then spending Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) in Mexico City.

November starts with Chicago Seminars, one of the biggest and oldest points-and-miles conferences, before I head to the Faroe Islands. I’ve never been, and I’m pumped. My next stop is Northern Ireland, which is another new-to-me destination, and I used my Hilton Honors points to book a few nights at the awesome-looking Culloden Estate and Spa, an SLH Hotel.

A few weeks later, my mom is taking a cruise in Europe with a friend, so I’m going to hang around Europe during that gap, spending a few days in Belgium with her before her cruise starts. I helped my mom find flights to and from her cruise, plus hotel nights leading up to it, using her points, so she’s equally excited.

Keri Stooksbury, Editor-in-Chief

I’m excited to visit Tulum, Mexico, for the first time this fall for all-inclusive stays at Conrad Tulum Riviera Maya and Hilton Tulum Riviera Maya All-Inclusive Resort. After a few all-inclusive experiences over the summer, this is now officially my favorite way to enjoy a beach vacation, and I’m looking forward to what Hilton has to offer in the area.

In October, my family is squeezing every last ounce out of our 2026 Six Flags season pass by visiting the roller coaster mecca that is Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. I’m excited to check out all of the thrill rides with my kids, especially Siren’s Curse (North America’s tallest, longest, and fastest tilt coaster). We plan to stay at one of the Cedar Point hotels to access early entry during our visit.

Looking further ahead, our Six Flags season pass will bring us back to San Antonio for Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Dallas for Six Flags Over Texas later in the fall. Thanks to the warmer Texas climate, these parks are open into winter when most parks close for the season. We already have a few Hyatt Place locations booked for these trips (on points, and before the devaluation, of course!). This continues to be one of my favorite brands for cheap, convenient family travel!

McKay Moffitt, News Features Deputy Editor

To celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary, my husband and I wanted to see what all of the Christmas Market hype was about. I found 2 business class seats on Air Serbia from New York (JFK) to Belgrade (BEG), Serbia, with a quick hop to Salzburg (SZG), Austria, where we’ll start our trip. 

I transferred 123,000 Rove Miles to Aeroplan in May during a 30% bonus period and booked 2 flights via Aeroplan for 158,500 points. The flights would have cost $4,371, giving me a redemption value of about 2.76 cents per point. But thanks to the 30% transfer bonus, I only transferred 123,000 Rove Miles, meaning I effectively got 3.55 cents per Rove Mile. While I know it’s not the most “glamorous” business class seat, it’s lie-flat. It’s 9 hours. It cost next to nothing after paying the taxes. And we will, in fact, be eating our Thanksgiving dinner this year at over 30,000 feet in the air.

From there, we’ll bop over to Northern Italy and then Switzerland before flying home from Zurich (ZRH) on Delta Air Lines, which I booked using 84,000 SAS EuroBonus miles for 2 tickets, plus about $115 in taxes and fees.

That said, if anyone has recommendations in Austria, Northern Italy, and Switzerland, particularly around markets and must-sees, I’m all ears. We’ve intentionally kept our itinerary fairly loose and are mostly just excited to wander, eat, and experience this part of Europe during the holiday season.

Lori Zaino, Senior Content Contributor

After a crazy summer spending time on 3 continents, fall will be about shorter weekend trips. Thanks to my home base in Madrid, Spain, it’s easy to hop around to European cities for long weekends.

In September, I’ll spend 48 hours in Paris to visit friends. I’ve seen the main attractions of the City of Light many times, so this trip will be about shopping (stocking up on French skincare at CityPharma is always a must), dining, and relaxing. 

I’m staying at the Ibis Paris Bastille Opera 11th, and booking was strategic: I booked 1 night using the Chase Travel $100 hotel credit from my Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card and the other night through AAdvantage Hotels (part of my strategy for getting AA elite status). The AA Loyalty Points I’ll earn on the stay are enough to push me over the threshold for AA Gold status, and I’ll still have until March of 2027 to push for a higher level of AAdvantage status.

In December, I’ll be celebrating my eighth wedding anniversary with my husband on a trip to Athens. We’ve never been, so I’ll be in full tourist mode, happily wandering the Acropolis and the Parthenon. I was able to get 1 of the 3 nights I’m staying at the InterContinental Athenaeum Athens for free, thanks to the annual free night that comes with my IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card. Here’s hoping my IHG One Rewards Platinum Elite status (another perk of the card) gets me an upgrade to an Acropolis-view room.

Christine Krzyszton, Senior Content Contributor

I’ll start my fall travel at Spot LAX and Cranky Dorkfest in Los Angeles with like-minded travel friends. The host venue, the H Hotel Los Angeles, Curio Collection by Hilton, works well for using my quarterly Hilton statement credits included with The Business Platinum Card^® from American Express and The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card. A group dinner is also planned at a restaurant qualifying for Resy dining statement credits.

A quick trip to Bangkok, Thailand, is scheduled for the end of September. I found a bargain business class flight from Oslo (OSL), Norway, on Finnair that will earn me nearly 30,000 Loyalty Points toward American Airlines AAdvantage elite status.

October brings another get-together for points-and-miles enthusiasts near Chicago. The Points Travel Festival is on my agenda, as I find meeting up with like-minded travelers a fun and learning experience. After the seminar, I’ll fly from there to Helsinki for a few days.

My friend and I will be headed to Shanghai in November, using global upgrade certificates to fly business class on Delta through Hong Kong.

Daniel Ross, Senior Content Contributor

After spending the last 20 months as a digital nomad, I’ll spend most of this fall establishing a new home and life in Rio de Janeiro. I’ll be making the journey from my childhood hometown airport of Newcastle in the U.K. to my new home in Rio. It feels like a very symbolic way to close 1 chapter and begin the next.

I chose to fly Air France premium economy for 2 reasons. Its flight to Rio is a day flight, so solid sleep isn’t a priority, and my Flying Blue Gold status affords me up to 3 checked bags to help start moving my things.

As it will actually be spring in the Southern Hemisphere, there will indeed be some traveling while I’m in Brazil, but probably only to and from the beach. I also plan to pop over to São Paulo for a weekend to visit my friends Cora and Gabriel, who have just welcomed their first child.

I also have an exciting adventure to Seoul, South Korea, as part of a press trip with Korean Air. I’ll be documenting various aspects of the trip, including what it’s like to fly long-haul economy and business class on the airline’s Boeing 777-300. If my recent flight on Korean Air’s Airbus A321neo in economy from Kobe (KXB), Japan, to Seoul (ICN) is anything to go by, I have high hopes of what’s to come.

Juan Ruiz, Senior Editor and Content Contributor

My fall travel plans kick off with a trip I’ve been looking forward to for months: flying Japan Airlines’ A350 first class from New York (JFK) to Tokyo (HND). I’m a sucker for bucket-list first class experiences, and this one has been at the top of my list.

I booked the flight 9 months out for 125,000 Japan Airlines Mileage Bank miles, transferring Capital One miles during a 30% bonus that made the normally 3:2 transfer ratio nearly 1:1. It’s still a lot of miles, but with this one-way ticket selling for around $15,000 — and partner award space incredibly difficult to find — I’m thrilled with the redemption.

I’ll only spend a couple of nights in Tokyo before adding another first: Taipei, Taiwan. I’m stopping for 1 night before flying EVA Air Royal Laurel business class back to the U.S., giving me both a new country and a new airline to experience.

The rest of my fall is a little closer to home, with weekend getaways to Asheville, North Carolina, for some apple-picking and fall foliage, and Longboat Key, Florida, where I’ll finally check out The St. Regis Longboat Key Resort. The resort opened 2 years ago, and I’ve been meaning to visit since it’s only a 3-hour drive from my house.

Then, for Thanksgiving, I’m planning to take the family to New York City for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. I used World of Hyatt points to book a stay at Hyatt Centric Times Square, strategically located just a block from Sixth Avenue and the parade route.

Stella Shon, Senior Features Editor

It will be a busy fall for me as I interview for several optometry programs that begin in August 2027. Many of these interviews are conducted in person rather than virtually, and these quick turnaround trips will add up fast. Thankfully, this is the perfect time to use my saved-up miles and various travel credits.

Here’s one example: Rather than paying egregious Delta flight prices from my home airport, Salt Lake City (SLC), I’m redeeming Air France-KLM Flying Blue miles to avoid price gouging. For example, a nonstop, round-trip ticket from Salt Lake City to Memphis (MEM) is nearly $900 in Main Cabin, but I’m redeeming just 26,000 miles plus $30 in taxes and fees for the entire ticket by booking with Flying Blue.

In other words, I’m getting more than 3 cents per point in value. While my past life may have involved redeeming miles for posh business class seats, my redemption just goes to show I can also save on unnecessarily expensive domestic travel.

The hotels are relatively affordable in Memphis, so this was a great time to use the Chase Travel hotel credit on my Chase Sapphire Preferred card. This statement credit is given per cardmember anniversary, not per calendar year. Knowing my renewal date was approaching in mid-September, I made sure to use it before I would lose the value of the current credit. I was able to pay less than $50 out of pocket for a quick stay at the SpringHill Suites by Marriott Memphis Downtown. Once my card anniversary date rolls around, I’ll get another $100 to use for my next 1-night hotel stay!

Chris Hassan, Social Media and Brand Manager

While not as busy as previous falls, this year is still proving to be a fun one, thanks to 2 recurring trips on my calendar.

The first on my list is Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando Resort. This will be my third year in a row, and it continues to blow me away — and this is coming from someone who doesn’t like scary movies. With 10 extremely intense haunted houses, unique food, and extended hours at one of my favorite theme parks, this event is a must-do in my book. Yes, even for scaredy cats.

My next trip is somewhat related: If you’re a Jaws fan, you’ll get the reference. At the end of September, I’ll head up to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts for an annual guys’ weekend with some of my best friends. Fishing, beaches, and good food with friends are worth the multiple flights. While it’s certainly a hike from Rio de Janeiro, it’s a great reset for me, and I love flying JetBlue from New York (JFK) for only 10,000 points transferred from American Express Membership Rewards.

I havent booked my flights from Brazil yet (I know, I know), but it will probably be on American Airlines since I earned Executive Platinum status last year and want to use my System Wide Upgrades (SWU).

Final Thoughts

This fall is going to be busy! From new-to-us travel experiences and new-to-us flight experiences to moving or preparing for a new chapter in life, we’ve got a lot planned. Luckily, our credit cards, points, and miles are helping us keep costs down.