Photo of Jenna Hansen

Jenna Hansen

Freelance Writer

Jenna Hansen began working for AwardWallet in 2022. She and her husband homeschool their four kids and spend a lot of their time traveling and learning through experiences. Jenna discovered points and miles in 2020 when she was looking for a way to be able to afford more expensive trips for her family. Once she came across other moms who were points and miles pros, she took the leap and has been hooked ever since.

 

Jenna and her family live in California and like to spend time visiting the nearby Sierra Nevada mountains and the Central California coast. You can also catch them at Disneyland as often as possible!

How To Consolidate Transferable Points for an Award Ticket

Holding points across a range of rewards programs allows you take advantage of award availability as it appears and also means you’re not locked into one program that doesn't have any seats available to the destination you want to visit. This article looks at which programs provide the best options for consolidating your points and miles to "add up" to your next great redemption.

How To Use Hyatt Pay My Way and Points + Cash Options

The never-ending battle when it comes to credit card points is that there never seem to be enough points for all of the amazing trips you want to take. Thankfully, Hyatt has a great option for offsetting that problem. It’s called Hyatt Pay My Way, and it allows you to use a combination of points, cash, and/or free night certificates when booking a room.

Redeem Capital One Miles for Airfare You’ve Already Purchased

Have you ever found a great travel deal but didn’t have the points or miles you needed to book? Today’s post covers a strategy you can use to book a flight now and redeem miles for a big discount up to 90 days later. Even better, if you play your cards right, you can earn miles worth hundreds of dollars between the time you book your trip and redeem your rewards, thanks to Capital One's flexibility.

How To Get Airline Elite Status Without Flying

For non-business travelers, airline elite status presents a conundrum. It's desirable to improve your travel, but airlines only tend to bestow it to those who fly (and suffer) a ton without it. But what if you could shortcut your way to elite status without paying your dues first? In this post, we'll show you how.

Sweet Spots for World of Hyatt Award Redemptions

Hyatt assigns each of its properties a category, then sets award rates for each. This makes it easy to spot sweet spot hotel redemptions that have high cash rates and low points rates. Check out our favorite Hyatt sweet spots and an explanation of how the World of Hyatt award chart works.

Free Drinks and Easier Status Among Southwest Airlines Rapids Rewards Changes for 2024

Over the next few months, Southwest is making changes to its Rapid Rewards program. Changes include the ability to make cash + points bookings, reaching status more easily by reducing required flight segments and spending on Southwest credit cards, and giving A-List Preferred members two free premium drinks. Check out this article to learn all of the details about these exciting changes.

All of the Cards That Earn Capital One Miles

Capital One miles are a valuable transferrable rewards currency. They can be used to book flights, hotels, and rental cars through Capital One Travel or by transferring to travel partners, providing opportunities for maximum value. Learn all about the cards that earn miles, plus how you can put those miles to good use.

Guide to the Capital One Travel Portal

The Capital One Travel Portal is an easy way to book flights, hotels, and rental cars. This article goes over everything you need to know about awesome features like price freeze, price drop protection, and price prediction. It also walks you through the step-by-step process of booking.

Beginner’s Guide to Shopping Portals

Online shoppers, listen up! If you regularly make purchases from online stores, you should be using a shopping portal to maximize your earnings. But how do you choose which portal to use? In this post, we walk you through all of the best shopping portals to make selecting the right one (and earning the best return) a piece of cake.

How to Get Proof of CDW/LDW Insurance From Your Credit Card Provider

If you've ever rented a car, you've probably received a hard sell on purchasing insurance as part of the rental agreement. The fee can range anywhere from $10 to $50 per day. The good news? Your credit card might provide a complimentary Collision Damage Waiver (CDW). Here's how to get proof of your credit card's insurance so you aren't stuck paying for something you don't need.

Credit Cards Offering Instant Card Numbers So You Can Start Spending Immediately

Many banks offer immediate access to your new credit card so you can start spending right away, thanks to providing an instant card number on approval. This is helpful when trying to meet a minimum spend or if you have an unexpected expense pop-up while waiting for your new card to come in the mail. This article covers all of the major banks and shows you your options for each one.