by Mike Wood | Apr 26, 2026
This probably qualifies as our best value redemption ever, costing us only a mere 75,000 Citi points, (they transferred to Preferred Hotels at a 1 to 4 ratio <Citi has since reduced this to a 1 to 2 ratio>). So 75,000 Citi points yielded 300,000 Preferred...
by Mike Wood | Apr 19, 2026
Namibia was a mixed bag for us. While we enjoyed a self-driving safari in Etosha National Park, the wildlife variety and population felt significantly lower—perhaps only 10-20%—compared to what we experienced in Tanzania, Kenya, and Botswana. We spent 15 of...
by Mike Wood | Apr 16, 2026
Start of seventh month: March 18 – 20: Airbnb condo in Santa Croce, Florence. Free with our Airbnb credits. Avoided cost $233. Mar 20 – 22: NH Collection Murano Villa. After using two Amex The Hotel Collection $300 credits, our cost was $92. Our avoided...
by Mike Wood | Apr 1, 2026
Is the name of a 1953 movie starring Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn. We also had our own personal Roman holiday. And the Eternal City didn’t dissapoint. Italy ended up being our replacement country for Jordan (we had to cancel our trip to...
by Mike Wood | Mar 22, 2026
We’re half a year into living abroad. Here’s the latest expense report (detailed breakdown in the Africa trip page).. Lodging: cash out of pocket for our sixth month was $1,645. If we hadn’t used points, the lodging costs for our sixth month would...
