Letter From the Editor: September 2015

Have you ever used rewards points to book travel? I recently had my first-ever experience attempting to make the most of points earned from a credit card and airline/hotel memberships. Though it wasn’t even close to free, I am still pretty proud of the money we were able to save. All in all, our round trip-flights to Boston, London, Barcelona, and Dubrovnik cost less then $1,800 for two people, plus we had points left over for our two-night hotel stay in London!

I did a ton of research about earning and spending points before we decided to make our purchases, but that still didn’t prepare me for the actual process of booking tickets. It was stressful! I wanted to find the best deal possible, so I tried to weigh all of our airline and airport options along with dates (we were able to be a little flexible with timing) and flight times. Looking back, I think I bit off a little more than I could chew, but I did learn some great lessons to put to use the next time we have enough points for a dream getaway.

Speaking of getting away, my must-visit list grew in August, thanks to some vacation inspiration from our writers. Insider Laurie’s post (and gorgeous photos!) about her visit to Istanbul, Cappadocia, and Ephesus has me dreaming of hopping on a plane to Turkey. And my mouth is watering for the fresh fruits, vegetables, tortillas, and meat described in Melissa’s post about her discovery of Guatemalan cuisine. Then there’s Greece’s Mount Athos Peninsula, which Luke describes as “sacred, beautiful, and tranquil” after his recent visit.

There seems to be no shortage of wonderful destinations to discover, and as always we’ll be featuring a few of them on Jetset Extra throughout the month. Be sure to check back for new cities, hotels, restaurants, and activities to add to your own must-visit list.

Happy Travels!

Leah Swofford
Managing Editor