Miles & Points

Airline miles, hotel points, transfer currencies, and the practical strategies behind earning, valuing, and using them well.

IHG

IHG’s New $100 Airline Credit Worked: Here’s How It Posted

Oct 20, 2026

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2 min read

IHG’s New $100 Airline Credit Worked: Here’s How It Posted

A flight purchase triggered the credit in two days, with 5X points earned on the full amount.

ExpatVista

New York City

Renaissance New York Midtown Hotel: An 85K Certificate Against a $1264 Room

Oct 9, 2026

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4 min read

Renaissance New York Midtown Hotel: An 85K Certificate Against a $1264 Room

An 85K Marriott Free Night Award plus 5000 points replaced a $1264 Manhattan hotel rate. This time, the hotel was actually pretty good.

ExpatVista

Miles & Points

MEL to LHR: $1488 in Business. How'd That Work Out?

Sep 26, 2026

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7 min read

MEL to LHR: $1488 in Business. How'd That Work Out?

The Air India itinerary fell apart. What Aeroplan did next revealed value I hadn’t included in the original calculation.

ExpatVista

Hilton

Jun 11, 2026

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4 min read

Hilton Nottingham Review

A convenient city-centre base with better redemption value than expected

ExpatVista

IHG

The Hidden Challenge of Legacy Credit Cards

Jun 8, 2026

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4 min read

The Hidden Challenge of Legacy Credit Cards

What happens when a card is worth keeping but not worth using?

ExpatVista

Expat Logistics

Buying Virgin Points at ~0.5p via a UK Credit Card

May 14, 2026

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3 min read

Buying Virgin Points at ~0.5p via a UK Credit Card

Pricing the 36,000-point Virgin Atlantic bonus through an expat lens

ExpatVista

IHG

Hotel Indigo London Kensington Review: A Surprisingly Solid Earl’s Court Redemption

May 14, 2026

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4 min read

Hotel Indigo London Kensington Review: A Surprisingly Solid Earl’s Court Redemption

A short-notice IHG redemption that turned out better than expected

ExpatVista

Miles & Points

Free Night Certificates: How to Use Them Well

May 2, 2026

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2 min read

Free Night Certificates: How to Use Them Well

Marriott, Hilton, and IHG. What the certificates actually book, and what they don’t.

ExpatVista

New York City

Apr 11, 2026

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4 min read

Wingate Long Island City Hotel Review

What a high-priced NYC weekend looks like when you step outside Manhattan

ExpatVista

Expat Logistics

Mar 10, 2026

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3 min read

The Cost of Collecting

The final stage of a Capital One Offers experiment from abroad

ExpatVista

Miles & Points

Feb 27, 2026

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2 min read

Virgin Miles Purchase: Two Months In

And whether I reload for 2026

ExpatVista

Expat Logistics

Feb 10, 2026

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3 min read

What Came After

Capital One Offers, tested from abroad

ExpatVista

Expat Logistics

Jan 30, 2026

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5 min read

Capital One Offers: A Test From Abroad

A real-time experiment using Capital One Offers outside the US

ExpatVista

Expat Logistics

Are Frequent Flyer Miles Taxable for Expats?

Jan 29, 2026

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3 min read

Are Frequent Flyer Miles Taxable for Expats?

The border-proof perk hiding in plain sight

ExpatVista

IHG

IHG Awards: When Better Rooms Cost the Same Points

Jan 26, 2026

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4 min read

IHG Awards: When Better Rooms Cost the Same Points

Using the Kimpton Fitzroy to illustrate a common pricing quirk

ExpatVista

Miles & Points

Why Transferable Points Behave Differently When a Member Dies

Jan 20, 2026

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3 min read

Why Transferable Points Behave Differently When a Member Dies

Upstream currencies, downstream rules (January 2026)

ExpatVista

Miles & Points

What Happens to Airline Miles and Hotel Points When a Member Dies (And Which Programs Allow Transfers)

Jan 20, 2026

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4 min read

What Happens to Airline Miles and Hotel Points When a Member Dies (And Which Programs Allow Transfers)

Most airline miles expire on death. Some hotel points can be transferred. Here’s how the major programs actually handle it.

ExpatVista

Miles & Points

Jan 10, 2026

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4 min read

Becoming the Miles Bank

Liquidity, trust, and the hidden cost of ‘free’ miles

ExpatVista

Miles & Points

The Free Night Certificate Decision Framework

Jan 6, 2026

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4 min read

The Free Night Certificate Decision Framework

Pick the right certificate for the stay, not the stay for the certificate

ExpatVista

Miles & Points

Not All Free Night Certificates Are the Same

Dec 31, 2025

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2 min read

Not All Free Night Certificates Are the Same

Why a 35K Marriott certificate and an uncapped Hilton certificate require completely different decisions

ExpatVista

Expat Logistics

An Expat’s Sweet Spot: Virgin Points, Kenya, and a Closing Window

Dec 29, 2025

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3 min read

An Expat’s Sweet Spot: Virgin Points, Kenya, and a Closing Window

How Virgin points, safari seasonality, and expat geography briefly line up

ExpatVista

Miles & Points

Why I Didn’t Automatically Choose Maximum Points

Dec 28, 2025

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3 min read

Why I Didn’t Automatically Choose Maximum Points

British Airways gave me six ways to pay. The hidden variable was the price of my Avios.

ExpatVista

Hilton

Dec 27, 2025

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3 min read

Hilton and Me

How I actually use statement credits, certificates, and Diamond status

ExpatVista

Miles & Points

Why I Bought Virgin Atlantic Miles Speculatively

Dec 22, 2025

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3 min read

Why I Bought Virgin Atlantic Miles Speculatively

And how I evaluate large mileage purchases, transfer bonuses, and real redemption value

ExpatVista

Miles & Points

IHG’s New $100 Airline Credit Worked: Here’s How It Posted

Renaissance New York Midtown Hotel: An 85K Certificate Against a $1264 Room

MEL to LHR: $1488 in Business. How'd That Work Out?

Hilton Nottingham Review

The Hidden Challenge of Legacy Credit Cards

Buying Virgin Points at ~0.5p via a UK Credit Card

Hotel Indigo London Kensington Review: A Surprisingly Solid Earl’s Court Redemption

Free Night Certificates: How to Use Them Well

Wingate Long Island City Hotel Review

The Cost of Collecting

Virgin Miles Purchase: Two Months In

What Came After

Capital One Offers: A Test From Abroad

Are Frequent Flyer Miles Taxable for Expats?

IHG Awards: When Better Rooms Cost the Same Points

Why Transferable Points Behave Differently When a Member Dies

What Happens to Airline Miles and Hotel Points When a Member Dies (And Which Programs Allow Transfers)

Becoming the Miles Bank

The Free Night Certificate Decision Framework

Not All Free Night Certificates Are the Same

An Expat’s Sweet Spot: Virgin Points, Kenya, and a Closing Window

Why I Didn’t Automatically Choose Maximum Points

Hilton and Me

Why I Bought Virgin Atlantic Miles Speculatively

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