Good afternoon everyone, happy Friday!  I love free stuff as much as the next person, but there are a few miles and points tools and services that are so incredibly useful, they’re definitely worth paying for. Keep in mind, this isn’t a complete list, so there may be other fantastic tools out there that I haven’t discovered or used yet.

AwardWallet Plus – $49.99 / year

I can’t imagine a world without AwardWallet.  They track all my credit card programs, airline programs, hotel programs, shopping portal balances, dining rewards, and much more.  I love that they constantly check my accounts, display the current balances, and display expiration dates for all my rewards.  The flight schedule change notifications (which sometimes come days / weeks / months before official airline notifications) and upcoming expiration alerts are well worth the cost to me.  If you are interested in trying it out, here is my AwardWallet referral link.

Points Path Founders Club – $99.99 / year

Points Path is a free Google Chrome browser extension that runs on top of Google Flights and searches the same flights for award prices.  The extension works seamlessly with Google Flights, showing the lowest award price it found and recommending if you should pay cash or use miles for the award ticket.  The exclusive Founders Club membership provides additional features (like a 7 day points calendar and award alerts for up to 30 flights) and first access new features before they are rolled out to the general public (some features never get rolled out to the general public).  There is also a private Facebook group with monthly AMA videos with Julian Kheel (founder of Points Path).  I am a big fan of Julian since his days writing for Hack My Trip and Frequent Miler.  My membership is part “I want to try out the new features before everyone else” and part to show my support to my friend.

PointsYeah Premium – $99.99 / year

PointsYeah is an airline and hotel award search tool that also has a free version you can use, but the additional features (personalized search preferences and unlimited real-time award searches) and award alerts (32 flight alerts and 15 hotel alerts).  If I can’t find the perfect award ticket right now, I can set up the award alerts and be notified by email whenever the flight or hotel award becomes available.  I love how fast the search results are returned and the ability to have multiple departure and arrival cities, search across multiple dates, and search for specific airline programs.

Straight to the Points Premium – $99 / year

If you dislike searching for international business and first class award flights and would prefer someone to send you an email whenever great award seats are available, then the Straight to the Points Premium newsletter is for you.  Spencer does all the hard work for you.  He finds all the routes, dates, and award prices for each deal he sends out.  You can also receive a simultaneous text alert when a new email is sent.  Whenever I get one of these award texts, I drop everything, and check the email for more details.  Over the last year, there have probably been 75 – 100 award alert deals, so if you only book 1 deal a year, the newsletter pays for itself.  By the time travel blogs write about these deals, all the best seats are gone.  Speed is key!

MaxRewards App – $84 / year

I wrote about the MaxRewards app about a year ago and am still a big fan of the service.  Once you provide the login details for your credit card accounts, it will automatically enroll all your credit cards in all the card linked offers (AMEX Offers, BankAmeriDeals, Chase Offers, Citi Merchant Offers, US Bank Offers, etc.) and track the various “coupons” on your American Express cards.  I have so many credit cards and adding offers to each card would take me hours each week.  This tool does the grunt work for me to ensure I never miss any offers.  You can search for a specific retailer and see the details of the offer and which credit cards have that offer.  If you are interested in MaxRewards, here is my referral link or use code travelwithgrant when you sign up.

ExpressVPN – $5 / month (2 year subscription)

I’m a huge fan of ExpressVPN and have been a customer for many years.  I use VPN domestically if I am on public wifi (hotels / airports / cafes) and internationally if I want to use streaming services to download / watch US shows and movies.  Learn more about ExpressVPN by checking out my Cyber Monday post.

Solis Global Wifi Hotspot Device – $136 for Hotspot Device + $6 to $9 / day for 24 Hours of Global Data

When we travel to international destinations, we rely on data to translate menus / signs, use Google Maps for directions, and research things to do.  Paying for international data every day for every device is expensive, but I have used a Solis Global Wifi Hotspot for many years (also available on Amazon).  Solis partners with many cellular networks around the world.  The hotspot identifies all available cellular networks, runs a speed test to identify the fastest network, and then automatically connects to that network.  The hotspot battery lasts for up to 24 hours, so when we travel internationally, we turn it on as soon as we land at the airport or leave the hotel, keep it in my backpack or Laura’s purse, and our phones are always connected to the internet.  Instead of paying ~$10 / day per device, we use a 24 hour hotspot day pass and use as much data as we want (Global Day Passes).

I hope these miles, points, and travel services / devices make your travels better and more enjoyable.  If you have any questions, please leave a comment below.  Have a great weekend everyone!