Katie Begnoche

Katie's earliest travel experiences came in the form of annual 12+ hour (one-way!) road trips across Texas to the family cabin. Sprinkle in a couple of cross-country moves, camping trips down the Oregon/California coast, and road trips to Disney; she's no stranger to sitting in cramped seats for a long-haul trip. And while the World Showcase at Epcot was a little teaser of what the world had to offer, she always knew she wanted to see more of the real deal. It wasn't until 2022, however, while planning her first trip abroad to Italy that she stumbled upon the world of points and miles. She booked her first award flights for that trip, followed by quickly learning how to pay for entire trips with points and has never looked back. Earning points and transferring them to partners opened up the ability to visit places she'd once only dreamt of seeing. She now firmly believes that a "once in a lifetime trip" doesn't have to be just once in a lifetime when you've got a stash of transferable points to use.

When Katie isn't traveling or writing about travel, you can find her playing with daughter, cooking with her husband, hanging with church friends... or researching her next trip.

Expertise

Points and miles, credit cards, transfer partners, family travel

Education

M.S., Sports Pedagogy

B.S., Athletic Training

What is your favorite country or travel experience?

My single favorite day I've spent traveling was in Córdoba, Spain. The convergence of different religions and cultures throughout the city's history is evident everywhere you look and was fascinating to learn about. Intricate architecture, great Spanish wine, and some of the best tapas from our trip, followed by watching the sunset over a 2,000-year-old bridge. It was wild to be standing on something the Romans originally helped build, that today's citizens use for their nightly exercise and dog walks!

Do you have a favorite travel hack that you’ve done?

Stacking a Flying Blue transfer bonus with a Flying Blue Promo is a reliable way to book decently priced economy award flights to Europe. Especially because you can often connect to smaller European cities without increasing the number of points needed. They frequently have promos from my home airport so I've used this method several times to book trips to Europe!