This offer has expired. Instead, the Capital One® Spark® Miles for Business card now comes with 50,000 bonus Spark miles for spending $4,500 on purchases within first 3 months.

The Capital One® Spark® Miles for Business card comes with a gigantic 200,000 Spark Mile sign up bonus that is marketed as ending today, January 28, 2019.

I left off with my family and I driving south from Tuscany towards Pienza. Our route was scenic and not direct on purpose. You can take the highways to get places faster but why do so when half the enjoyment in this part of Italy are the drives?

If you haven't, read Part I of this trip report before continuing below. I thought this would be a two-part series, but I underestimated how much I have to say about Tuscany... so lucky you as there will be three installments instead of two. Today, Pienza and the surrounding area.

Two summers ago I spent a month in Italy, primarily on the Adriatic coast, and told you all about it in a series of trip reports:

Trip Report: Puglia (Apulia) Italy Part I 
Trip Report: Puglia (Apulia) Italy Part II
Trip Report: Puglia (Apulia) Italy Part III

The coast of Puglia's stunning waters. Spiaggia de Porto Verde.

I went back to Italy last summer, this time with my boyfriend and parents.

It's time to take that Citi Prestige Card you forgot about out of your sock drawer and put it back in your wallet. I'm sure there are quite a few of you who kept this card around for it's Fourth Hotel Night Free benefit, as those who pay to stay at hotels can save thousands of dollars from it every year that easily make up for the $450 annual fee. That benefit is being devalued later in the year, at which point you may want to reconsider whether keeping the card longterm is worth it.

UPDATE 12/3, 10:25 AM ET: All upgrade codes for existing users have been exhausted. The upgrade code for new users is still active and can be used nine more times. 

At the bottom of this post are 19 free upgrade codes to six months of Award Wallet Plus. 10 are for new users, and nine will work for anyone.

Award Wallet is the free way to track all your miles and points balances and store login information for those programs in one place.

Hey guys! I would like to incorporate more of your experiences using travel rewards into MileValue's blog content.

My idea is to feature roughly one reader per month who wants to share their experience collecting or redeeming travel rewards--or even better--their experience on the flight or in the vacation destination that their miles got them to.

Lofoten, Norway lies above the Arctic circle and is the dreamiest destination I've ever seen.

This week I helped my dad decide what to do with his Platinum Card® from American Express.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Festivus... whatever you may celebrate--or boycott--at the end of the year, I hope you celebrate it well with loved ones. I wanted to send a quick thank you to all of those who support this blog, whether that be through credit card applications, the Award Booking Service, or just by being an active reader and commenter. We wouldn't be here without you!

And a big thank you for your continued support and patience during this period of transition for MileValue.

The Business Platinum from American Express' benefits package will undergo some large changes come February of 2019, at the expense of an increased annual fee that will jump from $450 a year to $595 a year. For the extra $145, cardholders will get:

A year of complimentary Platinum Global Access at WeWork, a large co-working space chain with locations all over the world. Amex states that the value of this membership is $2,700.

I am the token friend that lives in South America. That means I get emails pretty regularly from family members and friends who are planning travel to Buenos Aires asking for advice about where to eat and drink in the city. The requests became more frequent over time, so for ease I started a Google Document that I could share with whoever wanted a little intel about the Paris of South America.

I started the document a few years ago and it's grown into a comprehensive list.