49. The Ultimate Road Trip: 15 States, 6 National Parks, and 4,500 Miles with Kids!

Points Talk with the Travel Mom Squad

Alex, Pam and Jess

Places & Travel, Education, Society & Culture, How To

4.9 • 734 Ratings

🗓️ 7 November 2023

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Welcome back! Can you imagine embarking on a journey through 15 states, taking on six national parks, and traveling over 4,500 miles, all within a span of two weeks? And mind you, this isn’t a solo or couples trip. We’re talking about a family of five with young kids! We know someone who did just that, and today she’s breaking it down for us!

In today’s episode we had the privilege of chatting with Megan Condello, our Digital Business Manager. A mom to three adorable daughters, including a set of twins, Megan shared her amazing Midwest National Parks road trip with us.

Road trips and national parks aren’t often a topic we hit on, because you know how much we love to fly! So when we learned Megan had journeyed through 15 states and six national parks in one trip, we just had to get her on the show! Covering 4,500 miles in a minivan with three kids is no small feat. Hear all about how she did it plus how she cashed in points for hotels along the way.

Megan wisely used points and Marriott free night certificates to make the trip cost-effective. Out of 15 nights, they used points or free night certificates for 12 of them.

Megan’s experience was a testament to how enriching and possible it is to journey across the nation, soaking in its diverse landscapes, histories, and cultures – all while on a budget. If you've been thinking of hitting the road with your family, take inspiration from our chat with Megan. Whether you’re a road trip veteran or a newbie, there’s always something new to discover, experiences to cherish, and travel tricks to learn.

Are you ready to uncover more road trip tips for your next family adventure? Hit that play button!

Links For All Things Travel Mom Squad: stan.store/travelmomsquad

Hotels

Episode Minute By Minute:

00:00 Introduction to today’s episode with special guest, Megan Condello!
02:33 Megan talks about her family road trip and how they did it on points
05:00 Alex talks about the Marriott free night certificates
06:01 Megan talks about the route that they chose
07:57 Megan talks about tying in literary adventures along the way for fun and education
08:57 The convenience of free hotel breakfasts when traveling with a family
09:40 Jess highlights the importance of diversifying your points when road tripping
10:38 Megan talks about North Dakota and the surprisingly fun adventures they had there
13:44 Megan breaks down all of the fun and historical places to see in Wyoming
20:28 Megan shares their experience at Badlands National Park
23:01 Breakdown of the Warrior Hotel in Sioux City, Iowa
26:37 Megan talks about their time in St. Louis and Gateway National Park
29:03 Megan’s recommendation for a week-long trip
31:24 Megan gives some bonus tips for National Parks

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to Points Talk with the Travel Mom Squad, previously known as the Travel Hacking Mom Show.
0:05.8	Follow the links in the show notes to stay up to date with what the Travel Mom Squad has been up to.
0:10.5	Can you imagine traveling to 15 states, visiting six national parks, and covering over 4,500 miles in two weeks with three kids?
0:20.7	Today's special guest will tell you how she did just that with the help of credit card
0:25.2	points.
0:27.5	Welcome to the Travel Hackey Mom Show.
0:29.6	We are three moms who've discovered how to leverage credit card welcome offers to get hundreds
0:33.7	of thousands of dollars in travel expenses for nearly free.
0:37.4	We've used credit card
0:38.3	points and miles to take vacations to places like Hawaii, Paris, Greece, the Maldives, Italy, and
0:44.1	so much more. And the best part? We each still have an 800 plus credit score. Imagine being
0:49.4	able to book a vacation without having to check your bank account. It's totally possible and we're
0:53.9	here to show you how.
0:55.6	Hey, I'm Alex. And I'm Pam, Alex's mom. And I'm Jess. We are travel hacking moms. We are so excited for
1:05.4	today's episode because we have a very special guest joining us today. So today we are joined by the Travel Hacking
1:13.7	Mom Digital Business Manager, Megan Candelo. Some of you might know Megan. She runs our
1:21.3	Travel Hacking Mom Facebook group. She is also an award travel academy and an award travel academy next level student.
1:30.9	So she is active in those Facebook groups as well. And Megan herself is a travel hacking mom.
1:37.0	She has three daughters, including one set of twins. So today she is going to be talking to us all
1:43.5	about her Midwest National Parks Road Trip.
1:47.5	We get so many questions about not only road trips but national parks.
1:52.4	And so we thought, who better to bring onto the show than Megan?
	...

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