# Beginner Guides
Travel Issues for a U.S.-Born Child in China: Documents, Ticketing, Immigration, and Visas
Traveling in and out of China with a child born in the U.S. often comes with lots of document-related questions—what to use when buying tickets, how to book, which ID to use for bo...
Stopover and Open Jaw Rules for Award Tickets Across Major Airlines and How to Book Them [Updated 2019.5]
Stopovers and open jaws are two very important concepts in award-ticket redemptions. Used well, they can let you visit extra destinations along the way. So how do different airline...
Booking Delta One Between China and the U.S. With Virgin Atlantic Miles: A Real Redemption Walkthrough
This itinerary did not involve any stopovers or open jaws, so it was fairly straightforward and relatively easy to ticket. That makes it a great option for beginners like me who wa...
A Credit Card Beginner’s Growth Story
Hi everyone, I’m Darren, currently a math PhD student with a 3-year credit history. I made a lot of mistakes when I first started applying for credit cards, but after reading many...
What to Do If a Gift Card Is Stolen: Be Careful When Buying Amazon Gift Cards at Grocery Stores
Using a credit card () with high bonus rewards at grocery stores to buy Amazon gift cards is one of the best ways to get discounted Amazon gift cards in large quantities. However,...
My Experience Buying a Used Car on Craigslist in the U.S.
Buying a car on Craigslist can be a lot of fun and gives you the chance to meet all kinds of people. The prices can be much better than dealer prices. I hope this post provides som...
A Few Things You Can Do for the New Year in 2019 (Credit Card Edition)
2019 is here. What are some useful things you can do at the beginning of the year? Let’s talk about a few credit-card-related tasks to take care of and a few things you can start p...
How to Get Chinese Consular Authentication in the U.S. [12/26 Update: Added sample results for each step]
Added sample documents from my latest three-step authentication process for reference....
Tips and Lessons Learned From an Interstate Move in the U.S.
After graduating and getting ready to start work, I said goodbye to beautiful Virginia at the end of August this year and moved across state lines to Wisconsin. The move went smoot...
My painful start to a U.S. job: Immigration, health insurance, and retirement account pitfalls
The author, just two months into a new job after leaving academia, ran into three major pitfalls—immigration status, health insurance, and retirement accounts—and ended up losing s...
How to Use Points and Miles to Plan a Trip: My Europe Trip as an Example
As a credit card rewards enthusiast, once you have accumulated a lot of points, you naturally start thinking about how to get real value from them and plan a satisfying trip for yo...