[INTERVIEW] Points Travel Festival Toronto 2026
Exciting news, fellow BoardingArea bloggers Rapid Travel Chai and Points Miles and Bling (PMB) have teamed up to host the first over Points and Travel Festival in Toronto on April 17 and 18, 2026.
- Register here: Points Travel Festival Toronto 2026
Today, we have the pleasure of interviewing Stefan Krasowski from Rapid Travel Chai to share more about himself and this event. Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions today Stefan.
1) Hi Stefan, please tell us about yourself and how you ended teaming up with PMB?
I am a longtime friend of PMB from blogger collaboration via the BoardingArea network, PMB virtual events where I have had the honor to present, and through events such as our sibling Points Travel Festival Chicago that Anshul Singh is a longtime and popular speaker. Being from Minneapolis and now living in Seattle, call me Canada adjacent, in distance and in spirit.
2) How did the Points Travel Festival come about?
Since 2022 in-person events have steadily returned. Many people were more comfortable returning to travel first and events later. We all had to learn how to enjoy socializing in person again. 2025 was the first year that events felt the same joy as pre-pandemic, with a packed, bustling Chicago event in October.
For my own travels, after in 2019 achieving the travel goal of visiting every country in the world, my post-pandemic travels have shifted to more focus on travel with friends and family, as well as deeper revisit travel with longer stays in each place. As a student and early career in China I traveled to every province, keeping a paper map with stickers for all my stops. Now two decades on I am steadly and less systematically revisiting every province. We spent January in Chongqing, Guiyang, and Guangzhou. A bit different from my student days to now be at an opulent (and category 1!) Hyatt Regency in Guiyang.
We also have taken significant trips in Japan, which is a great value with the current exchange rate and as long as you go really anywhere outside Tokyo, Osaka. Kyoto. We love IHG properties which have a huge footprint and tend to have the most local specialties in their breakfasts. ANA Holiday Sapporo Susukino is one of our favorites, right in the nightlife center of our favorite city in Japan. Hotel Indigo Inuyama Urakuen Garden, north of Nagoya, is a fantastic experience that we won’t ruin the surprises of a stay. I now have more Amazon Japan accounts than I do Amazon US accounts for all our skincare and snacks orders we ship to hotels, as there are often quantity limits.
3) Tell us more about Points Travel Festival Toronto 2026?
In October 2025 we transitioned Chicago Seminars to the new name from 2026: Points Travel Festival. With the vision of Anshul at PMB and the support of our regular Canadian speakers, volunteers, and attendees, we decided that our 15th year was high time to launch a sibling event in Toronto. The inaugural Toronto event is April 18, 2026 at Hilton Garden Inn Toronto Airport. The property knows to except that they will never before have had as many Hilton Honors Diamond and Gold members as will join us in April. The is a community event focused on expert, actionable miles and points content. We have speakers from across the major Canadian blogs as well as experts who otherwise have no public profile though love to share their knowledge with fellow travelers.
PTF YYZ 2026 is size-capped at half the Chicago capacity. We are focused on a great, vibrant social experience. We are looking to a 2027 where we potentially can expand to a full weekend of learning sessions and social activities.
4) Closing thoughts?
We are looking forward to a great celebration in Toronto. I, personally, have been in Seattle 9 years now, almost enough to start to favor Vancouver food over Toronto. It is high time I get back in the Toronto swing like the days of monthly weekend trips we made when we lived in New York. My 2016 restaurant list needs updating!
- Register here: Points Travel Festival Toronto 2026