So you’ve earned a bunch of credit card points, now what?
There are smart, flexible ways to book flights with your points, even on airlines your card doesn’t partner with.

People assume that because I talk about points and miles a lot, I must be a spreadsheet-loving, detail-obsessed person who never gets overwhelmed. That’s… not exactly true.

The truth is, I have a love-hate relationship with travel credit cards.

I love what they’ve done for our family—I mean, we’ve stayed in five-star resorts for free, flown to Hawaii in peak season, and saved thousands of dollars on school break travel. But the mental energy it takes to keep it all running? That’s real. Especially as a mom managing a household, sports schedules, and a business.

When I first started learning how to travel with points, I remember feeling completely lost. I’d heard of families flying to Hawaii for pennies and booking dreamy resorts with “just points,” but every time I looked into it, I ended up with 18 tabs open and zero clarity. I knew it was possible, I just couldn’t figure out how.

We haven’t taken the kids to Walt Disney World yet, but my kids are huge Harry Potter fans, so when Universal announced the opening of Epic Universe, we knew we were headed back to Florida. And since we were already flying across the country, I figured—it’s time. Let’s finally do Disney World.

Many people think you have to choose: either earn cash back and keep things simple, or go all-in on transferable points and max every redemption. But once you really got into this points world—planning trips like our family vacation to Cancun that would’ve cost over $14,000 out of pocket—you realize it’s not ALWAYS about getting the absolute most value out of your points. You just have to know when each option makes the most sense.

I used to believe a dream trip to Kauai with our family of six would stay just that—a dream. Between flights, hotels, and food, we were staring at a price tag at around $15,000. Not exactly in the budget for a family of six. But once I discovered how to stack travel rewards, everything changed.

How to Maximize Your Miles for Family Travel Advertiser Disclosure: The Rewards Mom has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. The Rewards Mom and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. If you’ve spent any time in the points and miles world, you’ve probably heard that transferring points to travel […]

Advertiser Disclosure: The Rewards Mom has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. The Rewards Mom and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Feeling Overwhelmed by Points and Miles? You’re Not Alone If you’ve ever thought, “How in the world are people taking free vacations with credit card points?”—while also […]

  Why Transferable Points Are the Key to Better Redemptions Ever feel like you’re constantly earning airline miles but never have enough to actually book a flight? You’re not alone. That’s because most airlines and hotels use dynamic pricing, meaning they can charge as many points as they want for any given day. One week […]

Advertiser Disclosure: The Rewards Mom has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. The Rewards Mom and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. When I first started using points for travel, I had four little kids, a long list of bucket-list destinations, and absolutely no idea how to pick the […]