Hey There!
Ever sat at your desk ignoring the work you’re SUPPOSED to be doing in lieu of scrolling all those luxury travel handles on Instagram with EXTREME vacation envy? Yeah – – me too. Let me tell ya – that vacation envy? Stronger than your toddler’s willpower in the candy aisle.
So, a few years back, I finally decided to do something about it! How? By learning the ins and outs of credit card rewards for free family travel. Now I want to share that info with you (Because raising tiny humans is expensive enough—your vacations shouldn’t be!)
The Magic of Free(ish) Travel
What if you could stay in a five-star resort like this one for free while your kids test the structural integrity of that fancy couch you didn’t pay for.
Imagine sipping champagne in business class with your toddler, who is currently using their first-class seat as a jungle gym.
The good news: You can! With credit card rewards it’s TOTALLY possible to book nearly free family travel! The bad news: It requires little bit of STRATEGY – but don’t worry… I got you. Here’s how you can make this happen…
Step 1: Choosing the Right Credit Cards
Because You’ve Gotta Build Your Point Collection Like a Financially Responsible Hoarder
Travel credit cards are like superpowers — but without the spandex suit (unless that’s your vibe). There are 4 banks that offer an array of travel cards:
Each of these banks has their own set of rules about credit card approvals. So before you run out there and start opening a bunch of shiny new cards – you’ve gotta learn these rules and come up with a STRATEGY in order to earn the highest amount of points possible with each bank! If you don’t have a strategy, you will lock yourself out of hundreds of thousands of points and miles. And sometimes you won’t be eligible for those sign up bonuses (SUB’s) again.
Will Business Cards Be Part Of Your Strategy?
If credit cards are like superpowers, business cards are the legendary artifacts that even superheroes need to get respect at fancy meetings. What I mean by this is – they’re AWESOME at maximizing point earnings!
Before you come up with your own credit card strategy, you need to figure out if business cards are going to be a part of it.
Here’s something not many people know… you don’t have to own an LLC or Corporation to qualify for a business card! To learn more about how you might qualify for one check out this post.
Flexible Cards vs. Fixed Cards
Not all travel cards are created equal. There are flexible credit cards – which earn you points that can be transferred to an array of different travel partners, and there are fixed credit cards – these cards are co-branded with a specific airline or hotel program.
Every point you earn on these fixed cards can ONLY be spent with that airline or hotel. This can make a big difference when it comes time to booking your reward travel. Oftentimes fixed points won’t be as valuable as flexible points. So basically – flexible points are going to be GOLD when it comes to booking free family travel.
Pro Tip: Get at least one flexible points card, one airline card, and one hotel card so you’re never stuck flying economy when you could be in living the high life in business class! Here are my top suggestions on each of these cards:
- Favorite Flexible Point Card
- Favorite Airline Card (for points and miles)
- Favorite Hotel Card (for points and miles)
Step 2: Earning Points Without Spending More (Because You Have Diapers to Buy)
Should you get one card? Three? Sell your soul to Chase or Amex?
Don’t worry, there’s no soul-selling required. But your card strategy is going to be as unique as you are because it should be based off of your household circumstances. The trick to racking up all of these points and miles is to use your EVERYDAY spending to earn the SUB’s.
✨ Does your household run on $3,000/month? $15,000/month or more? Knowing your budget is going to help you figure out which minimum spends you will be able to successfully meet.
✨ Next, you need to pay attention to your credit card’s category multipliers – you know – the places you spend money on with that specific card that will give you more than 1 point/dollar spent there. Knowing how to maximize points with groceries, daycare, and other stuff you already buy (yes, you can earn points from buying endless Goldfish crackers) is how you quickly earn those five-star family vacations.
✨ ALSO – don’t forget about the glory of referral bonuses! If you’re already talking about points and miles at playdates, you might as well get rewarded for annoying your friends. And hey – if they get into it too – you could be booking joint free family travel trips (and take turns babysitting for a few nights)!
✨ And because I KNOW you’re already thinking about the best ways to use points for a luxury Disney Resort… check out my blog post on how you can book it + your tickets for free! (Hint: you’ll need to focus on cards from one specific bank in order to book Disney with points).
Step 3: Actually Booking That Fancy Trip
Now that you’ve got a decent amount of points/miles racked up, it’s time to use them! We’ve all heard the best times to travel for maximum point value is during off-peak times, but the reality is that if you’re a parent with kids in school – that’s just not possible.
You’re a slave to fall, winter, spring + summer breaks, which means you will need to book your points/miles trips EARLY! We’re talking 6-11 months early. ESPECIALLY if you’re a family of 4 flying together!
Combining Points
What do you do if you don’t have enough points on one card, but you DO have enough within the bank?
✨ Combine your points like you combine leftovers! If you’ve got 3 business cards and one personal card within the same bank you will simply combine them all into the flexible point card.
✨ Can you combine points with someone else you want to travel with? Yes!
You CAN combine points – but each bank has their own rules on this. Some let you only combine points with another member of your household. Some let you combine points with anyone else who has points within that bank – learn the banks’ rules and you’ll be booking that free family travel in no time.
Where Should I Book?
🛫 You can use your points to book travel within the bank’s travel portal AND with your flexible points – you can transfer those points out to travel partners.
💰 Transferring your points is typically going to give you more bang for your buck. Check your card’s travel partners – and once you’ve confirmed they have award space for the dates you want to book, go ahead and transfer your points over to them to book it!
PRO TIP: Do NOT transfer your points over without making sure your dates are available!! This means go to the travel partner’s website and do a points/miles search on their end BEFORE you transfer your points over. Once you transfer those points they’re stuck with that partner and can only be redeemed there.
How To Book Luxury Hotels With Points
Again you are likely going to want to transfer your points into the hotel. I suggest you open that hotel’s co-branded card as well.
Most co-branded cards come with automatic status (depending on which card you open) + other additional perks. If you’ve earned the SUB for that card, you will already have points to spend at that specific hotel. If you find yourself short on points, that’s when you can transfer them from your flexible card into that hotel chain.
PRO TIP: You’re gonna want to read the fine print before you book hotel stays with points. Many will charge you a $50/night resort fee, which may defeat the purpose of that “free hotel night” you used your points on.
How to Fly Business Class With Kids Using Miles
First off – it IS totally possible to book business class flights for the whole family using points/miles. But REAL TALK – if you want to travel more I would suggest you stick to economy. It all depends on your priorities.
Depending on your household spend – you likely won’t be flying the whole family in business class multiple times a year. If you want more than one free family trip – fly economy. If you only plan on traveling once per year and you want to do it in style – go for those business class flights!
Again – you will need to book as early as possible (or totally last minute) to ensure you can get enough business class seats next to each other for a family. These seats are harder to come by and are in higher demand – plan accordingly!
Step 4: Avoiding Common Points and Miles Mistakes (So You Don’t End Up Sleeping in an Airport)
There is NOTHING worse than sleeping at the airport. EXCEPT for the feeling you get when you realize you blew it with your hard earned points & miles. Make sure you’re not booking a trip without checking your kid’s school calendar – that’s how you end up wasting LOADS of points to just sip margaritas… alone.
Some Points DO Expire!
Can you imagine doing all this work to build up your point stash and then blowing it by not using them to book a trip?! Trust me when I say it’s worse than realizing you left your kid’s special stuffed animal at home. (Yes – it really is that bad)
Avoid paying more in taxes than you would for an actual ticket (because “free” should actually mean free-ish).
✨ A good point price for a one-way business class seat is about 60,000 points + anywhere from $11-$120 in taxes.
✨ A good point price for a one-way economy class seat is anywhere from 10,000-25,000 points + $5-$22 in taxes.
✨ Make sure you’re looking at what the cash price will be in addition to the point price – some airlines have surcharges and some will charge based on distance flown, which can get cash expensive in addition to the points you’re spending. If your goal is to get as close to free family travel as possible – pay attention to both the point charge and the $ charge.
Step 5: Next-Level Travel Rewards for Parents Who Are Ready to Go Pro
Ready to Graduate To The Next Level?
If you’ve got the basics down and are ready to level up your travel reward skills, look into these things:
- How you can expedite your hotel status! Some hotels will, match your status!
- Which credit cards will give you VIP Status/Perks like lounge access & automatic hotel or rental car status.
- Using credit card concierge services (yes, your credit card has an assistant who can book your dinner reservations—use them!).
Yay! You’re Ready To Go! Get Out There and Fast-Track Your Way to Free Travel!
So to re-cap, you’re going to earn points, redeem them wisely, and enjoy bougie travel on a budget.
HOW? By starting with a flexible travel credit card today – your future self (sipping a piña colada on a beach) will thank you!
🎯 Ready to turn those diaper runs into dream vacations? Check out my courses and start earning points like a pro!
Happy Earning!
