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The Points Guy believes that credit cards can transform lives, helping you leverage everyday spending for cash back or travel experiences that might otherwise be out of reach. That's why we publish a variety of editorial content and card comparisons: to help you find a great card to turn your goals into reality.
Our site may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened with our partners, and this may impact how or where these products appear. While we don't cover all available credit cards, our editorial team creates and maintains all of the analysis of these cards, and our content is not influenced nor subject to review by any credit card company, bank or partner prior to (or after) publication. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.
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The best points and miles redemptions TPG readers have made with their families
After spending seven years in New York City working as a full-time writer and editor, Kaeli sold everything, left her cushy NYC apartment, and embarked on a solo travel adventure through Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand before doing the Working Holiday Visa thing in Australia and New Zealand. Kaeli then spent several months freelance writing and editing full-time as she continued to travel around Australia and New Zealand, before returning to the U.S. in March 2020. Her writing has been featured by The Points Guy, Forbes, and Budget Travel, as well as CNN Travel, Fox News Travel, NBC News Travel, Yahoo Travel and, Huffington Post Travel. Her greatest adventure: a two-month solo road trip through the Northern Territory and Western Australia while updating the Outback chapter of Fodor’s Essential Australia guidebook. Follow along with all her travel adventures on Twitter and Instagram: @KaeliTravels and her new website, KaeliTravels.com.
January 19, 2020 • 8 min read
The cards we feature here are from partners who compensate us when you are approved through our site, and this may impact how or where these products appear. We don't cover all available credit cards, but our analysis, reviews, and opinions are entirely from our editorial team. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
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By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
Related stories
Quick summary
TPG readers shared their most memorable points and miles redemptions for family travel, highlighting trips across the U.S., Caribbean, Europe, Asia and Oceania.
Many families used transferable points to book flights and hotels, often covering entire vacations with minimal out-of-pocket costs.
Examples included annual trips to Hawaii, business-class journeys to Europe and Asia, and multi-generational adventures to destinations like Australia and New Zealand.
Flexibility, advance planning and leveraging loyalty program partnerships were key strategies for maximizing value.
What to consider
Some redemptions required booking far in advance or being flexible with dates and destinations to secure award availability.
Certain loyalty programs offer unique perks, such as waived fees for phone bookings or lower charges for lap infants.
Not all offers or redemption opportunities mentioned are still available, as noted in the article.
What you'll miss from the article
Specific real-world examples and creative strategies families used to stretch points and miles for memorable group travel experiences.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
We recently asked the members of our TPG Family Facebook group to share the best points and miles redemptions they’ve ever made with their families. Here’s a look at some of our favorite answers. (Some responses have been lightly edited for style and clarity).
"Our family of five has gone to Hawaii every year for the past five years all on points. We actually take about six trips per year with our family. New York City for a weekend with my girls was amazing and we only paid for Broadway shows and food. Costa Rica and Mexico are some of our other highlights, but we really enjoy domestic travel and seeing all the U.S. has to offer." — Fawnn B.
One TPG Family member used points and miles to bring her child to Cuba. (Photo by Kriangkrai Thitimakorn/Getty Images)
"American Airlines, [we had a] nonstop red-eye flight on Cathay Pacific from Vancouver to JFK. The number of miles needed was ridiculously low, something like 15,000 and I had enough to get round-trip airfares for my family of six for our Alaskan cruise. I had to call American Airlines but they waived any fees because it was not capable of being booked online. Such a good deal." — Laura M.R.
"Never had a trip without points or miles for my family of five. We stick to domestic flights, cover hotel and rental cars. Loyal to United Airlines and Chase Ultimate Rewards points as well as Bank of America Rewards, which you can also redeem for cash." — Quinne H.J.
Our TPG audience definitely had some great tips for using points and miles to plan family vacations, whether they used points to stay in swanky hotels or miles to make sure they flew there and back in the best business- and first-class products in the skies.
"Got four business-class tickets for this summer round-trip to Switzerland for about 140,000 miles per person vs 100,000 each for economy." — Andrea B.
"Chase Ultimate Rewards points covered our family of six for all flights to and from France and all hotels — eight nights, with two rooms per night because of our family's size — in Paris and Normandy. It took a little over a year to earn all those points." — Kami S.R.
"Flying my girls (they're almost four and two) to Poland next weekend for 44,000 miles and $22 each. Oh, and they both have Silver status with Delta!" — Meghan O.
"I have just booked round-trip business-class seats for my whole family to Europe on United and Lufthansa with one connection of one hour for 130,000 United miles per person. A great itinerary and good price." — Klavs B.
Fly your family to Europe in style in business class on Lufthansa. (Photo by Zach Honig/The Points Guy.)
"I book our yearly family trip with miles every year — miles for the family and pay for my ticket to keep status. We have been to France, Argentina (and Uruguay), Croatia, Germany (and Slovenia and Italy), and this year we are going back to a different part of France. You just have to book way in advance!" — Heather L.
"Four people from Atlanta to Naples with economy redemptions on Air France for 200,000 miles. It was 3.2 cents per mile. More importantly, this allowed us to fly my wife’s family to the Amalfi Coast for our wedding." — Joseph R.
"Plan one year in advance and be flexible with your destination and where the miles flights are available. We have hit 14 countries with our now 12-year-old. All legs were in business class with the exception of a trip to Reykjavik where there were no partner airlines to use on the way so we flew in coach. On the return trip from Oslo through Heathrow (LHR), our kiddo flew in first class from LHR to LA. It was special — she got Temperly PJs and a toiletry kit, high tea service and slippers. We've been to Keukenhof Gardens, Sakura in Tokyo, had a personalized Fjord tour and a super room upgrade to a suite at The Ritz-Carlton, Barcelona. On our last trip to London, we used points for a suite that we later realized was where Taylor Swift filmed a music video." — Ann H.S.
"Five nights at the Hilton Tokyo on points for a family of four, then two nights at the Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay Hotel with a [up to] 50,000 certificate and [up to] $300 in Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card credit. Tokyo is expensive but we got crazy cheap nonstop flights on Singapore Airlines from Los Angeles and paid about $2,000 in cash for all four round-trip tickets." — Yuri H.
"Scored five business-class award tickets from Seattle to Tokyo to Ho Chi Minh City this summer for the family with Japan Airlines. To get my husband to say yes for the kids to fly in business class was so much more work than finding the availability." — Bao C.N.
One TPG Family member mentioned how he'd been able to plan memorable trips to Australia and New Zealand on points and miles, while others touched on general tips for saving on family trips and sang the praises of flying in business class with their kids.
"United Airlines tickets from Chicago to Melbourne to Auckland and back to Chicago for 114,000 miles each." — Jeffrey F.
"Our family of five has taken five international trips in business class both ways. It's not easy to find availability as all the trips happened during summer, but we did it! My best use of points for sure. It was worth every point to fly long distances with my kids in business class." — Jennifer Z.W.
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
