If you have found your way to this page, I am grateful!! Welcome to my travel blog where I share how our family of six travels the world on credit card points.
It really was a fluke
This blog, and this website, came about on a fluke. You see, I am a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom of four. It has been my lifelong dream to travel and see the world.
Traveling the world, however, didn’t fit in our budget while raising four children, knowing that they needed to go to college, and eventually get married.
How it all began
One day, in December of 2017, while we were taking a break from school, I came upon a website explaining how to travel using credit card points. While I had, for many years, been an authorized user on my husband’s Citibank card, it had been years since I had a credit card of my own (outside of the all-important Kohls charge card). Suprisingly, because of my past history of always paying bills on time, I had great credit.
The world of credit?
I knew nothing at all though about the world of points, or credit scores, or credit cards. For years, I was absolutely thrilled about accruing 75,000 points per year on our Citibank card. I cashed in those points for gift cards for my children (I know, big mistake – HUGE)! At the time, it seemed to be a wonderful blessing, and the kids were thrilled to have $750 in gift cards every single year.
And then….
While visiting this points blog, I read about a world I knew nothing of. Southwest’s Companion Pass, CitiCards Thank You points, American Express Membership Rewards, and the ever-coveted Chase Ultimate Rewards. I continued to read about Chase’s 5/24 rule (WHAT?), and learned that there were points of all kinds. Credit card points, hotel points, points for rental cars and adventures, and even points for concerts or tickets to spectacular football or baseball games.
My mind was spinning, and I HAD to read on. I learned that there were HUGE perks and benefits to carrying certain credit cards, and that sometimes paying a nominal annual fee meant even greater perks and benefits. Some of these perks included Global Entry and TSA pre-check, (can we say, “No need to take off your shoes or take your laptop out of your bag” through airport screening), elevated status through specific hotel chains (which often come with suite upgrades and free breakfasts for your entire family), and airline credits that refund you $100, or even $300 in travel.
Time for intense study
Consequently, for the next year and a half, I read everything I could get my eyes on. Now, two years later, I am on an airplane as I write this, on my way back from two full weeks in Hawaii! ALL ON POINTS! OK, that’s not entirely true. We did have to spend a little bit of cash on some excursions. Additionally, we ate at some of the local eateries on Oahu, Kauai, and Maui. Yep – six people, three islands, including all inter-island flights. In total, we spent around $3,000 on a trip that came to around $34,000!!!! It’s true! Come along for the ride and I’ll show you how to travel the world, using points!
Also, that greatest man in the whole world, the one I mentioned here, and the one I’ve been married to for 25+ years, has champagne taste (despite the fact that we’re not big drinkers). I, therefore, affectionately call him “Daddy Starbucks,” instead of Daddy Warbucks, because, when the shoe fits, right? I am the thrifty one in the family and it’s why I am writing this blog right now. Our trip to Hawaii was, without question, the greatest adventure of my life (go here to take a peek)!
How can this be real?
Let’s suffice to say that I was, and still am, completely blown away that there was this world out there that I knew nothing about. I would be honored for you to join me, here on this page, and on my Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts. I’ll share with you what I have learned and how we travel the world on points! And how you, too, can travel, no matter the size of your family, for little to no money at all. I’m thrilled to share with you the knowledge that I have gained. I’ll also share a few mistakes that I have made along the way. Welcome to my blog: “Let’s Get to the Point!”