We often get asked this question, “Do we use points/miles for ALL travel?” The answer is no. While credit card points and miles cover most of our travel, it does not cover all of it. If you are trying to cover every single expense for your own travel, you might end up frustrated. Or, at the very least, seeing your points balance rapidly diminishing. The truth is we don’t use our points/miles for ALL travel for the following reasons.

 

We Are Splitting the Cost with a Group

On our recent trip to Disneyland, we could have used points and miles at the Hyatt House, but we didn’t. Basically, it was because we couldn’t get the rooms we wanted that would fit nine people (6 in one and 3 in another). It made more sense to pay for it because we were all splitting the cost, too.

 

 

We Aren’t Getting a Good Redemption

If a room is inexpensive in cash, we often prefer to do that and save our precious Hyatt points for a more costly room. If I’m not getting 2 cents per point in redemption, I’ll just pay cash.  Let’s say a $300 hotel costs me 40K in points. I will probably pay the cash price as that is just 1.5 cents per point. I often ask myself, “Am I getting a good redemption?” and let that make a decision for me. That doesn’t mean that YOU shouldn’t use points for that stay. You do You – do what works for you and your family.

 

 

We Don’t Use Our Points for Car Rentals

We never use our points/miles for car rentals; instead, we use Auto Slash or Costco and pay cash for them. We prefer to save those points/miles for flights and hotels where we feel we get more value. But if you want to try and get a completely free vacay, go for it!

 

 

Pam Doesn’t Use Points/Miles on Domestic Flights

I seldom, if ever, use points/miles on domestic flights because I prefer to use them on my more expensive business-class flights. I would rather fly business class and stay in luxury hotels, but that is because I don’t have a large family that I have to book for.

Alex and Jess use points/miles on most domestic flights (primarily flying Southwest with their families and using a Companion Pass). Flying Southwest with Companion Passes saves them a TON of money.

 

 

We Don’t Use Them on Airbnb or Non-Chain Hotels

Again, we don’t usually use them this way because we travel a lot and will get more value from using transfer partners versus a portal for non-chain hotels. Capital One Venture Miles lets you use the purchase eraser for an Airbnb stay, but we usually stay in hotels and feel like we can get more value out of Venture Miles with transfer partners.

 

 

We Don’t Use Points/Miles for Tours or Admission Tickets

While you can use points/miles for tours or tickets, we never do. We don’t mind paying these expenses because we spend so little on flights and lodging. By not using up all of our points/miles on other travel expenses, we can travel more often. This is simply what we’ve chosen to do.

 

 

Bottom Line

The question, “Do We Use Points/Miles for ALL Travel?” can best be answered by how we DO use our points/miles. Flights and hotels/resorts. Done ✅ That’s just our answer. It doesn’t need to be your answer, but we just wanted to share our usual practice with you.

 

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