Every year I say I am going to travel less, and every year I fail. 2024 was no exception to that! I took so many trips this year that would have never been possible without points and miles, and I marked a few countries off my bucket list. Here’s my 2024 points and miles recap!

 

Jess’s 2024 Points and Miles Recap

January

My first trip of 2024 was to Japan with Ella and Olivia. We had the best time and Japan is now my favorite country I’ve visited! We flew Japan Airlines business class there and back (booked via Cathay Pacific). We redeemed Hyatt points to stay at the Andaz Tokyo and the Park Hyatt Kyoto. Both properties were amazing, and we’re returning to Japan in 2025! You can hear more about our trip in this podcast episode. 

 

 

February

In February, I whisked Molly and my mom off to Costa Rica for an amazing stay at the Andaz Papagayo. We redeemed points to fly Southwest Airlines, and Molly flew free as my companion. It was my mom’s first time staying at the Andaz, and she loved it so much that we’re returning in 2025! We redeemed Hyatt points for two rooms at the Andaz and paid $0 for our four-night stay. Learn more about how to make Costa Rica a possibility for your family by checking out this podcast episode!

 

 

March

In March, Ted, Ella, Molly, and I took a trip to Scotland for spring break. We redeemed Singapore Airlines miles to fly from Houston to Manchester. We flew premium economy on the way there and economy on the way home. We spent four nights at the Kimpton Charlotte Square in Edinburgh (we redeemed IHG points for two rooms and got the fourth night free as IHG cardholders) and one night at SCHLOSS Roxburghe. Redeeming Hyatt points to spend the night in a castle for $0 was one of my 2024 highlights! You can hear more about our trip in this podcast episode. 

 

 

Later in March, Alex, Pam, and I flew to Singapore and Kuala Lumpur for a little TMS getaway. We redeemed Singapore Airlines miles for our flights from San Francisco to Singapore (and back). We redeemed Hyatt points to stay at the Andaz Singapore and the Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur. We had so much fun, and we shared more about our trip in this podcast episode. 

 

 

April-May

In late April and early May, my husband and I went on our first vacation to Bora Bora. It was incredible! We found an amazing cash deal for United Polaris business-class flights, so we didn’t use points for flights, but we used a combination of Hilton points and free-night certificates for our five nights at the Conrad Bora Bora. We paid cash to upgrade to an overwater villa—talk about a pinch-me moment! I’m headed back there in 2025 with Ella and Olivia and cannot wait to return. It’s one of the most stunning places I’ve ever been!

 

 

June

In June, Molly, Ted, and I took a trip to Boston and Connecticut for a Gilmore Girls road trip. I introduced Molly to Gilmore Girls last summer, and she’s been obsessed ever since! We used JetBlue miles to fly from Houston to Boston. We redeemed Hyatt points to stay two nights at the Hyatt Regency Boston and two nights at the Hyatt House Hartford. We explored the towns that inspired Stars Hollow and had the best time!

 

 

July-August

July was the start of my trek across Europe to follow the Eras Tour to Milan and London. In mid-July I redeemed JetBlue miles to fly from Houston to JFK and Emirates miles to fly business class from JFK to Milan. I redeemed Hyatt points for one night at the Hyatt Centric Milan and one night at the Park Hyatt Milan. 

Of course I couldn’t go all the way to Milan and not make a side trip to Lake Como, so I also redeemed Hyatt points to stay at the Grand Hotel Victoria. This is an SLH property that now has a partnership with Hilton, not Hyatt, but you can still redeem Hilton points or free-night certificates to stay there. It was the perfect place to recover after two nights at the Eras Tour. This was my second time staying at the Grand Hotel Victoria, and it remains one of my favorite hotels in the world. 

Coming home, I booked Emirates economy-class seats from Milan back to JFK, but was able to upgrade to business class at the check-in counter.

 

 

In August, my mom and I redeemed Singapore Airlines miles to fly from Houston to Manchester. This was my mom’s first business-class flight ever! We took the train to London and spent four nights at the Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill for $0 thanks to Hyatt points. We then took the Eurostar to Paris and spent a few amazing nights at the Park Hyatt Paris. It was definitely a summer to remember!

To hear more about my Eras Tour escapades, check out this podcast episode.

 

 

September

In September, Ella and I hit three countries in 10 days! We each positioned to Denver then redeemed miles to fly from Denver to Istanbul on Turkish Airlines in business class. From there, we flew to Santorini and spent two amazing nights at Canaves Epitome. (We redeemed Hilton free-night certificates for this stay.)

We then flew to Vienna and spent a couple of nights at the Park Hyatt Vienna. Afterwards, we took the train to Prague and spent a couple of nights at the Andaz Prague. We redeemed Hyatt points for both of these stays. It was a whirlwind trip that was only made possible by points!

To hear more about our trip, tune in to this podcast episode. 

 

 

October

In October, Ted, Molly, and I drove to San Antonio for Molly’s fall break. We stayed at the Hyatt Hill Country Resort and loved it! We redeemed 60,000 Hyatt points for our three-night stay. The resort recently underwent a $50 million renovation, and it was so nice to vacation at a newly renovated resort for free!

If you want to hear more about Texas points-stay options, check out this podcast episode. 

 

 

Later in October, we took another road trip to New Orleans for our last Eras Tour Show. We redeemed Hyatt category 1-4 free-night certificates for a two-night stay at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans. It was right next to the Superdome and could not have been more convenient. Because of the concert the cash rate for our room was over $900/night! Just another example of how Hyatt offers such oversized value.

 

 

December

In early December, my husband and I went back to London for a little getaway to celebrate our anniversary and to check out the famous London Christmas lights. We redeemed Singapore Airlines miles to fly from Houston to Manchester. We then took the train to London and stayed four fabulous nights at the brand new Park Hyatt London River Thames. 

We flew United Polaris business class home from London to Houston. For that flight, I transferred AMEX points to Air Canada and booked the flights for 70,000 Aeroplan points each. (Taxes were around $364 each.) I could have also booked the same flights directly through United for 80,000 miles each (but United is only a transfer partner of Chase, and I prefer to save my Chase points for Hyatt stays).

Looking to visit London on points? Check out this podcast episode!

 

 

Later in December, Ted, Molly, and I flew to Kansas City for the Chiefs vs. Texans game (and my stepson, Charlie, met us there). We redeemed Southwest points for our flights (and Molly flew free as my companion), and Hyatt points for our two-night stay at Hotel Kansas City. With the money I saved on our travel expenses, I was able to purchase amazing tickets right in front of Taylor Swift’s suite! 

 

 

I ended 2024 (and began 2025!) with a trip to Kauai with my entire family of six! It was my stepkids’ first trip to Hawaii, and to say they’re obsessed would be an understatement. I’ll cover this trip on an upcoming podcast episode, so stay tuned for that!

 

Cards Opened This Year

In 2024, I opened 5 cards and Ted opened 8 cards.

Jess’s Cards:

• card_name—I can never get enough of these cards or these points! Especially because there’s no annual fee.
• Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard®—I wanted to rack up AA miles for our flights to Japan and this one had an elevated offer + didn’t count towards 5/24. 
• Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card—Another high offer! Not only were the points elevated, but it also came with a free night award (super valuable as they can be redeemed at almost any Hilton property)
• card_name—I had to take advantage of the best ever offer on this card. 120,000 of my favorite points for just a $95 annual fee 
• card_name—The minimum spend on this one is very high, but if you can hit it, 200,000 Capital One miles for just a $150 is pretty hard to beat! 

All information about the Citi^® / AAdvantage Business^™ World Elite Mastercard^® has been collected independently by Travel Mom Squad. The Citi^® / AAdvantage Business^™ World Elite Mastercard^® is no longer available through Travel Mom Squad.

Ted’s Cards:

• card_name
• card_name
• Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®
• card_name
• Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card
• The Business Platinum Card® from American Express x 2 
• Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard®

All information about the Citi^® / AAdvantage Business^™ World Elite Mastercard^® has been collected independently by Travel Mom Squad. The Citi^® / AAdvantage Business^™ World Elite Mastercard^® is no longer available through Travel Mom Squad.

All information about the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® has been collected independently by Travel Mom Squad. The Citi®/AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® is no longer available through Travel Mom Squad.

All information about The Business Platinum Card® from American Express has been collected independently by Travel Mom Squad. The Business Platinum Card® from American Express is no longer available through Travel Mom Squad.

All together, from welcome offers on the cards we opened in 2024, we will have earned over 1.3 million points. That does not include any points earned on meeting the minimum spend or points from referring each other to those cards.

 

Cards Canceled, Downgraded

We canceled or downgraded the following cards:

• Several Ink cards (I closed two Ink Cash cards and an Ink Preferred; Ted closed an Ink Premier, Ink Preferred, Ink Cash, and Ink Unlimited). Chase seems to be getting stricter about number of Inks they’ll allow. 
• American Express® Business Gold Card (both canceled; could no longer justify the annual fee)
• card_name   (I closed this one so that I could open the Spark Cash Plus) 
• card_name   (I have the personal version also; don’t feel like I need both and doesn’t hurt credit score to close business cards)
• Citi Strata Premier℠ Card (I product-changed this one to a Citi Rewards+® Card because it doesn’t have an annual fee)
• card_name (Ted closed this one; I have one for my Globalist strategy but he doesn’t also need one)
   

Plans For Next Year

I’ve already booked the following (so far):

• Kauai
• San Miguel de Allende
• Costa Rica
• Japan
• Scottsdale
• Spain
• Bora Bora
• Iceland
• Ireland
• Maui
• New York City
• Portugal
• Cabo

 

Bottom Line

2024 was one for the books—and I can’t wait to see what 2025 brings. I know many of you are feeling the same way! We love to hear about the travels you’re able to take (that you never thought possible) thanks to points and miles! Which trip are you most looking forward to in 2025? Tell us in the comments!

 

Related Posts

• Pam’s 2024 Points/Miles Recap
• Alex’s 2024 Points/Miles Recap
• Alex’s 2023 Points/Miles Recap
• Pam’s 2023 Points/Miles Recap
• Jess’s 2023 Points/Miles Recap
• Pam’s 2022 Points/Miles Recap
• Alex’s 2022 Points/Miles Recap
• Jess’s 2022 Points/Miles Recap
• TMS Podcast #56: 2023 Recap