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I'm a dad of two who books our family trips with credit card points instead of cash. Flights and hotels for four add up fast, and points are how we keep traveling without blowing the budget.
Below are the cards I actually use, breakdowns of our trips, and free tools to help you plan your own.
Cards I use
Tap a card to see the current offer on the issuer's site.
Amex Platinum
Airport lounge access and premium travel benefits. Earns Membership Rewards points that transfer to airline and hotel partners.
Apply with my referralAmex Gold
Strong earning on everyday family spending like restaurants and groceries. Same Membership Rewards points as the Platinum.
Apply with my referralBilt Palladium
Earn points on your mortgage or rent, plus transfer partners for flights and hotels.
Apply with my referralCapital One Venture X
Easy-to-use travel card with lounge access. Earns Capital One miles that transfer to airline and hotel partners.
Apply with my referralChase Sapphire Reserve
Earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points, which transfer to partners like Hyatt and United. The same link also works for the Sapphire Preferred.
Apply with my referralTrip breakdowns
Exactly what we paid in points and cash.
Cabo San Lucas
Free tools
Calculators I built to plan our trips.
Points optimizer
See which points to use for a trip and how much each point is worth.
Open the optimizerTransfer partners
What airlines or hotels do my credit card points transfer to? 💳 ➡️ ✈️ 🏨
OpenCompare Credit Card Transfer Partners
If you have multiple cards with different points currencies, compare similar airline/hotel transfer partners.
OpenAirline alliances
My card doesn't transfer to a domestic airline partner I want. Which partner airline points can help me book US domestic flights?
OpenPoints or cash?
Work out your cents-per-point value to see if a redemption beats just paying cash.
OpenPoints glossary
The lingo, in plain English.
- CPP (cents per point)
- How much each point is worth on a booking. Divide the cash price by the points needed. Higher is better.
- 5/24
- Chase's rule: if you've opened 5 or more personal cards from any bank in the last 24 months, you'll usually be denied for new Chase cards.
- Transfer partners
- Airlines and hotels you can move bank points to, often for much more value than cashing them out.
- Award space
- The seats or rooms an airline or hotel actually releases for points bookings. Finding four seats together is the hard part for families.
- Sign-up bonus
- The big batch of points a card gives you after you spend a set amount in the first few months.