Miles and Points Recap: Easy Marriott Points, Increased Amtrak Offer, A Story of Adoption and More!

This is a news recap from last week, tailored to regular family. For faster updates, follow me on Twitter or check my feed on the right side of the blog.

1. Free 1,500 Marriott points when you connect your account to social networking profiles. (hat tip to Pointsandpixiedust)

2. Southwest has announced a tiered promotion for purchases made through its shopping portal. You can get up to 3,000 Rapid Rewards points but keep in mind, they don’t count toward a Companion Pass. Still, it can be a good deal if you have to make a purchase anyway. As always, first compare various payout rates on Cashbackmonitor It could make sense to just go with good ole’ cash back instead, depending on your valuation of miles and points.

3. According to Doctorofcredit, there is  a non-targeted offer of 30,000 points on co-branded Amtrak credit card. You have to apply by December 31st. I’ve updated my links. As always, feel free to contact me and I’ll be happy to point out the best offer, even if it doesn’t pay me.

4. For Delta lovers: Drew at Travelisfree has created a Delta miles calculator It will show you various options from your home airport, and some start at only 5,000 miles one-way. Very cool!

5. Save up to 25% on Jet Blue award redemptions. Details here

6. The cheapest award flights, by region.

7. This story has nothing to do with miles, but it has everything to do with family. As you may know, Nancy (who regularly contributes to this blog) has two adopted sons from Russia. I’ve been curious about the backstory,  and here it is  Get some Kleenex tissues ready, you will need them!

It’s a touching post on what they’ve been through during their adoption journey and how it made them stronger as a family. There is so much nastiness in the world around us. I think we can all use some positivity right about now, don’t you agree?

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Author: Leana

Leana is the founder of Miles For Family. She enjoys beach vacations and visiting her family in Europe. Originally from Belarus, Leana resides in central Florida with her husband and two children.