The other day, I called my husband at work and said I needed to run something by him. He immediately said, “What new trip are you planning now?” Ha! I actually wasn’t calling about a new trip, but I can see why he said that. I usually have several trips in the works at any given time.
The problem with my travel dreams is that traveling as a family of 5-6 people takes a lot of miles and points. The trips I plan to book this year for 2026 travel include:
- Spring break trip to Saint Maarten in the Caribbean
- Early summer trip to Thailand (just me and my daughter)
- Summer trip to Switzerland and London
In a perfect world, I’d use miles to book economy award flights to Saint Maarten and business class to Thailand and Europe. The issue is that I don’t have enough miles and points for that scenario. Aside from postponing or cancelling one or more of those trips, what are my other options?
Apply for New Credit Cards
Even though my booking window is opening soon, it’s not too late for me to apply for a new credit card with a high welcome bonus. While it is best to book award flights as soon as the flight schedule is released, it’s definitely possible to find award space throughout the months leading up to departure.
Fly in Economy instead of Business
Who wouldn’t love flying in business class every time you fly overseas? But for my family, it’s not necessary, especially for the trip to Europe. I’d rather fly to Europe in economy than scrap the trip due to insufficient points for business class. Plus, Premium Economy is a good compromise for fewer points.
Use a Combination of Points and Cash
With miles and points, it doesn’t have to be an all or nothing equation. If we don’t have enough points for everything we want, we can always use points for some passengers and cash for others as long as it fits in our budget.
Bottom Line
I don’t want to postpone any of our planned trips for 2026. I’ll likely use a combination of all three above options to make these trips happen. And, I’ll try to show some restraint with adding more trips to our schedule.
Have you put your kids as authorized users on your cards? Does your son have the Discover student card?
@Lynn Yes, my older is an authorized user on two cards and I’m about to add my other son. He doesn’t have any student cards.
None of the offspring are old enough to be P3?
@Christian My oldest is over 18 but he doesn’t have hardly any individual income right now. After he turns 21 he will have more options.