My 2026 Travel Plans

Happy New Year! It’s 2026, and I’ve got exciting trips lined up throughout the year. Unfortunately, I’m not going on all of them myself, but I will live vicariously through my kids’ solo trips. Here’s where miles and points are taking my family this year:

Epic Universe

In just a few days, my oldest son is traveling to Orlando with a friend to visit Universal Studios and specifically the new Epic Universe park that opened last summer. I booked award flights for them on Southwest Airlines for just 5000 points each way (transferred Chase Ultimate Rewards to Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards). For their hotel stay, I used 8500 Chase points per night for Universal’s Cabana Bay Resort through a Chase Points Boost in the Chase travel portal.

St. Maarten

My entire family of 5 is heading to the Caribbean island of St. Maarten during spring break. For flights, I used a combination of American Airlines and Alaska miles for flights to the island. For flights home, I used a combination of Lufthansa and JetBlue miles. Instead of a hotel, we are staying in a condo rental where we can spread out in separate bedrooms.

Singapore and Thailand (Summer)

For various reasons, my family is unable to take a summer vacation all together this year. However, my daughter and I are going to Singapore and Thailand early this summer. I’m so excited! We are flying there in business class on Singapore Airlines (transferred American Express points and Capital One miles to Singapore KrisFlyer). I originally had business class flights booked for the return trip home, but due to a change in our travel plans, I switched our flights home to Premium Economy on Cathay Pacific (booked with British Airways Avios).

Australia

My younger son (age 18) is flying to Australia by himself to visit a friend for a week. I used Alaska miles for one way (42,500 miles) and the Chase travel portal for the other way (23,000 points).

Disney World and Disney Cruise

When my two boys are away at college this fall, my daughter (in high school) has a short fall break. So, my husband, daughter and I are taking a quick trip to Disney World. I booked one-way flights with 7500 Alaska miles and used the Amex Platinum’s $300 hotel credit to offset the cost for 2 nights at the Walt Disney World Swan Resort.

Thailand (Winter)

No, I’m not going to Thailand twice next year. But, I’m gifting my son and a friend this trip for college graduation. I just booked them flights to Asia on miles, and in the next few weeks/months I’ll finalize the flights back home. I plan to post more about this next week.

Are you excited about your travel plans in 2026?