How to Use Your Travel Points Wisely: Flights, Hotels & When to Splurge

Make your miles and points work for you—not the other way around

If you’ve racked up credit card points, loyalty perks, or flight miles over time—whether from work trips, savvy spending, or good ol’ everyday purchases—you might be wondering: How do I actually use these for a vacation that doesn’t feel like a spreadsheet?

Good news: this is my jam. Let’s talk about where your points go the farthest—and how to balance strategy with comfort.

✈️ Flights First, Always

Let’s be honest—no one’s nostalgic about the flight part of a trip. It’s a means to an end… and a pricey one at that.

Use your points here first. Flights are expensive, unpredictable, and rarely “fun” to spend cash on.

If you’ve got enough to upgrade? Even better. For red-eyes or long-haul routes, springing for extra legroom or a lie-flat seat can be the difference between landing rested or wrecked.

🏨 Hotels: Know When to Cash In

Hotel points are great—but only when they actually work for you.

Most reward programs tie to big brands like Marriott, Hyatt, or Hilton. These shine in major cities like:

• New York City

• London

• Berlin

• Boston

• Chicago

But in those charming towns in Provence or cliffside villages in Italy? Not so much.

That’s where I help clients go hybrid: use points in the city, then pay out-of-pocket in the small towns where boutique hotels and local gems don’t accept rewards.

💡 Mix. Match. Maximize.

Can’t cover the entire trip with points? Totally fine.

The goal is balance:
💸 Save on flights → splurge on the ocean-view suite in Santorini.
💸 Save on a city hotel → splurge on a castle stay in the Highlands.

That’s what I help clients do—strategize where points save the most and where investing a little more turns your trip from “nice” to next level.

We stretch your points and your PTO.

🌍 Bottom Line: Use the Points, Take the PTO

If you can book the whole trip on points? Amazing.

But even if you can’t, those points can turn a “maybe someday” getaway into a “we leave Thursday.”

You earned the miles. You earned the time off.
Let’s make it count. ☀️