You don’t need to be a finance expert or a frequent flyer to earn enough points for a premium flight because the right credit card strategy can get a family of three into business class within 12 to 18 months of consistent use.
If you’ve ever wondered how people are casually flying business class while you’re staring at $1,200 economy seats, welcome. You’re in the right place.
Points and miles are not just for travel hackers with spreadsheets and fourteen monitors. At the core, it’s actually pretty simple.
Today we’re starting with the basics: how to earn points, how to spend them, a few beginner hacks, and a real example of how I booked our Europe flights. We can absolutely get nerdy later, but first we build the foundation.
Step 1: How You Earn Points & Miles
There are three main ways most people build their stash.
The first is simply traveling with a loyalty program. When you fly with an airline like Delta or stay with a hotel brand like Marriott, you earn points in that company’s rewards program. This is the slow and steady method. Think of it as your base layer.
The second option is using a branded credit card. These are cards tied to a specific airline or hotel, like Delta or Marriott cards. You earn that brand’s points through everyday spending. This works well if you are loyal to one company, but the trade-off is that your points are mostly locked into that brand. There are times it makes sense though, for example we almost exclusively fly Alaska and Delta from our home airport, so we do keep both Alaska and Delta cards in our wallet.
The third option, and where the real magic starts, is using a flexible points credit card. These earn transferable currencies like Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, or Capital One miles. Instead of being stuck with one airline or hotel, you can move these points to multiple partners. That flexibility is what often unlocks the best deals.
We will absolutely go deeper on specific cards in a future post because that part deserves its own spotlight.
Step 2: How to Spend Points
Once you have points, you generally have three redemption paths.
The simplest is booking directly with the brand where you earned. Delta miles book Delta flights. Marriott points book Marriott hotels. This is very beginner friendly and This is very beginner friendly and straightforward. But because there aren’t hoops to jump through, it is not always the best value.
The next option is booking through a credit card travel portal such as Capital One Travel, the Chase portal, or Amex Travel. Here your points function more like cash, though it rarely has a good value per point. There generally won’t be a situation where I would recommend this option.
The third option, and usually the highest value, is transferring points to partners. This is the move that often unlocks premium cabins for minimal spend and excellent hotel value. For example, transferring Chase points to Hyatt is one of my very favorite redemption strategies. We stayed at the Hyatt regency in Maui for an entire week for 245k points, a trip that would have cost over $5,000 in cash. It takes a little more learning to use your points this way, but the payoff can be huge. And yes, I will absolutely help you learn.
Step 3: Beginner Hacks That Actually Work
One tool I regularly use is Roame.travel to search for award flights across multiple airlines at once. It saves a massive amount of time compared to checking each airline manually. Full transparency: that is an affiliate link if you choose to sign up. For me, the money I have saved using it has been well worth it.
Another powerful lever is credit card sign-up bonuses. This is one of the fastest ways to build a large points balance quickly. Typically, when you open a new card, you will see an offer like “Earn 60,000 miles when you spend $3,000 in the first three months.”
A common myth is that having multiple credit cards automatically hurts your credit. In reality, responsible use often improves your score over time. The key rule is simple: only play this game if you pay your cards in full every month. Trust me on this one. I am still digging myself out of not listening to that advice earlier.
Finally, when looking for flight deals, consider repositioning flights, especially if you live near a smaller airport like I do in Medford. You will not always find the best award space from your home airport. I regularly check Seattle, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake City because a cheap positioning flight to a bigger hub can unlock a dramatically better redemption.
Real Example: How I Booked Our Europe Flights
Let me be very clear. This is not always simple. But it can be very worth it.
For our premium economy flight to London, I watched deals regularly and set up multiple alerts on Roame. I ended up transferring 23,000 Capital One points to Virgin Atlantic and paid about $100 per person. That got our family of three from the West Coast of the US to London in premium economy.
The return was where things got extra spicy.
Originally, I transferred Amex points to Hawaiian, which I then transferred to Alaska (this was before Alaska and Hawaiian joined together). With those points I then booked an American Airlines flight through Alaska from Madrid to Los Angeles for 210,000 miles and about $190 total for all three of us. Yes, it was as confusing as it sounds.
But it didn’t end there. We then we realized Spain did not actually fit our final itinerary. So I pivoted. We paid about $150 more each, got 45,000 miles redeposited, and rebooked Paris to Dallas instead. Was it perfectly smooth? Not exactly. Was it still dramatically cheaper than paying cash for three business class international flights? Absolutely.
This is the reality of the points game. Sometimes it takes flexibility and a few hoops, but it can be completely worth the effort.
The Bottom Line
Points and miles are not always simple. But once you understand how to earn, how to redeem, and where the sweet spots are, you can unlock travel that would otherwise feel out of reach.
And we are just getting started.
Next time, I’ll break down my favorite beginner credit cards, which ones I personally use, and who each card is actually best for.
Want help actually using your points to book an incredible family trip? That’s part of what I do — check out my travel planning services and let’s make those points work for you.
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Becca Marsh is a certified travel advisor affiliated with Fora Travel and the voice behind Wanders & Wink, based in Grants Pass, Oregon. A lifelong traveler who has explored every U.S. state and dozens of countries from the street food stalls of Vietnam to the Michelin-starred restaurants of Paris, she specializes in food-forward family travel that actually delivers on the fantasy. She takes her own family on at least six trips a year (research, she calls it…) and brings that firsthand experience to every itinerary she builds for her clients. She believes great travel is accessible to everyone and will always tell you exactly where to go and what to order.
