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One canceled flight is redeemable for another, so I used 82,000 miles to fly my family of four from Washington, DC to Orlando. The only catch was that Southwest would let me put the kids’ miles into my account, but my husband had to go into his. So we had to book our flights and then check in separately for the trip, no problem as long as it was in the B boarding group and we were in the C group on the flight home.

I realize that most people don’t get apology miles from airlines, but you have plenty of ways to earn points and miles for free flights. In addition to saving miles you earn from other flights, you can apply for an airline-affiliated credit card with a significant sign-up bonus that can fast-track your mileage earnings.

Similarly, a card that earns transferable points will let you transfer points to different airlines. Make sure you’re earning extra miles for your purchases by using shopping portals or signing up for programs that earn you miles for dining.

If you can, book your flights early to get the best availability for award seats, or look for transfer bonuses and award flight discounts to stretch your points and miles.

I used credit card benefits to defray hotel expenses

Since I wasn’t going to earn miles at a Lowe’s hotel, I booked the stay through the Chase Travel℠ portal, which meant I could use my Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card’s $50 hotel credit to save a little on the stay and earn 5. Points per dollar on the balance (for a total of 6,000 points) that I can use for free travel on our next trip.

We had booked two nights at the Royal Pacific, but to save money on our final night (when we wouldn’t be going to the park the next day), I used the $300 travel credit I had available. Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card To book a night at Homewood Suites by Hilton Orlando-Nearest to Univ Studios through the Capital One travel portal. We got a two room suite that included breakfast and didn’t even get my travel credit.

I saved with the Military Park Pass

My husband is a civilian employee of the US Navy and his Department of Defense ID gives us access to a variety of travel discounts. It also makes him eligible for Universal’s Military Freedom Pass.

Active-duty members of the military, veterans and other DOD personnel can purchase a special pass that gives them unlimited access to the park from January through mid-December — for about the cost of a day in the parks. The more you use this pass, the more you save. We will only visit Universal once this year, but we went to the park three days during our trip, saving hundreds.

My Chase Sapphire Preferred card was indeed eligible, so I signed up (immediately creating a calendar reminder to cancel before the ship charges started). I downloaded the app, and while we were waiting for our flight at the airport, I ordered breakfast staples like Cheerios, pastries and milk, and lunch fixings like bread, jam and applesauce at Publix Supermarket. I set the delivery time when I knew we would be at the hotel and left a note for my shopkeeper saying we were flying.

The app was easy to use; When I realized I would need some utensils, I could easily update the order. My shoppers were communicating over text; When she didn’t get the scones I ordered, I was able to swap for muffins. When she ended up at Publix, I met her on the front drive of the hotel, and the handoff was seamless.

In the end, we ate out three times (dinner at the hotel, lunch at the Leaky Cauldron, and dinner at Finnegans Bar & Grill at Universal Studios) and bought a few snacks and some extra butterbeers. But we managed to get two breakfasts and three extra meals from our $60 grocery shopping. We could have easily spent the same amount on a snack for the four of us inside the park.

I borrowed sticks from another mom

When we travel to a special place with our kids, we often give them a souvenir budget (often around $20 or $25) so they can spend however they want. This worked surprisingly well, and my kids admitted they weren’t going to buy the $60 animatronic owl we saw on so many kids’ shoulders.

Both Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade have designated “Wand Spots” where, if you wave the right wand just right, you can create something magical. I knew my kids would love this, but the interactive wand cost $65. That’s a lot for a toy that we won’t be using after this park visit. (If you just want a costume accessory, you can buy non-interactive wands for a lot less money.)

So I called my local Buy Nothing group, and a mom who knew me from our school answered. We borrowed Harry Potter and Hermione’s wands from him so that each child could use them. One of the wands had a little bit of magic in it, so we took it to Ollivander’s Wand Shop (there’s one in every park), where they would give out free “re-magic” wands.