At TPG, one of our core missions is to teach our readers how to use points and miles to secure dream trips they might not otherwise be able to afford. Often, we don’t hear about the trips our readers take, but every so often, we are greeted with stories of special experiences.
Recently, longtime TPG reader, Doug M., came to us with just that. He took us through his journey of points and miles, highlighting how they allowed him and his fiancee (now wife) to travel around the world. Here are the highlights of his globe-trotting and advice to readers looking to use points and miles for ambitious travel.
Related: How Do I Strategize My Award Redemption?
How TPG helped this reader on her first major international trip
Doug was once in the shoes of many beginners, wanting to see the world but not sure how to do it with just cash. Through TPG, Doug learned how to use points and miles to afford the trips he wanted to take. When he booked his first major international trip, he spent all his time scouring TPG articles for information. Swiss Alps and London in 2022.
Doug earned American Express Membership Rewards points with it American Express® Gold Card And Platinum Card® from American Express. By transferring approximately 124,000 Membership Rewards points to Emirates, Doug was able to book two business-class tickets for himself and his fiancee from New York City to Milan.
Doug also transferred 35,000 Membership Rewards points to Virgin Atlantic, so he and his partner could fly from London to New York City in premium economy. Doug estimates that the two flights would have cost him $13,000, meaning he got a fantastic deal. Note that redemption rates vary for these flights.
Welcome offers on Amex Gold and Amex Platinum can help you earn Membership Rewards points faster so you can take trips like Dougs. Currently, the Amex Gold offers 60,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $6,000 in the first six months of card membership.
Amex Platinum offers 80,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $8,000 in the first six months of card membership. Note that using the CardMatch tool you can be targeted for a 125,000-point or 150,000-point welcome bonus. However, these offers are subject to change at any time.
Based on TPG’s July 2024 valuation, these welcome offers are worth $1,200 and $1,600, respectively.
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Related: These apps and websites make it easy to find reward redemptions
Dream trips to New Zealand and Australia using points and miles
Doug’s trip to the Swiss Alps and London with points and miles opened Pandora’s box. He and his fiancé had a dream trip in mind: New Zealand and Australia. With the help of points and miles, they were able to turn this dream into a reality in 2023. Taking advantage of a quick award-booking opportunity, Doug and his fiancee scored two business-class tickets from Houston to Oakland. Capital One miles and Amex Membership Rewards points. Doug transferred these 175,000 points and miles to Air Canada’s Aeroplan to book fellow Star Alliance partner Air New Zealand.
This wasn’t the only redemption they used to help them get the trip they’d always dreamed of. Taking advantage of Air Canada’s stopover facility, they caught a flight from Christchurch, New Zealand to Sydney on Emirates for an additional 5,000 points per person.
In Australia, they were able to get a flight from Sydney to Cairns to see the Great Barrier Reef using Chase Ultimate Rewards points. Since Doug’s fiancee (now wife) had a Chase Sapphire Reserve®, she transferred the points to her United Airlines MileagePlus account to book the trip. His journey home saw Dog transfer Amex points to Virgin Atlantic; Plus, they added a one-day stopover in Honolulu on their path from Sydney to Houston, allowing them and their partner to check out another destination.
Doug estimates that this dream vacation would have cost him an additional $12,500 without the help of points and miles, proving that booking his dream trip was a no-brainer. With proper planning and execution, vacationing to global destinations is possible without spending thousands of dollars. Business-class international flights don’t have to be just for the ultrarich.
Related: How to potentially save miles by flying first class instead of economy
Where points and miles lead this reader
Since he started exploring Points and Miles, Doug has visited a total of eight countries – Switzerland, UK, Italy, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Brazil, Argentina and Bermuda. He and his wife are already planning their next big trip: Japan during cherry blossom season. They have booked a round-trip ticket on Japan Airlines’. New A350-1000 business-class seats using Cathay Pacific Asia Miles.
They knew these luxury seats would be hard to come by because Japan Airlines usually only released two business-class seats per flight, and they definitely wanted to fly together. He also knew that Cathay Pacific would release award seats 360 days in advance at midnight Hong Kong time. About a year before his trip, Doug hopped on the phone with the Cathay Pacific Rewards desk.
He managed to find two award seats on a flight from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport (HND) for 178,000 miles per person. He transferred about half the required miles from Capital One (he earned plenty by using his Capital One Venture Rewards credit card to earn 2 miles per dollar spent on wedding expenses); He transferred the rest from Amex Membership Rewards. Once the trip to Tokyo was booked, he repeated the process a few days later for the trip home.
Related: Cathay Pacific Business-Class Award Availability in 2025
This reader’s advice for points and miles beginners
Start with transfer points
Doug recommends starting with an earning card Transferable points instead of cobranded airline or hotel cards. He and his wife have gotten a ton of value from cards with transferable currencies like the Amex Gold and Platinum, Capital One Venture Rewards Card, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, and more. Built Mastercard® (See rates and fees; TPG founder Brian Kelly is a built advisor and investor).
“My first card was a cobranded card because I didn’t know any better and heard an ad on the plane,” Doe tells TPG, “Don’t be me!” Instead, he says, you can get much more value by earning transferable points and transferring them to travel partners.
Related: No-Annual-Fee Credit Cards That Earn Transferable Points
Be flexible
Doug also stresses the importance of patience and flexibility, especially if you’re after a business- or first-class award seat. Instead of choosing a flight and then finding a way to book it with points or miles, he recommends keeping an open mind — and calendar — when searching for award availability.
“Let the flights tell you when to travel, not the other way around, especially if you want to unlock great value with hard-to-find business- and first-class seats,” he says.
Refer your friends
Many cards offer bonus points to cardholders who refer others to the card. This means that if your friend applies for a card through your personal referral link and is approved, you’ll earn extra points, although the amount varies widely by card and changes over time.
For example, Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Sapphire Reserve currently offer 10,000 bonus points for every person you refer, and Bilt is known to offer 25,000 bonus points for every five referrals. Some rewards come in the form of an increased earning rate rather than a share of points, such as when select Amex cards offered an additional 5 points per dollar spent on supermarket purchases for referring a friend.
Doug and his wife have earned about 10 referral bonuses, some as high as 20,000 points — without spending a dime. Plus, he’s shared his passion with loved ones and helped them dip their toes into points and miles.
Related: Capital One Refer a Friend: What You Need to Know About This Generous Program
Bottom line
The world of points and miles can seem daunting to beginners. But the good news is that there are many easy ways to get started and you can take it at your own pace. With no knowledge of points, miles or credit cards, Doug went from seeing eight countries (plus Bermuda) in three years to booking a trip to Japan using rewards. Doug credits TPG with helping him build the knowledge needed to do these trips, and he strongly encourages others to try them.
Do you have a points and miles success story you’d like to share? Email us questions@thepointsguy.com for a chance to be featured on TPG.
RELATED: Reader Success Story: How This Couple Used Travel Rewards To Cover An Epic $50,000 Anniversary Trip To Asia
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