One of the best parts of my job is hearing the amazing trips that our members are taking with the help of Travel Freely!
The members who take these trips aren’t experts. In fact, they’re beginners who have used our strategy and resources to maximize their everyday spending to earn free travel to their dream destinations!
Travel Freely member, Kami, saved nearly $1,100 on a last-minute 48-hour trip to Chicago with her husband by using points and miles!
You, too, can take amazing trips like this!
Read on to see how she did it, and the #1 advice Kami gives to beginners who want to take a similar trip!
Tell us a bit about yourself. How long have you been using points and miles towards free travel?
My name is Kami and my husband and I have five children. Now that our kids are getting a little older, we’re starting to travel more. I really started to get into the points game in 2018. We dipped our toes in the proverbial points water in 2018 by taking our family to Chicago and using points to cover a week of hotels.
In 2019 we took our family to France for 9 days – with all hotels and flights covered by points/miles.
Please tell us about your trip. Where did you go?
We went to Chicago to see The Office Experience. It’s our favorite show of all time! About three weeks before the planned weekend getaway, I saw an ad on social media saying The Office Experience had just opened in Chicago. Basically, it’s a recreation of some of the sets, props from the show, and an overall immersive experience for anyone who loves the show!
I quickly checked flights and hotels and knew we could make this work. We booked a two-night stay at the Intercontinental on the Magnificent Mile, and flew from our home airport to Chicago via Southwest Airlines.
The trip came together quickly because of our stash of points and miles.
Kami (Pam) and her husband (Michael Scott) at The Office Experience in Chicago
How much money did you save by using points and miles for your trip?
We saved $1,100 on this trip by using points and miles!
With taxes and fees, the hotel should have cost us around $700 for two nights. And, the Southwest flights from my home airport to Chicago (Midway) were around $200/person!
We spent about $300 total for the weekend for the flights, hotel, Uber and meals. The hotel was totally free, and the cost of the flights was $11.20. The Ubers to/from the airport were each about $35, but we each had $15 in Uber Cash from our Amex Platinum cards, bringing the out-of-pocket cost on transportation to about $40 total ($35+35-15-15). Our biggest single expenditure was the $109 we spent for The Office Experience. The rest was spent on meals.
What kind of points did you use for this trip?
We used 101,000 IHG points for the hotel. These were from a sign-on bonus on the IHG Premier Card that I earned earlier this year. The card was fee-free for the first year, and comes with Elite status. That status earned us an upgraded room! We had booked a standard room at the Intercontinental but were upgraded to one on a higher floor with a great view down Michigan Avenue to the Chicago River.
For flights, I used up some Southwest credit for my flight and flew my husband as my companion (my companion pass is good through this year).
The flights were on Southwest direct from Birmingham to Chicago Midway. I actually had $200 in Southwest Travel Credit leftover from my American Express Platinum airline fee credit. The travel credits covered my flights. Then my husband was my companion. His tickets were $11.20 total.
Kami and her husband booked this hotel with the points earned on a single sign-up bonus!
What advice would you give to someone who is interested in using points and miles to book a trip like yours?
There are so many different programs and it can be overwhelming. I would suggest to people just starting out to pick one transferable currency, such as Chase points, and learn how that works.
If you have a specific trip in mind, then do a little research on the best ways to get there from your location and the type of accommodation you would prefer. Then figure out how to pay for those things with points and miles!
And as always, follow Travel Freely! It’s been such a blessing to us as we’ve learned how to use points and miles for fun travel experiences.
Cards Used for This Trip
This card is sometimes overlooked due to other larger hotel programs. It can be valuable if you'll use the annual free night stay and fourth night free when booking award stays.
An ultra-premium card loaded with benefits and perks, especially for the frequent traveler. Terms apply.
Our #1 personal card that we recommend most often. Now valued at over $900 in free travel! Hands down the single best "starter card" for beginners and MVP card for free travel.
Would You Like Us to Share Your Story?
We’re always looking for reader success stories, and would love to hear yours! Please feel free to reach out at moc.y1715018045leerf1715018045levar1715018045t@kla1715018045tstel1715018045 and share the story of a recent trip you took using points and miles towards free travel!
