✈️ Stop Wasting Points: 5 Mistakes That Cost You Free Travel

Good morning ☀️ from Booked It On Points: A curated collection of travel tips and personal stories by me, Allie→ because you’re meant to experience meaningful travel no matter life’s constraints 👊🏽

📢 If you missed it, I shared on Friday that some changes are coming to Booked It On Points. Starting soon, Friday’s newsletter will be part of a paid version. I know this is a shift.

I’ve already heard a few comments, including the text I got from my brother:

“Trying to get $5 out of us loyal subscribers now, huh?!” 

Thanks in advance for your support, broski 😉 .

Thank you so much for being part of this journey with me! Here’s the plan coming soon ⬇️ (in case you missed it).

Back to it.

Here’s what’s on today—

📉 This Tuesday I’m straying from my normal ‘flight deal’ highlight of 1 flight because this is currently what the Virgin Air Reward seat tracker looks like. These are flights from DC to London and I’m drooling over 6k points for economy and 29k points to fly BUSINESS class!! This is all thanks to Virgin’s new dynamic pricing policy.

✈︎ Points + Miles

TOP STORY: Take it from me, avoid these top 5 mistakes in points+ miles

You know when you order wrong off the menu and you look at your friend’s plate and they ordered so right? Brutal.

I’m infamous for ordering wrong, so I can’t help you there, but I can help you avoid making another painful mistake→ not optimizing your points + miles experience.

Here are my top 5 don’ts when it comes to points + miles:

Don’t:

1. Don't Miss Your Bonus Points Deadline: Sign-up bonuses are the best part of a new card. But, they have spending requirements within a set time (usually 3-6 months). Missing this deadline means losing all the points, painful. Track dates and spending so you stay on track.

2. Don't Avoid Cards Just Because of an Annual Fee: Annual fees can seem high. But, many cards offer perks that offset this. These include free hotel nights, travel credits, airport lounge access and more. Before canceling a card, evaluate if the benefits still justify the cost. If not, consider downgrading.

3. Don't Open Cards for Points You Won't Use: A new card offer may seem great but, if the points don't match your travel plans, they aren't worth it. For example, if you rarely stay in hotels, a card offering hotel points might not be as useful as one with airline miles. Stick to cards that fit your actual travel style.

4. Don’t Transfer Points Before Confirming Availability: Once points are transferred to a travel partner, you can’t transfer them back. Avoid transferring points until you’ve confirmed your desired flight or hotel is available on the travel partner’s website, as this ensures you don’t waste points on unavailable bookings.

5. Don't Forget to Track Expiration Dates: Some programs need account activity to keep points active. Letting points expire is like wasting free travel. Set reminders or do a small transaction to keep your accounts active.

Don’t be impulsive and order the wrong dish, I mean make a tragic points + miles error. Review above and rest easy that you’re playing it right.

✈︎ Life Beyond The Grind

What’s in our bank account?

Hint:

In an effort to stay true to our word, we’re sharing our monthly finance report. This is where we provide a juicy look at the numbers on what we’re earning, what we’re spending and how it’s all shaking out as we build this business.

We’ve looked at the numbers and have a lot of thoughts- a BIG thought? Wow! How wild that we’ve set up some income streams! We certainly could look at it and think:

 Holy sh**, there is NO WAY we can use this to support our family.

But then I read this incredibly timely quote from a favorite newsletter of mine last week:

‘If you’re considering a career change but worrying about taking a step backward, remember this: It’s better to lose the past two years of progress than to waste the next 20.’” - a post from Adam Grant

Thanks Adam, onward we go. Check out the report here.

✈︎ Poll

✈︎ Travel News

Airlines now required to refund us

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has a new rule to make travel better for everyone! Now, if your flight is canceled or delayed by a long time—three hours for U.S. flights or six hours for international—you’ll automatically get your money back. No more waiting or asking for refunds!

Plus, if the airline changes your trip to use different airports, adds stops, or downgrades your seat, you get a refund, too. And if you paid for things like Wi-Fi that didn’t work, you can get that money back as well. Airlines now have to send refunds within a week for credit cards, or within 20 days for other payments. That’s a ‘W’!

Southwest calendar open

It’s time to start planning those summer plans. Southwest’s calendar is now open through August 2025.

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That was a big Tuesday share I’d say. Kinda feels like standing naked in front of an audience. Thanks for being part of that audience, we’ll gladly show it all for you 💛

Allie