✈️ Holiday shopping guide: Don't leave points on the table

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 👊🏽

We’re in it. Holiday time is in full swing. I’m a sucker for gifting a good, meaningful book. Here is a modest curation of some wonderful travel related books I’ve read (and gifted) for both kids and adults.

Let’s dive in.

Here’s what’s on today—

📉 KLM/AirFrance is often the first website I search when I’m looking to travel to Europe. They almost always have savings pricing plus they offer 20% discount on award flights for my kids. This adds up to HUGE savings when it comes to travel as a family.

I found flights out of Detroit, San Fransisco, Denver, LA and more US cities with business class to Paris and Amsterdam in 2025 for 50k points. If you’re interested in flying in style to Europe in 2025, this is the place to start your search. 

✈︎ Points + Miles

TOP STORY: Earn All the Points

Holiday Shopping Hacks: Earn Bonus Points While You Shop

My love language is NOT gifts.

I don’t know if it shifted as an adult with budget restraints, or it’s because I naturally value experiences more so. Couple that with our impending 6 month trip abroad starting just 5 days after Christmas and I am in quite a conundrum of what gifts to get our kids.

Big exhale because as much as I’d love to skip gifts this year, I am a mom to 2 kids and I’m not hardcore enough to let them wake up to emptiness under the tree. Wish I was.

So while I may not be planning to spend an obscene amount on gifts, I also won’t be leaving any (free) credit card points + miles on the table either.

Don’t be overwhelmed, if you can learn 1 or 2 rules to pull in some extra points, then you can call it a win.

1. Use Online Shopping Portals

I prefer online shopping portals that earn me flexible points to transfer to airlines and hotels. I use Shop through Chase to earn my most favorite points.

For these points, I go through Rakuten always. And of course, for those valuable Capital One points I use the Capital One Shopping Portal.

Below is a quick screen shot inside my Cap One Portal→ look at those extra points you will earn simply by clicking “into” the store rather than going directly to the store’s website.

Pro Tip: Use a site like Cashback Monitor to compare earning rates across different portals and choose the most rewarding one.

2. Take Advantage of Bonus Categories

Review your credit cards for holiday promotions. Some cards offer bonus points for shopping in specific categories like department stores, online retailers, or electronics during this time of year.

Pro Tip: This card offers 5% back (5x points) for donating to select charities this season. Before swiping a card, do a quick Google search to make sure you’re using the card that will give the most points back.

3. Buy Gift Cards Strategically

Gift cards can be a double win. Purchase gift cards from stores where your credit card earns bonus points and then use those cards for your holiday shopping. Many grocery stores and office supply stores offer bonus categories for gift card purchases.

Pro Tip: Use this card to buy gift cards at Staples to get 5x points. Know you’re going to shop on Amazon for gifts? Buy an Amazon gift card from Staples and use it when purchasing on Amazon online. This way you’re earning points on points.

4. Stack Discounts and Offers

Now we stack! Don’t be overwhelmed, this is simply using several strategies “on top of” each other to maximize points.

Combine retailer sales, coupon codes, and cash-back offers with points-earning strategies.

For example: Shop through a portal, pay with a top earning rewards card, and use a browser extension like this to apply discount coupons at checkout to save money while earning rewards.

I know for me, oftentimes I just want the easiest way to check out and purchase whatever it is I’m looking for. At the least, throw a Rakuten or your favorite card’s portal extension on your computer and take the extra step out of it.

Ready to make things happen? I’m here to support any of your hopes!

Hit “reply”, I read every email!

🎁 Holiday special

🎁 Looking to shop for your favorite travel lover? Here’s a curated list we’ve put together of items we love ourselves and love to gift to others. Thanks for your support!

🎁 Travel Tuesday: One of the best ways to find your Travel Tuesday deal is an initial search on Google Flights and using the charts available to let you know if the deal is a good one or not.

Sadly, there isn’t a magic button to hit to give you the absolute best flight deal every time. It’s up to you to use data like this ⬆️ to search for your best options

Google Flight charts will let you know if the flight is currently priced higher, lower or typical as well as the best time to book. Use Googe Flights, check out the charts and do your research→ you’ll yield some pretty fantastic travel options.

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✈︎ Travel News

Quick Hits:

• Have you seen British Airway’s new first class product? 🤤

• How climate change affected travel in 2024.

• SFO passengers can now check their bags from the parking lot.

• Lufthansa announces “Green Fares” where you can pay more if you care about the environment.

• Amex currently is running a 40% transfer bonus with Virgin Air. This is MAJOR savings right now if you’re looking to fly to Europe. Scoop up a business class seat while you’re at it!

A little nugget of inspiration for you from one of my favorite quick read newsletters:

“Cut the crap.

Literally, cut the unnecessary distractions out of your life—delete apps, unfriend and unfollow toxic people, stop committing to activities you don’t care about.”

Hopefully the “crap" doesn’t include this newsletter 🙂 But if it’s not serving you, by all means, cut it out.

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As always, thanks for being here and have a great Tuesday!

Allie