Points Math, Not Points Religion
The cash and credit-card side of family travel. Which cards we actually carry, when to use points vs just paying cash, and the specific tricks that turn a few hundred thousand points into a real family trip.
Credit Cards We Carry
The four credit cards that cover flights, hotels, groceries, and everyday spend for a family of four — with the honest answer on which one to start with if you only want one.
Sweet-Spot Redemptions
The specific point-transfer plays that turn 50,000 points into a business-class seat or a suite at a Marriott. We tell you which ones still work and which got killed off.
Cash or Points? Plain English
For every family-travel scenario, the honest answer to “should I use points, or just pay cash?” We show the math but spare you the jargon.
Recent saving money posts
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Packing Cubes: The $30 Thing That Changed Our Family Trips
Why packing cubes made family travel dramatically easier — what we use, what we’ve stopped doing, and how to pick…
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Westin SFO Airport: Is It Worth Using Bonvoy Points On?
Westin SFO Airport review: Marriott Bonvoy points math vs cash rates for families needing an overnight near San Francisco International…
Why Our Points Takes Hold Up
Three promises every post here keeps: honest math, stays we actually took, and the real-family details that make the difference.
A Real Family Budget
Tens of thousands a year on cards for a family of four. We know from real statements which categories have hidden caps and which multipliers hold up month after month.
The Plays That Still Work
Updated regularly. When a points-to-hotel deal dies, we move it to the archive and say so. No stale “5 hidden deals!” posts here.
No Affiliate Theater
We tell you which card is best for your spending pattern, not the one that pays us the biggest commission. Sometimes the right card is the free one — and we’ll say so.
Why you can trust our reviews
Here’s what we promise every time you read a review here — so you can trust the advice on your next trip.
Every review reads like a postcard from us to you. Warm, specific, honest about whether the pool is magic or just fine — and what made our kids actually light up.
We write like we’re talking to a friend
Written by Amelia
William handles the points and the math. He’ll tell you when to burn points and when to just pay cash — with the numbers right there so you can check.
The math is shown, not hidden
Written by William
We only write about trips we’ve actually taken, with our own two kids, on our own dime. No press trips. No comped rooms. If we didn’t love it, we won’t pretend we did.
We pay for every stay ourselves
No press trips, no pretending