5 Steps Every Family Needs in Their Beginner’s Guide to Travel Rewards

Family travel can be expensive, and that is a main reason why families aren’t able to travel as often as they desire. Flights, hotels, food, a rental car, and activities make the cost of family travel add up faster than we realize. There is good news! You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars every time you want to take a family vacation. This beginner’s guide to travel rewards will show you 5 simple steps families can take today to start earning points and miles for nearly free travel. This isn’t a complicated system, and no overspending. We are simply going to teach you smart strategies you can put into practice and start earning your points right away. Now, if you are ready for the full breakdown of how award travel works for families, you can check out the Ultimate Beginners Guide to Points and Miles.

Step 1: Learn the Basics of Travel Rewards

Before we go into earning points, it helps to understand the basics of how travel rewards work and a little vocabulary to help you along the way. Points and miles are the same thing. Just think of them as your family’s travel currency. Instead of paying cash for flights, hotels, etc, you will now be booking your travel with your new travel currency points and miles. You can use these rewards to cover as much or as little of your vacation expenses as you want. You will learn lots of different strategies along the way, but remember, you earn those points and you get to decide how to use them for your family’s travel dreams.

Three Types of Travel Rewards

• Airline Miles
  • Earn these miles with a specific airline
  • Examples of these rewards could be Delta Skymiles, Southwest Rapid Rewards, and United MileagePlus
  • As you earn points with airlines, you can earn different perks like upgraded seats, free bags, and some even offer companion passes
• Hotel Points
  • Earn these points with a specific hotel brand
  • Hotel reward programs include World of Hyatt, Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors, and Wyndham Rewards
  • You can use these points to book your hotel and resort stays, ranging from low-budget hotels to luxury all-inclusives and boutique hotels. There are hotels with a variety of family-friendly amenities to fit your family’s needs.
• Flexible Points
  • Earn flexible points through bank travel credit cards
  • Examples include Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, Citi Thank You Points, and Capital One Miles
  • These points can be used for hotels and airlines, which makes them flexible and also the top choice when choosing a travel credit card (Try My Favorite Beginner Card if you are starting out)
  • Each bank has a list of travel partners that you can transfer your points to

When you use my affiliate links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. This support helps me keep Travel Momma Co. running and allows me to keep creating free resources to help families like yours travel more affordably. I’m so grateful when you choose to use my links — it’s truly like buying me a cup of coffee for free while I cheer you on in your travel journey!

Why Travel Rewards Work for Families

The best part is you don’t have to travel a ton to earn those points. Families have a lot of additional expenses when raising kids. We have doctor visits, sports fees, clothes as they grow, tons more groceries, and the additional gas you need for driving to all the activities. All of those expenses from the family can help you earn points towards your next vacation to make it more affordable.

Want the full breakdown of how points and miles can work for your family and save you money every time you decide to travel? I go into much more detail in my Ultimate Beginners Guide to Points and Miles, so check it out to learn more.

Step 2: Choose the Right First Travel Credit Card

When your family wants to start earning points and miles, finding the right credit cards is very important. You want to earn points that are going to help your family achieve that trip. Picking the right cards in the beginning sets you up with a solid foundation of points to get you moving in the right direction. You can check out my blog, 5 Cards Beginners Need to Know, as another resource for you.

Why the First Card Matters

• Better Redemption Options
  • Beginner-friendly cards are going to be those flexible point cards, which give you more options when booking your first trip
  • Prioritize flexible points and cards first over co-branded cards because they box you in with how you can redeem your points
• Everyday Spending Adds up
  • When you pick the right cards in the beginning, your points for groceries, restaurants, gas, etc, can add up a lot faster. For example, these cards in this blog earn you more points when eating out, giving you more points than other cards.
• Welcome Bonus- Quick Win for lots of points
  • Opening a credit card with a great welcome offer helps you earn a lot of points fast
  • When you subscribe to my weekly Travel Momma Newsletter, I notify you when different cards have elevated offers, allowing you to earn more points when you decide to open a new travel credit card

A Great Beginner Card For Families

When you’re just getting started, it is important to focus on more flexible card options. This allows families to have several different ways they use those points through a variety of airline and hotel partners. This will save time and make it easier to book those award travel trips because you have options.

The best beginner cards should have:

• A high welcome bonus: When you look at my best offers page and see one that is higher than normal, it is a great time to jump on that offer. Giving you a large welcome bonus for families means it’s easier to cover all the flights and lots of hotel nights with that bonus.
• Earn more points on everyday spending categories like groceries, restaurants, and gas. For example, you could earn 3x on dining out, where other cards only offer 1x per dollar spent.
• Offer travel protections to help you on your travel journey. Things can go wrong while traveling, but using the right card can give you additional coverage for when things go wrong.

I keep a list of the best current credit card offers for families here. When you use my links, it doesn’t cost you a thing, but it helps support Travel Momma Co so I can keep creating free resources for families like yours. Truly, it means the world to me when you choose to start your journey here. Thank you!

I also offer a deep dive on one of my favorite beginner cards that I feel stands apart from the rest. Check out My Favorite Beginner card. If you want to keep diving deeper into the details of beginner credit cards for travel, then check out my Ultimate Beginners Guide to Points and Miles. I want you to have all the resources you need.

Top Organizational Tip

Travel Freely will help you:

• Track the bonus points you have earned
• Remind you of your welcome bonus deadline
• Enables you to find top card offers that fit your card portfolio
• You can track your player 2 cards and your business cards all in one place
• Tracks your 5/24 status (if you’re not sure why that is important, go HERE)

Step 3: Use Everyday Spending to Earn Points

Here is the best news for families that want to travel using points and miles. You don’t need to spend more money to earn these travel awards. Families can earn thousands of points every year just by putting their normal, everyday expenses on the right credit card and paying it off in full every month.

Think about your regular monthly budget:

• Groceries (kids eat a ton of food, right?!)
• Gas and Transportation
• Streaming Services
• Cell Phone bills
• Utilities
• Kids’ sports activities
• Doctor visits

These are all bills you are going to pay every single month anyway. Those dollars spent could be earning you points towards your next vacation. By using your travel rewards credit card for these expenses, you are making your money work harder for you. Remember, the biggest key here is paying your credit card bill in full every month. We don’t ever encourage carrying a balance.

An Example:

Let’s just say, for our example, your family spends $1,000 a month on groceries, gas, and utilities. That would mean for the whole year you would spend $12,000. Just by switching to a travel credit card, at a minimum, you would earn 12,000 points that year. That doesn’t include the welcome bonuses, and it doesn’t include point multipliers like certain cards earn 3x on restaurants or 4x on supermarkets.

Those points can help you cover those high-ticket travel expenses. Instead of paying $300-$800 for a single ticket, you can now use those points to book flights where you are paying a few dollars to cover taxes and fees.

Stay Organized From the Start

I know life as a parent can be very busy, and you need simple systems that are easy to follow and stay organized. In my free Points and Miles Starter Kit, you will find several resources to help you build your monthly budget to find those easy-to-use spend ideas, a login organizer to make getting into all those accounts a little easier when wanting to add your new travel credit card to your accounts, and more.

Step 4: Team Up with Your Spouse (Player 2 Strategy)

Here is a secret step that many people don’t realize. You don’t have to do this alone! By teaming up with your spouse, you can double the amount of points you earn without double-spending! This was a huge light bulb moment for me when I started learning about points and miles.

How the Player 2 Strategy Works

• Player 1 Starts First
  • One partner opens a travel credit card (see my best offer page for current options) and works towards earning the welcome bonus using their everyday spending
  • Player 1 earns the welcome bonus after meeting the minimum spend
• Player 1 Refers to Player 2
  • Player 1 then refers Player 2 to the same card. Many of these cards have referral links, so use your referral link and get a bonus!
  • Player 2 applies for a credit card using the referral link from Player 1. Giving you a referral bonus and another welcome bonus to earn points.
• Player 2 Works on their Welcome Bonus
  • Player 2 now works on the minimum spend on their credit card, using the same everyday expenses

You have now DOUBLED your points!

Why this Matters For Families

Family trips aren’t cheap- you need more tickets, bigger rooms, more food costs, bigger rental, etc. By using the Player 2 Strategy, you are able to earn more points for your family, allowing you to save more money on your travels. You will earn those goals faster by using the Player 2 strategy.

Ready to Get Started? Remember, Player 1 can always grab their best credit card offers either from this page here, or you can also find them in your Travel Freely app in the Card Genie. Using my links doesn’t cost you anything, but it does support Travel Momma to keep resources like this free for families. Thank You!

Step 5: Plan Your First Award Travel Trip

Now that you have earned the points, it is time to start planning your first award travel trip! Booking and completing your first travel reward trip will help you build the confidence to move forward in seeing how travel rewards can change the way you travel for your bank account.

Small Start comes with Big Wins

You don’t have to start with a luxury international vacation. Start small, build your confidence and knowledge, and you will get there. Here are some ideas to help you plan your first trip.

• A Weekend Getaway to the beach or the mountains
• Visiting grandparents or friends in another state
• Traveling for sports? Extend your trip using points for a small vacation at the end
• A theme park trip- Legoland, SeaWorld, Disney, Universal

Dream Big for the Future

As you become more comfortable booking travel with points, you can start saving up for bigger trips like Hawaii, Europe, or any of your bucket list destinations. With the right point strategy, those trips don’t have to just be a dream in the distant future; they can become a reality.

Want more guidance in booking award travel? I offer the easiest beginner strategies in Points and Miles 101. I break down how to book award travel, share my easy beginner strategy, and also give you resources to help you find award travel deals.

Your Next Steps Start Today

Traveling as a family doesn’t have to blow your budget. By following these simple 5 steps, you can start traveling smarter, saving money, and making memories with your family that will last a lifetime. The investment in learning this strategy has been life-changing for my family, and I hope it is for you as well. This is a travel secret that more families need to know about.

Here is what you can do RIGHT NOW!

1. Grab your free Points and Miles Start Kit– Get Organized and Start off with the Right Foundation
2. Check Out the Best Travel Credit Card Offers Page– Using my links costs you nothing but supports Travel Momma Co.
3. Download the Travel Freely app– Free app with high card offers, keeps you organized, and the reminders save you stress and time
4. Join the Travel Momma Co Facebook Group– Connect with other families learning this strategy, hear new deals, and tips along the way

More Travel Resources:

• The Ultimate Beginners’ Guide to Points and Miles For Families
• 4 Proven Ways to Earn Points Fast
• The 5 Travel Credit Cards Beginners Need to Know