Our latest reader’s success story is from Azar who is using credit card points to make memories. Azar is a relative newcomer to points and milesbut she is really on the fast track! She used credit card points to make a trip to her sister-in-law’s shower possible with points. Azar is a great example of getting a card, getting points, and building on that.  She has 6 credit cards already – a great job!

Hi Alex & Pam!

I have been following you for a little while, love the IG account and blog.  I am now six cards deep and have some trips booked for the future. The only trip I’ve executed thus far using credit card points was a short weekend trip with my sister-in-law to visit my husband’s side of the family.

In October, my sister-in-law Valerie and I visited with my in-laws in Virginia to attend my other sister-in-law’s baby shower!  Valerie paid around $306 for the same flight that I purchased using my points.  I transferred my Chase Ultimate Rewards points from my Chase Sapphire Preferred to Southwest Airlines.  Then I booked Manchester, New Hampshire to Baltimore for 20,416 points and $11.66, and I flew my 8-month-old as a lap infant.

If I had received the baby shower invite before I found out about points/miles, I would be hard-pressed to spend $300 for flights alone for a 2-night trip.  Because I had the points available, it made the decision much easier!  We attended the shower on a Saturday. Before heading to the airport Sunday, we visited my husband’s 93-year-old grandmother.  I included a sweet photo of my daughter meeting her great-grandmother for the first time. This was a very special moment for us.  I was already 100% invested in points and miles and learning everything I could at this point (and learning so much from this blog!). This first redemption, this small 2-night trip to visit family, really solidified how amazing this hobby really is.

Our upcoming plans include visiting family in northern Virginia again. We also want to make our way around Washington DC during April school vacation with our 15-year-old and 1-year-old (no, not a typo, I have a 15-year-old and a 1-year-old!). We will use more Southwest credit card points.  We also have a big family trip to Italy in July that we are so excited about!

Thanks for the helpful tips/information!

We love this story so much! Seeing that picture of your daughter meeting her great-grandmother was touching. This is why we do what we do – we love to see people do things with this hobby that they otherwise couldn’t. Azar is doing a great job using credit card points!