Road to 2 Million Travel Points
Reaching our first million travel points was an exciting milestone, which I detailed in a previous blog post. Now, let’s dive into how we achieved our second million points and how we utilized them to create unforgettable travel experiences.
How We Earned 2 Million Travel Points
To reach 2 million travel points, we continued leveraging our strategic use of credit cards:
Venture X: Our primary catch-all card, earning 2x points per dollar spent, netted us around 150K points through regular spending.
AMEX Cards: We accumulated about 127K points, with the AMEX Gold card being our main card for groceries and dining, earning 4x points per dollar. The AMEX Platinum card was our go-to for flight purchases, earning 5x points per dollar.
Chase Cards: The bulk of our points came from Chase cards, with over 600K points earned through sign-up bonuses. Check out the detailed post on how we maximized these rewards.
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card: We opened this card for the 5 free nights after meeting the $4K spend, which we used for our California road trip(Sign up bonus was limited time, now it is 3 free nights).
Citi Premier: My son Ben’s primary card, earning 3x points on dining and groceries, added 13K points to our total.
Bilt Credit Card: Used for Bella’s rent payments and as Andrea’s main dining card, earning us 34K points.
How We Spent the Second Million Travel Points
We strategically spent our points to cover airfare and lodging for several trips:
- London/Paris/NYC Trip:
- Airfare from Paris to NYC on New Year’s Eve: Transferred 120K points from AMEX and Venture X to Air France.
- Repositioning hotel night in SF: Transferred 18K points from Chase to Hyatt.
- London Hotel Stay: Used 118K points through the Chase travel portal.
- Paris Hotel Stay: Used 124K points through the Chase travel portal.
- NYC Hotel Stay: Transferred 54K points from Chase to Hyatt for 4 nights over New Year’s.
- Bella’s Study Abroad in Berlin:
- Flights: Transferred 48K points from Chase to Air France and 20K points from AMEX for her return flight.
- California Road Trip:
- Hotel stays in Sacramento and LA: Transferred 51K points from Chase to Hyatt for 4 nights.
- Marriott Free Nights: Used 5 free night certificates for our stay in Burbank and Anaheim. A 40K referral bonus covered another night in Burbank.
- Spring Break 2025 in Naples:
- Hotel Stay: Used 104K points for our adventure in Naples, allowing us to explore the Amalfi Coast further.
- Wedding in Tacoma:
- One Night Stay: Transferred 12K points from Chase to Marriott.
Summary
Reaching 2 million travel points required strategic planning and careful use of our credit cards. We amassed another 1 million travel points with the following contributions:
- 127K from AMEX
- 149K from Venture X
- 408K from Chase
- 34K from Bilt
- 13K from Citi Premier
- 300K from Marriot(in form of 6 free nights)
These points covered airfare or lodging for trips to London, Paris, NYC, Berlin, Sacramento, LA, Naples, and Tacoma, making our travel experiences both memorable and affordable. With continued smart use of credit cards, we look forward to our next million points and the adventures they will bring.
In just over than 2 years, we’ve accumulated over 2 million travel points simply by strategically using specific credit cards to maximize their earning potential through regular spending.
