How We Use Points to Fly Business Class as a Family

Today, I’m diving into a topic near and dear to my heart: traveling in style for less. But this isn’t budget travel – we’re talking about soaring through the skies in style with the whole family, courtesy of credit card points.

Over the past two years we’ve flown in business class with seven airlines to over 10 countries with my toddler. We try to use miles and points whenever possible so that we’re able to just pay taxes and fees. Here’s everything to know about flying business class (and staying in fancy resorts) as a family on points:

Flying Business Class as a Family

How We Earn Points Fast

First things first, let’s talk strategy. Building up a stash of credit card points takes planning, but trust me, it’s worth it. From groceries to travel, every charge has its assigned card that we use to rack up points quickly.

Here are my current favorite cards:

Everyday Spending – Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (2x points on every dollar spent)

For Amazon, hair appointments, spa days, clothes for the family, diapers, and just about everything that isn’t gas, travel, or food. The current Welcome Offer is 75,000 points when you sign up through and spend $4000 in the first 3 months. I like this card since they offer 2x points for spending in ANY category, which makes the points come in much faster. It also includes lounge access at select airports (which is only 3 right now, but growing) and though the annual fee is $375, you can receive a $300 statement credit when you book hotels or flights through their travel portal. This is the card I use for everyday spending.

Groceries and Restaurants – Gold Card® from American Express (4x points on groceries and dining)

This is one of the absolute best cards out there for people who buy a lot of groceries, and that’s everyone, right? Plus, they’re currently offering as high as a 100,000 mile signup bonus. This is another way we’ve built up points quickly, since just about every household, including us, has had increasing food bills over the years. Might as well cash in for flights, right?

To make the fee worth it, you can use it to get reimbursed up to $100 for Global Entry (yes, even babies need it!) and TSA Precheck, as well as a $200 credit on Resy, monthly Uber credit, and more.

Hotels – Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (3x points on any hotel, cruise, or vacation rental including direct bookings)

If you have a business (includes freelancers or anyone who has a side hustle!) business credit cards often have the best welcome offers and lower fees. The Welcome Offer on the Ink Business Preferred is currently a whopping 100,000 points when you spend $8000 in the first 3 months. They offer 3x points on travel, shipping, internet and phone, and digital advertising costs. For anyone who runs Facebook, Instagram, Google, or TikTok ads, this is huge. Their other cards offer up to $1000 cash back.

Here’s what I love about it:

• 3x points on all travel nomatter how you book it (I use this card for any hotels or Airbnbs/vacation home rentals).
• 3x points on social media and search engine ad spending.
• Low annual fee of only $95.

Flights – Platinum Card® from American Express (5x points on flights)

This is one of the absolute best travel cards out there for people who are on the road a lot. Plus, they’re currently offering up to a 175,000 mile signup bonus. I love the included lounge access (both Centurion and Priority Pass lounges), and the hotel perks at higher end hotels when booking through their travel portal. The annual fee is high at $695 (see Rates and Fees), but if you use the card right, which I’m about to explain, it can pay for itself.

To make the fee worth it, you can use it to get reimbursed up to $100 for Global Entry (yes, even babies need it!) and TSA Precheck, as well as a $600 credit on Fine Hotels and Resorts booked through Amex (although this is less of a valuable perk as it used to be since they’ve raised their hotel fees. For a better deal and the same perks, reach out to a luxury travel advisor like us), a monthly Walmart+ credit that covers the monthly service fees (we love this perk!), $15 Uber credit, up to $240 digital entertainment credit (includes Disney+), and up to $200 airline credit – pick an airline for the year and checked bags and other fees up to $200 will be refunded.

The biggest downside is they no longer allow complementary guests in Centurion lounges. Kids over 2 cost $30 and adults cost $50, which is kind of ridiculous. We get around the adult fee by adding Garrett as a cardholder on my account ($175 annual fee) and paying for Felix on the occasion that we do use the lounge. I keep the card around because I love the 5x points on flights booked directly with airlines and the access to cheaper business class flights through their travel portal when we pay for business class flights with money instead of miles.

How to Use Points for Bookings

As the points started rolling in, we focused on maximizing their value by strategically redeeming them for flights or hotels. One of the best ways to stretch your points is by booking flights directly with the airline by using the 1:1 transfer option with your credit card. Keep in mind that not every airline is partnered with every card (Chase has United while AMEX has Delta, for example), and you’ll want to do some searching to make sure you’re finding the best deal. This is how I do it:

• Use Google Flights to see which airlines fly to my desired destination.
• Sign up for the mileage programs for the best flights to see what the mileage required is for that airline. Typically you must be a member (free) to view mileage prices.
• OR search on a paid service like point.me, which gives you the points needed for various airlines for your destination.
• Play around with dates and departure or arrival airports to get better deals.
• Google the airline and aircraft for the flight I’ve identified and read reviews about the business class (make sure it’s a fully reclining seat!)
• Initiate transfer to airline, then book directly with airline.

Important Things to Know

Of course, booking business class flights with credit card points isn’t without its challenges. Award availability can be limited, especially during peak travel times, so flexibility is key. We’ve had to be willing to adjust our travel dates and destinations to find the best deals. For example, for an upcoming Europe trip, I played around with arrival airports and found Oslo was far fewer points than Copenhagen, even on the same airline, and we’ve moved around dates to get saver fares with Singapore Airlines for our trips to Bali and Thailand, but in the end, it’s well worth the effort.

Keep in mind these cards require near perfect credit scores for approval, and if you’re looking to make a big purchase like a home, you may want to hold off since opening cards has a brief impact on one’s credit score.

And let’s not forget about the importance of responsible credit card usage. While credit card points can be a powerful tool for travel hacking, it’s crucial to use them wisely and avoid racking up debt in the process. We made sure to budget carefully and pay off our credit card balances in full each month to avoid interest charges – after all, the points aren’t worth it if you’re paying for them in the long run. It’s also important that you know you can meet the minimum spend to get the Welcome Offer just with normal spending. Don’t buy extra or overextend yourself just to get the points. I like to wait until I have a big purchase coming up to open a card with a higher minimum spend for this reason.

Although it takes some time and effort, it’s been so worth it to find ways to fly more comfortably as a family. I hope this post helps you to do the same!

Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included on this website.