Why “More Points” Isn’t the Answer for Family Travel (And What Actually Works)

 If reward travel feels confusing or like it doesn’t work for your family, you’re not doing anything wrong — you were likely earning the wrong kind of points. This article explains why most reward travel advice breaks down for families and group travel, especially once you’re booking for five or more people. You’ll learn why transferable points matter, which credit cards families should avoid, and how choosing better points — not more points — makes repeatable family travel possible.

The biggest reason most families struggle to use reward travel isn’t because they’re choosing the wrong flight — it’s because they earned the wrong kind of reward points in the first place.

And this mistake becomes exponentially more expensive once you’re booking for five or more people.

Most reward travel advice is built for solo travelers or couples. But the entire system changes when you need multiple seats on the same flight, during school breaks, with real schedules and real constraints. That’s exactly where families get stuck — and exactly why I built Her Travel Club around family and group travel.

Why Reward Travel Advice Breaks Down for Families

If you’re booking for one person, almost any points strategy works.

But once you’re booking for a family of five or more, everything changes:

• Seat availability matters more than price

• Flexibility matters more than loyalty

• Transfer options matter more than raw point totals

This is why so many families earn points quickly — and then feel defeated when it’s time to actually book.

Family A vs. Family B: Same Life, Different Results

In the first video of this playlist, we followed two American households:

• Same income

• Same expenses

• Same number of kids

• Same restaurants

• Same lifestyle

Yet Family B could afford at least one all-expenses-paid family vacation every single year.

By “all expenses paid,” I mean:

• Flights covered with points

• Hotels covered with points

• No credit card churning

• No carrying debt

• No high-stress strategies

Same Income, Same Expenses, Different Results | Family Travel Explained

Why Earning More Points Isn’t the Solution

A lot of travel content focuses on earning huge amounts of points — sometimes 500,000 or even a million points per year. This usually involves a strategy called credit card churning, where people open and close many cards to collect welcome bonuses.

While welcome bonuses can be helpful (and we covered them in Video #1), this approach:

• Turns reward travel into a hobby instead of a tool

• Often doesn’t scale for families

• Still leads to poor redemptions for group travel

The truth is simple:

You probably already earn enough points.
You just need to earn better ones.

Why Transferable Points Change Everything for Families

The single most important concept in family reward travel is transferable points.

Transferable points are not tied to one airline or hotel. They allow you to:

• Shop multiple airlines

• Access transfer bonuses

• Find availability for 5+ seats

• Stretch points dramatically further

This flexibility is what makes group bookings possible.

The Trap of Co-Branded Airline Credit Cards

One of the biggest mistakes families make is earning points on co-branded airline cards (like airline-specific mileage cards).

Here’s why they don’t work well for families:

• Limited seat availability

• Inflated pricing for award tickets

• No ability to shop other airlines

• Locked-in systems with little flexibility

This leads families to think:

“I guess I just need more points.”

But bad points don’t get better just because you have more of them.

Proof: How I Booked a Paris Flight for 22,000 Points

In the previous video, I showed exactly how I booked a flight to Paris:

• 120,000 points one-way through the airline portal

• 22,000 points + under $12 out of pocket using transferable points

Same airline.
Same seat.
Same flight.

This wasn’t a loophole or a hack — it was strategy. And it’s repeatable.

👉 Stephanie: Link Video #3 here

How I Booked a Round-Trip Flight to Paris for $12 Using Points

Credit Cards Families Should Avoid

If you’re serious about traveling with points as a family, here are three types of cards to avoid:

1. Cards That Lock You Into One Airline

These limit your options and inflate costs when booking multiple seats.

2. Cards That “Find You”

If a card is sold:

• By a flight attendant

• At a retail checkout line

• At a college event

• Through aggressive mail offers

It’s designed to benefit the company — not your family.

3. Cash Back Cards

Cash back feels safe, but it caps your upside. When used correctly, reward points can deliver 2–10x more value than cash back for travel.

Where Families Should Actually Search for Reward Flights

Another major mistake families make is starting their search inside a credit card or airline portal.

As you saw in the Paris example, portals often show:

• The worst redemptions

• Inflated pricing

• Limited availability

Instead, the correct process is:

1. Find the deal first

2. Then move the points

We covered the free award search tools I use in Video #2.

Why Points Feel Confusing (And How to Simplify Them Fast)

You Don’t Need More Cards — You Need Better Strategy

Most families don’t need more credit cards.

They need to:

• Funnel existing spending strategically

• Use cards that reward the right categories

• Earn points that actually scale for group travel

When applied correctly, the average family of five earning the average U.S. household income can cover flights and hotels for an international trip every year.

My Favorite Tool for Better Redemptions

Before I ever transfer points, I run every booking through my Reward Calculator.

It tells me:

• If the redemption is good

• Whether I should use cash instead

• How much value I’m getting per point

It removes guesswork, math, and stress — so planning stays fun.

👉 Get the Rewards Calculator Here!

Why This System Works for Families

This approach works because it prioritizes:

• Fewer cards

• Higher-quality points

• Better searches

• Flexible redemptions

This is how families stop waiting for “someday” and start traveling this year — not when the kids are older.

What’s Next: The Full Family Travel System

In the final video of this playlist, I walk through:

• How I plan an entire year of family travel

• How I work around school schedules

• My full repeatable system

Reward travel doesn’t have to feel confusing or out of reach for families. Once you understand how transferable points work and how to use them strategically, family travel with points becomes repeatable, flexible, and realistic — even for larger families. With the right reward travel strategy in place, your everyday spending can fund meaningful trips year after year, without stress or complicated tactics.