Average Cost: $10,114 Points Used: 90,000 + Taxes & Fees: $11.80 CPP: 11.22

As we got closer to the new year, I knew that meant last-minute award availability would be popping up. Late November, I spotted business class availability on United's Polaris Business Class from IAD to BRU. This is a fully lie-flat seat that comes with an amenity kit, Polaris lounge access, and a full meal. So we will be flying out on 12/29 and spending 48 hours in Belgium before coming back on new years. We would never do this with cash, but points allows us these luxurious and spontaneous trips.  

On United's website, the price per person was 80,000 points and $5.60. Being a Star Alliance partner, the flight showed up on Air Canada's site for 60,000 points and $75. However, an even better redemption was found with Turkish Airlines at 45,000 points and $5.60.  Unforutnately, redeeming on Turksih is a little bit more complicated than United. I had to call the customer service line three separate times until I could reach an agent who could book the flight I wanted online. However, with all those point savings AND cash savings, it was well worth it. 

Average Cost: $2400 Points Used: 70,000 + Taxes & Fees: $370.14 CPP: 2.90

In August of 2022, I found one-way economy tickets from IAD to CDG in March of 2023 for only 17,500  points. Looking for returns, I found the same price for tickets coming back just two weeks later. This was kind of a no-brainer move for our post-Covid honeymoon, so we booked it so fast. With the cheap flight, I felt comfortable buying emergency row seats for an extra $60 for some comfort on the redeye to Paris. If I were to do this over again, I'd probably wait for Chase or Amex to offer a common bonus transfer to Air France, which could have saved me even more points. 

Average Cost: $556 Points Used: 30,000 + Taxes & Fees: $11.20 CPP: 1.82

While not the best redemption value here, we had the United points and they just started a non-stop service from IAD to YYC. Sarah's United Quest card gives two 5,000 anniversary points after redeeming for award travel so we decided it'd be a good time to use this opportunity for a free flight and get some extra points along the way.  If you want to learn more about the United Quest card and why we have it in our aersnal, please reach out!

Average Cost: $178 Points Used: 9,000 + Taxes & Fees: $5.60 CPP: 1.91

I had a specific American Airlines flight in mind for my return to Virginia after my week-long free cruise with my dad. Although none of my credit cards transfers directly to AA, I was able to find the flight on AA's partner, British Airways. Furthermore, I had about 6,000 British Airways Avios points from using their AirBnB portal  AND American Express had a 25% transfer bonus going on. So, I only had to transfer 2,000 Amex Points to British Airways to get enough points for this flight. 

As a bonus tidbit; for our trip to Cancun this year, we got upgraded to the front row on our American Airlines flight! While we paid for the flight in cash, we received a complimentary upgrade 48 hours before our trip started.  It was nice to have a seat to relax in and comlimentary check-in bags since I booked basic economy. 

I received a status match offer from American Airlines because of my Hyatt status. This immediately gave me Platinum status on American, allowing me to qualify for free upgrades.