2016 was a great travel year. My wife and I were able to take a month long European holiday over all of July, visiting 6 countries and soaking in the history and culture. For this we paid a grand total of $350 for flights (fees and cheap intra-Europe RyanAir tickets). Out of 33 hotel nights, we paid for a grand total of 4. I even covered the bulk of our train travel with Arrival+ miles. It was by far our biggest travel hacking win to date.
We had a few other trips as well, including a winter vacation in Canada, a visit to family and friends in Colorado, and a quick jaunt to Portland, Oregon to surprise my in-laws. All of this made possible by miles and points. I am truly grateful that I fell into this hobby. It has allowed my wife and I to do and see so much for a fraction of what we would have paid. Actually, we wouldn’t have paid for most of it, so it is simply a blessing.
Hiking from Monaco to La Turbie, France was one of our favorite travel moments of 2016
As we march into 2017, there are three trips to which I am really looking forward:
- Long weekend in Vancouver – My wife and I are actually leaving today for a little New Year’s getaway in British Columbia. The trip is a Christmas gift to my wife, and she is ecstatic. We plan to enjoy the brilliant Christmas light display in Stanley Park, walk the Capilano suspension bridge, and possibly venture up to Squamish for the sea-to-sky gondola, if the weather is clear.
- A little trip down under – Not long after our trip to Vancouver, I will be headed to Australia for nearly a week. This was my first time redeeming miles for a premium cabin, so I am more than a little excited. I’ll be flying United Polaris first from San Francisco to Seoul on a 747 (even got seat 1A), and then in business class from Seoul to Sydney on an Asiana A380. With such a short time to visit (since I am forbidden to use my PTO by my wife….see #3), I’ll likely not see much more than Sydney. But I know it will still be a fantastic experience!!
- Costa Rica to adopt our children – This one will happen last, but it is by far the one to which we look forward most. My wife and I have been in the adoption process for just over 3 years, and our agency is very hopeful that we will be matched in the next couple months. Roughly six weeks after we get our referral, we will head to Costa Rica for 6-8 weeks to meet and bond with our children. With a whopping zero children currently, we know it’ll be quite an adventure. Our lives will be forever changed. And we cannot wait. 🙂 (PWAC: Please note this post is not written by me (Dan) – I think 6 kids is plenty thanks! 😀 )
I could throw a few more trip ideas on the list (as I always have plenty), but the unknown adoption timeline prevent us from planning much more than 2 months in advance.
How about you….where are you headed in 2017?
This site is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as thepointsguy.com. This may impact how and where links appear on this site. Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers and that compensation may impact on how and where card products appear on the site. Any opinions expressed in this post are my own, and have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by my advertising partners and I do not include all card companies, or all available card offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers and other offers and benefits listed on this page. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more. Other links on this page may also pay me a commission - as always, thanks for your support if you use them
User Generated Content Disclosure: Points With a Crew encourages constructive discussions, comments, and questions. Responses are not provided by or commissioned by any bank advertisers. These responses have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the responsibility of the bank advertiser to respond to comments.
Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
How many miles did you redeem for the Australia trip?
I redeemed 80,000 United mile for the United/Asiana ticket one-way to Australia. I have an AA ticket on hold for my return at 40k miles in economy. Still deciding when and what miles I want to use to come back.
Soon you will be Points with a Bigger Crew. I have four adopted sisters — I hope everything goes well
How wonderful to read that your family will be growing! Prayers that this happens quickly and that you all are back home safe and sound
Thank you, Debb!