It’s hard to imagine that 2016 is coming to an end, especially when it seems like it began so recently! I wanted to quickly recap some of my travels in 2016, and outline my 2017 travel aspirations. Sharon shared her 2016 travel recap yesterday so I thought I’d share mine as well.
In 2016, my partner and I took a collective 19 trips. On those trips, we redeemed about 515,000 points, which represented a savings of ~$8,666 or roughly 1.6 cents per point. Not terrible! We also spent about ~$2,800 out of pocket. There is no way we could have traveled the way we did this year without the magic of points and great resources like reddit and Points With a Crew!
Our flights for 2016, map courtesy of Karl Swartz and gcmap.com
I think my favorite trip had to have been Hawaii in April. I had never been before and it was truly an amazing experience. I suggest you all go immediately! I only wish we had spent more time there! That trip was also notable in that we only spent $549 on travel expenses, thanks to Delta, United, American, and Hilton points (375,864 to be exact!).
I also spent a ton of time on Amtrak–4,410 butt-in-seat miles–most recently trying out Acela First Class service NYC to Boston. I redeemed over 35,000 points on Amtrak this year, and plan to sign-up for the Bank of America Amtrak Guest Rewards World card again in 2017 to up my point count.
Looking ahead to 2017, I haven’t really planned anything out, which is driving me crazy! I have severe wanderlust, and I think it’s taken all of Nick’s effort to prevent me from booking a trip to somewhere warm! I am looking forward to planning a honeymoon to Europe (specifically Germany, Czech Republic, and Austria), so any tips would be greatly appreciated below!
It’s been great writing for Points With a Crew, and I look forward to a great 2017 with my fellow contributors and all you readers out there. Let us know what your 2017 travel aspirations are below–happy 2017!
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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 
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