The Miles High Club

After recently posting about our 2017 financial summary, I figured it would only be appropriate to follow it up with a post about airline miles and points since these valuable currency forms account for a fairly significant portion of how we pay for our trip. Before setting out on our global adventure, Heather and I signed up for a total of 17 credits cards. We didn't pay one cent of interest, but we earned signup bonuses worth well over $12,000 according to the monthly valuations posted by one of my go to travel blogs, The Points Guy. These point valuations are subjective at best, but are a good starting point for figuring out the best path to paying for flights, hotels, etc. using points. We, personally, have found ways to glean far more than $12,000 of value from our points, but as always, every situation and every person is different. Here are the cards we signed up for and the bonuses we received on them:

• Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite Mastercard x2: 80,000 Points (~$800) Barclaycard appears to be phasing this one out, but there are other cards with similar benefits.
• Delta Gold American Express x2: 90,000 Delta Skymiles (~$1,080)
• Chase Sapphire Preferred x2: 120,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards (~$2,520) We later upgraded these to the Chase Sapphire Reserve for additional benefits.
• IHG Rewards Club Select x2: 170,000 IHG Points (~$1,190) + 2 free nights in any IHG property each year we keep the cards and pay the $49 annual fee on each of them. Totally worth it, you'll see why...
• Hyatt Credit Card: 45,000 Hyatt Points (~$810)
• Citi AAdvantage Mastercard x2: 100,000 American Airlines Miles: (~$1,500)
• Citi Hilton Card x2: 150,000 Hilton Points (~$900) This one is no longer available but a similar card can be obtained from American Express
• SPG American Express x2: 80,000 Starpoints ($2,160)
• AAdvantage Aviator Mastercard x2: 100,000 American Airlines Miles: (~1,500)

Okay that's great, but what were we able to actually get using these points? In order from Day 1 of our trip:

• 2 one way flights from Detroit to Dublin: 60,000 Delta Skymiles
• 1 night at Hilton Dublin Airport: 30,000 Hilton Points
• 1 night at Hilton Garden Inn Tangier: 10,000 Hilton Points
• 2 one way flights from Casablanca to Pamplona: 18,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points
• 1 night at Holiday Inn Express London Stanstead Airport: 15,000 IHG points
• 2 nights at Intercontinental London Park Lane: Here's where the two free nights come in. I checked the nights we stayed and this hotel would have cost us £399/night
• 1 night at Hyatt Regency Osaka: 8,000 Hyatt points
• 2 one way business class flights from Tokyo to Mexico City: This one was a bit tricky but in the end it cost us 80,000 SPG points and 48,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points. I also gained a free 7 night Marriott certificate in the transaction which we have yet to use...oh yeah, these tickets would have cost $5,141/each.
• 4 nights at Hampton Inn Mexico City: 80,000 Hilton Points
• 4 nights at Double Tree Queretaro: 20,000 Hilton points
• 1 night at Hampton Inn Leon Airport: 10,000 Hilton points
• 2 one way flights from Leon to Montevideo: 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards
• 1 night at Holiday Inn Montevideo: 15,000 IHG points
• 1 night at Intercontinental Buenos Aires: 30,000 IHG points
• 3 nights at Holiday Inn Express Puerto Montt: 30,000 IHG points
• 1 night at Holiday Inn Express Santiago Airport: 20,000 IHG points
• 2 one way flights from Santiago to Buenos Aires: 15,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards
• 2 one way flights from Buenos Aires to Tamarindo: 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards

If you are able to obtain US based credit cards, this game can pay off like no other I've seen when it comes to traveling. I've also found it beneficial to have alternative currencies (that aren't bitcoin) that can be used when cash prices get a little out of hand. For example, our free night at the Hyatt in Osaka was obtained during an unusually busy few days in Japan when the cash rate for rooms at not only this hotel but most other hotels in the area was somewhere in the $200 range, but the points price never fluctuated.