March 4, 2025 • 39 mins
Link to my entire trip planning checklist for FREE!
Planning a family trip can be stressful, but it doesn't have to be. Our discussion revolves around creating a structured timeline to help you earn points and maximize your travel experience.
- Sharing a detailed planning timeline starting 18 months prior
- Discussing how to choose travel destinations based on flight availability
- Understanding the role of credit cards in earning travel points
- Planning accommodations based on points options in each destination
- Preparing travel logistics, packing, and activity planning
- Final insights on stress-free family trip planning
Thank you for tuning in! I’d love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Reach out on Instagram and let me know what you think!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
If you're overwhelmed thinking about planning a big
trip for your family, I've gotyou covered.
In today's episode, I amsharing my exact trip planning
timeline, from start to finish,including time to open cards and
earn the points to use.
So listen in.
Hi, I'm Raya.
(00:28):
And.
I'm Dwayne, and we are yourhosts of the Travel Party of
Five podcast, where we share howwe travel as a family of five
around the world.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
We will also share how we use points and miles to
travel as affordably as possibleand sometimes even completely
free.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
So if you're wanting to travel more with your family
but you're not sure how, we'dlove for you to listen in.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
So welcome to our podcast, where we hope you learn
a thing or two to get youcloser to your next trip.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Hello friends, and welcome back to Travel Party of
Five podcast.
I am Rhea, I am your host, orone of them, and we're doing
things a little differently forthe next few episodes, and I'm
actually going to be doing a fewsolo episodes, primarily
because we are gearing up toleave for our two-week trip to
(01:23):
Europe in just a few days andour schedules are very, very
busy, and so we just did nothave time to record together,
and so I will be here and wewill have some fun and we will
see how this goes.
So today's episode, I amwalking you through my entire
(01:44):
trip planning timeline, startingwith when I would start to
think about opening cards toearn the points, all the way
through up until the day of ourtrips, almost entirely by myself
, and so Dwayne just doesn'thave a lot to say on the topic
(02:08):
anyways, and so that's why Ithought this would be a really
good episode to do without him.
So we're going to start about18 months before the trip, which
I know sounds insane, but hearme out.
So again, we're about 18 monthsout, and first I'm figuring out
where we want to go, and I kindof have a running mental list
(02:32):
of places that we want to visit,and this list is compiled of
places I want to visit, alsoplaces I've been but my kids and
Dwayne have not been to, aswell as places that Dwayne has
mentioned that are pretty highon his list.
And so I kind of take thatmental list and I also factor in
(02:52):
whether or not we have ourSouthwest companion passes for
that year, because that alsofactors into our decision.
When we have the companionpasses, we try to focus more on
places Southwest travels tocompanion passes.
We try to focus more on placesSouthwest travels to which is
primarily domestic and you know,the Caribbean-ish, a little bit
of Central America, and so youknow, for example, when we had
(03:14):
the companion passes for 2023and 24, we visited Hawaii twice,
we did Washington DC, we didCosta Rica and a couple of other
places.
For 2025, we do not have thecompanion passes and we're
focusing more on international,so Europe, japan, that sort of
thing.
But we do plan to earn themagain at the end of this year,
(03:38):
so really starting beginning of2026.
So that is our hope.
Hopefully Chase will allow usto do that.
Only time will tell.
So, once I've narrowed it downto where I think we're going to
go, I'm searching on, first,google flights.
I want to see if there's anyairlines that have nonstop
flights from our home airport,which is Phoenix, to our
(03:59):
destination.
If they do, then I'm going toprioritize earning points I can
use on those airlines to bookflights.
If not, which is more common asbig as a city, phoenix is, our
airport doesn't have a ton ofnonstop international flights.
So if there's no nonstop, I'mgoing to try to understand the
(04:20):
best airlines for us to use thatmaybe like don't have overnight
flights and that sort of thing.
And if there's really nothingthat looks great, I'm also going
to start to look at otherairports nearby to see if
positioning makes more sense Forus in Phoenix that's typically
San Diego, lax, san Francisco,maybe Denver or Dallas,
(04:44):
depending on which directionwe're flying.
And then, once I've got an ideaof the flights, I'm going to
work backwards to figure out howwe're going to earn the points
to pay for those flights.
And I do this by knowing okay,for example, united has good
flights to the airport we wantto fly to and the saver fare is
(05:05):
fairly cheap.
So, thinking of United, I knowUnited is a transfer partner of
Chase, but I also know that Ilike to save all my Chase points
for Hyatt, so it's unlikelythat I'm going to transfer Chase
to United.
So my other options for Unitedpoints are United cards, so
co-branded cards, or I can pullup my airline alliances and for
(05:33):
the record I don't keep that inmy brain, I Google it every time
but I do know that Air Canadaand United are in the same
alliance and so I can also lookto see if the flights that I
want are bookable via Air Canada.
If they are, that opens up someadditional options so I can
transfer my American Expresspoints or my Capital One points
(05:56):
to Air Canada and I can thenbook flights that way.
Or again, I could also chase,also transfers to Air Canada,
but again, I save all my chasepoints for Hyatt, so not an
option for me, maybe it's anoption for you.
And then I estimate the pointsthat I'm going to need for five
of us and I attempt to opencards that will get me that
(06:16):
amount of points.
So whether that's a you know,an American Express card and I'm
planning to transfer, or rightnow United has an elevated offer
and so you know, maybe that'sthe best option, it's all going
to depend on what's happening atthe time that you are thinking
this through, and also know thatit's not going to be perfect,
you may plan to get AmericanExpress points and transfer them
(06:40):
and then, while you're in theprocess, then maybe United comes
out with an elevated offer ontheir card.
Okay, so we can't plan inadvance for things that we don't
know are going to happen.
We can only deal with what'shappening.
You know, at the time we'remaking the decision, and so we
do the best that we can.
And then so I've kind of gotflights.
You know, I have a rough ideaof flights in my mind and I have
(07:03):
a plan for the cards I'm goingto open.
And then I'm going to do thesame thing for hotels.
My first search for hotels iswhat points options are there
for XYZ city?
Right, I'll use an example of atrip that I think I'm planning
for 2026, which is BelizeSouthwest does fly to Belize
(07:23):
that's part of why we'reconsidering it which is Belize
Southwest does fly to Belize.
That's part of why we'reconsidering it.
And then I will Google how tostay on points in Belize.
And then there's only a fewoptions.
Spoiler alert, because I'vealready done this search, and so
I'm going to kind of use thatas my jumping off point.
If there are no Hyatts, then Imight prioritize a Marriott card
(07:46):
or an IHG card or, in the caseof Belize, I think we're just
going to do a mix of hotel andAirbnb and kind of forego points
altogether for our stay andonly use points for the flight.
That's not ideal and it's notreally what I want, but I can't
make there be points hotels in aplace we want to visit.
(08:08):
So, again, around 18 months out, that's what I'm starting to do
and I'm opening the cards sothat I have the time to meet the
minimum spends and have thepoints deposited in my account
so that I'm ready to book inroughly four to six months.
I'm ready to book in roughlyfour to six months.
Now I will add you might needmore than 18 months out if you
(08:29):
have a lower monthly spend.
We talk about this a lot, butwe're a family of five and we
have a fairly high amount ofspend that we're able to meet,
which gives us a little bit ofan advantage.
So you just have to know foryour specific situation.
You know how long will it takeme to meet the minimum spend and
earn these points.
So just keep that in mind.
(08:50):
But for us, roughly 18 monthsout from the time we're taking
the trip is a good average, andthen around 14 months out from
taking the trip, I am startingto look at school calendars and
I'm mapping out the dates thatwe can go.
So currently, as of the time ofrecording, we have three kids
that all go to three differentschools, and not only are they
(09:13):
different schools, but they areall in completely different
districts, which means they allhave entirely different
calendars.
If that sounds like a lot tomanage, you are correct.
It is.
However, starting in this fall,two of our kids will go to the
same school which is anincredible time savings and they
(09:33):
will both be in.
So two will be in one districtand one will be in a different
district, and that will be thecase for just this first year,
and then it will change again.
But the school calendars arealready released through like
maybe 2027.
For sure, they're released for2025-26 school year.
So I am looking at those datesand I'm figuring out what dates
(09:57):
do all of their breaks align andthat gives me sometimes it's
like a 10 day window, sometimesit's a two week window it just
depends on the year, but thatgives me a really good starting
point of when I can start to, ofwhen we can go essentially, and
if it's a two week window,that's fantastic because then I
(10:19):
can.
That gives me a lot of wiggleroom.
The other thing I'm doing around14 months out is if it's a new
country to us and I've neverbeen and we've never been then
I'm also figuring out wherewe're likely going to stay.
So, going back to my example ofBelize, I think we're going to
do a split stay in Belize, kindof similar to what we did in
(10:40):
Costa Rica, where we do part ofour visit in the jungle of
Belize and then part near thebeach, and so again, I'm just
roughly creating an idea of anitinerary in my mind so that
when the time comes I'm ready tobook and I know where I want to
book.
So now we're roughly 12 to 13months out.
(11:04):
So now we're roughly 12 to 13months out, I am, if we're going
to stay in a hotel, I'm goingto book the hotel first.
If it's a Hyatt, hyatt's open13 months out, and so I may book
an extra day or two on each end, because flight calendars will
not be open yet and I may needto.
You know we may need to fly outa day earlier or a day later,
(11:26):
depending on the saveravailability that's available
when the flight calendar opens.
And so I'm I'm booking, youknow, probably a few extra days
in as a buffer and then, onceI've booked flights, I will
adjust.
And so then, roughly 11 to 12months out by now it's been
about, let's say, six monthsI've hopefully earned my points
(11:50):
and I have them ready to bookand I'm booking flights.
And again, like I mentioned,I'm adjusting my hotel days as
needed to accommodate theflights that I book.
And the other thing I'm doing11 to 12 months out is, if we
need a car rental, I'm alsogoing to reserve the car that we
need at this time.
If the rate is high, whichsometimes it is, especially when
(12:13):
you book that far out I'm alsogoing to use auto slash to keep
an eye on the rate for me andthey will email me when the
price drops and I can rebook.
It's super simple to do that,even if you're using like Costco
travel, which is generally howwe search.
I will just put in my bookingnumber and set up an alert and
(12:34):
it will track the price if itdrops, and so from there.
So now we're about a year outfrom the trip and we've got our
hotel and our flights bookedalready, and from there there's
a long period of time where I'mnot doing much of anything right
.
The trip is booked, we've gotit on the calendar, but as far
(12:54):
as the nitty gritty specificsI'm not doing much until we get
to about two months out.
So at two months out I'mstarting to think about
excursions, tours, activities,that sort of thing, and I may,
you know, randomly do a searchhere or there during that year,
(13:16):
or I may save something I comeacross on Instagram or whatever
that looks fun to do in a citywe're planning to visit.
But I'm not doing like hardcoreresearch or booking until about
two months out.
As far as tours and activities,I'm going to try to book
through Viator, using Rakuten,if possible.
(13:39):
So Rakuten is a shopping portal.
You can either earn cash backor American Express membership
rewards points, and so youbasically just go to Rakuten and
then you go through Viator fromthe Rakuten website and then
you book on Viator your tours.
I do try to wait until there's ahigher percentage of cash back
(14:00):
like 10 to 15% is generallypretty high and when I'm booking
tours, I need to see a visuallike layout of our trip day by
day.
So I'm sure that you could dothis on a like a Google calendar
or whatever you use.
But for me I like to just getout an eight and a half by 11
(14:21):
regular sheet of white printerpaper and I visually write out a
calendar for our entire trip.
So you know, I'll write outlike Monday, you know, april 1,
tuesday, april 2, whatever thedates may be, and I I leave room
to write what we're going to doeach day.
I first go through and write intravel days and then I start
(14:44):
figuring out okay, these are theactivities we want to do and I
start placing them on thecalendar in pencil so that I can
then move them around as needed.
I don't book anything until Ihave my calendar roughly how I
want it, and then I'll go andstart booking.
I usually aim for one activityper day.
(15:07):
This allows time forspontaneity, so we don't feel
overscheduled, and this issomething that I think is just a
general good rule of thumb whentraveling with kids.
I also usually leave one freeday, usually towards the end of
our time in each location,because this gives us number one
(15:33):
time to go back to places thatwe've seen, or time to add on
something that maybe someonerecommended, because nothing is
worse than someone telling youabout a great restaurant or a
great place to visit and thenyour schedule is so booked that
you can't squeeze it in, and Ihate that.
This also builds in a buffer.
If someone is sick, whichhappens to us often,
unfortunately, when you travelwith kids, I think it's just par
(15:55):
for the course and I thinkoverall it just generally gives
a more relaxed feel to the trip.
Versus rushing to meet aschedule every single day.
It gives us time to take thekids to a playground or just
wander the streets, get icecream, get a churro, whatever it
may be.
(16:15):
The other thing I'm doing andagain we're about two months out
at this point is I'm looking at, maybe, any restaurants we may
want to visit and whether or notwe need reservations.
I'm not making reservations atthis point, at least not usually
but I'm making a list and justkeeping that in mind, and I
might even make a Google map andstart saving locations for that
(16:39):
um destination.
Uh, we have a new puppy, so theother thing I'm doing is making
sure that we have him scheduledfor boarding and that they have
room and space for him.
Um, generally two months out,I've I've learned is fairly good
for our particular border,unless you know it's like a
holiday and then you may need todo this more than two months
out, I've learned is fairly goodfor our particular border,
(17:00):
unless it's like a holiday andthen you may need to do this
more than two months out.
But I'm making sure that that'sreserved so that we have him
all settled.
The other thing is I'm thinkinglogistically about what we're
going to need on the trip.
And so when I say logistically,I'm thinking do we need to
(17:20):
bring car seats or boosters?
Do we need a stroller?
Do we need a carrier, that sortof thing?
Our youngest is now five andshe does pretty good walking.
There will be times, I'm sure,where she will want my husband
to carry her and he will.
But I don't think that it wouldmake sense for us to bring even
(17:45):
like a baby carrier or atoddler carrier.
I've looked at them andconsidered it, but I don't think
it will be worth the space itwill take up.
So we're not going to do that.
But obviously, if you haveyounger kids, this is something
that, logistically, you'll needto plan for.
The car seat is, I think,personally the biggest struggle.
(18:07):
So my oldest does not need anykind of a seat or booster.
My middle he probably will befine without a booster, but we
do have an inflatable one that Imay bring.
And then I ordered a ride safervest a few months back for our
daughter, um, for our Europetrip coming up, and so that is
(18:30):
basically like a car seatharness that she wears and it
can be buckled into cars ortaxis or whatever.
The other thing that I'mordering specifically for our
upcoming trip to Europe is Ihave a turtleneck pillow that I
love and I've had it since 2018and it really helps me to sleep
(18:53):
on overnight flights in economy,and I've ordered one for Dwayne
and also for my two older boys.
My youngest is too little forone I think you have to be seven
or eight and so I wasn't ableto get one for her, but I'm
hopeful that that will help theolder two sleep on our flight
there.
These are also things that weplan to use several times this
(19:16):
year and likely next, and so Ido think they're good
investments for us.
So that is about two months outand then jumping up to around
one month out.
This is where I'm starting tothink about outfits, clothes,
what we need to pack If we'redoing a photo shoot which we did
(19:39):
this in Kauai, and we are alsodoing this in Paris coming up in
a week or so so I need to planan outfit for that.
The way that I start thisprocess if you're planning to do
something similar is I usuallystart by Googling Paris family
photo shoot and I look at theimages.
Or you know Hawaii family photoshoot or Japan family photo
(20:00):
shoot and I look at the images.
Or you know Hawaii family photoshoot or Japan family photo
shoot.
Wherever you're going to be,google this, the city or the
country, and then family photoshoot and I look at the images
and get outfit ideas from there.
That helps me develop a visionfor what I want us to wear, and
I think some people will be like, oh my God, I'm so bad at
choosing family outfits.
(20:20):
The more that you do this, theeasier that it gets.
I've been planning Christmasphoto shoots for us for years,
and so the process is now fairlyeasy, but I think the first
time it was a little difficult.
So just have patience withyourself, because, in addition
to my vision, the other thingI'm factoring in is what can I
get my kids to wear, if you know, you know, and then I'm
(20:43):
ordering accordingly.
Um, I usually start by orderingsome stuff on Amazon and then
I'm I'm likely going to returnat least half of what I ordered,
and then I repeat that processseveral times until I get what I
need.
I am aware that this is not themost sustainable practice.
However, as a busy mom whoworks full time and has three
(21:04):
kids all in their own activities, I don't have a ton of time to
spend shopping in stores inperson.
So online ordering is whatworks best for us, and that's
why I start at least a month out, so I can allow time for
delivery and returns, anddelivery and returns, et cetera.
The other thing about familyphoto shoots is my vision also
(21:26):
has to align with what we canpack in a carry-on.
So my goal is always carry-ononly for all five of us, and it
doesn't make sense to pack anentire outfit and shoes that's
only going to get worn once,like.
Space is limited and that justtakes up way too much space.
So, for example, for our Parisphoto shoot coming up, we're
(21:49):
wearing fairly fancy attire,like the boys will wear white
button downs and black pants.
My daughter and I have dresses,but we're all wearing sneakers.
Even though it's more fancyattire and it's, this is done on
purpose and I think it's goingto look super cute, but it's
also functional because thesneakers can be worn multiple
times.
So it's kind of killing twobirds with one stone.
(22:11):
Right, it's a style choice, butit's a little bit of a forced
style choice because I don'twant to pack a pair of heels
that I'm only going to wear once.
Um, I'm also filling Dwayne inon my vision and telling him
what he needs to wear so he canget that.
He's an adult, he can handlehis own clothes.
I generally do not order hisclothes and I never pack for him
(22:34):
.
He does all of that, but I doneed to tell him what I'm
thinking so that he has time tomake sure it happens.
And then, even if we're notdoing a photo shoot, a lot of my
kids' clothes are dirty andstained, especially my boy's
clothes, and we have a new puppywho has put little teeth holes
(22:54):
in a lot of their stuff as well,and that's fine for everyday
wear at school, where they justcome home filthy every day
anyways.
But in my opinion, it is notfine for Europe, in full
transparency, if my kid isstrolling down the streets of
Paris in a stained, ripped PeppaPig t-shirt, I'm going to be a
little embarrassed.
Okay, we listen and we don'tjudge.
(23:16):
On top of that, we live in thedesert, we're in Arizona, it's a
warm climate, so Paris in Marchfor us is going to be cold and
it's also likely to rain.
When I was in Paris last year,it rained the entire time.
So we also likely need to getsome more pants, rain jackets,
whatever.
Depending on how much time Ihave, I sometimes will try to go
(23:40):
through Goodwill or whateverdiscount stores I can find to
get items for pretty cheap, butalso sometimes I just order from
Walmart or Amazon and call itgood.
For our upcoming Europe trip,for example, I had to order all
three kids new pants and I gotsome plain t shirts, some long
(24:00):
sleeve shirts and rain jackets.
I also got them each a new pairof shoes, which I talked about
in um.
Uh, you know about the photooutfits, but I can justify that
because they will wear thosesneakers until they have holes.
So I feel okay about that.
Next up, and again we're stillat about one month out.
(24:21):
Um, so next up, I'm thinking ofany appointments that I may
need to make, either for thekids or for myself, before we go
.
For example, I will usually doa hair appointment for myself.
That needs to be booked atleast a few weeks out for me, if
not a month.
I'm also likely going to do apedicure, maybe a manicure I
(24:42):
don't always get manicures, butsometimes I do and then, if it's
summer or we're going somewherewarm, I will also book a spray
tan for myself.
And then, on the note ofappointments, in addition to
scheduling needed appointmentsbefore we go, I also need to
make sure that I'm canceling,like recurring appointments that
we have.
For example, one of my kidsgoes to therapy.
(25:03):
He has an appointment everyweek, and so I need to make sure
that I'm canceling, likerecurring appointments that we
have.
For example, one of my kidsgoes to therapy.
He has an appointment everyweek, and so I need to make sure
I cancel that for the weeksthat we're gone.
So that's another kind ofchecklist item.
Okay, so now we are one to twoweeks out from leaving on our
trip.
I am doing things like ensuringwe have all the clothes we need.
(25:24):
I've ordered everything.
I'm placing last minute orderson Amazon.
Usually, if we don't, I'mmaking sure the clothes are
washed and ready to be packed.
I'm also picking up airplanestuff.
So this is things like activitybooks, coloring books for my
younger two, making sure myoldest has one to two chapter
(25:46):
books to read for the trip, andI'm also making sure that I have
snacks both for the flightsthemselves and then also to keep
in our hotel rooms for hangrykids at six o'clock in the
morning.
At this point I'm also makingsure that whatever I'm using to
keep track of our itinerary haseverything I need.
(26:07):
So whether that's bookingconfirmation numbers or tour
times or meeting points fortours, last year I made
itineraries in Canva for all ofour trips.
This year I'm trying an appcalled Wanderlog and I will keep
you guys updated on if I likethat or not.
(26:28):
This will be the first tripthat I use it on coming up here
in a week or so, but I want tomake sure that everything is in
there so I can easily just lookat it on the day of and not have
to stress about searchingthrough my emails or whatever,
looking for something.
I'm ordering any otheraccessories that we may need,
like plug adapters, anysupplements or medications we
(26:52):
may need to bring, anything weneed to get refilled from the
pharmacy, and making sure wehave enough to last us through
the duration of our trip.
Same thing for my own skincareand makeup.
I'm just making sure I haveenough to last me the whole trip
, especially if I need to get anew travel size like foundation
or something like that.
(27:14):
Also, if we need to do laundryon a trip for example, our
upcoming trip to Europe we willbe gone for like 17 days and so
we will definitely need to dolaundry at least once.
So I'm going to make sure wehave enough laundry sheets.
I am super sensitive to somefragrances, so I buy fragrance
free laundry detergent sheetsfrom.
(27:37):
I buy them from Amazon.
The brand is called EarthBreeze.
They travel super well.
They take up hardly any space.
They're literally they almostfeel like a dryer sheet, but it
is laundry detergent and whenyou put it in water, obviously
it dissolves.
They work really well.
I have no complaints.
We've had the original pack webought for about a year and we
(27:58):
still have some left, so I wouldhighly recommend.
I can put a link in the shownotes if that's something people
are interested in.
And then another thing I'm doingone to two weeks out, is I'm
also figuring out our phoneservice.
So generally that's a questionof if we're traveling
internationally that is I'mfiguring out are we going to buy
(28:19):
an eSIM?
We have Verizon, so they havewhat's called the travel pass.
You can pay either a daily feeor you can do like a monthly
international fee, and we dothat specifically for Dwayne's
phone.
My phone is through my job so Icannot use an eSIM or anything
like that, but for Dwayne'sphone, I think for this trip
(28:42):
upcoming specifically, we'regoing to do the monthly rate for
Verizon because that wascheaper than paying day by day,
because we're gone for againroughly two weeks a little over,
and so I'm going.
I'm going to set that up.
If I'm planning to use a newcredit card for our spending on
(29:02):
the trip, then I'm making sureto apply for that a good two
weeks before we leave so thatthe card has time to arrive
before we leave.
It is important for this card,specifically if you're traveling
internationally, that the cardhas no foreign transaction fees.
So make sure to keep thatlittle tidbit in mind when
(29:23):
you're deciding on a card tobring.
And then something else I'mdoing is making sure we have
some cash in a bank account thatallows me to withdraw the money
at an ATM overseas without afee.
Both Betterment and CharlesSchwab are two examples of bank
accounts that don't chargetransaction fees for withdrawals
(29:45):
.
So I'm just making sure thatthere's some money in there for
when we need to take out cash.
I'm also making sure anythingwe need done by the time we get
back is done before we leave,because one I know that when we
get back we're going to bereally tired, we're going to be
jet lagged for a few days, andI'm not going to want to, you
(30:06):
know, jump right on getting mytaxes organized, for example.
That's the thing that's top ofmind for me right now, because
it is the middle of tax season.
I have not even attempted toorganize our taxes yet and we
are not going to get back untilthe end, you know, basically the
end of March, which doesn'tleave a lot of time.
So one of the items on my to-dolist for before this upcoming
(30:28):
trip is again to get that done,but this can really apply to
anything.
Another example is we're alsorenovating our primary bathroom
shower, and I personally want tohave all the materials picked
out and ordered so that I canget it scheduled.
The company won't schedule ituntil I've done that, and so,
again, that's something that Iwant to have done before we
(30:50):
leave on our next trip so that Ican schedule it and have it
ready to go for when we return.
Those last two things, again,they're not necessities but
they're nice to haves.
And I think that brings upanother good point that I do
kind of have a secondary list ofthings where I'm like, okay,
this would be really nice tohave done, but if it doesn't get
(31:12):
done because I don't have time,it's not the end of the world
versus the things that need toget done, like, for example, I
need to have we need to havephone service when we're gone,
right, we need to be able totake out cash when we're gone,
we need to have our medicationwhen we're gone.
Those are all necessary.
And then I have a second kindof column for, like a quote nice
to have done, okay.
(31:33):
So now we are moving on to theweek of the trip.
I am starting to pack for thekids.
First, I'm generally laying outsuitcases and I'm putting stuff
in as it's washed.
If we need to do laundry, I'mplanning when we will do that
roughly and figuring out howmany outfits we need to last
until the laundry day.
I am doing things like makingsure we have enough dog food for
(31:59):
the dog to take to the boardingfacility.
I'm doing any last minute panicordering from stuff that I
forgot.
I am coordinating with ourhousekeeper so she doesn't show
up when we're gone.
I'm letting her know like we'llbe out of town.
You know, can we schedule forXYZ date once we get back?
I am making sure all bills andcredit cards are paid.
(32:22):
Our bills are paid on autopay,but some of our credit cards are
not.
I like to go in and manuallypay them.
That just helps me keep ourspending in check, and so I'm
making sure all those are paid.
You know, if the due date isany time while we're gone, I'm
just paying it in advance sothat I don't have to worry about
it and there's no chance of meforgetting.
(32:46):
I am also figuring out whichcards we're going to bring, and
so obviously credit cards.
Again, because we're travelinginternationally, all the cards
must have no foreign transactionfees.
That's a requirement, first andforemost.
Usually that would be whatevercard we're working on a sub for.
(33:07):
But if not if we were notworking on a sub, and or the
card we were working on doescharge foreign transaction fees,
then I would likely bring thefollowing I would bring my
Capital One Venture X becausethat gets 2X on everything and
no foreign transaction fees.
I would bring Duane's Amexpersonal gold card for all
(33:30):
restaurants, because we will beeating out a lot and that will
get 4X at restaurants.
And then I would, if we'restaying at a hotel, I would
bring whatever my co-brandedhotel card is.
So if it's Hyatt, I'm makingsure I have either my Hyatt
personal or my Hyatt businesscard and any and all hotel
charges.
If there are any, we'll go onthat card specifically.
(33:52):
So those would be the threethat I would bring if I were not
working on a sub.
I'm still going to bring allthose three on our upcoming trip
, but we are also working onactually two signup bonuses and
I'm going to bring those cardsas well.
And then the night before thetrip, I am finalizing, packing
(34:12):
everything.
I am cleaning out the fridge,I'm cleaning the house, duane is
going to take out the trash andmake sure all that is done.
I'm dropping the dog off at theboarding facility.
Dwayne is charging all devicesand downloading whatever shows
the kids have requested ontotheir iPads.
(34:32):
He generally will ask them whatshows do you want?
And they usually give a fewoptions and he downloads them
all, either from Netflix orDisney Plus.
He's also making sure all thedevices are charged and ready to
go.
I am charging any cameras orvideo equipment that we might be
(34:56):
bringing.
Sometimes we do record YouTubevideo of our trips.
I think I've only ever put upone YouTube video so far because
editing takes so much time, butwe do record it and we will
likely record this one as well.
So I'm making sure that I'vegot those devices charged, I've
got batteries for them, I've gotall that stuff and then, um,
(35:20):
you know, I'm finishing up mypacking.
So the kids should all bepacked generally a couple days
prior, but I do not pack formyself until the night before
and then obviously finish up inthe morning with, you know,
toiletries and all that that Ineed to use in the morning.
The other thing I'm doing inthe morning is likely heating up
(35:42):
some type of breakfast sandwichthat's frozen and I'm wrapping
them up in tinfoil and bringingthem to the airport for
breakfast for the kids.
This is in case either there'sno time to get into a lounge or
there's a wait to get into alounge, or there's no lounge in
(36:02):
the terminal we're flying out of, and that way I don't have to
spend, you know, $80 on a subparairport breakfast for the kids,
and that pretty much wraps upmy entire process.
I am aware that for some people,starting to plan a trip 18
(36:24):
months in advance is insane andthat's okay.
I want to recognize, like Iunderstand that's not for
everyone, but when you aretraveling with a bigger family
and there's you know, there'sfive of us, it is imperative
that we get as much value forour points as we can, and the
way to do that is by booking,you know, 12 to 13 months out
(36:45):
for your flights and hotels, andI can promise you that the
schedules will work around thetrip that you have booked and
everything will work out justfine.
There has not been reallyanything that we've missed out
on that's been life altering bydoing this, and we've been doing
(37:08):
this for several years.
So I do understand that it is abit of a mindset shift to start
thinking about, you know,travel that far in advance.
But if you're really seriousabout taking the trips and and
wanting your kids to see theworld and using points to do it,
this is going to be your bestbet.
(37:29):
And I'm not saying that youcan't plan trips, you know,
sooner than 18 months in advance, but you need to reverse
engineer the whole process andyou need to allow yourself time
to sign up for the cards, earnthe points and then have the
points ready to go.
Now can you book a trip sixmonths in advance?
(37:50):
Yes, might you have to be alittle more flexible on either
where you go or when you go orhow you go, meaning economy
versus business Also, yes.
So I think if you don't want tocompromise and you want to pick
the place you want to go andyou want to pick the exact dates
you want to go, then booking inadvance is going to be your
(38:10):
best bet.
If you can be more flexible andyou don't really care so much
about the destination, then youhave more time and more power to
you.
Okay, that's my soapbox for theday.
So, overall, planning a familytrip with points and miles
doesn't have to be overwhelming.
It just takes a strategicapproach and a solid timeline.
Hopefully, by breaking it downstep by step in this episode,
(38:34):
you know, from earning thepoints to finalizing bookings
and doing all the packing andplanning you can see what can
seem like a big, daunting taskdoesn't have to be.
I'm going to write up a quicklike guide or checklist.
I'm not exactly sure of theformat yet, but some type of a
timeline.
So if this episode was helpfuland you're someone who needs
(38:56):
something visual or concretethat you can look at, download,
print out whatever, I'm going toput a link to that in the show
notes.
So don't forget to downloadthat if that is helpful and you
can follow along with my exactprocess and start planning your
next Points.
Powered family getaway.
Thank you so much for listening.
Please send me a message onInstagram.
(39:17):
Let me know if you like thesolo episodes, if you don't like
them, and also just come say hi.
Thanks so much.
Catch you on the solo episodesif you don't like them and also
just come say hi.
Thanks so much.
Catch you on the next episode.
Bye.
If you're overwhelmed thinking about planning a big
trip for your family, I've gotyou covered.
In today's episode, I amsharing my exact trip planning
timeline, from start to finish,including time to open cards and
earn the points to use.
So listen in.
Hi, I'm Raya.
(00:28):
And.
I'm Dwayne, and we are yourhosts of the Travel Party of
Five podcast, where we share howwe travel as a family of five
around the world.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
We will also share how we use points and miles to
travel as affordably as possibleand sometimes even completely
free.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
So if you're wanting to travel more with your family
but you're not sure how, we'dlove for you to listen in.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
So welcome to our podcast, where we hope you learn
a thing or two to get youcloser to your next trip.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Hello friends, and welcome back to Travel Party of
Five podcast.
I am Rhea, I am your host, orone of them, and we're doing
things a little differently forthe next few episodes, and I'm
actually going to be doing a fewsolo episodes, primarily
because we are gearing up toleave for our two-week trip to
(01:23):
Europe in just a few days andour schedules are very, very
busy, and so we just did nothave time to record together,
and so I will be here and wewill have some fun and we will
see how this goes.
So today's episode, I amwalking you through my entire
(01:44):
trip planning timeline, startingwith when I would start to
think about opening cards toearn the points, all the way
through up until the day of ourtrips, almost entirely by myself
, and so Dwayne just doesn'thave a lot to say on the topic
(02:08):
anyways, and so that's why Ithought this would be a really
good episode to do without him.
So we're going to start about18 months before the trip, which
I know sounds insane, but hearme out.
So again, we're about 18 monthsout, and first I'm figuring out
where we want to go, and I kindof have a running mental list
(02:32):
of places that we want to visit,and this list is compiled of
places I want to visit, alsoplaces I've been but my kids and
Dwayne have not been to, aswell as places that Dwayne has
mentioned that are pretty highon his list.
And so I kind of take thatmental list and I also factor in
(02:52):
whether or not we have ourSouthwest companion passes for
that year, because that alsofactors into our decision.
When we have the companionpasses, we try to focus more on
places Southwest travels tocompanion passes.
We try to focus more on placesSouthwest travels to which is
primarily domestic and you know,the Caribbean-ish, a little bit
of Central America, and so youknow, for example, when we had
(03:14):
the companion passes for 2023and 24, we visited Hawaii twice,
we did Washington DC, we didCosta Rica and a couple of other
places.
For 2025, we do not have thecompanion passes and we're
focusing more on international,so Europe, japan, that sort of
thing.
But we do plan to earn themagain at the end of this year,
(03:38):
so really starting beginning of2026.
So that is our hope.
Hopefully Chase will allow usto do that.
Only time will tell.
So, once I've narrowed it downto where I think we're going to
go, I'm searching on, first,google flights.
I want to see if there's anyairlines that have nonstop
flights from our home airport,which is Phoenix, to our
(03:59):
destination.
If they do, then I'm going toprioritize earning points I can
use on those airlines to bookflights.
If not, which is more common asbig as a city, phoenix is, our
airport doesn't have a ton ofnonstop international flights.
So if there's no nonstop, I'mgoing to try to understand the
(04:20):
best airlines for us to use thatmaybe like don't have overnight
flights and that sort of thing.
And if there's really nothingthat looks great, I'm also going
to start to look at otherairports nearby to see if
positioning makes more sense Forus in Phoenix that's typically
San Diego, lax, san Francisco,maybe Denver or Dallas,
(04:44):
depending on which directionwe're flying.
And then, once I've got an ideaof the flights, I'm going to
work backwards to figure out howwe're going to earn the points
to pay for those flights.
And I do this by knowing okay,for example, united has good
flights to the airport we wantto fly to and the saver fare is
(05:05):
fairly cheap.
So, thinking of United, I knowUnited is a transfer partner of
Chase, but I also know that Ilike to save all my Chase points
for Hyatt, so it's unlikelythat I'm going to transfer Chase
to United.
So my other options for Unitedpoints are United cards, so
co-branded cards, or I can pullup my airline alliances and for
(05:33):
the record I don't keep that inmy brain, I Google it every time
but I do know that Air Canadaand United are in the same
alliance and so I can also lookto see if the flights that I
want are bookable via Air Canada.
If they are, that opens up someadditional options so I can
transfer my American Expresspoints or my Capital One points
(05:56):
to Air Canada and I can thenbook flights that way.
Or again, I could also chase,also transfers to Air Canada,
but again, I save all my chasepoints for Hyatt, so not an
option for me, maybe it's anoption for you.
And then I estimate the pointsthat I'm going to need for five
of us and I attempt to opencards that will get me that
(06:16):
amount of points.
So whether that's a you know,an American Express card and I'm
planning to transfer, or rightnow United has an elevated offer
and so you know, maybe that'sthe best option, it's all going
to depend on what's happening atthe time that you are thinking
this through, and also know thatit's not going to be perfect,
you may plan to get AmericanExpress points and transfer them
(06:40):
and then, while you're in theprocess, then maybe United comes
out with an elevated offer ontheir card.
Okay, so we can't plan inadvance for things that we don't
know are going to happen.
We can only deal with what'shappening.
You know, at the time we'remaking the decision, and so we
do the best that we can.
And then so I've kind of gotflights.
You know, I have a rough ideaof flights in my mind and I have
(07:03):
a plan for the cards I'm goingto open.
And then I'm going to do thesame thing for hotels.
My first search for hotels iswhat points options are there
for XYZ city?
Right, I'll use an example of atrip that I think I'm planning
for 2026, which is BelizeSouthwest does fly to Belize
(07:23):
that's part of why we'reconsidering it which is Belize
Southwest does fly to Belize.
That's part of why we'reconsidering it.
And then I will Google how tostay on points in Belize.
And then there's only a fewoptions.
Spoiler alert, because I'vealready done this search, and so
I'm going to kind of use thatas my jumping off point.
If there are no Hyatts, then Imight prioritize a Marriott card
(07:46):
or an IHG card or, in the caseof Belize, I think we're just
going to do a mix of hotel andAirbnb and kind of forego points
altogether for our stay andonly use points for the flight.
That's not ideal and it's notreally what I want, but I can't
make there be points hotels in aplace we want to visit.
(08:08):
So, again, around 18 months out, that's what I'm starting to do
and I'm opening the cards sothat I have the time to meet the
minimum spends and have thepoints deposited in my account
so that I'm ready to book inroughly four to six months.
I'm ready to book in roughlyfour to six months.
Now I will add you might needmore than 18 months out if you
(08:29):
have a lower monthly spend.
We talk about this a lot, butwe're a family of five and we
have a fairly high amount ofspend that we're able to meet,
which gives us a little bit ofan advantage.
So you just have to know foryour specific situation.
You know how long will it takeme to meet the minimum spend and
earn these points.
So just keep that in mind.
(08:50):
But for us, roughly 18 monthsout from the time we're taking
the trip is a good average, andthen around 14 months out from
taking the trip, I am startingto look at school calendars and
I'm mapping out the dates thatwe can go.
So currently, as of the time ofrecording, we have three kids
that all go to three differentschools, and not only are they
(09:13):
different schools, but they areall in completely different
districts, which means they allhave entirely different
calendars.
If that sounds like a lot tomanage, you are correct.
It is.
However, starting in this fall,two of our kids will go to the
same school which is anincredible time savings and they
(09:33):
will both be in.
So two will be in one districtand one will be in a different
district, and that will be thecase for just this first year,
and then it will change again.
But the school calendars arealready released through like
maybe 2027.
For sure, they're released for2025-26 school year.
So I am looking at those datesand I'm figuring out what dates
(09:57):
do all of their breaks align andthat gives me sometimes it's
like a 10 day window, sometimesit's a two week window it just
depends on the year, but thatgives me a really good starting
point of when I can start to, ofwhen we can go essentially, and
if it's a two week window,that's fantastic because then I
(10:19):
can.
That gives me a lot of wiggleroom.
The other thing I'm doing around14 months out is if it's a new
country to us and I've neverbeen and we've never been then
I'm also figuring out wherewe're likely going to stay.
So, going back to my example ofBelize, I think we're going to
do a split stay in Belize, kindof similar to what we did in
(10:40):
Costa Rica, where we do part ofour visit in the jungle of
Belize and then part near thebeach, and so again, I'm just
roughly creating an idea of anitinerary in my mind so that
when the time comes I'm ready tobook and I know where I want to
book.
So now we're roughly 12 to 13months out.
(11:04):
So now we're roughly 12 to 13months out, I am, if we're going
to stay in a hotel, I'm goingto book the hotel first.
If it's a Hyatt, hyatt's open13 months out, and so I may book
an extra day or two on each end, because flight calendars will
not be open yet and I may needto.
You know we may need to fly outa day earlier or a day later,
(11:26):
depending on the saveravailability that's available
when the flight calendar opens.
And so I'm I'm booking, youknow, probably a few extra days
in as a buffer and then, onceI've booked flights, I will
adjust.
And so then, roughly 11 to 12months out by now it's been
about, let's say, six monthsI've hopefully earned my points
(11:50):
and I have them ready to bookand I'm booking flights.
And again, like I mentioned,I'm adjusting my hotel days as
needed to accommodate theflights that I book.
And the other thing I'm doing11 to 12 months out is, if we
need a car rental, I'm alsogoing to reserve the car that we
need at this time.
If the rate is high, whichsometimes it is, especially when
(12:13):
you book that far out I'm alsogoing to use auto slash to keep
an eye on the rate for me andthey will email me when the
price drops and I can rebook.
It's super simple to do that,even if you're using like Costco
travel, which is generally howwe search.
I will just put in my bookingnumber and set up an alert and
(12:34):
it will track the price if itdrops, and so from there.
So now we're about a year outfrom the trip and we've got our
hotel and our flights bookedalready, and from there there's
a long period of time where I'mnot doing much of anything right
.
The trip is booked, we've gotit on the calendar, but as far
(12:54):
as the nitty gritty specificsI'm not doing much until we get
to about two months out.
So at two months out I'mstarting to think about
excursions, tours, activities,that sort of thing, and I may,
you know, randomly do a searchhere or there during that year,
(13:16):
or I may save something I comeacross on Instagram or whatever
that looks fun to do in a citywe're planning to visit.
But I'm not doing like hardcoreresearch or booking until about
two months out.
As far as tours and activities,I'm going to try to book
through Viator, using Rakuten,if possible.
(13:39):
So Rakuten is a shopping portal.
You can either earn cash backor American Express membership
rewards points, and so youbasically just go to Rakuten and
then you go through Viator fromthe Rakuten website and then
you book on Viator your tours.
I do try to wait until there's ahigher percentage of cash back
(14:00):
like 10 to 15% is generallypretty high and when I'm booking
tours, I need to see a visuallike layout of our trip day by
day.
So I'm sure that you could dothis on a like a Google calendar
or whatever you use.
But for me I like to just getout an eight and a half by 11
(14:21):
regular sheet of white printerpaper and I visually write out a
calendar for our entire trip.
So you know, I'll write outlike Monday, you know, april 1,
tuesday, april 2, whatever thedates may be, and I I leave room
to write what we're going to doeach day.
I first go through and write intravel days and then I start
(14:44):
figuring out okay, these are theactivities we want to do and I
start placing them on thecalendar in pencil so that I can
then move them around as needed.
I don't book anything until Ihave my calendar roughly how I
want it, and then I'll go andstart booking.
I usually aim for one activityper day.
(15:07):
This allows time forspontaneity, so we don't feel
overscheduled, and this issomething that I think is just a
general good rule of thumb whentraveling with kids.
I also usually leave one freeday, usually towards the end of
our time in each location,because this gives us number one
(15:33):
time to go back to places thatwe've seen, or time to add on
something that maybe someonerecommended, because nothing is
worse than someone telling youabout a great restaurant or a
great place to visit and thenyour schedule is so booked that
you can't squeeze it in, and Ihate that.
This also builds in a buffer.
If someone is sick, whichhappens to us often,
unfortunately, when you travelwith kids, I think it's just par
(15:55):
for the course and I thinkoverall it just generally gives
a more relaxed feel to the trip.
Versus rushing to meet aschedule every single day.
It gives us time to take thekids to a playground or just
wander the streets, get icecream, get a churro, whatever it
may be.
(16:15):
The other thing I'm doing andagain we're about two months out
at this point is I'm looking at, maybe, any restaurants we may
want to visit and whether or notwe need reservations.
I'm not making reservations atthis point, at least not usually
but I'm making a list and justkeeping that in mind, and I
might even make a Google map andstart saving locations for that
(16:39):
um destination.
Uh, we have a new puppy, so theother thing I'm doing is making
sure that we have him scheduledfor boarding and that they have
room and space for him.
Um, generally two months out,I've I've learned is fairly good
for our particular border,unless you know it's like a
holiday and then you may need todo this more than two months
out, I've learned is fairly goodfor our particular border,
(17:00):
unless it's like a holiday andthen you may need to do this
more than two months out.
But I'm making sure that that'sreserved so that we have him
all settled.
The other thing is I'm thinkinglogistically about what we're
going to need on the trip.
And so when I say logistically,I'm thinking do we need to
(17:20):
bring car seats or boosters?
Do we need a stroller?
Do we need a carrier, that sortof thing?
Our youngest is now five andshe does pretty good walking.
There will be times, I'm sure,where she will want my husband
to carry her and he will.
But I don't think that it wouldmake sense for us to bring even
(17:45):
like a baby carrier or atoddler carrier.
I've looked at them andconsidered it, but I don't think
it will be worth the space itwill take up.
So we're not going to do that.
But obviously, if you haveyounger kids, this is something
that, logistically, you'll needto plan for.
The car seat is, I think,personally the biggest struggle.
(18:07):
So my oldest does not need anykind of a seat or booster.
My middle he probably will befine without a booster, but we
do have an inflatable one that Imay bring.
And then I ordered a ride safervest a few months back for our
daughter, um, for our Europetrip coming up, and so that is
(18:30):
basically like a car seatharness that she wears and it
can be buckled into cars ortaxis or whatever.
The other thing that I'mordering specifically for our
upcoming trip to Europe is Ihave a turtleneck pillow that I
love and I've had it since 2018and it really helps me to sleep
(18:53):
on overnight flights in economy,and I've ordered one for Dwayne
and also for my two older boys.
My youngest is too little forone I think you have to be seven
or eight and so I wasn't ableto get one for her, but I'm
hopeful that that will help theolder two sleep on our flight
there.
These are also things that weplan to use several times this
(19:16):
year and likely next, and so Ido think they're good
investments for us.
So that is about two months outand then jumping up to around
one month out.
This is where I'm starting tothink about outfits, clothes,
what we need to pack If we'redoing a photo shoot which we did
(19:39):
this in Kauai, and we are alsodoing this in Paris coming up in
a week or so so I need to planan outfit for that.
The way that I start thisprocess if you're planning to do
something similar is I usuallystart by Googling Paris family
photo shoot and I look at theimages.
Or you know Hawaii family photoshoot or Japan family photo
(20:00):
shoot and I look at the images.
Or you know Hawaii family photoshoot or Japan family photo
shoot.
Wherever you're going to be,google this, the city or the
country, and then family photoshoot and I look at the images
and get outfit ideas from there.
That helps me develop a visionfor what I want us to wear, and
I think some people will be like, oh my God, I'm so bad at
choosing family outfits.
(20:20):
The more that you do this, theeasier that it gets.
I've been planning Christmasphoto shoots for us for years,
and so the process is now fairlyeasy, but I think the first
time it was a little difficult.
So just have patience withyourself, because, in addition
to my vision, the other thingI'm factoring in is what can I
get my kids to wear, if you know, you know, and then I'm
(20:43):
ordering accordingly.
Um, I usually start by orderingsome stuff on Amazon and then
I'm I'm likely going to returnat least half of what I ordered,
and then I repeat that processseveral times until I get what I
need.
I am aware that this is not themost sustainable practice.
However, as a busy mom whoworks full time and has three
(21:04):
kids all in their own activities, I don't have a ton of time to
spend shopping in stores inperson.
So online ordering is whatworks best for us, and that's
why I start at least a month out, so I can allow time for
delivery and returns, anddelivery and returns, et cetera.
The other thing about familyphoto shoots is my vision also
(21:26):
has to align with what we canpack in a carry-on.
So my goal is always carry-ononly for all five of us, and it
doesn't make sense to pack anentire outfit and shoes that's
only going to get worn once,like.
Space is limited and that justtakes up way too much space.
So, for example, for our Parisphoto shoot coming up, we're
(21:49):
wearing fairly fancy attire,like the boys will wear white
button downs and black pants.
My daughter and I have dresses,but we're all wearing sneakers.
Even though it's more fancyattire and it's, this is done on
purpose and I think it's goingto look super cute, but it's
also functional because thesneakers can be worn multiple
times.
So it's kind of killing twobirds with one stone.
(22:11):
Right, it's a style choice, butit's a little bit of a forced
style choice because I don'twant to pack a pair of heels
that I'm only going to wear once.
Um, I'm also filling Dwayne inon my vision and telling him
what he needs to wear so he canget that.
He's an adult, he can handlehis own clothes.
I generally do not order hisclothes and I never pack for him
(22:34):
.
He does all of that, but I doneed to tell him what I'm
thinking so that he has time tomake sure it happens.
And then, even if we're notdoing a photo shoot, a lot of my
kids' clothes are dirty andstained, especially my boy's
clothes, and we have a new puppywho has put little teeth holes
(22:54):
in a lot of their stuff as well,and that's fine for everyday
wear at school, where they justcome home filthy every day
anyways.
But in my opinion, it is notfine for Europe, in full
transparency, if my kid isstrolling down the streets of
Paris in a stained, ripped PeppaPig t-shirt, I'm going to be a
little embarrassed.
Okay, we listen and we don'tjudge.
(23:16):
On top of that, we live in thedesert, we're in Arizona, it's a
warm climate, so Paris in Marchfor us is going to be cold and
it's also likely to rain.
When I was in Paris last year,it rained the entire time.
So we also likely need to getsome more pants, rain jackets,
whatever.
Depending on how much time Ihave, I sometimes will try to go
(23:40):
through Goodwill or whateverdiscount stores I can find to
get items for pretty cheap, butalso sometimes I just order from
Walmart or Amazon and call itgood.
For our upcoming Europe trip,for example, I had to order all
three kids new pants and I gotsome plain t shirts, some long
(24:00):
sleeve shirts and rain jackets.
I also got them each a new pairof shoes, which I talked about
in um.
Uh, you know about the photooutfits, but I can justify that
because they will wear thosesneakers until they have holes.
So I feel okay about that.
Next up, and again we're stillat about one month out.
(24:21):
Um, so next up, I'm thinking ofany appointments that I may
need to make, either for thekids or for myself, before we go
.
For example, I will usually doa hair appointment for myself.
That needs to be booked atleast a few weeks out for me, if
not a month.
I'm also likely going to do apedicure, maybe a manicure I
(24:42):
don't always get manicures, butsometimes I do and then, if it's
summer or we're going somewherewarm, I will also book a spray
tan for myself.
And then, on the note ofappointments, in addition to
scheduling needed appointmentsbefore we go, I also need to
make sure that I'm canceling,like recurring appointments that
we have.
For example, one of my kidsgoes to therapy.
(25:03):
He has an appointment everyweek, and so I need to make sure
that I'm canceling, likerecurring appointments that we
have.
For example, one of my kidsgoes to therapy.
He has an appointment everyweek, and so I need to make sure
I cancel that for the weeksthat we're gone.
So that's another kind ofchecklist item.
Okay, so now we are one to twoweeks out from leaving on our
trip.
I am doing things like ensuringwe have all the clothes we need.
(25:24):
I've ordered everything.
I'm placing last minute orderson Amazon.
Usually, if we don't, I'mmaking sure the clothes are
washed and ready to be packed.
I'm also picking up airplanestuff.
So this is things like activitybooks, coloring books for my
younger two, making sure myoldest has one to two chapter
(25:46):
books to read for the trip, andI'm also making sure that I have
snacks both for the flightsthemselves and then also to keep
in our hotel rooms for hangrykids at six o'clock in the
morning.
At this point I'm also makingsure that whatever I'm using to
keep track of our itinerary haseverything I need.
(26:07):
So whether that's bookingconfirmation numbers or tour
times or meeting points fortours, last year I made
itineraries in Canva for all ofour trips.
This year I'm trying an appcalled Wanderlog and I will keep
you guys updated on if I likethat or not.
(26:28):
This will be the first tripthat I use it on coming up here
in a week or so, but I want tomake sure that everything is in
there so I can easily just lookat it on the day of and not have
to stress about searchingthrough my emails or whatever,
looking for something.
I'm ordering any otheraccessories that we may need,
like plug adapters, anysupplements or medications we
(26:52):
may need to bring, anything weneed to get refilled from the
pharmacy, and making sure wehave enough to last us through
the duration of our trip.
Same thing for my own skincareand makeup.
I'm just making sure I haveenough to last me the whole trip
, especially if I need to get anew travel size like foundation
or something like that.
(27:14):
Also, if we need to do laundryon a trip for example, our
upcoming trip to Europe we willbe gone for like 17 days and so
we will definitely need to dolaundry at least once.
So I'm going to make sure wehave enough laundry sheets.
I am super sensitive to somefragrances, so I buy fragrance
free laundry detergent sheetsfrom.
(27:37):
I buy them from Amazon.
The brand is called EarthBreeze.
They travel super well.
They take up hardly any space.
They're literally they almostfeel like a dryer sheet, but it
is laundry detergent and whenyou put it in water, obviously
it dissolves.
They work really well.
I have no complaints.
We've had the original pack webought for about a year and we
(27:58):
still have some left, so I wouldhighly recommend.
I can put a link in the shownotes if that's something people
are interested in.
And then another thing I'm doingone to two weeks out, is I'm
also figuring out our phoneservice.
So generally that's a questionof if we're traveling
internationally that is I'mfiguring out are we going to buy
(28:19):
an eSIM?
We have Verizon, so they havewhat's called the travel pass.
You can pay either a daily feeor you can do like a monthly
international fee, and we dothat specifically for Dwayne's
phone.
My phone is through my job so Icannot use an eSIM or anything
like that, but for Dwayne'sphone, I think for this trip
(28:42):
upcoming specifically, we'regoing to do the monthly rate for
Verizon because that wascheaper than paying day by day,
because we're gone for againroughly two weeks a little over,
and so I'm going.
I'm going to set that up.
If I'm planning to use a newcredit card for our spending on
(29:02):
the trip, then I'm making sureto apply for that a good two
weeks before we leave so thatthe card has time to arrive
before we leave.
It is important for this card,specifically if you're traveling
internationally, that the cardhas no foreign transaction fees.
So make sure to keep thatlittle tidbit in mind when
(29:23):
you're deciding on a card tobring.
And then something else I'mdoing is making sure we have
some cash in a bank account thatallows me to withdraw the money
at an ATM overseas without afee.
Both Betterment and CharlesSchwab are two examples of bank
accounts that don't chargetransaction fees for withdrawals
(29:45):
.
So I'm just making sure thatthere's some money in there for
when we need to take out cash.
I'm also making sure anythingwe need done by the time we get
back is done before we leave,because one I know that when we
get back we're going to bereally tired, we're going to be
jet lagged for a few days, andI'm not going to want to, you
(30:06):
know, jump right on getting mytaxes organized, for example.
That's the thing that's top ofmind for me right now, because
it is the middle of tax season.
I have not even attempted toorganize our taxes yet and we
are not going to get back untilthe end, you know, basically the
end of March, which doesn'tleave a lot of time.
So one of the items on my to-dolist for before this upcoming
(30:28):
trip is again to get that done,but this can really apply to
anything.
Another example is we're alsorenovating our primary bathroom
shower, and I personally want tohave all the materials picked
out and ordered so that I canget it scheduled.
The company won't schedule ituntil I've done that, and so,
again, that's something that Iwant to have done before we
(30:50):
leave on our next trip so that Ican schedule it and have it
ready to go for when we return.
Those last two things, again,they're not necessities but
they're nice to haves.
And I think that brings upanother good point that I do
kind of have a secondary list ofthings where I'm like, okay,
this would be really nice tohave done, but if it doesn't get
(31:12):
done because I don't have time,it's not the end of the world
versus the things that need toget done, like, for example, I
need to have we need to havephone service when we're gone,
right, we need to be able totake out cash when we're gone,
we need to have our medicationwhen we're gone.
Those are all necessary.
And then I have a second kindof column for, like a quote nice
to have done, okay.
(31:33):
So now we are moving on to theweek of the trip.
I am starting to pack for thekids.
First, I'm generally laying outsuitcases and I'm putting stuff
in as it's washed.
If we need to do laundry, I'mplanning when we will do that
roughly and figuring out howmany outfits we need to last
until the laundry day.
I am doing things like makingsure we have enough dog food for
(31:59):
the dog to take to the boardingfacility.
I'm doing any last minute panicordering from stuff that I
forgot.
I am coordinating with ourhousekeeper so she doesn't show
up when we're gone.
I'm letting her know like we'llbe out of town.
You know, can we schedule forXYZ date once we get back?
I am making sure all bills andcredit cards are paid.
(32:22):
Our bills are paid on autopay,but some of our credit cards are
not.
I like to go in and manuallypay them.
That just helps me keep ourspending in check, and so I'm
making sure all those are paid.
You know, if the due date isany time while we're gone, I'm
just paying it in advance sothat I don't have to worry about
it and there's no chance of meforgetting.
(32:46):
I am also figuring out whichcards we're going to bring, and
so obviously credit cards.
Again, because we're travelinginternationally, all the cards
must have no foreign transactionfees.
That's a requirement, first andforemost.
Usually that would be whatevercard we're working on a sub for.
(33:07):
But if not if we were notworking on a sub, and or the
card we were working on doescharge foreign transaction fees,
then I would likely bring thefollowing I would bring my
Capital One Venture X becausethat gets 2X on everything and
no foreign transaction fees.
I would bring Duane's Amexpersonal gold card for all
(33:30):
restaurants, because we will beeating out a lot and that will
get 4X at restaurants.
And then I would, if we'restaying at a hotel, I would
bring whatever my co-brandedhotel card is.
So if it's Hyatt, I'm makingsure I have either my Hyatt
personal or my Hyatt businesscard and any and all hotel
charges.
If there are any, we'll go onthat card specifically.
(33:52):
So those would be the threethat I would bring if I were not
working on a sub.
I'm still going to bring allthose three on our upcoming trip
, but we are also working onactually two signup bonuses and
I'm going to bring those cardsas well.
And then the night before thetrip, I am finalizing, packing
(34:12):
everything.
I am cleaning out the fridge,I'm cleaning the house, duane is
going to take out the trash andmake sure all that is done.
I'm dropping the dog off at theboarding facility.
Dwayne is charging all devicesand downloading whatever shows
the kids have requested ontotheir iPads.
(34:32):
He generally will ask them whatshows do you want?
And they usually give a fewoptions and he downloads them
all, either from Netflix orDisney Plus.
He's also making sure all thedevices are charged and ready to
go.
I am charging any cameras orvideo equipment that we might be
(34:56):
bringing.
Sometimes we do record YouTubevideo of our trips.
I think I've only ever put upone YouTube video so far because
editing takes so much time, butwe do record it and we will
likely record this one as well.
So I'm making sure that I'vegot those devices charged, I've
got batteries for them, I've gotall that stuff and then, um,
(35:20):
you know, I'm finishing up mypacking.
So the kids should all bepacked generally a couple days
prior, but I do not pack formyself until the night before
and then obviously finish up inthe morning with, you know,
toiletries and all that that Ineed to use in the morning.
The other thing I'm doing inthe morning is likely heating up
(35:42):
some type of breakfast sandwichthat's frozen and I'm wrapping
them up in tinfoil and bringingthem to the airport for
breakfast for the kids.
This is in case either there'sno time to get into a lounge or
there's a wait to get into alounge, or there's no lounge in
(36:02):
the terminal we're flying out of, and that way I don't have to
spend, you know, $80 on a subparairport breakfast for the kids,
and that pretty much wraps upmy entire process.
I am aware that for some people,starting to plan a trip 18
(36:24):
months in advance is insane andthat's okay.
I want to recognize, like Iunderstand that's not for
everyone, but when you aretraveling with a bigger family
and there's you know, there'sfive of us, it is imperative
that we get as much value forour points as we can, and the
way to do that is by booking,you know, 12 to 13 months out
(36:45):
for your flights and hotels, andI can promise you that the
schedules will work around thetrip that you have booked and
everything will work out justfine.
There has not been reallyanything that we've missed out
on that's been life altering bydoing this, and we've been doing
(37:08):
this for several years.
So I do understand that it is abit of a mindset shift to start
thinking about, you know,travel that far in advance.
But if you're really seriousabout taking the trips and and
wanting your kids to see theworld and using points to do it,
this is going to be your bestbet.
(37:29):
And I'm not saying that youcan't plan trips, you know,
sooner than 18 months in advance, but you need to reverse
engineer the whole process andyou need to allow yourself time
to sign up for the cards, earnthe points and then have the
points ready to go.
Now can you book a trip sixmonths in advance?
(37:50):
Yes, might you have to be alittle more flexible on either
where you go or when you go orhow you go, meaning economy
versus business Also, yes.
So I think if you don't want tocompromise and you want to pick
the place you want to go andyou want to pick the exact dates
you want to go, then booking inadvance is going to be your
(38:10):
best bet.
If you can be more flexible andyou don't really care so much
about the destination, then youhave more time and more power to
you.
Okay, that's my soapbox for theday.
So, overall, planning a familytrip with points and miles
doesn't have to be overwhelming.
It just takes a strategicapproach and a solid timeline.
Hopefully, by breaking it downstep by step in this episode,
(38:34):
you know, from earning thepoints to finalizing bookings
and doing all the packing andplanning you can see what can
seem like a big, daunting taskdoesn't have to be.
I'm going to write up a quicklike guide or checklist.
I'm not exactly sure of theformat yet, but some type of a
timeline.
So if this episode was helpfuland you're someone who needs
(38:56):
something visual or concretethat you can look at, download,
print out whatever, I'm going toput a link to that in the show
notes.
So don't forget to downloadthat if that is helpful and you
can follow along with my exactprocess and start planning your
next Points.
Powered family getaway.
Thank you so much for listening.
Please send me a message onInstagram.
(39:17):
Let me know if you like thesolo episodes, if you don't like
them, and also just come say hi.
Thanks so much.
Catch you on the solo episodesif you don't like them and also
just come say hi.
Thanks so much.
Catch you on the next episode.
Bye.
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