December 22, 2025
Pam’s 2025 Points and Miles Recap
Pam
When I look back on 2025, I realize it had become a marathon I accidentally signed up for—powered by points and miles. What was supposed to be a quieter year of travel turned into a nonstop carousel of airports, lounges, and a ton of jet lag. I was bouncing between time zones a couple of times a month. Honestly, the year was an unforgettable blur and utterly exhausting, and I’m still not sure if I should be proud of myself or take a very long nap. Did I also see amazing places and create unforgettable memories? Of course! But I also vowed to take it easier from now on and not let FOMO get me!
Pam’s 2025 Points and Miles Recap
January
We started in January 2025 by heading to New Zealand. We had to change plans to visit the North Island of New Zealand a couple of years ago, so this was our redemption trip. Surprisingly, we may have enjoyed the North Island even more than the South Island. We also absolutely loved the Auckland Park Hyatt. Using points and miles for many hotel stays and our business-class flights there and back made for a great trip!
Cathedral Cove.
Lots of adventure on this trip!
February
In February, we headed to St. George, Utah, to watch our grandsons play soccer. All hotel stays courtesy of points!
Grandpa with Alex and the boys.
February continued as Alex and I traveled to Roatán to stay at the Kimpton Grand Roatán. This was my second visit there, and it won’t be my last.
Enjoying a trip with Alex in Roatán this year. Hotel stay booked with my points.
March
My husband and I joined my daughter Kasey and her husband on a trip to Thailand in March. To say my husband was hooked on all those wonderful, affordable massages is an understatement. We went to Koh Samui and used a Hilton free-night certificate at the Conrad Koh Samui and Marriott free-night certificates at the Ritz-Carlton. From there, we headed to Krabi and on to Bangkok for a magnificent stay at the Park Hyatt Bangkok! We flew Singapore Airlines both ways (one of my favorite airlines) in business class using Singapore miles transferred from Capital One. My husband can’t wait to return to Thailand!
Thailand with my husband, daughter, and son-in-law.
Right after we returned from Thailand, we headed to Costa Rica with Alex’s family! I will forever count myself as blessed that points and miles let me enjoy epic adventures with my family and grandchildren!
Enjoying family trips was a major part of 2025.
April
April brought a new passport stamp as my daughter Kelly and I headed to the Dominican Republic. We stayed at the Zoëtry Agua Punta Cana and enjoyed a pottery class, horseback riding, and lying by the pool. Oh, and massages at the spa, too!
I wasn’t done with April yet as I made a trip (in business class, of course) to London to visit my daughter, Lindsey.
VS’s signature lighting is iconic, as is my 29K business-class ticket!
Next up for April was our annual trip with the Points Talk Squad. Alex, Jess, and I headed to Spain. We visited Madrid and Barcelona and had a blast! One of our favorite things was making paella at The Paella Club in Barcelona.
May
I continued my trip to Spain into May by meeting my daughter, Lindsey, in Mallorca, and I fell in love with the beautiful island! I also found one of my favorite hotels ever, the Nobis Palma—pure luxury (just what I love)! Surprisingly, this was a Marriott hotel, not my usual Hyatt. Mallorca is charming, and I hope to return!
I am a sucker for charming streets, and Mallorca has many of them.
We made a quick trip using points and miles to Tucson, Arizona, for the college graduation of a cute granddaughter. We stayed at a Sheraton with Marriott points. It’s not always a luxury international trip that points and miles help us with!
Graduation with our cute granddaughter!
May continued with a trip to Maui, where we met Alex and her family. She did a timeshare presentation to stay at the Westin Nanea, and then we used points for the Andaz Maui and the Wailea Beach Club.
View from my room at the Wailea Beach Club and why I keep coming back!
Andaz Maui kids’ area.
The Hilton Moorea is a great family stay.
August
August was another hectic month—visiting family in London, our ATA student meetup in SLC, and an Alaska cruise. There is no way I could travel this much without points and miles!
Visiting Oxford, where my granddaughter is attending school.
Alaska cruise.
September
Morocco in September was an absolute dream trip with my four daughters. Luckily, we all use points and miles, so we can travel in style, a.k.a. business class!
Fun times in Marrakesh!
October & November
October and November were doozies as my husband and I took an almost four-week trip to India, Nepal, and Bhutan. We went on a tour, but our business-class flights and three nights at the Andaz Delhi were booked with points. It was a fascinating trip!
Taj Mahal—yep, that is smog!
Varanasi and the Ganges River was one of my favorite spots.
Dressing up in traditional Bhutanese clothing for dinner.
December
Our annual TMS retreat was held in Houston as the brand new Park Hyatt Cabo opened later than we were comfortable with. We stayed at the Thompson Houston, and the minute that I walked into the hotel, I was happy!
Cards I Applied For
- Atmos™ Rewards Visa Signature® Business Card – Lee
- American Express Hilton Honors Aspire – me
- Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ – both
- Chase Sapphire Reserve® – me
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card – Lee
- The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express – me
- The Business Platinum Card® from American Express – Lee
- The Business Platinum Card® from American Express – Lee
- Capital One Spark Cash – Lee
Altogether, we earned about 1,200,000 points for travel this year from welcome offers. There is seldom a time that I am not working on a minimum spend. We use our cards to pay our taxes, a huge expense for us since we are both self-employed.
Cards Cancelled, Downgraded
I canceled the following cards:
- American Express Platinum Card® – two
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card – both
- British Airways Visa Signature® Card – both
- Hawaiian Airlines® World Elite Business Mastercard® – both
- Capital One Venture X Business– both
- Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card – Lee
- Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard® – me
- The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card – both
Plans For Next Year
I’ve already booked the following (so far) with the plan to travel less next year. We’ll see how that goes!
- St. Lucia
- Budapest
- Kenya/Masai Mara
- Greece
- Norway
- Maui
- Italy
Bottom Line
Never, ever did I think that this would be my life. Travel is my passion, and the ability to travel so much for so cheap is unbelievable. My 2025 points-and-miles recap blows my mind. Honestly, it was a little too much, so I’ll try to do less in 2026!
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