Remember that travel rewards credit card you’ve been using daily to shop with in lockdown, or those frequent flyer miles you racked up pre-pandemic attending client meetings? With Mother’s Day around the corner, now could be the time for many consumers to reset their password and log back into their travel rewards accounts. Those who do could save big on ways to treat Mom this year—even from the comfort of home.
Since the start of the pandemic, most travel loyalty programs have paused currency expiration dates, and with limited options to travel during 2020, members are likely sitting on a healthier stock of points/miles than they thought. What’s more, they may not be aware that some of North America’s most popular travel programs offer many ways to use rewards, beyond travel bookings.
When it comes to using your rewards program to make non-travel related purchases often you don’t need to have a large points/miles balance to take advantage of these savings. Plus, even if you’ve not got a huge stock of miles, it can still be more cost effective to buy some extra ones to complete a purchase using your rewards program over completing the whole transaction using cash.
To make things easier, Points, who gives members of the world’s largest travel loyalty programs more options to earn and use their points/miles, has put together some of their favourite ways to save this Mother’s Day by using points and miles.
Covid-friendly treats
What about trading in some Marriott Bonvoy points to treat Mom to this year’s must-have home cooking essential, an air fryer? Or use those United MileagePlus points to take her stay-at-home workouts up a notch with a kettlebell set, fitness smartwatch or even an interactive Mirror virtual gym. Remember: if you are a few points/miles short of your ideal gift you can easily top up your rewards and still make your purchase. E.g. spending as little as $20 to top up your balance with more points/miles, could be a lot cheaper than buying that air fryer at the store.
Quarantine reads
If Mom is a big reader then this gift could be another way to redeem some of those frequent flyer miles that have been burning a hole in your pocket. From as little as 200 miles, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan members can choose a monthly magazine subscription for Mom that can be sent directly to her door. With great titles to choose from including Shape, Food and Wine, People, Parents and more this gift could keep her busy until Book Club starts up again.
A day at the spa (safely, of course)
Treat Mom to relaxation courtesy of your World of Hyatt Bonus Points. Various spas at Hyatt properties around the United States are open, with full adherence to Covid safety protocols, including the Sago Spa at the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay, or the Palo Verde Spa at the Andaz Scottsdale. Cash in as few as 1,000 points for $10 off your spa bill, or go big and redeem 35,000 points for a $500 credit. If you need extra points to get the amount of spa credit you want, you can always buy a few more (and often on sale).
Table for Two
Restaurants may not all be open this Mother’s Day but that doesn’t mean that you can’t give Mom a special dinner this year. Plus, if you shop wisely, you could also use your rewards program to boost your points/miles to be redeemed against your next trip away. United MileagePlus members can earn 250 bonus miles when they shop at Home Chef for the first time. The professional meal kit delivery service has plenty of popular dishes to choose from and will bring the pre-portioned ingredients to your door - together with an easy to follow recipe card.
The gift of future travel
So the time isn’t right to treat Mom to a trip—you can still help fuel her future travel dreams by transferring your miles into her account. Most major airlines allow member-to-member transfers, so check and see if your programs offer that option. If you don’t have tons of points or miles to contribute, consider pooling them together with other family members:for example JetBlue TrueBlue members can pool their points with up to seven other members for free.
Inspired? Check out your rewards programs to see how you can put your points and miles to good use this Mother’s Day.
About Points International
Points, (TSX: PTS) (NASDAQ: PCOM) is a trusted partner to the world’s leading loyalty programs, leveraging its unique Loyalty Commerce Platform to build, power, and grow a network of ways members can get and use their favourite loyalty currency. Our platform combines insights, technology, and resources to make the movement of loyalty currency simpler and more intelligent for nearly 60 reward programs worldwide. Founded in 2000, Points is headquartered in Toronto with teams operating around the globe.
For more information, visit Points.com.
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