The Playbooks, Program By Program
Where Points 101 teaches the system, these are the specifics: what each currency is best at, the exact award-booking process, and the family playbooks nobody else writes.
Program Guides
What each currency is best at, and where it flies furthest.
Program guide · 4 min read
Chase Ultimate Rewards: The Sweet Spots
Melissa's playbook for the most valuable transferable currency — the Hyatt award chart, the airline sweet spots, and what to do when you're not traveling.
Read the guide →Program guide · 2 min read
Amex Membership Rewards: The Sweet Spots
How to get outsized value from Membership Rewards — the airline partners that matter, and the redemptions to avoid.
Read the guide →Program guide · 2 min read
Capital One Miles: The Sweet Spots
The double-dip most people miss, why Venture X is the premium card that pays for itself, and where the miles fly furthest.
Read the guide →Booking Strategy
The exact processes — from finding the seat to the upgrade letter.
Strategy · 5 min read
How I Book Award Flights, Step By Step
Melissa's actual process: FlightConnections, the award engines compared, positioning flights, and the tricks that surface hidden availability.
Read the guide →Hotels · 3 min read
How To Score A Hotel Room Upgrade Or Check-In Amenity
Melissa's upgrade playbook — what actually works, the letter template that's worked wonders, and the kid-friendly touches worth asking for.
Read the guide →Family Playbooks
The part almost nobody writes: pooling the household's points, lap infants, four seats together, and where a family of five actually sleeps.
Family · 5 min read
Pooling The Family's Points, Program By Program
Many programs let a household combine balances for free. Who allows it, the member limits and lock-ins, and the programs where you shouldn't bother.
Read the guide →Family · 4 min read
Lap Infant Fees On Award Tickets, By Program
Adding the baby to an international award costs $19 to four figures, depending on which program issued the ticket. The four fee models and the program table.
Read the guide →Family · 4 min read
Four Award Seats, Together
The real bottleneck of family points travel: award space for the whole crew. The one-seat search trick, where four premium seats exist, and how to split a booking.
Read the guide →Family · 4 min read
Family Award Sweet Spots (And The Kids' Discounts Nobody Mentions)
Award charts price per person, which punishes families — except where it doesn't. The programs that discount kids' awards and the redemptions that scale to four.
Read the guide →Family · 3 min read
The Southwest Companion Pass, Family Edition
One person flies with you for $5.60 each way, on cash and points bookings, for up to two years. How it's earned and what the 2026 changes mean for families.
Read the guide →Family · 2 min read
Your Kids' Frequent Flyer Accounts, Done In 30 Minutes
Every kid on every trip is earning nothing until their accounts exist. Which programs let minors join, whose miles never expire, and the lap-infant rule.
Read the guide →Family · 4 min read
Where Does A Family Of Five Sleep On Points?
Hotel points are the family half of this game — until the room caps at four. The brands that sleep five on a standard award, connecting rooms, and suites.
Read the guide →Family · 4 min read
Flying With A Baby: Car Seats, Bassinets, And What Checks Free
Car seat rules are federal law, bassinet rules are airline-specific, and almost all the gear flies free. The reference table for the airlines US families fly.
Read the guide →Family · 3 min read
Disney World On Points: The Honest Version
Points won't touch Disney's own hotels or tickets — and a Disney trip on points is still very real. The bookable perk hotels, the gift-card trick, the flight math.
Read the guide →Family · 2 min read
Skipping Airport Lines With Kids: Global Entry, PreCheck, CLEAR
Global Entry is now free for kids, PreCheck has two age rules every parent should know, and CLEAR waves minors through. What to set up before the next trip.
Read the guide →Award prices and program rules in these guides were accurate when written and do change — treat the numbers as the pattern, and confirm the current price in the program before you transfer anything.