Why every traveler needs a points and miles emergency fund

Reading Time: 3 min

Last-minute flights and stays tend to be the most expensive in cash, which means that buying those flights and stays with points will usually be the better deal. But since most award travelers collect points and miles based on their planned trips, it’s easy to come up short with rewards when faced with an unexpected trip.

But there’s a way to hedge against this. I have a specific strategy to make sure I always have enough points and miles — across my favorite programs like Delta, IHG, and Hilton — for last-minute travel.

When it comes to points and miles, one important truth rises above the rest: Just like any other currency, these assets devalue over time. (And points can expire, too, though it's easy enough to avoid that if you plan ahead.) This reality creates a sense of pressure to never wait too long before using your travel rewards.

On one end of the proverbial barbell is "planning." If you’re collecting points and miles, it’s wise to have one or two journeys in mind at a given time, and actively accumulate and utilize your rewards accordingly.

Write down a trip you want to take, figure out what points and miles will get you there (and how many), hone in on dates, and spend the points to make it happen. Earn ‘em and spend ‘em.

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On the other end of the barbell is a lesser-known strategy: emergency savings. Life is known for throwing us curveballs. You truly do not know when you may be faced with the burden of a trip (e.g., needing to travel for unfortunate reasons) or the opportunity of a trip (like a last-minute invite for a surprise birthday getaway).

You can prepare for these eventualities by keeping a stash of points and miles in your favorite airline and hotel loyalty accounts, earmarking them for unplanned and last-minute needs. While hotels and airlines tend to raise cash rates for close-in booking, points and miles rates do not tend to increase with the same severity — though award availability can of course be unpredictable.

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To further maximize this barbell approach, consider what free night certificates you may have. Certain hotel credit cards offer free nights annually. These are highly flexible, which empowers you to use them to extend your reach on either end of the aforementioned barbell.

You could use a free night certificate to extend a planned journey by one night. Alternatively, you could keep one or two around for unplanned travel needs. There’s something quite calming about having one of these to use when an unexpected trip invades your budget.

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