Spring break award travel: how to find flights and hotels early

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While spring break 2026 may feel like it's a lifetime away at this point, it's never too early to start brainstorming ways to use points and miles. This is especially true if you're picky on where you go and your exact travel dates. After all, many airline and hotel programs limit award availability, and you can often find the best award travel deals if you're able to book earlier than everyone else.

Case in point: A few months ago, I booked my family's 2026 spring break flights to Europe with the help of the Air France (Flying Blue) program.

As always, I reverse-engineered our trip by figuring out where I could use points and miles to fly, then planned an itinerary around that availability.

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Ultimately, I wound up using 60,000 Air France (Flying Blue) miles and around $260 each for my husband and me to fly business in a lie-flat seat from Chicago, Illinois (ORD) to Lisbon, Portugal (LIS) with a layover in Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS).

My kids weren't quite so lucky. They'll be on the same plane, but I booked them one-way economy flights for 18,750 Flying Blue miles plus $121 each.

And on the way home, we used 103,200 Flying Blue miles plus just under $700 in airline taxes and fees for all four of us to fly back to Chicago from Barcelona, Spain (BCN) in economy.

The current plan for my family of four is spending four nights in Lisbon, Portugal before flying to Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands (off the northwest coast of Africa) for five more nights.

The Lisbon leg of our trip is mostly for sightseeing, shopping, and eating great food, whereas Tenerife will have us whale watching, hiking, and exploring with our rental car. For our lodging, we booked nice Airbnbs for a relatively low cost. At the end of the trip, we'll fly from Tenerife to Barcelona, then back home.

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Thinking of heading out this summer without checking a bag? Traveling light is easier with our curated list of space-saving essentials. From single-use wipes and mini deodorants to shampoo bars and sunscreen sticks, each item is designed to keep you fresh without overpacking. Our guide also covers smart extras like wrinkle-release spray, compact lint rollers, and bug-repellent tins — perfect for solving real travel problems without adding bulk. It’s a quick way to upgrade your toiletry kit and breeze through security with less stress.

Travel lighter without sacrificing the essentials

By taking a strategic approach now, you can make the most of your points and miles, score the best availability, and secure a trip that fits your budget and style. Here’s how to get started.

• Take stock of your rewards, including transferable points. Make a list of all the rewards you have available to you right now, including airline miles, hotel points, and flexible rewards points that transfer to airlines and hotels. This can help you figure out which programs to check for availability once you're ready to book.
• Consider multiple destinations for your trip. You'll have the best chance at finding the availability you want if you avoid getting your heart set on a single destination. Keep your mind open and consider multiple places, whether you want to go sightseeing or spend spring break at the beach.
• Look at hotels, resorts, and Airbnbs. Look for ways to use hotel points from your favorite programs, and don't forget to look at all-inclusive resorts that include meals, drinks, and entertainment in the rate. If you're traveling with kids, consider Airbnbs and vacation rentals that can give you a little more space.
• Search for the best availability. Once you have a list of destinations ready, you can see where your rewards stash aligns. Use tools like Points Path to search for places you can book flights to (unless you're driving) for a reasonable number of miles that also have hotels or Airbnb options you can live with (and potentially book with rewards).
• Look at one-way flights. Booking one-way spring break flights with miles can be a good way to lock in the best deal with multiple airlines for different legs of your trip. Just make sure you're actually getting a good deal in miles, and that the airline doesn't increase the rewards you need for a one-way versus round-trip.

Reduce your travel anxiety with TSA-approved stress balls

Stress balls are a fantastic fidget to keep your hands busy and calm nerves. But some of them are filled with gels and liquid, so it's important to buy a TSA-approved one for flying. The Serenilite stress balls won’t trip you up at security, and come in several densities for varying grip strength.

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