2020 started out as a year full of travel and excitement for me and my family. There was a lot to look forward to. Most important, of course, was the birth of our son early in the year. Our family of two was now a family of three.
The rest of 2020 was going to be a fun year. We had two international weddings to attend – one in France, the other in Greece. Both international flights were going to be in business class, so there was a lot to look forward to there. With a new baby in tow and plenty of points and miles, we had visions of a seemingly Instagram year of travel with our new family.Â
But then, of course, the pandemic happened and all of our plans for 2020 changed dramatically. By now, I thought my son would have been on multiple flights and even visited multiple countries. It didn’t happen and it’s unclear when we’ll next get on a plane.Â
That’s not to say my son hasn’t gotten to travel at all though. We’ve done some shorter local trips. During the summer, we also did a long, multi-day, cross-country road trip to introduce my son to my parents. But our plane trips haven’t happened and it’s unclear when they’ll happen again.
In today’s post, I want to quickly recap some of the trips that didn’t happen in 2020 and think about the plans I have for some of the points and miles I used to book these trips. Whenever travel does start happening again, you better believe we’ll be on the first planes we can get on. We’ve got a lot of points and miles to burn.
Greece Trip – Booked Via Aeroplan
The first big international flight we had planned was to Greece for a friend’s wedding. Our son would have been 6 months old at this point and this would have been his first long-haul flight.
I booked this trip via Aeroplan for 57,500 Aeroplan miles each way, which meant that it cost 115,000 miles to fly round trip from the US to Greece. For the two of us, then, it cost 230,000 Aeroplan miles. I got these Aeroplan miles by transferring over American Express Membership Rewards points.
Aeroplan is part of Star Alliance, so it has good partnerships with different airlines and a pretty decent website for figuring our award flights. Our trip to Greece would take us from Chicago to Istanbul on Turkish Airlines in business class (to get to Chicago, we’d snag a cheap positioning flight from Minneapolis). Then after a layover in Istanbul, we had a short flight on Aegean Airlines from Istanbul to Thessaloniki. I was actually looking forward to this layover in Turkey because Turkish Airlines has a really fancy lounge at Istanbul airport that I wanted to check out.Â
We would have spent about 10 days in Greece, spending a few days in Thessaloniki and then making our way to Athens for a few days. The plan was to use Hyatt points or use some free night certificates we had to stay at Marriott hotels.Â
The planned return trip took us from Athens to Krakow, then our long haul flight was a business class flight from Krakow to Chicago on Polish Airlines. This isn’t the fanciest business class product, but the videos I saw for it looked pretty nice, so I was looking forward to checking this out.
Infants travel free for domestic flights, but for international flights are not free, even when booked with points and miles. What you have to pay depends on the program that you book your flights with. In this case, I booked with Aeroplan because it got us to Greece, and at the time, they only charged $100 for lap infants.
Recently, Aeroplan made some massive changes to their award program that I think actually made it better. Namely, they changed up their award chart, but importantly, they got rid of fuel surcharges, which opens up a lot more partner airlines that used to be out of reach given their massive fuel surcharges.
I have 230,000 Aeroplan miles stranded between two Aeroplan accounts, so I’ll definitely be booking something with these points at some point.Â
France Trip – Booked Via Virgin Atlantic
The second big international trip we had planned was to France for my cousin’s wedding in October. We booked this flight the previous year using Virgin Atlantic miles.
The plan was to take a connecting flight from Minneapolis to Detroit, then fly on Delta One from Detroit to Paris. This business class flight cost 50,000 Virgin Atlantic miles each way, which was a sweet spot in the Virgin Atlantic reward chart. Virgin Atlantic also made sense because it has low fees for lap infants – only 1,000 miles at the time, I believe.Â
This flight was canceled because I obviously couldn’t fly to France. The canceled flight means that I’m left with a bunch of stranded Virgin Atlantic miles. Normally, having a bunch of Virgin Atlantic miles isn’t a bad place to have stranded miles, Unfortunately, just a few days ago, Virgin Atlantic dramatically devalued their award chart, making my Virgin Atlantic miles worth much less. I’m going to have to think about what I’m going to do with these miles.
Our Unused Southwest Companion PassÂ
The Southwest Companion Pass has always been seen as the best domestic travel benefit. It lets you fly two people for the price of one ticket, whether that ticket is booked in cash or with points. What this means is that if you have the Southwest Companion Pass and a decent amount of Southwest points, you can fly two people for free. Lap infants fly for free also, which means that my Southwest Companion Pass would fly three of us for free anywhere that Southwest flies.
What makes the Southwest Companion Pass even better is how long it lasts. When you earn it, you get it for the rest of the year that you earned it in plus the entire next year. Previously, my wife had earned the Southwest Companion Pass, earning it at the beginning of 2018. This allowed us both to fly for free with Southwest in 2018 and 2019. In 2020, we made it so that I earned the Southwest Companion Pass, giving us a fresh new companion pass for 2020 and 2021.
Since getting the Southwest Companion Pass for 2020 and 2021, I’ve flown a grand total of 0 times. It’s a bummer because it’s basically been wasted and it’s unclear if we’ll even be able to use this stretch of our companion pass ever. If things improve, maybe we’ll be able to use our Southwest Companion Pass towards the end of this year. I’ll say that If that does happen, we’ll probably fly somewhere every weekend.
Plans For These Points
I currently have a lot of points stuck in two airline programs – Aeroplan and Virgin Atlantic. I’m fine with where my Aeroplan miles are and I’m confident I’ll be able to use them again without issue. Aeroplan now lets you combine miles between family members, so that makes my Aeroplan miles even easier to use. Chase is also planning to add Aeroplan as a transfer partner, so Aeroplan will probably be a program I’ll continue to use, especially since their lap infant rates are very low.Â
Virgin Atlantic, on the other hand, is a disappointment. With their recent devaluation, I’m not sure what I’m going to do with my stranded miles. I’d like to avoid transferring in more points, but it’s possible I’ll have to do so in order to book something with my current stranded miles.Â
Finally, with my Southwest Companion Pass, it’s basically just a lost year or two. If we can get any use out of it, that’d be great. If not – oh well, it happens. The plan at the end of this year will be to have my wife get the Southwest Companion Pass again, with the goal of having her get it in early 2022. We’ll then continue in our fifth year of having the Southwest Companion Pass (that assumes, of course, that the Southwest Companion Pass still exists by then – the world of travel rewards changes so fast that you can’t count on anything far off in the future).
Anyway, that’s just a quick recap of some of the trips I had planned this past year and what ultimately happened with them. I’m still waiting for the opportunity to take my first international business class trip. We’ll see what this coming year holds!
More Recommended Ebike/Scooters
Check out these other ebikes/scooters I've had the chance to do a review for:
- GEN3 Outcross Bike – The GEN3 Outcross is a solid, affordable fat tire ebike that does a good job of doing what I need it to do. It works great for city riding, giving me a smooth ride in all conditions. It’s works really well as a winter ebike since the fat tires give it good traction over snow and ice. Check out my GEN3 Outcross Review.
- Himiway Escape Bike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
- Espin Sport Bike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
- Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
- Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.
More Recommended Investing App Bonuses
For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:
- M1 Finance ($100) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
- SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with $100 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
- Moomoo (5 free stocks) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 5 free stocks (usually worth around $75-$100) if you open an account using a referral link and deposit $2,000. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
- Webull (5 free stocks) – Webull also gives you 5 free stock valued between $3-$3,000 each if you open an account using my referral link. Here’s a guide I wrote about how to earn your free stocks using Webull.
- Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
- Public (1 free stock) - Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.
More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses
If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.
- GO2Bank ($100) - GO2Bank is an easy bank bonus that I recommend people take advantage of if they have an easy way of meeting the direct deposit requirement. I like that it’s easy to open the account and that the bonus pays out quickly. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your GO2Bank $100 referral bonus.
- Chime ($100) - Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
- US Bank Business ($750) – This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, since there are no direct deposit requirements. In addition, you can open the Silver Business Checking account, which comes with no monthly fees. Check out how to earn this big bonus here.
- SoFi Money ($275) – SoFi Money is a free checking account from SoFi. They’re currently offering a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi account with a referral link and deposit $10. You can also make an additional $250 as well if you complete a direct deposit. This is a good bank that is also 100% free, so you won’t have to worry about managing this account. Here’s a post I wrote with instructions on how to earn your SoFi Money bonus: SoFi Money Referral Bonus: Step By Step Guide.
- Fifth Third Bank ($225) – This offer is limited to customers in the following states: Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia, and South Carolina. If you don’t live in one of those states, you won’t be able to open an account online but you can still open an account in-branch if you happen to be visiting a city that has a branch. This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, especially since there are plenty of data points showing what will trigger the direct deposit requirement. In addition, you can open the Fifth Third Momentum Checking bank account, which comes with no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements. Read my guide on this bonus here.
- Fairwinds Credit Union ($100) – Fairwinds Credit Union is offering a referral bonus for users that sign up using a referral link. Fairwinds has no fees or minimum balance, so this is a particularly easy bonus to earn. Since this is a smaller credit union, my gut instinct tells me this offer won’t be around long, so if you’re in a position to meet the bonus requirements, grab this bonus before it’s gone. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Fairwinds Credit Union bonus.
- Netspend ($40 + 5% Interest Savings Account) – Netspend is a company that provides 5% interest savings accounts. If you sign up using my referral link, you’ll get a $40 signup bonus once you make your first deposit into your Netspend account of $40 or more. That means you get a 5% interest savings account and a free $40 to start! Make sure to check out my in-depth guide on how to set up these accounts.
- Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link.Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
- Digital Federal Credit Union ($20) – Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) is a free, nationwide credit union that I recommend to readers for two reasons. First, DCU has a $20 referral bonus if you open a free DCU checking account with a referral link. Second, DCU has a saving account that gives you 6.17% interest on your first $1,000. Check out my in-depth post on how to set this account up.
- Novo Bank ($40) - Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. In addition to being a good bank bonus, Novo is also a good business checking account. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and operates a good app and website. Indeed, it’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog. Check out my post on how to easily open a Novo account.
- Varo ($30) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $30 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.
Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.
Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.
Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:
- SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $250 if you complete a direct deposit.
- US Bank Business. US Bank is currently offering new business customers a $750 signup bonus after opening a new account and meeting certain requirements.
- M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account.
- DCU. Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) is a free, nationwide credit union that I recommend to readers for two reasons. First, DCU has a $20 referral bonus if you open a free DCU checking account with a referral link. Second, DCU has a savings account that gives you 6.17% interest on your first $1,000.
- Personal Capital. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.
Feel free to send Kevin a message here.
The title of this post made me so sad. I feel you. I had more than one meltdown this year about trips that we’d been planning for years and that might not ever happen now. I know that sounds bratty in light of people passing away and being out of work, but it was still my reality, and it was super painful. But I hope we can all make up for lost time. The points and savings have been piling up, and there will be new opportunities. It’s also been great having less stress and spending more time with immediate family. I hope you’re able to have an amazing year that’s better than anything you lost.
You know, I’m fortunate that I’m healthy and everyone I know is still healthy. Travel will come back one day. Until then, I’m fortunate that I have a little one and a family to keep me busy and not alone.