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 and scooters I've reviewed:
- Urban Arrow Ebike – Last year, I made one of the largest purchases I’ve ever made – I bought a $9,000 electric cargo bike from Urban Arrow. In my Urban Arrow review, I will discuss what it is and why I decided to buy this bike, as well as discuss how impactful a bike like this can be on your journey to financial independence.
- Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Ebike – The Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is a fat-tire ebike that I’ve had the pleasure of riding for a while now. It has amazing power, great looks, and awesome range. If you’re looking for a great fat-tire ebike that offers a lot for the price, the Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is definitely one for you to consider. Check out my Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Review.
- Hovsco HovBeta Ebike – The HovBeta is a folding ebike with great specs and a lot of interesting features, and importantly, it’s sold at a good price point. I’ve had a blast commuting with it and using it to do deliveries with DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. Check out my Hovsco HovBeta Ebike Review.
- Vanpowers Manidae Ebike – The Vanpowers Manidae is a fat tire ebike that I’ve been riding as my primary winter commuting bike and have also been using it to do food delivery with apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. After clocking in a decent number of miles with this ebike, I wanted to write a post sharing what my experience with the Vanpowers Manidae ebike has been like. Check out my Vanpowers Manidae Review.
- KBO Flip Ebike – The KBO Flip is an excellent bike. I’ve had a great time riding it and think it’s a versatile bike that can be used for a lot of purposes and can fit a variety of lifestyles. It’s worked out great for me as a general commuter bike and as a food delivery bike. Check out my KBO Flip Review.
- Hiboy P7 Commuter Ebike – The Hiboy P7 is an excellent electric commuter bike that’s offered at an affordable price point. The range and speed of this bike are both very good, so you won’t have any trouble getting anywhere you need to go with it. As a food delivery vehicle, this is also good – with how much range it offers, you’ll be able to work all day on a single charge. Check out my Hiboy P7 Commuter Electric Bike Review.
- Himiway Escape Ebike – 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 Ebike – 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.
- Varla Falcon Scooter – The Varla Falcon is an excellent scooter that offers a good amount of power at a lower price point compared to more powerful scooters. It’s not exactly an entry-level scooter, nor is it a high-powered scooter. I think it fits somewhere in-between those two categories – an intermediate scooter if I had to give it a category. Check out my Varla Falcon Review.
- Hiboy S2 Scooter – The Hiboy S2 is an excellent entry-level commuter scooter that's perfect for someone looking to save some money in transportation costs and improve their commute. Check out my Hiboy S2 Review.
- Hiboy S2R Scooter – The Hiboy S2R is one of the more interesting electric scooters I’ve been able to test out. It’s not a high-powered scooter, but for an everyday transport option, it’s very useful, especially given some of the unique features that it has. Indeed, for the price, the Hiboy S2R might be the best value scooter I’ve used. Check out my Hiboy S2R 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.
- Moomoo (15 free stocks and 1 stock of Tesla or Google) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 3 different referral bonuses if you open an account using a referral link. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
- Webull (12 free stock shares) – Webull's current promotion gives you 12 free shares 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 shares 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.
- 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.
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.
- Chime ($150) - 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.
- 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.
- Upgrade ($150) – Upgrade is a free checking account that’s currently offering a $150 referral bonus if you open an account and complete a direct deposit. These bonus terms are easy to meet, so it’s well worth doing this bonus as soon as you can. Here’s a post I wrote with more details: Upgrade $150 Referral Bonus – Step By Step Directions.
- US Bank Business ($800) – 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 5% Savings Accounts. I'm currently getting 5.25% interest on my savings through a company called Raisin. Opening a Raisin account takes minutes to complete, it's free, and all of your funds are FDIC-insured. I explain how it works, why I'm now using it to store my emergency fund and any other cash savings I have, and why I recommend everyone check it out in this review.
- US Bank Business. US Bank is currently offering new business customers a $800 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.
- 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.