How I Fell Into the World of Points and Miles

Hello World!

Welcome to Stacy’s Travel Points.

I stumbled into the points and miles world in 2021. After having way too much time on my hands in 2020 and knowing I wanted to travel more without breaking the bank, I started hunting for smarter ways to do it. That’s when I discovered creators like Sebby, Dan Braun, and a whole community talking about travel rewards.

It still took me a full year to open my first card. I’m a heavy researcher by nature, so I dipped my toes in slowly. My first couple of years weren’t the most efficient. I booked flights and hotels through portals. I transferred points to the likes of Marriott and Southwest. Basically, I did all the things I wouldn’t recommend now, at least not the way I did them back then.

In 2023, I sat down to audit everything we had redeemed so far and realized we had saved nearly $18,000 on travel. I couldn’t believe it. Now, here we are in late 2025, and we’re over $144,000 in redemptions in just four years.

I started creating content in 2024 because I love teaching people how this all works. I enjoy breaking things down so you can earn more points, use them wisely, stretch them further, and see more of the world without spending more than you need to.

Fast forward to 2026. We have redeemed $151,790.60 in travel over the last 5 years. I can’t believe that this is my life now. There is a learning curve to this hobby. Stick around, we can work on learning them all together.

I started blogging completely by accident. Someone asked me to write a few guest articles explaining what points and miles actually were, and somewhere in the middle of writing them, I fell in love with it. I’d already been creating content about this world for a while, but those first few articles felt different — like writing it out helped me explain things in a way that actually made sense, not just to me, but to anyone reading.

That’s when I realized this could be more than content I created in pockets of time. It could be a place where I sat down, slowed my thinking down, and walked you through exactly what I wish someone had walked me through. So that’s what this blog became: not just my story, but a place to help you, step by step, build your own.

I want this place to be a space where people feel comfortable learning, asking questions, and helping each other out. We all start somewhere. We all make mistakes. The goal is to learn and enjoy the journey. I’ve learned so much from so many of you along the way.

So welcome to my little corner of the internet. This is where I share what I’ve learned about earning, saving, and maximizing points and miles so you can travel more and stress less. Thanks for joining me on this journey. 

💳 Support My Work

If my blog has helped you navigate this crazy fun world of points and miles, I’d love your support! 

But please, always double-check that you’re getting the best available welcome offer, but if you DO choose to use one of my links – thank you! It helps me keep creating free, transparent travel content for this community.

Ready for more?
👉 Check out all my points and miles posts [here] for more tips on maximizing your travel rewards.

You can also follow me on any of my socials for real-life strategies, and feel free to DM me – I’m here to help! 

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Heads up: this post includes a few referral links. Using them doesn’t cost you anything extra, but it helps support my research so I can keep creating points and miles content for free – so thank you if you do!