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Kim Shearer • Points & Miles • Budget Family Travel

@vacation_pointers

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✈️ Family travel on points & miles
🏨 Flights, hotels, Disney and more
💳 730K+ points earned in 2026
👇🏻 Guide to a million points in a year

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A million credit card points sounds like something only extreme couponers and finance bros accomplish. It’s not.

I built a free interactive tool that maps out exactly how two people can earn over a million points together — card by card, step by step, in the right order. No spreadsheets. No complicated math. No changing your normal spending habits.

You just follow the map.

It covers which cards to open, when to open them, how to refer your partner or spouse to double your earnings, and which programs give you the most value when it’s time to book. Every step is clickable so you can check things off as you go and pick up right where you left off.

My family has used this exact strategy to stay at luxury hotels, fly business class, and take trips we never could have afforded otherwise. And now I mapped the whole thing out so you don’t have to figure it out the hard way like we did.

It’s free. There’s no catch. You just need an email address to get in.

Comment MAP below and I’ll send you the link right now. 👇🗺️

#pointsandmiles #familytravel #freevacation #traveltips by @vacation_pointers

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6 months ago

Why such a drastic switch? Because I discovered that I could simultaneously reep the benefits of travel credit cards while putting all of the financial discipline I learned from Dave to good use.

But 10 credit cards?? Isn’t that a horrible idea?

✨ First, maybe we should start with what did NOT happen when we opened all those cards…

1️⃣ We DID NOT end up with mounds of credit card debt
2️⃣ We DID NOT buy more than we normally would have
3️⃣ Our credit scores DID NOT go down
4️⃣ Dave Ramsey DID NOT come after me for straying from his advice 😅

✨ But here’s what DID happen…

1️⃣ We paid off every credit card bill on time and in full (because we only spent what we planned on spending)
2️⃣ We earned a million points worth upwards of $30,000 in travel 🤯
3️⃣ We took nearly free trips to the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Niagara Falls, Disney World, DisneyLand and Puerto Rico
4️⃣ Our credit scores increased and have not dipped below 800
5️⃣ We made THE BEST memories with our kids

➡️ Could 10 new credit cards in a year do some serious damage under certain circumstances?

Absolutely.

But that’s why it’s important to know the rules and have a strategy before jumping in. And guess what!? I can help you with that! 🙋🏻‍♀️

✨ When done right, points and miles can ACTUALLY change your life ✨

💬 Comment #Vacation below and I’ll send you a link to my Quick Start guide full of the basic info you’ll need to get started.

My first tip? Don’t wait to get started. The sooner you open your first travel rewards credit card, the sooner you’ll be exploring the world with your family 😎. by @vacation_pointers

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2 years ago

What was the ONE thing my husband and I started doing so that we could travel several times a year with our kids for next to nothing?

We stopped putting all of our spending on the same credit card and instead started opening several cards a year. I know, I know, it sounds a little crazy, but I promise it has changed our life in all of the best ways.

To be honest, the idea scared the heck out of me when we first started. What would that do to our credit score? And how could we possibly keep it all straight?

But I quickly learned that if you do it right… meaning if you only put your normal spending on these cards, pay them off every month in full and pace yourself… your credit score will actually go up! And as far as keeping all of the information straight? I’ve found the BEST apps and tools to make this hobby 100% manageable.

Want more info??

Start here ⤵️

⭐️ Follow @vacation_pointers for all the beginner points and miles tips.

⭐️ Then comment #quickstart and I’ll send you all the info I wish I had when I started in my FREE guide to traveling with points and miles.

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Hi! 🙋🏻‍♀️ I’m Kim from @vacation_pointers and I teach families how to take more vacations for less money using credit card points and miles. If you want to learn how to travel like we do, hit the follow button for all the beginner points and miles tips!
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#cheaptravel #budgettraveler #budgettraveller #disneyonabudget #creditcardholder #creditcarddebtfree #creditcards #awardtravel #milesandpoints #lowbudgettravel #pointsandmiles #cheaptravels #creditcardpoints #creditcardrewards #creditcard #creditscore #daveramsey #hawaii #couponcommunity #familytravels #familytravelblog #travelmoreworryless #travelmoreoften #travelgram #debtfreeliving #debtfreetravel #creditscore taken in Huntington Beach, California by @vacation_pointers

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2 years ago

Some cards are a one-year fling. You open them for the welcome offer, enjoy the points, and quietly close them before the annual fee hits. 👋

Then there are the keepers. ✈️

The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is one of them.

Right now you can earn 75,000 bonus miles PLUS a $300 Capital One Travel stays credit after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months.

But the welcome offer isn’t why it stays in the wallet:
 ✔️ 2 miles on every purchase. Groceries, gas, soccer fees, ALL of it. ✔️ 5 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel ✔️ A credit to cover Global Entry or TSA PreCheck ✔️ Miles transfer to airline and hotel partners ✔️ $95 annual fee

And if you’ve been eyeing the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, open the Venture first. 👀 Earn the Venture X bonus first and you’re locked out of the Venture bonus for four years. Go in this order and you can earn both.

Comment VENTURE and I’ll send you my full breakdown and a link to apply. 💛

#pointsandmiles #familytravel #travelrewards #capitalone #creditcardrewards by @vacation_pointers

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6 days ago

Purchases made with the Air France KLM Visa Signature® credit card earn Flying Blue miles, and Flying Blue is honestly one of the most user friendly ways to get to Europe right now. And did I mention you can sometimes book Delta flights for fewer miles than Delta itself is charging?

And if you’re sitting on any of the major bank points, chances are you can transfer those to Flying Blue to top off your balance to GET THE TRIP BOOKED!

If you’re already dreaming about next year’s family trip, this one’s worth a look.

Comment “BLUE” and I’ll send you the details.

Vacation Pointers may receive compensation from advertising partners. by @vacation_pointers

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13 days ago

Okay wait — can a card really earn 17X on dining?? Yes, but it’s a stack, not a flat rate, so let me actually walk you through the math!

My favorite $0-annual-fee cash back card just activated its Q4 categories, and dining is one of them. Here’s how it adds up:

1️⃣ Every purchase starts at a 1% cash back base rate
 2️⃣ This card ALWAYS gives a permanent dining bonus on top of that — 2% more, no activation needed, every single day (3% total)
 3️⃣ Activate the Q4 category and you get another 4% on dining this quarter — bringing you to 7% total, just from the card itself
 4️⃣ NOW here’s the fun part: pay at a restaurant using Paze (a lot of small/local spots run on the Clover system, which supports it), and there’s currently a separate 10% Paze promo stacking on top — capped at $1,500/month, tracked apart from the quarterly cap

7% + 10% = up to 17% back on that one dinner out. Wild, right?

Real talk though — this isn’t happening at every restaurant or every meal. It only stacks that high when the Paze piece lines up (participating restaurant, within the monthly cap), and the Q4 category itself is capped at $1,500 in combined spend for the quarter. But even just the easy 7% on dining is a genuinely great everyday rate, and the Paze layer is a nice bonus when it works out.

AND if you don’t have this card yet — you’ll earn a $250 welcome offer after $500 in purchases in your first 3 months. That’s up from $200 not long ago.

Want the link to apply? Comment FLEX below and I’ll send it your way. 💬➡️

Vacation Pointers may receive compensation from JPMC. by @vacation_pointers

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21 days ago

Okay I need y’all to see this 👀

I used to look at the annual fee on my Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ and hesitate. Then I actually added up what I was getting back every year: $300 in annual travel credit, $420 in DoorDash value, airport lounge access, $100 in Giftcards.com credit, and $500 in Edit hotel credits (more on that in a second)...

And that’s BEFORE you count the welcome offer, which is currently 200,000 points — worth around $4,000+ in travel. No joke, the highest Chase welcome bonus we’ve ever seen.

Here’s why the timing actually matters right now 👇

1️⃣ After October 1st, this becomes one of ONLY TWO cards left that still transfers points to Hyatt at 1:1 — every other option is moving to a worse ratio

2️⃣ Starting 11/15/26, you’ll EARN 3x points on your first $1 MILLION in social media & search engine ad spend every account anniversary year — after that, still earning 1x with no cap

3️⃣ Starting 1/1/27, that Edit credit DOUBLES from $500 to $1,000 a year, paid out in a minimum of 4 statement credits worth up to $250 per stay — so you can use it across multiple trips

Which means if you’ve been thinking about this card, applying now — while the welcome offer is still this high AND the chance to keep the 1:1 Hyatt transfer on the table — is the smart move.

Comment “200K” and I’ll send you the details 🙋🏻‍♀️

Vacation Pointers may receive compensation from JPMC. by @vacation_pointers

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a month ago

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a month ago

No joke, this is one of the programs I recommend the most, and most people have no idea it even exists.

I’d love to walk you through how we actually earn and use these miles as a family (numbers included, always 👀).

Reply TAKEOFF below and I’ll send it your way! 🙋🏻‍♀️ by @vacation_pointers

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a month ago

Got this text from a friend today, and I thought some of you might be sitting on the exact same question 🙋🏻‍♀️

She’d found out that paying for her vacation rental in cash gets her a discount — but wanted to know if that meant her Capital One miles and Chase points were stuck on the sidelines.

Spoiler: nope! It just depends which one you’re working with (swipe through if you missed how each one actually works 👆).

Okay, NOW let’s talk about actually getting points like these working for YOU, because I’ve got THREE offers right now worth over $1,000 that you can apply for today:

1️⃣ Ink Business Cash® Credit Card
2️⃣ Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card

Pick whichever fits how your business spends — I’ll help you decide when you reach out. Either one is worth $1,000 toward a vacation rental.

3️⃣ Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card — an elevated offer worth $1,050 toward travel.

The Ink Cash and Ink Unlimited offers are ENDING SOON (September 17th at 9am EST), so if you’ve been sitting on the fence, this is your sign. ✨

Comment “LAST CHANCE” for the Ink Business Cash and Ink Business Unlimited details — I can help you pick between them

or

Comment “GO TIME” for the elevated Capital One Venture Rewards offer.

Vacation Pointers may receive compensation from JPMC. by @vacation_pointers

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a month ago

I don’t like to be dramatic, but...

The Ink Business Cash® Credit Card and Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card welcome offers are sitting at $1,000 cash back right now, and that is an ALL TIME HIGH for these two cards.

When combined with a Chase Sapphire Preferred®, Chase Sapphire Reserve®, Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ or Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card this bonus can be used as 100,000 points for travel, making them worth EVEN MORE.

So we’re talking $1,000+ in travel just for opening one card and meeting the minimum spend. And the best part? NO ANNUAL FEE!

Do you need to have a “real” business? Nope. A side hustle, an Etsy shop, mowing lawns for cash, freelancing on the side — that counts.

Could I tell you to wait and see if it goes higher? I could. But in 5 years of doing this, I have never seen it above 100K, and it’s gone 9/17/26 at 9AM EST. Once it drops back down, it’s not coming back up anytime soon.

If you’ve been on the fence about opening a business card, this is the push. 👇

Comment SMALL BIZ and I’ll send you everything you need to know before it’s gone!

And truly, thank you for supporting my small business by using my links when you apply!

Vacation Pointers may receive compensation from JPMC. by @vacation_pointers

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a month ago

I’m so excited to share my new Voyage Nylon Split Travel Bag and RFID-blocking passport holder from @onequince!

A few things I love about this bag:

1️⃣ It splits into two separate compartments, so it’s easy to keep things organized and grab what you need without digging through one big pile

2️⃣ It slides right over your rolling suitcase handle, so it’s one less thing to carry through the airport

3️⃣ The cobalt blue passport holder is RFID-blocking and the color will make it easy to find in my bag

It’s the kind of bag that looks put-together but still holds everything a family trip actually requires with room to spare.

If you want to grab one for yourself, use code INFG-26VACATIONPOINTERS10 for 10% off your first Quince purchase.

Save this for later if you’re due for a travel bag refresh! ➡️

#QuincePartner by @vacation_pointers

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a month ago