How I Flew 220,000 Miles Last Year (without really trying)

A Year in the Life of a Travel Writer

The world is small, but incredibly diverse. There’s always something amazing going on somewhere. So living less than two hours from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is a little dangerous for me. I’m always tempted to head off with at least one of my kids and see something new.

When I added up my miles flown last year, I was surprised to see that I was over 200,000. I don’t track mileage as I go, and I don’t particularly pay attention to flight distances or times. Whether I’m heading east or west, I get on a plane, watch some movies, fall asleep, and then wake up somewhere fun. And I’m not a road warrior. I’m at home more than I’m traveling. I even cut a few trips short last year to come home sooner, eliminating Bosnia, Croatia and Montenegro, along with a few other destinations, with the click of a mouse.

Travel writer - Photo editing in the Maldives — Photo editing in the Maldives

I should note that my kids go to a normal school. In 2018 my 10-year-old and 12-year-old missed just two days for travel – when we were coming back from the Galapagos. My 8-year-old missed 13 days, since she took her one-on-one trip during the school year, and joined me on a couple of campaigns. But her teachers always gave her work to take with her, so she was never behind when she returned. Most of my campaigns, and all of our family travel, fell over school breaks. All of my solo personal travel (either going to see family or heading to conferences/events) was during the school year.

So how did I get to 220,000 miles?

One on One Trips

Starting at the age of four, each of my kids gets to choose anywhere in the world for a one on one trip with me every year. This year my 12-year-old opted out. My 8-year-old chose Japan – we flew into Tokyo and out of Kyoto/Osaka. My 10-year-old chose to go around the world, with stops in Copenhagen, Greenland, the Seychelles, Abu Dhabi, Mumbai and Singapore. Both were great trips.

Total days = 28
Total miles flown = 43,255

Tokyo with kids - Cotton candy! — Japan with my 8-year-old

Seychelles with kids - Reading on Grand Anse — The Seychelles on our around-the-world trip

The World Cup

My son loves football, and wanted to see a World Cup game in person. I had never been to Russia or seen a men’s World Cup game (I caught the Women’s World Cup in Montreal), so it sounded great to me. We flew to St. Petersburg, Russia for a few days and attended the Sweden-Switzerland second round game. Fun trip. And we stopped in Stockholm for a night on the back for a great meal with a friend.

Total days = 6
Total miles flown = 11,868

Travel Writer - In St. Petersburg, Russia at the World Cup — In St. Petersburg, Russia at the World Cup

Brazil and the Amazon

My son got to go to Russia on a bonus trip, so I took my 8-year-old to Brazil! We met up with friends in Manaus and explored the Amazon Rainforest for a week. Probably my favorite kid trip ever. And it doesn’t really belong in any other category here, so it gets its own!

Total days = 9
Total miles flown = 9,488

Amazon Rain Forest with Kids - Sunset from the front of the Jacaré Açu — On the Rio Negro in Brazil’s Amazon Rainforest

Family Travel

My 12-year-old daughter not only opted out of her annual one-on-one trip, she also voted to not travel as a family as much as in past years. And we obliged. We still made it to five countries (Ecuador/Galapagos, Belgium, Italy, the Maldives and Singapore), but we stuck close to home for most of the summer and for Christmas, and only headed to NYC for a few days for spring break.

Total days = 39
Total miles flown = 48,812

Mashpi Lodge - Sunset at Ecuador's Mashpi Lodge — Sunset at Ecuador’s Mashpi Lodge

Travel Writer - In Bruges, Belgium in August — In Bruges, Belgium in August

Travel Writer - Florence is an annual stop. Last year I made it there three times. — Florence is an annual stop. Last year I got there three times.

Maldives with kids - The coconut husk Christmas tree at Six Senses Laaamu — Six Senses Laamu in the Maldives, right before Christmas

Travel Writer - In Singapore — In Singapore

Travel to See Family

We started the year in Colorado with my family. I also took two solo trips to Colorado, and one to Rome/Vienna, to see family. A highlight was attending my niece’s baptism at the Vatican.

Total days = 14
Total miles flown = 19,621

smart travel spending - The view from the rooftop of our hotel in Rome - right in the middle of everywhere that we want to go. — The view from the rooftop of our hotel in Rome (the Albergo del Senato)

Travel Writer - At our family baptism, in a Vatican chapel — At our family baptism, in a Vatican chapel

Travel with Kids for Travel Campaigns

Probably my favorite category! I love that I’ve been able to craft a career where destinations fly me in with at least one of my kids to promote them. This year, in addition to Greenland (included in the RTW stats above), we had campaigns in Oahu, Jackson Hole (Wyoming), Wisconsin, Houston, and Trentino (Italy), and a couple in Florida, including a Caribbean cruise.

Total days = 36
Total miles flown = 34,160

Affordable Hawaii: Swinging at Kualoa's Secret Beach — In Hawaii with IHG Hotels

Jackson Hole with Kids: At the summit of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort — At the summit of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort

Houston with Kids - Playing on the USS Texas — Playing on the USS Texas as part of our Houston campaign

Milwaukee with kids - The table setup overlooking the farm — At a farm dinner in Wisconsin

Travel Writer - My kids love my Universal Orlando campaigns! — My kids love my Universal Orlando campaigns!

Val di Fassa - Hiking above Campitello di Fassa — Hiking above Campitello di Fassa in Trentino, Italy

Celebrity Edge - Walking around the Celebrity Edge — Walking around the Celebrity Edge

Travel Events and Conferences

I went to a lot fewer conferences and events this year than in the past. I love attending them, but I hate being away from my family, so more and more I decline invitations and stay at home. Still I made it to ITB in Berlin, I hiked across Tuscany, I hung out with racehorses on the beach in Barbados at sunrise, I went wine tasting in upstate New York, and I attended The Points Guy’s travel awards ceremony in New York City. Oh and I got to play at Universal Orlando a couple of times, and I hung out with the Travelocity Roaming Gnome in Mexico.

Total days = 41
Total miles flown = 53,688

Universal Orlando 2018 - The Voodoo Doughnut Ribbon Cutting — The grand opening of Voodoo Doughnut at Universal Orlando

How to fly a lot - Sunrise in San Gimignano, Italy, partway through our 90km hike on the Via Francigena — Sunrise in San Gimignano, Italy, partway through our 90km hike on the Via Francigena

Travel Writer - In Barbados for a travel conference. — In Barbados for a travel conference

Travel Writer - All dressed up at The Points Guy awards in NYC in December — All dressed up at The Points Guy awards in NYC in December

Cabo with kids - Sailing past the Land's End arch at sunset with the Roaming Gnome — Sailing past the Land’s End arch in Los Cabos, Mexico with the Roaming Gnome

Frequent Flier Miles, Loyalty and Cost

I haven’t added up costs, but all of this flying cost a lot less than you probably think. My quick thoughts on how to fly for less:

When possible I’m loyal to United and Star Alliance. I had over 150,000 qualifying miles on United last year, and was barely over the $12,000 spending requirement – a lot of which was paid for by clients. This means that I have 1k status, which gets me 11 miles for every dollar paid and eight international upgrade certificates a year. It also gives me access to a separate inventory of tickets available for frequent flier miles, and nice flexibility to change award tickets with no penalty.

My backup is American and the Oneworld alliance. I’m mid-tier Platinum on American, so I get fewer miles for every dollar spent, and fewer upgrades. But the miles still add up.

Travel Writer - In Copenhagen this summer. We arrvied on Lufthansa (Star Alliance) and departed on Qatar Airways (Oneworld). — In Copenhagen this summer. We arrvied on Lufthansa (Star Alliance) and departed on Qatar Airways (Oneworld).

I get miles for flying obviously, but most of my miles come from credit card spending and bonuses. I redeemed over 500,000 miles this year for free flights – mainly to Europe, but also for things like a helicopter ride in the Seychelles.

Around the world - Arriving in the Seychelles. We would definitely splurge on the helicopter again! — The best flight of the year – a helicopter ride with Zil Air from the Mahé airport to Six Senses Zil Pasyon in the Seychelles.

This year I wrote several posts for Capital One on saving for travel, saving when traveling, and maximizing miles. If you want to fly more for less, there are some tips in these that should help you:

But all of this flying sucks, right?

I get this question/statement a lot. The simple truth is that I don’t think much about it. I don’t love flying and I don’t hate flying. The more I travel, the easier it gets. I know where to park, I avoid long check-in and security lines because of airline status and Global Entry and TSA PreCheck, and I get lounge access frequently. Airplanes are simply a way to get me/us to our destinations so that we can see the world. And compared to the difficulty of traveling 100 years ago, I don’t take for granted at all how amazing it is that I can hop into a metal tube and a day later be halfway around the world. I use my time in the air to sleep, read, write, and catch up on movies.

Greenland with kids - Boarding in Kangerlussuaq — Boarding our Air Greenland flight to Nuuk

I actually had remarkably few issues last year. In 112 flights I don’t think my luggage was delayed once (I check bags the majority of the time). I had one missed connection in Newark because of a delayed inbound flight. Our flight from San Francisco to Tokyo was delayed seven hours because of a baggage count issue. Our flight from LA to Honolulu turned around mid-flight because of a medical emergency. We had to divert in Greenland for 24 hours because of weather, leading to an unexpected but fun opportunity to see a different part of the island. And I had to run through Munich’s vast airport a few times to catch flights. But otherwise no issues.

Airlines and Family Travel

United and American are the best airlines for us given where they fly. There are no issues with flights 95% of the time, and when there are, the airlines typically give us vouchers towards future flights. They annoy me though because they do nothing for kids other than maybe allowing them to board first (if the kids are under two). We flew a lot of airlines this year, including Swiss Air, Austrian, Qatar Airways, Silk Air, Air Greenland, Air Dolomiti, Maldivian, Etihad, Singapore, ANA, Lufthansa and SAS. Some of these airlines serve kids their meals first. Most give out travel packs, or even backpacks, to kids with toys and games. And some airlines, like Emirates, even have separate frequent flier programs just for kids. I’d love for the US-based airlines to catch on. It’s still possible to make kids excited to fly, and to develop brand loyalty early on!

Travel writer - In Vienna, Austria - an unexpected overnight when I changed my Rome return at the last minute — In Vienna, Austria – an unexpected overnight when I changed my Austrian Air return from Rome at the last minute

I loved this year, but it was also just a little bit too much time on airplanes. I’m hoping for closer to 150,000 miles in 2019 – still enough to get to some new places and have fun adventures, but I’d like to be home more.

How about you? What was your favorite trip last year? Where are you excited to go this year?