I have to hand it to people who can manage to go about their daily lives (successfully, I might add) and still have time to blog. So let’s get point one right out the open: I’m sorry to have disappeared for so long! Between a crazy month of work and many weekends of travel–more on that below–I’ve neglected A Point Earned. Bad Sam! I’m not going to make promises, but I have very much missed blogging, and hopefully something like this doesn’t happen again.
So the fun part of being away for so long is that I can update you on all the traveling I did (and how I did it for cheap–that’s the whole point, right?)!
| Date | Item | Cash Spent | Points Used | Value of Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5/12/2016 | Delta Airlines Flight #3702 | $42.10* | 0 | n/a |
| 5/15/2015 | Concord Coach #31 | $15.00 | 0 | n/a |
| 5/15/2015 | Amtrak #139 | $0.00 | 2,490 | $68.40 |
| 5/27/2016 | Amtrak #176 | $0.00 | 2,490 | $68.40 |
| 5/27/2016 | Concord Coach #36 | $15.00 | 0 | n/a |
| 5/30/2016 | Concord Coach #31 | $15.00 | 0 | n/a |
| 5/30/2016 | Amtrak #139 | $0.00 | 2,490 | $68.40 |
| 6/3/2016 | Amtrak #174 | $0.00 | 5,143 | $138.80 |
| 6/3/2016 | Concord Coach #36 | $15.00 | 0 | n/a |
| 6/6/2016 | Concord Coach #31 | $15.00 | 0 | n/a |
| 6/6/2016 | Amtrak #177 | $0.00 | 2,490 | $68.40 |
* I has a $200 Delta gift card thanks to my American Express Premier Rewards Gold card, which I used to offset the cost of the plane ticket.
Over the past four weekends, I’ve been traveling for three of them. On these three trips, I spent $117.10 to get back and forth from my destinations. I also used 15,103 Amtrak points, which are valued at about $412.40.
Although you can’t put a price on two graduations and a relaxing Memorial Day weekend, being able to save over $600 to see my family makes going to these important things all the more easier. If only Concord Coach Lines had a credit card (or frequent busser program!), I’d be all over that!
To me, this post highlights a couple things:
- My undying love for Amtrak. So far this year, Nick and I have saved over $500 on train tickets thanks to my Amtrak card, and it’s only June! We have a trip coming up in July paid for in part by points, saving us an additional ~$200.
- Use points how you see fit! Some people like one first class trip, others like three coach class trips. Like I said above, these trips would have set me back ~$700 without points and giftcards, and I am so glad I got the opportunity to go home for all these occasions without having to shell out more cash!
So there you have it–my return to the blogosphere! Sorry I was truant for so long, and to reiterate, I will try not to let it happen again!
