What’s better than miles and points for one?  Miles and points for two!  Why should one person in the family have all the fun? Maximizing miles by combining multiple family members’ earning power is key to building miles balances.

To accumulate even more miles and points, have your spouse/partner have points-earning credit cards as well.  In some cases, you can even combine or transfer the points into one account.

Referrals

The best way to earn miles and points quickly is via new credit card sign-up bonuses.   If each person in a couple signs up for a new card, they can each get a sign-up bonus.   Additionally, one person can even refer the other person and get a referral bonus on top! 

For example, I may have a referral link in my AMEX account that earns me 25,000 miles per referral. If my wife signs up for a new card using my referral link, I will earn the 25,000 referral bonus, and she will earn the sign-up bonus, which may be 200,000 miles.

In the long term, you need to decide whether it is worth keeping both cards open, given the large annual fees on some cards.

 

Additional Cardholders

Frequently, card issuers offer bonus points for adding an additional user. I have had offers on my AMEX Business Platinum card for 15,000 miles per additional card added, with a $4,000 spending requirement, up to 5 additional cards. If you have adult children, you can add them, as well as a spouse, to keep it all in the family. The miles will all accumulate in your account for spending on the additional cards.

You do not even need to get the Platinum Cards, which incur an annual fee. You can add them for the no-fee additional business card. Keep your eyes open in the AMEX offers section of the AMEX app or website for these offers, as well as email offers.

Individual Loyalty Accounts

Make sure each person is enrolled in all hotel and air loyalty programs, and ensure their membership number is always entered when booking travel so they earn points and miles when traveling without you.  Some programs allow you to transfer points to another person (e.g., Marriott Bonvoy, World of Hyatt), while others allow you to pool points (e.g., United MileagePlus, British Airways Avios). This is a good way to maximize benefits to get free travel.

Tea for Two

One of the best strategies to earn more points is to have each person in a couple or family have their own miles-earning credit cards and loyalty accounts, thereby maximizing miles by combining multiple family members’ earning power. This will allow each person to accumulate large credit-card sign-up bonuses and their own miles as well.

About Miles Man

Miles Man provides the unique service of helping travelers book travel with miles and points through its Award Booking Service, as well as paid trips, as a certified IATAN Travel Agency.