Good afternoon everyone, I hope your week is going well. I’m kicking off a new series on the blog called Miles & Points Mantra, where I’ll be sharing the personal “rules” I follow when it comes to using airline miles, hotel points, credit card rewards, and all things travel. I try to follow these rules 100% of the time, but I have been known to break the rules from time to time. Whether you’re brand new to travel hacking or a seasoned pro, I’d love to hear if you agree or disagree with these “rules.” I have a long list of mantras to share, but if you have one you swear by (or want me to cover), please share it in the comments section below. Let’s get started…
Miles & Points Mantra #1: “Use Hotel Free Night Certificates ASAP”
If you are just starting out and only have 1 or 2 hotel Free Night Certificates (FNCs), it might not be too difficult to remember to use them before they expire. Fortunately / unfortunately, between Laura and myself, we have earned / received 15 FNCs in the last 12 months from various credit card sign up bonuses, paying renewal annual fees on our hotel credit cards, and from completing a Hyatt Brand Explorer challenge. 15 FNCs means we have to spend at least 15 nights in hotels throughout the year in 4 different hotel brands (Hilton, Hyatt. IHG, and Marriott) within certain categories and point limitations. The only way I can manage these FNCs is in a spreadsheet.
Above is a screenshot of my current hotel FNC spreadsheet showing the 11 FNCs we have available. I have them ordered by expiration date with the earliest expiring FNCs at the top of the table. I have them color coded to help distinguish the various hotel brands and levels of FNCs. When it is time to book a hotel, I open up my spreadsheet, see which certificates are expiring soonest, and try to find a good property to stay at. With so many FNCs, I am not trying to maximize each FNC. A good redemption 10 months before it expires is better than a bad redemption 1 week before it expires.
Once I book a hotel reservation, I fill in the information about the stay, including the date I booked the reservation, the date of the hotel stay, the hotel name, the confirmation number, the number of points (if I paid entirely in points), the cash price (if I booked a refundable rate), any notes (Spring Break, Joe’s Wedding, etc.) and the cancellation deadline, in case I want to switch hotels or rebook at a lower price.
After the hotel stay is completed, I don’t delete that row from my spreadsheet. Instead, I move it down to the bottom of my spreadsheet. This helps remind me when and where I used a FNC along with when the next FNC will post. For example, I know that we will get 3 more IHG 40K FNCs between 6/18/25 – 7/27/25 and then another 40K capped FNC on 11/19/25. This information could be really useful if I need to book an upcoming IHG hotel stay in August – December 2025.
That’s it for this mantra! Whether you’re nodding along in agreement or shaking your head in disbelief, I hope it gave you a fresh perspective on your own travel strategy. I have more mantras coming soon, so stay tuned. And remember, If you have a rule you live by or a topic you’d like to see me cover, please leave it in comments section. I would love to write about it in a future post. Have a great day everyone!