The best travel tip for families

☀️ Good morning from 30,000 feet over Cameroon, where I’ve found the holy grail of travel: a regional African airline with lie-flat seats AND Wi-Fi. 🏆

I’ll tell you more about Rwandair (and how to book it with points) another time.

For now, let’s talk about the stuff you’ll care way more about:

• ✈️ United just changed everything about how you earn miles

• 🧑‍🧑‍🧒‍🧒 The best travel tip for families

• 🎿 Colorado in Winter Isn’t Just Skiing

✈️ United just changed everything about how you earn miles

Airlines are always trying to figure out how to “enhance” their programs. And United woke up last week with a new, BRILLIANT idea:

Here’s the short version: If you don’t hold a United credit card, you’re about to earn way fewer United miles on flights. Like… noticeably fewer.

And if you book Basic Economy without a card? You earn zero miles. Zilch. Nada.

But if you do have a United card?

They’re basically rolling out a red carpet, a foot massage, and a bowl of warm nuts for you (figuratively).

Co-branded cardholders will earn more miles than before, plus get cheaper award tickets thanks to the new cardholder-only award discounts of 10-15%.

Here is the comparison of specific earning rate changes:

Keep in mind that the above rates don’t include the miles you earn from spending on the card… so the pot is definitely sweet for cardholders.

And the system goes live for tickets booked on or after April 2, 2026 – so at least we have a little heads-up about this (unlike what we get from some airlines 😅).

So… what’s actually changing?

Here’s the quick version:

• Mileage earning rates drop for everyone unless you hold a United co-branded card.

• Basic Economy earns 0 miles without a card.

• Cardholders earn more miles than before (especially if you buy the ticket with the card).

• Award tickets are cheaper for cardholders, and even cheaper if you have elite status and a card.

• These changes apply to all members, from general flyers to elites.

United’s logic here is obvious:

Airlines make billions from loyalty programs and credit cards… not from you actually flying on the plane.

So United is nudging people toward getting a card now… and once enough people bite, we all know what comes next:

Annual fees go up, benefits shrink, points get devalued. It’s the circle of airline life. 🦁

But the question is… is this really that bad overall? Is it even maybe… good?

What I personally do (and why I don’t mind these changes much)

I don’t credit my United flights to United (a.k.a. I don’t earn United miles when flying United). 🤷🏼‍♂️

Instead, I credit them to Air Canada’s Aeroplan program – and honestly, it’s great.

Here’s why:

1. Aeroplan earns based on distance flown

United now earns miles based on revenue, which is cute, except most of us aren’t shelling out $5,000 for long-haul business-class fares.

If you’re flying long routes for normal-human prices, Aeroplan’s distance-based earning just treats you better.

2. Aeroplan points are super useful

Aeroplan uses a hybrid, distance-based award chart with caps for certain partners (including United), making it easy to get amazing redemptions.

You can redeem for United if you want… OR you can redeem for some of the world’s best partner airlines and sweet spots.

So here’s my advice, based on who you are:

If you don’t want a United credit card

Try to book your 2026 flights before April 2, 2026, to lock in the current (better) earning rates.

And seriously – consider crediting your United flights to Aeroplan.

If you do want/have a United card

Signing up for a co-branded credit card isn’t the craziest hurdle to get past – especially because earning rates will be even better than they are now if you get such a card.

You might actually want to wait to book some trips until after April 2, 2026, so you can scoop up the extra miles and discounted award pricing.

If you want to read more about these changes, check out United’s press release.

🧑‍🧑‍🧒‍🧒 The best travel tip for families

Speaking of co-branded airline credit cards… 👀

If that last section put a bad taste in your mouth about United, you can always jump ship and start flying a different airline… like Southwest.

And now might be a good time to do it, especially if you travel as a family.

Here’s why:

Southwest is currently offering a full year of Companion Pass AND a batch of bonus points when you sign up for one of their co-branded cards.

As a reminder, the Southwest Companion Pass lets you book a flight with points or cash and bring another guest for free (well, you have to pay the taxes, which are $5.60 on domestic flights).

But here’s how you can take this to the next level…

If you sign up for one of those cards, you could refer your spouse, partner, or another family member to the same card.

By referring them, you’ll get referral points… AND they’ll get the welcome offer.

That means you’ll earn TWO Companion Passes and THREE batches of points (two from each welcome offer + referral points).

Once you both meet the spending requirements for the welcome offers, you’ll each be able to bring a free companion on any and all Southwest flights.

In other words, a family of four can travel for the price of two. ✌️

That sounds pretty darn good to me.

PRESENTED BY THE COLORADO TOURISM BOARD

🎿 Colorado in Winter Isn’t Just Skiing (Though the Skiing is Great)

Colorado gets a reputation as a skier’s paradise — which, sure, fair.

But winter there is way more than that, and honestly, that’s what makes it such a fun place to plan a trip.

You can absolutely go the classic route: ski Breckenridge or Winter Park, grab a good meal in town, and call it a day.

But you can also spend an afternoon soaking in hot springs, ride a historic train through a snowy canyon, wander a small downtown with a coffee in hand, or do literally none of that and just enjoy mountain views from a quiet lodge.

The best part is that you can mix and match without doing too much driving or planning.

And if you’re using points, it gets even easier — think Hyatt redemptions in the mountains, Capital One miles to cover independent hotels, or various bonus categories on ski passes and gear.

If you want a few plug-and-play trip ideas (ski and springs weekend, hot springs loop, city-and-mountains combo), we laid them all out — plus the best ways to keep costs down during peak season.

That’s it for today, folks! Before I let you go, I’m curious about your opinion of the two airlines we covered today.

See you tomorrow ❤️

1.9441° S, 30.0619° E

With contributions by McKay Moffitt