I just got back from a nine-day trip to Florence, Pisa and Rome with my partner, where the only money we spent was on food , museums and a few impulse purchases. The flights and hotels were covered entirely by miles. It was a ton of fun and a great reminder that spending points is just as important (maybe even more important) than earning them.

That can be easier said than done if, like me, you tend to be more of a saver than a spender. I was proud of the more than 300,000 miles I'd accumulated, and it was hard to imagine watching that balance shrink. But the reality is, points are worth nothing if you don't use them.

So I finally forced myself to spend some of them, and I'm glad I did. A week in Italy turned out to be far more exciting than staring at a large point balance.

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