May 17, 2026
With exorbitant gas prices, long airport TSA lines, airlines shuttering and headline-grabbing cruise ship virus outbreaks, today's travelers may feel like they need a vacation from their vacations. And you may be thinking a staycation is the best plan to make this summer.
But Brian Kelly, famously known as The Points Guy, says you don't need to ditch your travel plans.
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Kelly shared his hacks to lower travel stress and spending on an episode of Bloomberg's (1) "Everybody's Business" podcast. His biggest takeaway is to play offense and stop assuming that when you book, that's the best price you're going to get. "Airlines and hotels are using AI to screw us all … so as consumers, we need to use AI to fight back," he said.
He uses online travel service Autopilot (2) to track booked flights. If the price drops, it automatically rebooks and provides a voucher. He does the same for hotels with Google Hotels, and uses AutoSlash (3) for rental cars. "Let technology continuously check and then rebook and put money back in your pocket," he advised.
Optimism about rewards points
Kelly, who built his fortune by sharing airline loyalty program hacks, said he's still optimistic about rewards points, and that travelers should take advantage of the competitive credit card landscape, as "the banks will give you thousands of dollars for free."
He himself has 30 credit cards, he noted, but if you are juggling a lot of plastic, you should, of course, pay them off before interest accrues. If you hold balances on your cards, you'll lose the value of the points.
Kelly said you can often get the best rates with a bank card such as Amex or Chase, rather than accruing rewards with only an airline card, which might gatekeep award inventory. You can then transfer the points to any number of partners. You could be earning much more valuable currency with that kind of transfer plan, he said.
He suggests using websites such as point.me and seats.aero for booking with the least number of miles.
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Looking toward foreign airlines
There is inflation when it comes to redeeming points, Kelly says, so "don't go with the big U.S. airlines." You should pay attention to foreign frequent flyer programs instead.
Air France, for example, has 60,000-mile, one-way business-class flights all summer to Europe. That same flight on Delta is 500,000 points, Kelly said. The Chase Sapphire Reserve (4) card comes with 150,000 points and is an Air France transfer partner.
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For travelers worried about cancellations, Kelly recommends booking multiple award tickets, as most are fully refundable. Prices usually drop to saver level the week of the flight, so you can cancel and rebook. There might be a $50 cancellation fee with some carriers, but Kelly said it's worth it for the savings.
He also noted that, when valuing a card, you should look at the full picture. He used the example of the Capital One Venture X card, which has a $395 annual fee, but comes with a $300 travel voucher and 10,000 points valued at $100 — as well as lounge access, travel coverage and high level of customer service.
Private jet options for the masses
Bloomberg's "travel czar" Nikki Eskin, who joined on the podcast, weighed in with an unexpected tip of her own. She said booking a private jet can often be more reasonably priced than you think. She mentioned the company JSX (5), and a quick search found that a one-way flight from the New York area to Miami starts at $499. That standard commercial economy flight is sitting between $178 and $303. You can book on demand as a non-member.
Hopping on board an empty leg flight (6), which is a flight that may be empty because it's returning from a destination and has no passengers to fly back, can also offer discounts that many consumers may not be aware of.
The bottom line is that points can still work for you if you are looking for travel deals this summer – and you might even consider private travel to avoid airport mayhem.
But if you do end up deciding that a staycation is better for you this summer, just make sure to check the expiration date (7) on your points, so you don't miss out on potential rewards you've already racked up.
Article Sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our ethics and guidelines.
Bloomberg (1); Autopilot (2); AutoSlash (3); Chase (4); JSX (5); Blade (6); The Points Guy (7)
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Amanda Smith is an Australian freelance journalist and writer based in the New York City area who reports on culture/society, technology, and health.
