The June Rewind
New York Magazine called me a cool mom, the five stages of sleepaway camp withdrawal, KNICKS IN FIVE and more from a very hot June.
I started The Point in the fall of 2024 when I got a New York Times feature on the cover of the business section. I ran to my hotel room, launched this newsletter — a smart, thoughtful dispatch on elevated travel with points and miles — and never looked back!
Today, I am so honored to be on the list of top Substack bestsellers in travel — #40ish among bazillions of Substack writers who cover the beloved theme of travel.
June was a month! It’s been a little while since I’ve traveled which has been nice — there is no place like home. Much of my time was spent doing end of school year kid stuff, planning summer trips, getting the kids ready for summer camp and running my businesses! Sometimes I can’t quite believe how much time I spend on this newsletter — but here we are!
We dropped the kids off for sleepaway camp on Sunday for the first time and I've gone through all kinds of phases in the 5 days since:
Shock: At first, it was shocking. I couldn’t believe the kids wouldn’t be home and kept forgetting and re-remembering they were gone. Very confusing!
Sadness: I would start crying when I’d see families together or kids out and about in the neighborhood. I am used to their many texts and calls from their watches (SO MANY TEXTS AND CALLS) that it felt eerie and strange and made me think about how it will feel to one day be an empty nester. So many tears!
Worry: Then the worry started. Were they ok? Did they need anything? Would they know to ask for help? Am I going to get a bombshell phone call that they need to get picked up (hi! I have an anxiety disorder!).
Joy: Shock and worry have actually not gone anywhere somehow (we finally made their beds but it looked like they’d been raptured!) but I started to feel joy and peace in the quiet of the house. I love my kids to no end but they are LOUD AND NEEDY and there is nothing quite like a quiet house!
Confusion: Now it’s a jumble! I get to talk to them tonight for the first time and I’m excited and worried, shocked and joyful. I hope they are having a blast.
Have any tips for a first time sleepaway camp parent? Please share!
This month brought us a highest ever 100,000 point welcome bonus on the best starter card for points travel. If you have never had this card (even if you already have the premium version) take 5 minutes today and apply for this one. The points can get you multiple nights at a hotel, flights for your next trip and more. We’ve waited a long time for this! I only talk about something this much when it’s a big deal!
Rove added Frontier as a travel partner. Frontier Miles joins Rove’s growing roster of airline and hotel transfer partners, including favorites such as Air Canada, Virgin Atlantic, Air France/KLM and more. If you use the link here to sign up (it’s free and takes 10 seconds) you’ll earn 1,500 miles to get started.
Hyatt no longer offers a 1:1 transfer from this card. To preserve a 1:1 transfer with those points, make sure to pick up the premium card which retains the 1:1 ratio.
Many of you used my links to apply for cards this month and I just want to say thank you. Each time you click the card links and get approved for a card, you’re not only earning yourself welcome bonus points, but you’re helping a small business grow. It means a lot. You can always find card links here - or DM/email me for any you don’t see — or with questions. Thank you!
The #1 points card has an elevated bonus (was 75,000 now 100,000)
Two business cards (this one and this one) are offering a 100,000 point welcome bonus and no annual fee. This one gets 1.5x on all purchases making it a first choice. If you think you don’t qualify for business cards? Read this. You might be surprised!
This card has a 200,000 point bonus. Crazy high! I recommend this one for anyone that can meet the spend.
This card and this one have bonuses up to 200,000 and 300,000 points. Super high!
Note: I am not keeping things a secret by being vague, there are rules I have to follow regarding saying names of cards and banks!
Curious how to earn more points? Get a totally free mini-wallet edit!
“Deeply serious about points, deeply kind about people. You trust Rachel’s advice because she’s clearly done the work and actually wants it to help.”
- Ally Jane Ayers of Money Changes Everything
Recent Press:
Travel Pulse: How to Involve Your Children in Travel Planning. Here’s a little snippet of this huge feature on the ways in which I recommend involving kids in trip planning!
The Strategist: The Cool Parents I Know Buy Their Kids These Swimsuits. I still can’t believe New York Magazine called me a cool mom! Framing this for the teenage years.
How Do You Afford This (Podcast by Ashley Feinstein Gerstley. I talk about how I redeemed $143K worth of family travel using credit card points in a year and how much things cost raising kids in Brooklyn!
The Purse: My 92-year-old grandmother was one of the first women to get her own credit card. Thank you to Lindsey Stanberry and Alicia Adamczyk for featuring my interview with my grandmother who was one of the first women in the U.S. to get a credit card in the ’70s.
Some past features:
Condé Nast asked how we booked our spring break trip for our family of four to Eastern Europe on points. I broke it all down in a full feature! Read it here.
The New York Times: It was such an honor to speak with The New York Times about loyalty and credit cards!
Bloomberg Travel: I talked to Bloomberg about home swapping — one of my favorite ways to travel!
New York Magazine: I shared my thoughts with New York Magazine on how to save on travel.
Money Musings 💭 Are you a victim of “travel math”? by Ashley Feinstein from The Fiscal Femme
How to travel like you’ve got your sh*t together. Loved this piece, Frosso! So much good advice in one article ❤️
KNICKS IN FIVE!!!!!!!!! What more is there actually to say about June?
This section isn’t usually about cards but I applied for this card during the 150,000 points bonus and was so thrilled to get approved. I was over 5/24 up until the week before this offer expired and I got the application in just under the wire! Iykyk.
I was a panelist on Aransas Savas’ Uplifiters podcast on how to be successful on Substack! The best part was getting to meet my co-panelist Erin Shetron!
Rove invite me out to a summer kickoff party where I met so many fun folks in the travel space and got to meet their team in person (fun fact: the founder and I are from the same area in Michigan!).
I went to the sweetest “black tie pizza party” bar mitzvah — a theme only my friend Leah Wiseman Fink could pull off so well 🖤
I visited a friend’s new design studio in Carroll Gardens full of truly beautiful things.
My old friend Herman Dune from LA, played a gorgeous set at Lincoln Center. Listen to his latest record here!
My kids each took a solo trip to Detroit to see my family. Should I write a post on kids flying as unaccompanied minors?? Y/N
The night the Knicks won, my dear friend Gina Hamadey threw herself a NYC anniversary party to celebrate her 25 years in New York complete with custom messages for each guest with their own NYC memories.
Birdie won first place at the Brooklyn Heights Dog Show! Our old dog Finn was a reigning champ of this sweet neighborhood show and it was so fun to bring Birdie (and for her to go home with a prize!).
Jennifer Cook hosted another wonderful Substack happy hour where I got to meet such fun, cool writers like Odette Williams, Katie Stone and others.
We attended the Prospect Park Soiree, such a fun event to support the park! They supply the tables and a DJ and each group brings their own tablescape, food and drinks. It’s so fun to walk around and see the themes each group comes up with and bump into so many friends.
(have cheese plate will travel) Henry graduated from elementary school 🥹🥹🥹 and we celebrated with dinner at the kids’ favorite local restaurant. So much change in one month!
We headed to The Strand to see our friend Jonas Hassen Khemiri, author of The Sisters (a must read!) record a beautiful piece for This American Life (my favorite podcast of all time!).
I channeled all of the pre-sleepaway camp anxiety (our first year of sleepaway camp!) into camp forms, packing lists, weeks of late night online purchases and overstuffed duffel bags. This was the timeliest piece I read this month.
I finally got my taxes done this week after filing an extension. I have stressed about them for months. They took up so much head space when they were incomplete. I am never doing that again!
We used the StubHub twice a year $150 credit on each of these cards to buy Yankee tickets! Too bad they lost but at least it was free!
The kids’ baseball teams made it all the way to the little league championships so let’s just say that we also watched A LOT of baseball this month.
The World Cup started but I had put all my sports energy into the Knicks and little league and haven’t had the energy for soccer. I needed at least a couple days in between - too much to ask to have all these sports overlap!
I planned so many trips this month! We are off Monday on our first adventure. More on that soon!
Where are you headed this summer?
Love reading your messages about how you are using points to travel!
The most popular posts in June
Some past popular posts
What our paid subscribers enjoyed this month
This month, paid subscribers got my five-step framework for booking flights with points, followed along on our trip to Malta, learned what you can actually do with 100,000 points, got a detailed, easy-to-follow guide to figuring out what your points are really worth and more behind the paywall.
Instead of the usual monthly Point Salon Q&A live zoom session, I held a handful of complimentary 1:1 ten minute phone calls with paid subscribers (who registered for the Point Salon) to answer points and miles questions, offer tailored advice and learn their goals. The best part of the month was chatting with some of you and getting to know you better! Thank you for being here!!
My publishing schedule may look a little different over the summer but I’ll be here sharing all the tips and strategies to help you travel better.
Expect two articles a week — one will be points and travel tips, the other will likely be postcards from wherever we are in the world!
Don’t forget to use the chat whenever you have a question or something to share. You can also reach me by chat, DM or email for points and credit card questions or anything else that comes up.
Remember, I also have affiliate links to most cards including many I don’t regularly feature in the newsletter. If you’re thinking about applying for a card or are trying to earn more welcome bonus points, please reach out first so I can help you find the best option for your goals. Using my links is one of the best ways to support this newsletter! You can find many of them below. 👇
Thanks for being here, for supporting my small business and for being a part of this special community! It means so much.
loved this one, rachel!