We're taking it back to the teeny-bopper magazines from our childhood...that's right, it's quiz time!! There are approximately 47,000 ways to use points and miles, and somehow we all manage to approach them completely differently. Some of us have spreadsheets. Some of us have spreadsheets for our spreadsheets. And some just want the family to get to Florida without taking out a second mortgage.

After years of talking about points, miles, credit cards, award availability and the deeply irrational emotions that come with all of the above, we’ve decided there are eight distinct Award Travel Personalities. Which one are you? Time to find out! (Seriously though, how much did we all love those little quizzes when we were growing up??)

Directions: Choose the answer that sounds most like what you actually do, not the person you aspire to become. Keep track of your letters as you go. There are no wrong answers, although The Maximizer may strongly disagree with that statement.

1. You find a nonstop flight that works perfectly for your family. It costs 32,000 points per person. What happens next?

A. I immediately calculate the cents-per-point value before I allow myself to feel anything.
B. Thirty-two THOUSAND?! Maybe I should just keep saving my points.
C. I search every partner airline and nearby airport because there has to be something better.
D. Wait…does business class have availability?
E. I check which card, transfer partner and transfer bonus combination gives me the optimal booking strategy.
F. I book it. We'll figure the rest of the trip out later.
G. Does it save me real money? Yes? BOOK IT.
H. Booked. Great. Now which card am I opening next?

2. Your points balance hits 500,000. Your immediate reaction is:

A. “Okay, but what is the actual value of those points?”
B. Deep satisfaction. I would like to admire them for another 18 months.
C. Think of all the impossible to find award seats I could hunt down with these.
D. Excellent. Which hotel has an infinity pool and a breakfast buffet that costs $72 per person?
E. Time to update the master spreadsheet.
F. Honestly, I’m not entirely sure how I accumulated that many.
G. That could pay for a LOT of trips.
H. Challenge accepted. Let's spend them and earn 500,000 more.

3. You hear someone say, “I got 1.3 cents per point on that redemption.”

A. I experience physical discomfort.
B. At least they still have some points left…right?
C. But did they check the partner award calendar?
D. Depends. Was it a Park Hyatt?
E. I need significantly more information before rendering an opinion.
F. Sounds fine to me! Did they have fun?
G. DID IT SAVE THEM MONEY? That's the question.
H. Points were earned. Points were spent. Circle of life.

4. Your dream award trip starts with:

A. An absurdly high redemption value.
B. Knowing I still have 600,000 points left afterward.
C. Finding five award seats everyone said were impossible to book.
D. Lie-flat seats followed by a hotel where someone brings me a welcome drink.
E. A beautifully optimized collection of transfer bonuses, category bonuses and benefits.
F. A destination, a vague plan and confidence that everything will work out.
G. Taking the whole family somewhere amazing without wrecking the budget.
H. A giant welcome bonus that needs to be spent immediately.

5. Your spouse texts: “Can you just book the hotel?”

A. “Yes, but first I need to compare the cash rate to the points rate.”
B. “Do we HAVE to use points?”
C. “Yes, but I found something way better 47 minutes away.”
D. “Already done. Suite upgrade confirmed.”
E. “Which hotel? On which card? Are we using a free night certificate? What's the cancellation policy?”
F. “Sure!” Books something approximately four minutes later.
G. “Yep. Free breakfast, free parking and no resort fee.”
H. “Done. Also, I signed you up for a new credit card.”

6. An amazing 25% transfer bonus appears. What do you do?

A. Calculate whether it creates an objectively superior redemption.
B. Nothing unless I absolutely need to transfer. My points are safer where they are.
C. Search award availability like it’s my full time job.
D. Check whether it can get me into a hotel or premium cabin I normally wouldn't pay for.
E. Consult my upcoming travel plans, transfer partner chart and points balances.
F. Transfer some points because Future Me will probably figure something out.
G. Only use it if it reduces the actual cost of a trip I already want to take.
H. Fantastic. Transfer, book, empty the account, start earning again.

7. What does your award-travel browser usually look like?

A. Cash fare, award fare and calculator open simultaneously.
B. My loyalty account balances. I like checking on them.
C. Seventeen tabs of award calendars across four airlines.
D. Hotel reviews, room tours and photos of club lounges.
E. Google Sheets, airline websites, bank portals and approximately six reference charts.
F. Instagram, Google Flights and a random airline website I somehow ended up on.
G. “Flights to Orlando.” Keep it simple.
H. Credit-card application pages.

8. You discover the “perfect” redemption, but it requires changing your trip by two days and adding a positioning flight.

A. What's the CPP improvement?
B. Changing plans AND spending points? I’m already nervous.
C. Obviously. That's half the fun.
D. If it gets me into business class or an incredible hotel, absolutely.
E. Give me 20 minutes to model both scenarios.
F. Sure. Why not? Adventure!
G. Nope. The points are supposed to make travel easier.
H. Yes, particularly if I need to burn these points before moving on to the next bonus.

9. Which sentence are you most likely to say?

A. “Technically, we got $11,842 worth of value.”
B. “I’m saving those points for something really good.”
C. “WAIT. I FOUND FIVE BUSINESS CLASS SEATS.”
D. “I would never pay $1,400 a night for this hotel. But 35,000 points? Absolutely.”
E. “Okay, but which card are you using?”
F. “We'll figure it out.”
G. “Did the points save me money? Great!”
H. “Points are meant to be spent.”

10. At the end of the day, what does a “great” redemption mean to you?

A. I squeezed exceptional value out of every point.
B. I got a great trip…and still have a very healthy points balance.
C. I booked something that was ridiculously hard to find.
D. I experienced something I never would have paid cash for.
E. Every piece of my points and miles strategy worked exactly as planned.
F. We went somewhere amazing, even if the process was a little chaotic.
G. My points made travel affordable and let me take more trips.
H. I used the points, had the trip and now I'm ready to earn the next batch.

Count up your answers. Whichever letter you chose most often is your Award Travel Personality. Tied between two? Congratulations: you're a hybrid...as are we for sure!

Mostly A: The Maximizer

Your favorite question is: “But what’s the cents per point value?” You know the cash price before you book an award, you've absolutely canceled a decent redemption because a better one appeared, and somewhere along the way CPP stopped being a calculation and became a lifestyle.

Your superpower: Incredible redemptions.
Your fatal flaw: Sometimes you optimize the fun right out of the trip.

Mostly B: The Hoarder

Your motto: “I’m saving them for something really good.” Your points balances are beautiful. Majestic, even. Unfortunately, actually spending them causes a level of emotional distress usually reserved for genuine emergencies. You understand that points can devalue. You have read the articles. You know this intellectually. And yet…maybe just another 100,000 before you book anything.

Your superpower: You always have points.
Your fatal flaw: The perfect redemption may never arrive.

Mostly C: The Hunter

Your most exciting sentence begins with: “WAIT. I FOUND…” The destination is occasionally secondary. The availability is the destination. While normal people are sleeping, you are searching partner award calendars for five business-class seats during spring break. You know routes nobody else knows, airports nobody else has heard of and sweet spots that require explaining to your family why you're flying to Europe through a completely different continent.

Your superpower: You find award availability normal humans don't believe exists.
Your fatal flaw: Occasionally forgetting to ask whether anyone actually wants to go there.

Mostly D: The Luxury Convert

Before points, you were perfectly happy at a regular 'ol Hyatt Place. Then points showed you suite upgrades. And club lounges. And lie-flat seats. And hotels where breakfast somehow costs $68 but is “free” because of your status. You still wouldn't pay $1,400 for a hotel room. Obviously. But 35,000 points? What a bargain.

Your superpower: Turning points into experiences you'd never buy with cash.
Your fatal flaw: Points have permanently raised your standards.

Mostly E: The Strategist

For you, points aren't accidental. There is a system. You know the bonus categories. You know the statement-closing dates. You know which card everyone in your household should use at the grocery store, and heaven help the person who reaches for the wrong one. There is probably a spreadsheet involved. Possibly several.

Your superpower: You squeeze an incredible number of points out of money you were spending anyway.
Your fatal flaw: Everyone around you is slightly terrified of using the wrong credit card.

Mostly F: The Chaotic Optimist

Your points strategy can best be described as: It'll probably work out. You have points in 11 programs. At least two expire soon. You once transferred points because someone on Instagram sounded convincing, and there's a decent chance you opened a credit card without a fully developed plan. And yet? You keep going on amazing trips. It's honestly impressive.

Your superpower: Fearless flexibility.
Your fatal flaw: Nobody knows what's happening, including you.

Mostly G: The Budget Boss

Your first question isn't, “Did I maximize the value?” It's “Did this save me money?” You don't care if someone on the internet thinks 1.3 CPP is mediocre. Those points just covered five plane tickets you otherwise would have paid cash for, and you're already thinking about the next trip. You'd rather take five great trips than one theoretically perfect one.

Your superpower: Making travel affordable, practical and REAL.
Your fatal flaw: Occasionally burning points that your Maximizer friend would like to rescue from you immediately.

Mostly H: The Churn-and-Burner

Your philosophy is refreshingly simple: Earn. Burn. Repeat. Points aren't collectibles. They're travel currency, and you intend to use them. You hit the welcome bonus, book the trip and approximately three business days later start thinking about the next card. Giant points balances don't impress you nearly as much as a calendar full of trips.

Your superpower: You actually use the points.
Your fatal flaw: You may require additional points approximately 72 hours after spending all of them.

Your Award Travel Personality Results

Are you hunting unicorn award availability? Protecting your points balance like it's part of your retirement portfolio? Keeping your entire household on a carefully engineered credit-card strategy? Or are you just trying to get five people to Hawaii without taking out a second mortgage?

Whatever your Award Travel Personality, we believe there's no single “right” way to play the points and miles game. The best strategy is the one that helps you travel more, spend less and actually take the trips you've been dreaming about!

So…Which One Are You?

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