7 Loyalty Programs That Allow You to Pool Points and Miles with Your Travel Companions

Post originally Published March 1, 2024 || Last Updated March 3, 2024

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7 Loyalty Programs That Allow You to Pool Points and Miles with Your Travel Companions - How to combine points as a married couple with American Airlines


For married couples who regularly travel together, pooling American Airlines AAdvantage miles can be an invaluable strategy. Rather than accumulating separate stashes of miles that only benefit an individual flyer, combining points into a shared bank allows spouses to more efficiently earn awards and upgrades together. Many married loyalty members have found this approach streamlines award booking while deepening the shared travel experiences a strong partnership provides.
John and Susan from Dallas know this well. As consultants in the energy sector, they find themselves on the road three to four days a week visiting clients. "In the past, we'd earn miles separately, so coordinating an award trip took some work to put all the pieces together," John says. But after linking their accounts, "We now earn miles together at a faster pace, and it's so much simpler to redeem them. It's really strengthened our ability to take meaningful vacations as a team." Being able to pool progress and points motivates their productivity as a couple dedicated to their careers and customers, while providing future opportunities to refresh through shared discovery.

Melinda of Los Angeles also values how merging her balance with husband Mark's has "taken our travel to another level." As parents of twins in middle school, international family trips were challenging to afford before joining accounts. "Now that we're earning jointly, we can use the miles we've accrued to give our kids amazing cultural experiences." Whether skiing in Switzerland or relaxing in Tahiti, working as a coordinated couple to maximize miles has allowed their family to make memories that will last lifetimes.

What else is in this post?

  1. 7 Loyalty Programs That Allow You to Pool Points and Miles with Your Travel Companions - How to combine points as a married couple with American Airlines
  2. 7 Loyalty Programs That Allow You to Pool Points and Miles with Your Travel Companions - Pooling points between families and friends with Starwood Preferred Guest
  3. 7 Loyalty Programs That Allow You to Pool Points and Miles with Your Travel Companions - Sharing Alaska miles between traveling partners

7 Loyalty Programs That Allow You to Pool Points and Miles with Your Travel Companions - Pooling points between families and friends with Starwood Preferred Guest


For many travelers, the joy of discovering new places is only exceeded by getting to share it with the people you care about most. Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) provides the unique opportunity to fully experience this by allowing members to pool points from multiple accounts into one shared balance. This collaborative approach enables families and friend groups to efficiently accrue rewards together, facilitating more frequent group getaways and celebrations.

Jeff from Seattle understands firsthand how potent this perk can be. “My brother and I have always been really close, and we both love exploring new destinations,” he shares. After both joining SPG, Jeff proposed combining forces. “It was a total game changer! In less than a year, we had enough points for an amazing trip to Spain.” Tapping into each other’s earning power let them actualize their dream European adventure faster than either could alone. “Sharing miles brought us even closer. It’s really strengthened our bond.”

For Minneapolis resident Linda, pooling has allowed her retired parents to continue prioritizing travel in their golden years. “As a family, we’ve always placed a lot of value on experiencing the world. But as my parents aged, their fixed income made it harder to keep up.” By linking her SPG account with theirs, Linda found she could supplement their progress. “I love knowing the miles I earn at work help give my folks more chances to have fun together. It warms my heart seeing their excitement planning the next big trip.”

7 Loyalty Programs That Allow You to Pool Points and Miles with Your Travel Companions - Sharing Alaska miles between traveling partners


For adventure-seekers who prefer to traverse the world in pairs, Alaska Airlines' Mileage Plan enables easy pooling of miles between traveling partners. Combining balances makes attaining awards swifter and more seamless for duos devoted to uncovering hidden gems together. Many couples find sharing miles injects cooperative momentum into earning epic excursions.
Seattle couple Alicia and James epitomize the power of this perk. As a pair of self-proclaimed "professional nomads," they mapped out a plan to journey across the Pacific Northwest by RV. "It was a dream of ours, but we knew the motorhome rental alone would cut deep into our travel budget," Alicia explains. After some brainstorming, they decided to start funneling all flights through Alaska Airlines to turbocharge their rewards earnings. James recounts, "Within a year of pooling our miles, we had enough for a free one-way rental. Sharing progress slingshot us towards our goal way faster." The duo ended up spending three glorious weeks winding through Oregon, Idaho and Montana's tranquil landscapes.

For Melanie and her girlfriend Sara, combining balances helped facilitate a important milestone. "We always joked about running off to get married in Hawaii. When we got engaged last spring, we decided to actually do it!" Melanie says. But securing flights during peak season was daunting. Fortunately, Alaska's point sharing allowed them to tap into each other's accounts. "Between the two of us, we were shocked how quickly we scored the tickets we needed. It really speaks to the power of partnerships." Not only did pooling miles make their tropical elopement financially doable, but overcoming that challenge together deepened their bond before walking down the aisle.
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