It’s not easy being the daughter of The Points Mom. Whether I must snap tons of photos for my mom’s Instagram or listen to my mom talk shop constantly, my job as “The Points Daughter” is somewhat difficult. At restaurants with my friends, before COVID-19, I was fearful that I would pull the wrong card out of my wallet. I always prayed that I was not the family member that must plead guilty to my mom’s text “who used the blue card for dinner”? It’s hard to hide the mistakes when the bill comes. Luckily, the extra time with quarantine has pushed me to memorize which card to use when: gold for food, blue for everything else. Needless to say, she makes us use our credit cards for everything. I don’t mind though, she pays my credit card bill!!
My mom is always looking to expand her audience, especially with teenagers. She would insist my friends follow her on Instagram (thepointsmom_) and like her Facebook page. My mom has also been spotted in her prized t-shirt donning The Points Mom logo. She often wears this shirt at big tourist attractions, but now on Zoom calls. Can someone else walk next to her please?
My mom is always looking for more content for her website. She loves stealing articles from my website, kiddingaroundtheglobe.com, for her website, www.thepointsmom.com. I think that’s plagiarism.
People are always asking my mom for advice. She does Zoom consultations and gives lectures and her clients never hold back to shoot her texts and calls. I don’t know how anyone can listen to her talk about points for so long. However, she does seem to know what she’s talking about. I have picked up on some of her lingo like “maximizing points” so that whenever my friends ask why I use this or that card, I can truly answer as ‘The Points Daughter’.
My mom even offers advice to strangers when she sees them using the wrong card at the supermarket, or, pre COVID-19, at the airport paying for bags. She makes sure to offer advice about using “the right card.” My brothers and I make sure to run away or hide when my mom does this.
Travel is one of many things that I miss. My mom alleviates lots of the stress that comes with travel. TSA PreCheck and Clear offers us expedited security checks. My family no longer needs to yell at one another to rush out of the house, or wake up 30 minutes earlier to beat the line. Airport lounges are also the best; we get them for free. My family gets to stock up on nuts and pretzels, recharge our devices, and relax before our flight. But, I mostly like them for the free food.
Unfortunately, airplane seats are never favorable. We often arrive at the airport with “no seats,” a price you may pay for booking using miles. We frequently end up sitting far apart. In fact, we often have one person in row 5, while another is in the back row in a middle seat; this person is usually my dad. However, sitting alone taught me at a young age to fare for myself on a plane. I have even mustered up the courage to order my own snack box. I know what card to use and exactly how much I need to spend on each plane ride. My brothers and I always have to buy snacks on the plane to use up free airline credits–even if we aren’t hungry.
My mom is always doing things for “credit.” On one trip, we had to order breakfast from a hotel down the road to use up my mom’s free hotel credit. And when I go to my yearly swim meet in Florida, we stay at a Hyatt, while the rest of my team stays at the Hilton, because we get free nights with my mom’s Hyatt credit card. Luckily, over the years, my mom has convinced other swim moms to get a Hyatt credit card too.
As annoying as her know-it-all remarks are, she knows her stuff. One day, I hope I am as passionate about something as my mom is about credit card points and travel. I am inspired by her commitment in helping other families travel for free. It goes without saying, but thank you mom. Our family vacations have been great, even if you take way too many pictures. I am excited to see what you have to bring in the future and I am proud to be The Points Daughter.
