Originally Posted by StartinSanDiego

A nice reminder that when traveling with the family, people mostly like to bring everybody, regardless of the points per cent value of First Class redemptions.

In fact, I think having miles accrue without cost, or with minimal cost, is a big, big factor in making family travel affordable, whether a family of 3 or 8. 8 economy round trip tickets are going to cost upwards of 8K-- not everybody has that kind of budget for family travel. That's why the station wagon and Motel 6 jokes aren't so far off base for many families.

For those of you without kids, keep in mind that food, insurance, clothing, braces, piano lessons, football-- raising kids really adds up. I think it's terrific that the OP has found a way to take his or her family on such a great, faraway trip.