I know the overseas trips are the attractive stories and that's great.

I recently helped two elderly women go say what resulted in a "goodbye" to their sister although initially when I started planning their travel arrangements, it was a domestic visit about three weeks out. One of the women is my disabled sister's landlord who recently "took her in" when she had multiple teeth pulled and I had to go out of town for my son's upcoming surgery. I could not adequately pay back that kindness.

However, when the word came that the sister was in grave condition, I set about changing the itinerary to accommodate the new challenge of traveling sooner.

My DH is overseas and I had done some MS to bring up his MP account balance. He will be home in June for a visit and didn't need the miles buildup. Took his miles and booked 40K to cover their air, paying the fees out of pocket, but with the Barclays Arrival.

Also, prepaid the car rental by booking Advantage with the Arrival card. Advantage doesn't require the renter to present the same credit card used to prepay.

Sure, I redeemed 10K points to cover the ticketing fee with the Arrival. And, once I accumulate a bit of spending on the Arrival, will redeem points to cover the car rental (except for the prepaid gas she accepted, oy vey! ).

The sister passed, the sisters heartbroken, but they know in their hearts they got to say "goodbye" and let her know they loved her.

The Bible says to visit widows and orphans. I was glad to assist by using miles/points to facilitate that.