After a two hour car ride with a buddy, he told me (with a smile) he felt like he was being sold Amway. And he got a big kick out of the treatment we got at the hotel when they saw my HHonors status. He found the whole thing quite amusing.

My family members are always asking me for advice and to book trips for them.

And my wife provides a good balance. She thinks it is great to get all the free travel, but she also helps me be willing to spend points and miles on trips that I might want to pay cash on otherwise. She points out that the rewards are no good if never used, and she's right.

She understands that some trips aren't worth using points or miles for (think how cheap things are in Vegas for example), but she has helped me lower the bar. Yes, I could save it all up for a week in Hawaii, but our schedule won't accomodate that for a year or two, so she convinces me to use the rewards for family trips, and I'm glad she has.