The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: Hellohi on April 03, 2019, 04:09:33 PM
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So I am going on vacation with my wife and kids and also my mother. My mother has a time share so I bought her round trip plane ticket and also two extra days in a hotel with points. My mother has offered to rent a car...I have offer to split it with her.
Is it unethical to pay for the rental with credit card points and keep her portion of the money?
Should I just pay with cash and keep the points?
Should I just pay for the whole thing with the points and not have my mother pay?
I look at the points as currency that I earned by “working”. I have suggested others start collecting the points including my mother but no one seems to want to put in the effort.
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I'd pay with points and not spend a second thinking about it.
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I don’t think it’s unethical per se to use your points and take your mom’s cash, but it just depends on how you look at the points.
I’m in the situation that I generally far more in points than I can use, so if I have the opportunity to treat my family to some of the benefits of “free” travel, I usually do. It increases my enjoyment of the points as it lets me be more generous without regret
In your shoes, I’d probably tell my mom I would get the rental car with points and let her pick up a few meals or something if she really wanted to contribute beyond the timeshare. But my mom is also no longer working and on a fixed income, while I have a well paying career I enjoy and healthy savings, so it’s not a one size fits all answer.
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I wouldn't have a problem getting money for points. Usually, though, I just give them away if I have extra.