The great travel shuffle

This didn't start out as a financial optimization, but ended up being quite advantageous, so thought I'd share. 

I just received the boys summer camp work schedule, and Sam is slated to work the day we fly out for his graduation party in June. We'd booked flights for myself & M using miles, and credits for the boys flights (they are staying longer) on Alaska. I needed a later flight departure, and Alaska didn't have any workable options out of San Jose. The San Jose airport is about 20 minutes from our house, and the SFO airport is easily double that, and much harder to navigate. Transportation options are also quite a bit more, so we fly out of SJC whenever possible.

I did, however, have that United credit that's been hanging over me, expiring in August & it just so happens that United has a flight that leaves later & works well for our schedule that day. I didn't want to pay out of pocket, and tickets can only use one type of credit, so I ended up booking the following:

• A one way ticket on United for myself, using my lingering & expiring credit. I'm flying first class & still not using it all, but the vast majority of it won't be wasted, which makes me happy. Out of pocket = $0.
• A one way ticket for M & the teens on the same flight, using a different credit with a later expiration. They are not in first class, as we want to save as much of that credit as possible & have more time to use it. I did, however, put them on the upgrade list using Plus Points, so maybe they will get upgraded. Out of pocket = $0.
• I then canceled the outbound portion of our flights for all four of us. M & I  had bought our flights using  miles, so I ended up getting a credit of 60,000 miles back to my account. 
• I also canceled the boys outbound portion of the flights, getting a $475 Alaska credit, which will be much easier to use & has an expiration of March, 2025. We go to Portland plenty, and the credit is much more flexible & can be used by any of us. (Unlike some of the United credits which can only be used by me.) Alaska also flies in & out of SJC, which will also make life easier, particularly if the teens are traveling on their own. 
• I rebooked the flights for myself & M for Sunday, and they were more expensive (mileage wise), so I paid 40,000 miles for those, but no out of pocket. I booked us flying back into SJC, to save on ride share costs (and, time). 
• I then remembered that I'd purchased a very expensive flight to Portland in August for the relay I'm participating in. Because of the 20,000 miles I had returned as part of all of the above shuffle, I had enough miles to cover that trip. I canceled the paid version & swapped to a mileage flight. I received a second credit for $406 that I can use by April of 2025, and also is flexible & can be used for any of us.

So, all told, I prevented the majority of the United credit from expiring, used up some of our harder to use United credits for M & the boys, and now have $880 or so in my Alaska wallet with a longer expiration & that can be used for any of us, including getting Sam to & from college over holidays. 

It took some creativity (and, ride shares to SFO for the outbound will cost about $40 more than going to SJC), but I'm pleased with the swaps! Keeping our travel costs in check & making the most of our travel credits has been a priority for 2024, and will continue to be important in the upcoming months, with lots of travel for Sam on the horizon.

What about you? Any creative travel wins to share?