How I Earned 1 Million Points With My Family Cruise Booking

Let me walk you through how I combined the best of all of the above to score a seven-digit mileage bump to my frequent flyer account.

The Haven comes with private elevator access, butler service, complimentary ensuite amenities like espresso machines and binoculars and access to The Haven lounge. There, we could enjoy all meals a la carte, although we typically spend time off the ship during the day.

A 10-night Mediterranean cruise in a Family Suite in The Haven is not cheap. Fortunately, this was a special bucket-list trip for all of us, so we were prepared to spend for the experience. The total cost of the actual cruise was around $115,000 for 19 people, and when you multiply that by 10 miles per dollar spent, you end up with more than one million miles! You just have to be lucky enough, like me, to book a cruise when the highest mileage offer is available.

This is not the first time I have used the portal to book a cruise vacation either. I have earned close to 3 million miles through United Cruises alone for various family trips.

As a result, whenever flying a Star Alliance airline, I can use priority check-in and boarding, premium lounges and take advantage of preferred seats when eligible.

The perks also continue with United Cruises. I qualified for a special offer that comes with wine, strawberries and a spa credit, just for being a Premier member with United.

If you are hesitating to book your cruise through a third-party portal, it may ease your fears to know United Cruises provides you with a travel advisor that you can reach out to at any time via phone or email to handle any questions or particular needs. For example, I had to add a crib to the cabin, and they took care of it. They also can help with booking excursions or airport transfers.

Cruise lines pay a commission to agencies when they assist with a cruise booking. Then, the agency awards travelers some of the benefit (United miles in this United Cruises example). If you book directly with the cruise line, you would not receive any bonus.

Of course, there are times when cruise lines run incredible deals for booking directly. And frequent cruisers know that there are times when you can book a future sailing while on board an existing one. There are big credits and discounts that could make sense (and be more valuable than miles) if you can plan ahead.

Each traveler will have different circumstances that they need to meet, but using an airline-branded cruise portal has little downside.

If you have a cruise planned (no matter the cost), consider your options before plunking down your credit card to pay for a cruise. Be sure to think through which card in your wallet has certain benefits for reaching spending thresholds.