I've used credit card rewards to pay for vacations for 2 decades. Here are 3 tips to make the most of your points.

Taryn White has used credit card points and airline miles to book vacations for herself and her family for over two decades.

Courtesy of Taryn White/The Trip Wish List Taryn White is a freelance travel writer and the founder of travel and lifestyle brand The Trip Wish List.

She's used points to book trips to places like Puerto Rico, Bali, Sydney, Prague, and Johannesburg.

She shares her strategies for booking with points, including positioning flights and comparing options.

I've been collecting airline miles and credit card points for more than two decades, long before the influx of social media posts promising things like a "free" business-class seat to Europe.

Over the years, I've redeemed points for everything from weekend getaways to Puerto Rico to long-haul international flights to Bali that would have otherwise cost thousands of dollars.

Looking back, I realized that earning points is actually the easy part.

The real challenge is knowing how to use them well, and I haven't always been strategic about it.

Here are the three key strategies I've learned that I use to travel the world for less.

1.

Build a flexible points ecosystem Don't put all your eggs in one basket when it comes to miles and points.

One of the most important strategies in maximizing travel rewards is to build a flexible "points ecosystem" rather than relying on a single airline, hotel program, or credit card.

My current points ecosystem includes two American Express cards, one Chase card, and one Capital One credit card; co-branded airline and hotel cards for United, Delta, and Marriott; and memberships in dozens of airline, hotel, and rental-car loyalty programs.

Most of my travel credit cards have annual fees, ranging from $150 for my Delta SkyMiles Gold card to $895 for my American Express Business Platinum card.