This post will show you how to turn 19 days off into 57! Let me show you everything you need for trips in every season if you want to take them!

OKAYYYYY, let’s talk PTO maximization for 2025!

Because my husband works in education, we are on a VERY tight travel schedule and can’t take a ton of extra days off. We don’t full time homeschool the kiddos either, we are bound by school breaks! This makes things tricky when it comes to saving on travel…but not at ALL impossible.

If you’re like us, there’s one thing we’re not going to do next year, and that’s let our vacation days go to waste. Nope, not a single one.

This post is alllll about turning those limited PTO days into THE MOST vacation vibes possible—and honestly, it’s kind of like a game. And I want us ALL to win 🙂

With some strategic planning, you can stretch 19 PTO days into a WHOPPING 57 days off.

Yes, you read that right. FIFTY-SEVEN.

That’s basically a part-time job in adventuring. Between that and ekking the MOST travel out of our credit card points for nearly free vacations…. I’m here for it. Here’s how to do it!

How to Maximize Your PTO

January: Start Strong

• New Year’s Eve: It’s on a Wednesday, so take off Dec 30th and 31st in 2024 if you still can. BOOM—5 days off for the price of 2. Start 2025 rested and ready to take on the new year.
• That week of Christmas and week after Christmas can be some of the hardest times to book vacations when it comes to availability. HIGHLY recommend stalking the calendar and reserving flights and hotels a full YEAR in advance if you can (wild I know…but will save you suchhhhhh a headache!)

January (Again): MLK Weekend

• If you have MLK Day off (Jan 20), take off Jan 21st. Congrats, that’s a 4 day weekend with just ONE day of PTO.
• This year over MLK we are maximizing a Hilton credit card sign up and staying 3 nights at a luxury five star resort on the California coast for FREE!!

February: President’s Day

• Feb 17th is President’s Day. Take off Feb 14th (Valentine’s Day trip, anyone?) for another 4-day weekend. Easy peasy.

May: Memorial Day Magic

• May 26th is Memorial Day! Take off May 23rd and 27th, and enjoy a 5-day weekend for just 2 PTO days. May is getting into those warmer months so this could be the perfect time for a nice tropical vacay. (LIKE CABO!)

June: Juneteenth Long Weekend

• June 19th is Juneteenth, which falls on a Thursday. Take off June 20th for a 4-day weekend. Summer Fridays are GLORIOUS.

July: Fireworks and Family Vacay

• July 4th is a Friday this year! All you’ve gotta do is take off July 3rd for another glorious long weekend. Beaches might be packed and air travel may be higher so maybe use this time to book a driveable trip or a staycation in a nicer hotel! If beaches ARE your vibe though, don’t miss THIS round-up!

September: Labor Day

• September 1st (Labor Day) is a Monday. Take off August 29th and September 2nd, and turn it into a 5-day weekend for just 2 PTO days. Summer isn’t over until we say it is.

October: Indigenous Peoples’ Day

• If your workplace observes October 13th, take off October 10th for a 4-day weekend. Leaf Peeping in the Northeast is calling our name this year and I’m SO excited about it! And thanks to points for our FAVORITE travel credit card our stay at Spruce Peak Lodge will be a total of ZERO dollars!!
• We maximized our Fall Break this past year and did a week of shoulder season in Southern Spain and it was heaven on earth!

November: Veterans Day + Thanksgiving = WINNING

• Veterans Day (Nov 11): Take off Nov 10th, and you’ve got another 4-day weekend.
• Thanksgiving (Nov 27): Take off Nov 26th and 28th for a 5-day break. Turkey, stuffing, and naps (on a vacay) for daaaays.

December: The Grand Finale

Here’s where the real magic happens. December is your GOLDEN month.

• Take off Dec 22, 23, 26, 29, and 30, and you’ll score 13 DAYS OFF for just 5 PTO days.
• Want to go even bigger? Add January 2nd, 2026, to stretch it to 16 days off for only 6 PTO days. ARE YOU KIDDING???
• Family trip to Hawaii for nearly FREE for Christmas anyone?!
• Again, remember if you can, if you are dreaming up a bucket list trip for these weeks book AS FAR IN ADVANCE AS POSSIBLE! (especially if booking a nearly free trip with points!)

The Math (Because Numbers Don’t Lie)

You’ll only be using 19 PTO days in 2025 for a total of 57 days off. That’s nearly TWO MONTHS of vacay vibes. Let’s call it what it is: MAGIC.

Your Cheat Sheet:

Month	Days to Take Off	PTO Needed	Total Days Off
January	Dec 30, Dec 31	2	5
January	Jan 21	1	4
February	Feb 14	1	4
May	May 23, May 27	2	5
June	June 20	1	4
July	July 3	1	4
September	Aug 29, Sept 2	2	5
October	Oct 10	1	4
November	Nov 10	1	4
November	Nov 26, Nov 28	2	5
December	Dec 22, Dec 23, Dec 26, Dec 29, Dec 30	5	13
December/January	Add Jan 2 (optional)	1	3
TOTAL		19	57

There you have it—PTO MAXIMIZATION in 2025 perfection.

Now it’s your turn to go and PLAN! If you need help once you’ve nailed down a location, I would love to help you maximize your points and miles.

Book time with me one on one and I can through you step by step and make your dream vacay that you never thought was possible a REALITY- saving you thousanddssss in the process!