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CJ McCollum said he used credit card points to help pay for a Hawaii vacation with his then-girlfriend, now wife. The trip included first-class flights, food and a hotel, and he described its total cost as “like less than $10,000.” That is a reported total—not a cash-only price or a breakdown of what points covered.
What McCollum said about the Hawaii trip
Basketball Network reported on October 5, 2026, that McCollum shared the anecdote in a Forbes interview with Jabari Young. In the quotation reproduced by Basketball Network, McCollum said the Hawaii trip cost “like less than $10,000” for first-class flights, food and a hotel, adding that he used points from his card “to, like, pay for stuff.” Basketball Network’s report does not specify how much of the cost was paid in cash, how many points he redeemed or what those points were worth.
So the figure should not be read as the cash price of the trip, the amount he saved, or proof that points made the vacation free. The report also does not identify his card, issuer or rewards program.
What the report says about another trip
Basketball Network also quotes McCollum describing a separate trip: “I used points for the trip and for the stay. And they gave me $450 for my food and beverage for my trip.” The report does not clarify who “they” were or whether the $450 was a card benefit, a reimbursement or something else. It is not enough information to identify a particular rewards feature or program.
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Why the anecdote is about spending habits, too
The report links McCollum’s comments about using available resources to his approach to money. It describes him and his wife as treating a $106 million contract extension he signed in 2016 as though it might be his last earnings, and quotes him saying they continued living as if that first extension were all they had. Those are remarks attributed to McCollum in an interview, not an independent assessment of his finances.
The story’s headline refers to $279 million in career earnings, but that figure is not independently verified in the report. It provides context for the story’s framing; it does not establish the price of the vacation, the amount saved or the value of the points.
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What readers can—and cannot—take from it
- What it supports: McCollum said he used card points toward expenses on a Hawaii vacation and described the trip’s total as less than $10,000.
- What it does not establish: the cash-versus-points split, redemption value, card terms, or whether another traveler could get the same result.
- What remains unclear: who provided the $450 for food and beverages on the other trip and why.
The anecdote is an example of one person’s reported use of points, not a general promise about travel rewards. Without the card and redemption details, there is no reliable way to calculate savings or compare the trip with what another traveler would pay.
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