## Flights and Hotels on a Budget: Our Travel Hacking Story
What’s better than getting your entire family vacation to Florida for almost free? How about scoring a second getaway to an all-inclusive luxury resort in Los Cabos, Mexico for just $95 out-of-pocket?
After racking up Chase Ultimate Rewards (UR) points and booking nearly free flights, a hotel, and a rental car for our summer trip, we decided to use our remaining points for another amazing vacation with minimal expense.
Here’s how we did it:
Initially, we aimed to cut costs in 2017 by trying travel hacking. Even saving $1,000 was meaningful since it could go into our early retirement fund or emergency savings. Amazingly, this strategy surpassed our expectations. By travel hacking, we secured enough points for round-trip flights, a full hotel stay, and a rental car, all by opening two credit cards: The Chase Sapphire Preferred (50,000 introductory UR points) and Chase Sapphire Reserve (100,000 introductory UR points). Combining points within the same household was straightforward, allowing my wife and me to pool our points effectively.
Our only out-of-pocket cost was a $450 membership fee for the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. Despite the steep fee, the 100,000 Chase UR points (worth $1,000) and $600 in potential travel credits more than compensated for it.
By the end of my last update, we still had 64,515 Chase UR points and a $300 travel credit for 2017. Our options included:
A) Cashing out the points to cover the Sapphire Reserve card fee.
B) Using the points for food and miscellaneous expenses during our trip.
C) Saving the points for a bigger adventure.
As the title suggests, we chose option C. From a return-on-investment perspective, this option provided the best payoff. While cashing out points yields 1 cent per point, using them with the credit card’s travel partners or booking through the card’s portal could double their value.
Given my wife’s upcoming 40th birthday, we wanted a special vacation just for us. Looking for something new, we chose Los Cabos over our usual spot near Cancun. Here’s how we planned our trip:
I started with a general search on Expedia to find suitable travel dates and airlines. United and Delta flights were prominent, and we zeroed in on a particular week. While neither airline offered budget-friendly options, booking through the Chase UR travel portal gave us a rate of 1.5 cents per point. We found a $400 per person flight on Spirit, requiring 60,000 UR points.
For accommodations, we found an enticing Hyatt resort. With its restaurants, pools, and clean beaches, it seemed perfect. As Chase UR points convert to Hyatt points at a 1:1 rate, 80,000 points covered four nights instead of paying $1,200 in cash.
With 64,515 points already in our account, we needed another card to get the additional 80,000 points. The Chase Ink Business Preferred card offered 80,000 points with a $95 annual fee for the first year, provided we spent $5,000 within three months. Despite concerns about qualifying with just a blogging business, I was approved!
After meeting the spending requirement within two months and earning extra points, we were set. We booked the trip, using 143,386 Chase UR points for flights and the resort. Surprisingly, booking the Hyatt through the Chase UR portal required fewer points and got us a nicer room.
Without travel hacking, this trip would have cost $1,877 or more. Instead, we spent just $95! Between this and our Florida vacation, we saved a total of $4,247.
Now, with two incredible vacations in one year, my travel hacking focus shifts to our 2018 plans: a family trip to Hawaii. With flights from DET costing over $5,000 and no all-inclusive resorts like in Mexico and the Caribbean, this will be a challenge, but I’m more than ready.
Until next time…
