Hello! Welcome to the next chapter of my journey into travel hacking.
For those unfamiliar, “travel hacking” is when you manage to travel for free or at a steep discount by strategically signing up for various credit card offers and getting the most value out of your points.
In my last post, I shared how I nabbed free flights for my entire family to Orlando next year. Thanks to the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, I earned nearly 60,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points as a sign-up bonus. By adding another user and meeting the purchase requirements, plus combining these points with the Chase points I already had, I secured the flights without spending a dime!
My goal is to get as much of our family vacation next year for free. To give some context, our trip to the Dominican Republic last summer cost us over $4,000. While I value family vacations, I don’t see why I can’t be smart about cutting this expense without compromising the quality of our trips. By working out how to make our vacations cost little to nothing, we could save ourselves potentially $4,000 or more this year. That’s a saving worth striving for.
Now that the flights are sorted, let’s dive into our next big expense: the hotel.
With numerous credit card offers and different hotel points systems with various rules, it’s challenging to figure out which credit card offers are worth it. Here’s a simple way I evaluate a “good deal”:
I start by knowing that cashback credit cards usually offer 1-2%. So, if the hotel points offer more value than this baseline comparison, it’s likely a good deal.
First up, the Marriott Rewards Premier card looks quite attractive. It offers 80,000 points plus an additional 7,500 for each new user added. So, just by signing up and meeting the minimum purchase requirement, you can quickly get close to 100,000 points. But what do these Marriott points actually get you?
Using Award Mapper from Travel Miles 101, I found that a stay at the Residence Inn Orlando Lake Nona by Marriott, which costs $973 for the week, would require 120,000 points if paid entirely with Marriott points. That values each point at only 0.6 cents, making it a poor deal compared to a standard 1% cash back credit card.
Next, I looked into the Starwood line of hotels, specifically the Westin Lake Mary, Orlando North. The hotel costs $1,127 for the stay, but with 42,000 Starwood points, I could cover the entire stay, valuing each point at 2.7 cents—not bad! Moreover, Starwood allows a mix of cash and points, costing 24,500 points and $385 out-of-pocket, increasing the value to 3.0 cents per point.
The best sign-up bonus for Starwood hotels came from the Starwood Preferred Guest American Express, offering 25,000 points at sign-up, sometimes increasing to 30,000. However, Starwood points can’t be combined with Chase Ultimate Rewards, meaning I’d need to sign up for the American Express card to make the cash plus points purchase. A downside is that Starwood hotels don’t include breakfast, adding extra costs for a family of four.
I continued my search and checked Hyatt hotels. I looked at two Hyatt locations: Hyatt Place, Orlando Universal and Hyatt Place, Orlando Convention Center. Both offered attractive value for points, especially when opting for a mix of cash and points. The Hyatt Place convention center option even valued points at 4.5 cents each, with the bonus that breakfast is included.
To accumulate Hyatt points, I found that Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer directly to Hyatt’s program at a 1:1 rate. So, I could build up my Chase UR point balance and transfer them to Hyatt, avoiding the need for new credit cards. Alternatively, the Chase Ink Plus Business credit card offers 60,000 bonus points at sign-up, sufficient to cover most of the hotel stay.
Then, I learned about the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, offering a staggering 100,000 point sign-up bonus—worth $1,500 in travel through Chase’s travel portal. Despite its $450 annual fee, the card provides $300 in travel credit each year. If timed right, you can receive $600 in travel credit in one calendar year, offsetting the fee.
So, after careful consideration, I plan to sign up for the Sapphire Reserve card. This strategy allows me to maximize points and savings, ensuring our trip stays as cost-free as possible.
What do you think? Which option would you choose? Are there other great deals I’ve missed?
(Disclaimer: I’m not affiliated with any of these credit cards or hotels. I’m just a Dad looking to save money on family travel. If you’re creative, there are some great offers to help you save too.)
