Using points for a trip to Jamaica
How did I pay $473 for a 5 days/4 nights trip in Jamaica for TWO people which includes hotel/airfare/food/drinks?
I love getting deals. Frankly, who doesn’t? I have always wanted to go to Jamaica and after my trip to Nassau, Bahamas in Sept 2018. I’m in LOVE with the Caribbean islands. Further, I love planning/booking for trips way in advance so I just had to book another one right after my trip. However, I was determined to spend the least amount on my next trip though. Now, here’s where the points come in.
I had American Airlines points from opening up the Barclay card — AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard last year. I paid $95 for the annual fee and with one swipe and payment of the fee, I got 60K points (check their website as the bonus points change periodically, as of Nov 2018, the bonus is 50K). Another option is to get the Citi – AAdvantage credit card, you will get up to 50K points depending on your spend in the first 3 to 6 months of opening the card.
With those points, I was able to book 2 round trip tickets to Jamaica for $283 (these are the taxes & fees–some areas have lesser fees like Asia!). To use your points, go to American Airlines website, make sure to mark “Redeem miles” on your search.
As you can see from above, it takes 15K points for one way ticket for one person. Luckily, I was able to find tickets for 15K points for the trip back. In total, it was 30K points roundtrip per person. With my 60K points or 1 credit card sign up, I was able to get 2 round trip tickets!
As for the hotel stay, I had been to Hyatt Zilara Cancun last year and I LOVED it. The hotel room, food, and drinks (premium drinks) were included in the hotel rate (all-inclusive). I found out that Hyatt offers an all-inclusive option in Jamaica as well. Sign me up! This summer, Hyatt launched their new World of Hyatt credit card where you can get up to 60K points (Again, check the website as bonus points could change periodically and make sure you are eligible for the bonus).
My strategy was to sign up for this credit card to get the 60K points and pay only $95 fee (worth it!), it takes 75K points to book 3 nights stay. I obtained the remaining 15K points from my previous hotel stays and credit card spend. You can easily transfer Chase Ultimate Reward points as well (I’ll discuss this in another blog post). To use your points, go to the Hyatt website, make sure to mark “Use Points” on your search.
Moreover, I wanted to get an extra night in Jamaica so I used my hilton points where I earned from opening up a Hilton credit card . The current offer is 100k points with no annual fee, my offer was 75k points. It was a really good deal! When I searched, one night costs 78K points or $338. I had extra points from credit card spend so I booked.
As noted above, you can see from above, 5days/4 nights would have cost $1,671 or 75K points for Hyatt and $338 or 78K points for Hilton. As for the flight, it would have cost me $1,030 for 2 flights. Overall, I spent $473 ($283 for flights plus two $95 annual fee for the credit cards) for $3,039 value, that’s 84% savings!
If you like to get more travel tips, check out my blog on Finding Cheap Flights (click here).
If you have any questions about opening credit cards or bonuses or if you have any questions on using points for a trip, comment below…
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