Travel Rewards Credit Cards
When we transitioned to a single income family I knew we had to maximize our savings. These days almost every credit card company offers a rewards credit card; anything from a cash back card to airfare rewards cards, the possibilities are overwhelming and endless. I did a lot of online research to find a rewards credit card that supplied the best reward advantages for our families lifestyle.
I ultimately applied for the Chase Sapphire Rewards credit card. Chase offered 50,000 bonus points for signing up for the card and spending $4,000 on the card within the first 3 months. So basically if you spend $4,000 within the first three months Chase is giving you $625 back in travel credits. Money back on travel, now that is something I can get behind. Airfare for a family of four or more is expensive. The Chase Sapphire Rewards credit card allows us to obtain airfare for our entire family while maintaining our budget.
Deciding on the Location
After receiving our $625 dollars in travel points from Chase, my husband and I began discussing our yearly family vacation. We were torn between going to Disneyland or going somewhere more tropical. I priced out vacations to Disneyland and Hawaii for our family online. After pricing out airfare, hotels, and food and drinks for the week both of those locations were ruled out for this years budget.
To maximize our budget we thought it might be best to look into all inclusive hotel resorts. After some online research we settled on our vacation destination; Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic!
Several years ago (pre-kids) my husband and I went on a family vacation to the Dominican Republic and we loved it. The ocean was the warmest water we had ever been in. We couldn’t wait to book our trip, we just needed to find the ideal hotel for our kids and our budget.
Finding Great Deals Online
As a Costco member I love utilizing their travel website to help get ideas for hotels. Usually we end up booking our stay through Costco Travel because they offer great incentives and usually offer the lowest price when compared to other sites online. After reading several online reviews, we decided on our hotel, The Majestic Colonial Hotel in Punta Cana. Costco Travel offered an all inclusive 4 night package at The Majestic Colonial Hotel that included round trip airport transportation for $1,800 for a family of 4.
While $1,800 seemed like a great deal, I decided to check other online websites to see if there were any lower prices for The Majestic Colonial Hotel during the dates we wanted to travel. Surprisingly, I found a great hotel deal through Chase Travel. As a Chase Sapphire Rewards credit card holder, I have access to Chase Travel where I can cash in points, use my credit card, or use a combination of the two for travel. Chase Travel offered the Majestic Colonial Hotel for the same dates without the airport transportation for $1,200. No way is transport to and from the airport worth $600. I booked the hotel using a combination of points and my credit card. The total out of pocket expense for our all inclusive hotel for a family of four was $1,100 after cashing in $100 of our reward points. Why did I only use $100 of my rewards points? Airfare! I wanted to pay for our families entire airfare to Punta Cana with rewards points.
Finding the Best Airfare
Finding the best airfare generally depends on what type of travel rewards credit card you have. The Chase Sapphire Rewards credit card allows me to choose from a large variety of airline carriers. After I determine the airline I want to book with, Chase Travel transfers my rewards points directly to the chosen airline and allows me to book with them.
To get the most bang for my buck, I ultimately chose to book our airfare through Southwest Airlines. I generally fly Southwest and have been a member of Southwest’s Rewards program for several years. Southwest’s Rewards program is free to join and allows you to earn points from the flights you book with them directly. I used a combination of my Southwest Rewards points and my Chase Sapphire Rewards points to book airfare for 2 adults and 2 children from Austin to Punta Cana. Although I used points to book my airfare there were still International Fees I had to pay that were not included in the price of my ticket. Unfortunately the airline does not allow you to use points towards the International fees. The International fees for our trip were $400 ($100 per person).
Enjoying the Benefits
Did my trip take a lot of planning? Yes, but it is worth a little online research to save a ton of money! Our total trip cost me $1,500 out of pocket which includes airfare, hotel, and unlimited food and drinks (including adult beverages). A tropical beach vacation for $375 a person, maybe it’s time to start planning our next vacation! What adventure will your budget take you on?