YES! WE CAN DO SHORT TRIPS TOO!
5 DAYS IN CANCUN
This short trip would have cost $5,718 if we had paid cash. But by using miles and points, our airfare and lodging expenses were only $370!
THAT SOUNDS GREAT, BUT HOW DID YOU FLY & STAY FOR ONLY $370?
For the Aeromexico flights, the cost was 172,000 points plus $354 in taxes. I had previously transferred about 110,000 Amex points to Aeromexico (for a trip that we didn’t take). To add to this, I transferred 64,000 Amex points to Aeromexico. These were Amex points we had earned from opening American Express cards.
For the Iberostar hotel, it is an IHG property. IHG credit card holder benefits include “stay three nights and get a fourth night free.” I booked the four nights for a total cost of 243,000 points plus $16 in taxes. I earned the points from opening two Chase IHG cards. I opened an IHG Premier Mastercard and received 165,000 points as a welcome bonus ($3,000 spend required). And I opened an IHG Business Rewards Premiere Mastercard and received 140,000 points as a welcome bonus ($3,000 spend required). I also picked up 176,000 IHG points from the minimum spend on these cards.
2-Day Las Vegas
The genesis for this trip was to experience the Sphere. The Sphere is a 366′ tall globe that has a capacity of up to 20,000. About 60% of the inside is a giant LED screen. It truly sets a new standard for an entertainment venue. We went there to see the Eagles in September.
For this quick trip, we flew to Las Vegas on a Saturday. We checked into the Home2 Suites by Hilton Las Vegas Convention Center hotel. They upgraded us to their best suite. For dinner, we went to Caesars Palace. At Caesars Palace, we were able to get $100 of free dining credit at the Bacchanal buffet. After that, we walked to the Sphere and saw the Eagles.
The next morning, we enjoyed the free hotel breakfast and then flew back to SFO.
THAT SOUNDS GREAT, BUT HOW DID YOU DO IT?
For the flights to Las Vegas, we used $175 of United Airlines travel bank credit paid $18 out of pocket (cash cost would have been $193). How did we get the United Travel Bank credit?
How do you get the United Travel Bank cash? Many credit cards have a quarterly flight credit of $50. You simply place an order to add $50 to your United Travel Bank.The credit card issues you a credit for the $50 you spent and now you’ve got $50 of (somewhat) free Travel Bank cash. I say “somewhat” because you are paying a credit card annual fee. The credit cards that we use to get United travel credits are: The American Express Platinum card ($200/year), The American Express Hilton Aspire card ($50/quarter), The American Express Business Platinum card ($200/year).
For the hotel, we redeemed 50,000 Hilton points (the cash cost would have been $339). How did we get the Hilton points? By opening an American Express Hilton Honors business credit card and an American Express Hilton Surpass credit card.
For the Caesar’s Palace dinner, we matched our Wyndham Diamond status to Caesar’s diamond status. Once they match, Caesar’s gives you a $100 annual celebration dinner credit. (note this trick is going away in February 2025, so I won’t really go into detail about it). How did we get the Wyndham Diamond status? By opening a Barclays Wyndham Diamond credit card.
For the flight home, there weren’t any good point options, so we paid $374 cash for Frontier premium economy seats.
———————————————–
The driving force for this trip was to return to Cancun to dive at the MUSA (Museum of Underwater Statues and Art). On our trip in April, the harbor had been closed due to high winds so we weren’t able to dive then.
TRIP ITINERARY
We flew business class on Aeromexico from San Francisco to Cancun. We used our Priority Pass membership (received through our Amex and other cards) for access to The Club lounge in San Francisco. During our layover in Mexico City, we went to the Aeromexico VIP SALA lounge (accessed by having Aeromexico business class seats). After we arrived in Cancun, we checked into the Iberostar Coral Select Cancun all-inclusive hotel.
On our first day we dove at the MUSA and also at a reef off of Isla Mujeres. We saw over 20 lobsters!
For our second day, we mostly relaxed at the hotel. On our third day, we did a Zipline/ATV/Cenote/Tequila tasting tour.
We had an early departure from Cancun and none of the lounges were open yet. But during our layover in Mexico City we hit the Aeromexico VIP SALA lounge in Mexico city again.
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THAT SOUNDS GREAT, BUT HOW DID YOU FLY & STAY FOR ONLY $370?
For the Aeromexico flights, the cost was 172,000 points plus $354 in taxes. I had previously transferred about 110,000 Amex points to Aeromexico (for a trip that we didn’t take). To add to this, I transferred 64,000 Amex points to Aeromexico. These were Amex points we had earned from opening American Express cards.
For the Iberostar hotel, it is an IHG property. IHG credit card holder benefits include “stay three nights and get a fourth night free.” I booked the four nights for a total cost of 243,000 points plus $16 in taxes. I earned the points from opening two Chase IHG cards. I opened an IHG Premier Mastercard and received 165,000 points as a welcome bonus ($3,000 spend required). And I opened an IHG Business Rewards Premiere Mastercard and received 140,000 points as a welcome bonus ($3,000 spend required). I also picked up 176,000 IHG points from the minimum spend on these cards.
2-Day Las Vegas
The genesis for this trip was to experience the Sphere. The Sphere is a 366′ tall globe that has a capacity of up to 20,000. About 60% of the inside is a giant LED screen. It truly sets a new standard for an entertainment venue. We went there to see the Eagles in September.
For this quick trip, we flew to Las Vegas on a Saturday. We checked into the Home2 Suites by Hilton Las Vegas Convention Center hotel. They upgraded us to their best suite. For dinner, we went to Caesars Palace. At Caesars Palace, we were able to get $100 of free dining credit at the Bacchanal buffet. After that, we walked to the Sphere and saw the Eagles.
The next morning, we enjoyed the free hotel breakfast and then flew back to SFO.
THAT SOUNDS GREAT, BUT HOW DID YOU DO IT?
For the flights to Las Vegas, we used $175 of United Airlines travel bank credit paid $18 out of pocket (cash cost would have been $193). How did we get the United Travel Bank credit?
How do you get the United Travel Bank cash? Many credit cards have a quarterly flight credit of $50. You simply place an order to add $50 to your United Travel Bank.The credit card issues you a credit for the $50 you spent and now you’ve got $50 of (somewhat) free Travel Bank cash. I say “somewhat” because you are paying a credit card annual fee. The credit cards that we use to get United travel credits are: The American Express Platinum card ($200/year), The American Express Hilton Aspire card ($50/quarter), The American Express Business Platinum card ($200/year).
For the hotel, we redeemed 50,000 Hilton points (the cash cost would have been $339). How did we get the Hilton points? By opening an American Express Hilton Honors business credit card and an American Express Hilton Surpass credit card.
For the Caesar’s Palace dinner, we matched our Wyndham Diamond status to Caesar’s diamond status. Once they match, Caesar’s gives you a $100 annual celebration dinner credit. (note this trick is going away in February 2025, so I won’t really go into detail about it). How did we get the Wyndham Diamond status? By opening a Barclays Wyndham Diamond credit card.
For the flight home, there weren’t any good point options, so we paid $374 cash for Frontier premium economy seats.
———————————————–
The driving force for this trip was to return to Cancun to dive at the MUSA (Museum of Underwater Statues and Art). On our trip in April, the harbor had been closed due to high winds so we weren’t able to dive then.
TRIP ITINERARY
We flew business class on Aeromexico from San Francisco to Cancun. We used our Priority Pass membership (received through our Amex and other cards) for access to The Club lounge in San Francisco. During our layover in Mexico City, we went to the Aeromexico VIP SALA lounge (accessed by having Aeromexico business class seats). After we arrived in Cancun, we checked into the Iberostar Coral Select Cancun all-inclusive hotel.
On our first day we dove at the MUSA and also at a reef off of Isla Mujeres. We saw over 20 lobsters!
For our second day, we mostly relaxed at the hotel. On our third day, we did a Zipline/ATV/Cenote/Tequila tasting tour.
We had an early departure from Cancun and none of the lounges were open yet. But during our layover in Mexico City we hit the Aeromexico VIP SALA lounge in Mexico city again.
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row]
THAT SOUNDS GREAT, BUT HOW DID YOU FLY & STAY FOR ONLY $370?
For the Aeromexico flights, the cost was 172,000 points plus $354 in taxes. I had previously transferred about 110,000 Amex points to Aeromexico (for a trip that we didn’t take). To add to this, I transferred 64,000 Amex points to Aeromexico. These were Amex points we had earned from opening American Express cards.
For the Iberostar hotel, it is an IHG property. IHG credit card holder benefits include “stay three nights and get a fourth night free.” I booked the four nights for a total cost of 243,000 points plus $16 in taxes. I earned the points from opening two Chase IHG cards. I opened an IHG Premier Mastercard and received 165,000 points as a welcome bonus ($3,000 spend required). And I opened an IHG Business Rewards Premiere Mastercard and received 140,000 points as a welcome bonus ($3,000 spend required). I also picked up 176,000 IHG points from the minimum spend on these cards.
2-Day Las Vegas
The genesis for this trip was to experience the Sphere. The Sphere is a 366′ tall globe that has a capacity of up to 20,000. About 60% of the inside is a giant LED screen. It truly sets a new standard for an entertainment venue. We went there to see the Eagles in September.
For this quick trip, we flew to Las Vegas on a Saturday. We checked into the Home2 Suites by Hilton Las Vegas Convention Center hotel. They upgraded us to their best suite. For dinner, we went to Caesars Palace. At Caesars Palace, we were able to get $100 of free dining credit at the Bacchanal buffet. After that, we walked to the Sphere and saw the Eagles.
The next morning, we enjoyed the free hotel breakfast and then flew back to SFO.
THAT SOUNDS GREAT, BUT HOW DID YOU DO IT?
For the flights to Las Vegas, we used $175 of United Airlines travel bank credit paid $18 out of pocket (cash cost would have been $193). How did we get the United Travel Bank credit?
How do you get the United Travel Bank cash? Many credit cards have a quarterly flight credit of $50. You simply place an order to add $50 to your United Travel Bank.The credit card issues you a credit for the $50 you spent and now you’ve got $50 of (somewhat) free Travel Bank cash. I say “somewhat” because you are paying a credit card annual fee. The credit cards that we use to get United travel credits are: The American Express Platinum card ($200/year), The American Express Hilton Aspire card ($50/quarter), The American Express Business Platinum card ($200/year).
For the hotel, we redeemed 50,000 Hilton points (the cash cost would have been $339). How did we get the Hilton points? By opening an American Express Hilton Honors business credit card and an American Express Hilton Surpass credit card.
For the Caesar’s Palace dinner, we matched our Wyndham Diamond status to Caesar’s diamond status. Once they match, Caesar’s gives you a $100 annual celebration dinner credit. (note this trick is going away in February 2025, so I won’t really go into detail about it). How did we get the Wyndham Diamond status? By opening a Barclays Wyndham Diamond credit card.
For the flight home, there weren’t any good point options, so we paid $374 cash for Frontier premium economy seats.
———————————————–