Wishing you a happy, healthy new year! Hope your holidays were amazing! We spent Christmas in New York City, my birthday (Christmas baby here!) hiking Arches National Park in Moab, Utah and New Year’s Eve in Denver.
Remember how I mentioned I typically book “trips” followed by a “vacation?” This points & miles adventure was another one for the books! After a chaotic, crowded, busy, but beautiful 4 nights in New York City, the serene, wide open spaces of the Utah desert was exactly what our souls needed!
*Pro tip: these rechargeable hand-warmers were AMAZING!
Budget Breakdown
FLIGHTS:
- (2) Southwest economy class flights from Nashville (BNA) to New York City (LGA): 13,744 points + $11.20 taxes/fees.
- (2) Southwest Companion Passes: 0 points + $11.20 taxes/fees.
- (2) Southwest economy class flights from New York City (LGA) to Denver (DEN): $57.80.
- (2) Southwest Companion Passes: 0 points + $11.20 taxes/fees.
- (4) United economy class flights from Denver (DEN) to Moab (CNY): 24,000 Aeroplan points + $139.88 taxes/fees.
- (4) United economy class flights from Moab (CNY) to Denver (DEN): 24,000 Aeroplan points + $139.92 taxes/fees.
- (2) Southwest economy class flights from Denver (DEN) to Nashville (BNA): 33,356 points + $11.20 taxes/fees.
- (2) Southwest Companion Passes: 0 points + $11.20 taxes/fees.
Total: 47,100 Southwest Rapid Rewards points + 48,000 American Express Membership Rewards® points (transferred to Aeroplan) + $393.60 taxes/fees.
LODGING:
- 1 room, 4 nights at Hyatt Centric Times Square: 100,000 points + $0.
- 1 room, 3 nights at Hyatt Place Moab: $330.00.
- 1 room, 1 night at Grand Hyatt Denver: 9,000 points + $0.
Total: 109,000 World of Hyatt points + $330.00.
New York City
Christmas in NYC was iconic! We went ice-skating at the Rink at Rockefeller Center, watched the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall, had Christmas dinner in Chinatown, saw Wicked on Broadway, wandered through the Christmas markets at Bryant Park, strolled through Central Park, and saw countless holiday light displays that make New York City so magical in the winter.
*Pro tip: instead of buying tickets to see the Statue of Liberty, consider riding the Staten Island Ferry to Staten Island. The ferry is free to ride and runs every 30 minutes. You won’t visit the actual monument, but you can still get a great view of Lady Liberty!
The cash price for Adam’s and my flights from NYC to Denver was originally $707.80. The kids’ tickets were only $11.20 because of their Companion Passes. I had to pay cash for our flights because I didn’t have enough points, however, I did have $400 worth of Southwest flight credits in my account from holding the Platinum Card® and the Business Platinum Card® from American Express. Both cards come with a $200 airline credit, which brought our cost down to $307.80. Then, the day before we were scheduled to depart, I double-checked to see if flight prices went down (as they often do with Southwest) and they did – our flight was now $125 less per person! I was able to cancel and rebook the same exact flights for $250 less!
So to recap… our LGA-DEN flights started out at $707.80 – $400 flight credits – $250 price decrease = $57.80 for 2 flights with 2 companion passes! What! Bananas. Lesson learned: it pays to pay attention!
Moab, Utah
There’s only 1 flight per day between Denver (DEN) and Moab (CNY) and it’s operated by United Airlines. Because United is part of Star Alliance, I can search for United flights on the United website, as well as other Star Alliance partners, such as Air Canada and Avianca Airlines. Even though we’re flying on a United plane, we can redeem points through these different partners at varying price points, which is why it’s wise to check partner sites to see where the best deal is.
Here’s what each airline was charging for the same exact UA flight between Denver and Moab:
- United Airlines: 15,000 United miles + $5.60 taxes/fees.
- Avianca Airlines: 7,500 Lifemiles + $5.60 taxes/fees.
- Air Canada: 6,000 Aeroplan points + ~$35.
I chose to transfer 48,000 Amex points to Aeroplan and book 4 roundtrip flights through the Aeroplan website. The taxes/fees were higher, but the transfer was instant and the cancellation policy is more forgiving than Avianca’s.
It was our first time in Moab, Utah and wow! It was other-worldly and absolutely breath-taking! Arches National Park gets more than 3 million visitors per year, with peak seasons between April – October. The crowds are so overwhelming that the park has recently implemented a timed entry restriction during peak seasons. However, when we went in late December, the whole city and the parks were practically empty – we absolutely loved it! I’m not sure if the weather we had was typical, but we experienced very mild 40º-50º F temperatures.
We rented a car while in Moab, which was super helpful. Each day we stopped by the local market to grab sandwiches, snacks, and drinks to picnic in the park. Everything was perfect – I highly recommend visiting Moab in the wintertime.
We stayed at the Hyatt Place in Moab, just minutes away from the entrance of Arches National Park. I typically try to get at least 2 cents per point for Hyatt stays. Here’s the formula I use to calculate CPP:
Cash Price / Points Needed x 100 = CPP
For Hyatt Place Moab, the cash price was $110/night and the points price was 17,000 Hyatt points/night, which yielded a 0.64 CPP (a lot lower than my target 2 CPP!). I decided it was a much better value to save my points and pay cash instead.
We stayed one night in Denver on the way back home, redeeming 9,000 points at the Grand Hyatt downtown. Because I am a Globalist (Hyatt’s top tier loyalty status), they gave us a complimentary upgrade to a 1 bedroom king suite upon check-in!
Early the next morning, we flew back to Nashville on Southwest, soul-filled, heart-happy, and overwhelmed with gratitude. Cheers to 2024!
I wish I had such a wonderful vacation.