We just got back from Mexico City! Friends. Do NOT sleep on Mexico City as a travel destination – an underrated and unexpected surprise, full of history, architecture, culture, art, and amazing food.
The cost for two roundtrip flights and 5 nights at a funky, boutique-style hotel was just $319 thanks to our points & miles redemptions!
I shared our trip in my Instagram “CDMX” highlights, so head over and take a peek at those videos if you’re interested. We had a blast eating and drinking our way through Mexico City. We watched the sun rise in a hot air balloon floating over the ancient Aztec pyramids, took a cooking class and learned how to make tortillas by hand, wandered the many mercados (street markets), and explored the only castle in North America to have housed royals.
Mexico City Budget Breakdown
- (2) Flights from SDF to MEX on United Airlines: 28,000 Lifemiles + $87.18 taxes/fees.
- (5) Nights at Andaz Mexico City: 63,000 Hyatt points + 1 Free Night Certificate + $0 taxes/fees.
- (2) Flights from MEX to SDF on United Airlines: 28,000 Lifemiles + $231.30 taxes/fees.
Total Cost: 119,000 points + $318.48.
Flights To Mexico City
I started researching this trip last December. Using Google flights and the MEX airport wiki page, I learned most of the flight routes from the US to MEX and stalked them for months. All of the major airlines (American, Delta, and United) fly to/from Mexico City, but the best option I found for us was flying on United from our home airport of Louisville (SDF) to Mexico City (MEX) with a layover in Houston (IAH).
United was charging 20,000 United miles + $43.59 taxes/fees for a one-way ticket. United is part of the Star Alliance, so I checked Star Alliance partners and found the exact same flight being sold by Avianca for 14,000 Lifemiles! I transferred 56,000 Amex Membership Rewards points to my Lifemiles account and booked 2 roundtrip tickets. Taxes/fees on the way back were a bit more expensive, at $115.65 per person. All in, I gladly paid $318.48 for 2 roundtrip tickets to/from CDMX.
Lodging In Mexico City
We stayed in the heart of one of Mexico City’s trendiest neighborhoods, La Condesa. The Andaz Mexico City Condesa hotel is a funky, boutique-style Hyatt property that opened up earlier this year and standard award rooms are 18,000-24,000 points per night.
I was awarded 1 Free Night Certificate for staying at 5 different Hyatt brands so I cashed that in, along with 63,000 points to book our 5-night stay. The hotel was fun and beautiful and the service was impeccable – we spent a lot of time on the rooftop bar taking in stunning views of the city from the heated infinity pool.
You could book 3 nights at this hotel with this one credit card welcome bonus! If you want to cover both hotel and roundtrip airfare for 2 people, I’d recommend opening up this card and this card for a total of 145,000 points earned.
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