2024 Travel on Points: A Year in Review
2024 was an incredible year of travel, and we maximized our points and miles to visit amazing destinations! From last-minute championship trips to family adventures across Europe, here’s a recap of where we went and how we leveraged our travel hacking strategies.
Houston: A Last-Minute Championship Trip
We couldn’t miss watching the Huskies in the National Championship, so we booked a spontaneous trip to Houston:
- Hotel: Hyatt Place Galleria – 13,500 points for 3 nights
- Air: United Airlines – $570 refundable airfare per person
- Rental Car: Hertz – $231 for 3 days
Madrid & Lisbon: First European Adventure with the Victoria 6
Our first Europe trip with all six of us was a logistical challenge but well worth it!
Madrid
- Hotel: Petit Palace Santa Bárbara – $347 for 2 nights (Expedia)
- Final nights: Hotel Meninas – $239 for 2 rooms, booked via Capital One Travel (10X points earned)
- Airfare: 120K points for all 6 of us on Air France Each way (40K per person round trip)
Lisbon
- Hotel: 9Hotel Mercy – $337 for 2 nights (21K per room, 3 rooms total) booked via Chase Travel.
- Flight: 20K points round trip for 3 people to Lisbon, $67 per person for the other 3.
New York in April: The Gateway to Europe
Andrea and I repositioned our flights to JFK to book Business Class seats on Air France to Florence for only 55K points each!
- Hotel: Hyatt Regency JFK – 18K points
- Flight: Cheap Alaska Airlines flight to NYC
Italy: Florence, Naples & Vico Equense
Andrea and I did a trip to Italy just the two of us! We got to experience Business Class on Air France
Florence
- Hotel: NH Firenze – Booked via Chase Travel Portal
- Airfare: Business class on Air France – 55K points each
Naples
- Hotel: Hyatt Grand Hotel Parker – 18K points for one night
- Transportation: High-speed train from Florence to Naples (3-hour ride)
Vico Equense
- Hotel: Grand Hotel Angiolieri (booked via Citi Travel, $100 off for a $500+ booking)
- Return Flight: 20K points from Naples to Seattle after our flight cancellation
New Orleans: A Wedding Celebration
Andrea’s coworker had a wedding in New Orleans, we got a great deal on hotel and used our Alaska Airlines buddy pass(not the best deal and cancelled credit card since) to fly down.
- Hotel: Hyatt Centric French Quarter – 51K points for 3 nights
- Flights: Used Alaska Airlines Companion Pass for discounted airfare
Berlin: Sending Bella to Study Abroad
Bella was studying aboard for the summer in Germany! Flew her over on points!
- Flights: 48K points on Air France to Berlin, 20K points for return from Munich
San Diego: A Friend’s Wedding
Went down for a buddy’s wedding in June, used the Venture X $300 travel credit to fly down and booked the hotel on Venture X travel portal to earn 10x
- Hotel: Hotel Indigo Gaslamp Quarter – Booked via Venture X Travel Portal ($1046, 10X points earned)
- Flights: $356 round-trip via Venture X Portal (5X points earned)
California Road Trip: Basketball, Universal Studios & More
I had a basketball tournament to coach in Anaheim, and we wanted to take a road trip down to visit family along the way. Utilized many of our Marriott 5 Free night certificates from opening that Bonvoy credit card last March
Anaheim
- Hotel: Residence Inn Garden Grove – Used Marriott free night certificates
Sacramento
- Hotel: Hyatt House Natomas – 9K points (one way), 12K points (return trip)
Los Angeles – Westlake Village
- Hotel: Hyatt Regency Westlake – 15K Hyatt points per night
Burbank
- Hotel: Residence Inn – Used 3 free night awards (great location for Universal Studios!)
San Francisco & Our Christmas Trip to Europe
We repositioned our family trip to start in San Francisco to get an awesome deal to London during Christmas!
- Hotel: Hyatt Regency SFO – 18K points
- Flight: SFO to London repositioning flight for only 20K points each!
- Flights: Used Alaska Airlines miles for a cheap one-way fare
London & Paris: A Holiday Getaway
We wanted to share a couple of our favorite cities with the kids and wanted to visit both London and take the train down to Paris over Christmas
London
- Hotel: Marlin Apartments Canary Wharf – 118K points for 4 nights
- Airfare: 120K points on Air France
Paris
- Hotel: Les Patios du Marais – 124K points for 3 nights via Chase Travel Portal
- Train: Eurostar from London to Paris – $1500 for all 6 of us (booked too late!)
- Flight to NYC: 120K points on Air France
New York in the Winter: Wrapping Up the Year
Last part of our 2 week adventure wrapped up celebrating New Years Eve in NYC! Plus the flight from Paris to NYC was cheap! And flight home from NYC to SEA was also a decent deal(under $200 per person)
- Hotel: Hyatt Place Long Island City – 54K points for 4 nights (tight fit, but worked!)
- Return Flights: 5 flights booked for 45K points + $500 out of pocket
2024: A Year of Travel Hacks & Adventure
From last-minute championship trips to repositioning flights for premium travel experiences, 2024 was all about maximizing points and miles to explore the world while minimizing out-of-pocket costs.
Want to follow along for 2025? Stay tuned as we dive into more travel hacking tips and exciting new destinations!
