2025 Travel Plans on Points: What’s Next?
2025 is shaping up to be another exciting year of travel, and once again, we’re leveraging points and miles to maximize savings. Here’s a look at what’s booked so far and how we’re making the most of travel rewards!
Orlando, Florida – Guys Weekend Getaway
In early February, I took a guys’ trip to Orlando, scoring a great deal on flights by using Amex Platinum Airline Incidental Credits:
Flight Savings Breakdown:
- Seattle to Orlando:
- Flight cost: $338
- Bought a $100 Delta gift card with Amex Platinum
- Paid $238 using Amex Platinum
- Received $200 airline incidental credit
- Out-of-pocket cost: $138
- Orlando to Seattle:
- Flight cost: $259
- Bought a $50 Delta gift card
- Paid $209 with Amex Platinum
- Received $200 airline incidental credit
- Out-of-pocket cost: $59
Hotel Savings:
- Thursday Night: Paid $146 using Hyatt Credit Card (no points/awards available)
- Friday Night: Used a Hyatt free night award certificate (saved $285)
Naples, Italy – Spring 2025 Adventure
For a detailed breakdown, check out our dedicated post:
Exploring Italy in Spring 2025
We booked Premium Economy tickets on Air France for 35K points each (Seattle to Naples). Due to flight cancellations, we had to rebook both legs for the day before or after our original itinerary. Our return flight is in Economy at 20K points per ticket. In total, we used 110K points transferred to Air France for two people.
Accommodations:
- Naples – Palazzo Caracciolo (Hilton)
- 50K Hilton points per night (150K for 3 nights)
- Transferred 55K Amex Platinum points (1:2.6 ratio) = 143K Hilton points
- Used some existing Hilton points to cover the remainder
- Ischia – Fara Punta Imperatore (Hyatt)
- 44K Hyatt points for 2 nights
- Staying on the beautiful island of Ischia, a short ferry from Naples
- Sorrento – Marina Piccola 73
- 59K points for 3 nights
- A stunning property right on the water
- Planning to take a ferry from Naples to Sorrento
Vancouver, BC – Free Night Award Stay
We haven’t been to Vancouver in a few years, so we decided to use two free night certificates from the Hyatt Credit Card sign-up bonus:
- Hotel: Hyatt Regency Vancouver
- Deal: Earned 5 free nights after a $4K minimum spend, using 2 free nights for this trip
Las Vegas – Fine Hotels & Resorts Perks
Both Andrea and I have Amex Platinum, which means we can each book a Fine Hotels & Resorts (FHR) stay and get $200 back. These bookings typically come with:
- Free breakfast
- $100 food & beverage credit
- Luxury stays at great value
We plan to book a Vegas trip in August, right before school starts.
Tempe, Arizona – 25-Year Anniversary Getaway
To celebrate our 25-year anniversary in late October, we planned a trip to Tempe, Arizona:
- Hotel: Hyatt Tempe Mission Palms
- 1 night for 15K Hyatt points
- 2 nights using Hyatt free night award certificates
- Flights: Transferred 78K Amex points to Delta for round-trip Comfort+ seats
- Not the best redemption value, but we preferred not to pay cash
Japan – Maximizing Chase Points for an Epic Trip
Our Japan trip is still in the planning phase, but we have a solid strategy to maximize Chase Ultimate Rewards:
- Complete the Chase Ink Preferred sign-up bonus for 90K points after a $6K spend.
- With our existing Chase points, we will have 450K points total.
- Book flights through the Chase Sapphire Reserve Travel Portal, where points are worth 1.5x.
- 450K points = $6,770 in travel credit – more than enough to cover round-trip business class flights!
2025: Another Year of Travel on Points
With Orlando, Italy, Vancouver, Vegas, Arizona, and Japan on the horizon, we are gearing up for another incredible year of maximizing travel rewards. Stay tuned for more updates as we finalize our Japan itinerary and continue sharing how to travel smarter with points and miles!
🚀 Where are you traveling in 2025? Drop a comment and let’s chat travel hacking!
