Travel Mom Squad podcast listener Larisa shared her story about a recent mother/son trip she took to Costa Rica and here’s how she made it happen:

 

Starting Out With Miles and Points

I stumbled on to Points Talk with the Travel Mom Squad early in January 2024. I was looking for a podcast on travel to Scotland, which had been a bucket list trip for me for some time.  (Stay with me here, I promise this blog post really is about Costa Rica!). There was no way I could afford to take my family there any time soon but we had started saving up, so I was starting to try to figure out how to make it happen. I had only used points for a stay one other time, with some measly amount I had earned from a few Marriott stays over the years. But I was intrigued with how easy the Travel Mom Squad made getting points seem. 

After listening to a few more episodes, I decided to jump right in. 

 

Getting the First Welcome Offers

Right or wrong, since I had my mind set on one trip, my first card was a Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® card. I fly American Airlines frequently for work and knew I could add points from my work travel to the 60,000 welcome offer. Based on what I learned from TMS, my next card was a card_name.  I had no specific plan for those but I knew the 60,000 points I would earn would come in handy at some point. 

Based on my research, I found that Hyatts were few and far between in Scotland. I knew there were a couple of reasonable Marriott options in Inverness, and based on a TMS recommendation I also set my sights on staying at the Hilton Edinburgh Carlton, so my next three cards were:  Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card (earning five free-night certificates), the Hilton Honors American Express Card, and the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card, totaling 230,000 points. I applied for these cards in one week because my target dates were to open up very soon, and I had some large expenses coming up. Yep, five cards in four months. Yikes. 

Then I applied for a business card. I’ve had a longstanding relationship with Citi, so I was approved for the Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard®, earning another 75,000 miles. 

 

Serious Case of FOMO 

While waiting for the booking windows to open for my Scotland dates, I listened to the podcast on TMS about Costa Rica. My oldest son wants to work with animals one day, so on a whim, I searched for flights for us during our fall break in October 2024. There were really great deals, so I booked flights for fall break using a handful of the AA points, thinking I would likely cancel them later. 

At this same time, Hyatt was getting ready to increase the award category for the Andaz Peninsula Papagayo Resort, which would make that stay cost more points in the future unless I booked soon.  I did a quick search, and there was availability, so I booked it with my Chase Ultimate Rewards®. I planned to stay three nights at the Andaz and three nights at the Tabacon.

 Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough time to book Tabacon before that hotel moved from Hyatt to Hilton, and afterward, the number of points required to redeem free nights there was just too high to book it—besides, I was saving those points for Scotland. So I looked around and finally settled on a Mr. & Mrs. Smith property instead of the Tabacon. With the off-season rates, I could book it with cash, so I was looking forward to getting more points from that spending to use in the future.  

Boom, we were going to Costa Rica, too!

 

 

Point and Miles Save the Day

The week before our trip, Hurricane Milton was set to hit Florida. I got nervous about flying through Miami on our way to Costa Rica, so I looked to see if I could rebook the AA flight for a similar cost in points through Dallas instead.  There were good last-minute deals, but only for the day before we were initially scheduled to leave. So, I put the flight on hold and checked availability at the Andaz for an additional night. I had accumulated some points through referrals and so . . . success!  We added a day to the front of our trip and avoided flying through Miami.

 

A Series of “Pinch Me” Moments

We flew economy on American Airlines from CVG to LIR, through Dallas, and it was smooth flying. Instead of renting a car, we used Frank the Tank and paid $55 to transfer from Liberia to the Andaz Papagayo. They met us at the airport and took us to the hotel in 30 minutes. When we checked in at the Andaz, they upgraded our room to a bay view and two queens instead of a one-king forest view.  There was a little treat waiting for us in the room as well since we let them know in advance that my son and I were celebrating some milestone birthdays. 

The Andaz was amazing. Even though much of the property was closed for renovation during our stay, we took advantage of their beaches and the infinity pool, went snorkeling, and got some much-needed rest and relaxation on the balcony overlooking the water. We tried out La Piazza Italian restaurant, had room service, enjoyed the music and tapas at Chao Pescao, and had several meals at Ostra. The food was pricey but good. 

 

 

I even met two other TMS followers at the Andaz because I posted a picture on the TMS Facebook page. What a great thing to have such a fun and friendly Travel Mom Squad community built around miles and points! (Note from TMS—we love this!)

 

La Fortuna Area

We then stayed in the La Fortuna area for three nights at the Amor Arenal. Amor Arenal was like a dream. I can’t even put into words how wonderful our casita was!  It had a direct view of the Arenal Volcano from the hot tub, where I spent most of my time. We received free breakfast every day and took full advantage of this to save some money on food at lunchtime.

They also offered a free 30-minute massage, free yoga daily, and tons of other on-site activities for reasonable fees. We dined at El Rancho, an on-site restaurant, and ordered room service one night. The food was delicious, and the staff was so welcoming. The food was pricey, but the experience that went with it was invaluable. We had toucans and frogs join us for dinner and enjoyed a view of the Arenal Volcano at all times. 

 

 

Off-Site Activities and Transportation

This was a mother/son trip, and my teenager and I agreed that we wanted a balance of activities and rest days. Once rested enough, we took a tour of Rio Celeste with Frank the Tank.  We swam in a beautiful waterfall pool at Llanos del Cortés, walked the many steps to the Rio Celeste waterfall, encountered rainforest animals (sloths, snakes, and frogs), drank coffee, and ate chocolate. While in La Fortuna, we visited the Místico Hanging Bridges (also with Frank the Tank) and took a night tour of the jungle (through Viator). Our tour guides helped us find so many animals, insects, and reptiles that we lost count! 

We made sure to load up on bug spray, and that also made a difference. October is the rainy season, which we had anticipated, but we only had a drizzle once during a tour. There were pop-up showers almost daily after the heat of the afternoons, but in the jungle, it made for a beautiful backdrop. 

We also used Frank the Tank to transport to and from the airport and between hotels, rather than renting a car. Having a driver gave me peace of mind and was around the same price renting a car would have been. I had read that the roads were very curvy but we found them to be not much different from our rural Kentucky roads, so we weren’t bothered at all. 

 

 

 

Great Place for Families and Couples

The people we encountered in Costa Rica were beyond friendly. Our tour guides felt more like family at the end of the day, sharing their family and life experiences and being interested in ours. The hotel staff all remembered us every day, and made us feel safe and right at home. Traveling to Costa Rica is so accessible and made for an amazing first trip on points and miles. I hope to return someday soon. Pura Vida! 

 

Points Breakdown

AA Flight CVG-LIR: 33,000 miles

AA Flight LIR-CVG: 30,000 miles

4 nights Andaz Papagayo: 88,000 points (and we earned 7,637 points on our spending and because it was a bonus qualifying stay)

3 Nights Amor Arenal: earned 9,375 points on our out-of-pocket spending at this hotel

Savings: easily over $5000!

 

Hooked on Points and Miles

We now have three other trips planned for 2024 and 2025. I look forward to sharing more experiences in the future!

Larisa, thanks for your reader success story!  We love seeing these special family memories made possible with credit card points and miles!