January 28, 2025
Post-Christmas Celebrations to Hawaii with Points and Miles
Pam
All three of us—Alex, Jess, and Pam—had post-Christmas celebrations to Hawaii with points and miles. TMS takes Hawaii with points and miles! Sadly, we weren’t on the same island, but Alex and Jess did meet up in Las Vegas before their connecting flights to Maui and Kauai, respectively.
Alex, Jess, and their squads say hi!
Never could we have gone to Hawaii as regularly as we do or with our entire families prior to our journey with credit card points and miles. Obviously, a lot of people on my flight had the same idea as it was completely full—but I think most people were paying a lot of cash for a post-Christmas celebration under a palm tree.
Flights
Alex and Jess both flew with families of six on Southwest Airlines®. Alex’s family flew for 32K Southwest® miles plus $22.40 in taxes and fees. She has two Southwest Airlines® Companion Passes.
Jess’s family flew to Kauai for a little over 47,000 miles for four people. The two others flew on a Southwest Airlines® Companion Pass.
My husband and I flew on United Airlines after spending time in the United Club Lounge. I never use my miles for domestic travel, as I prefer to save them for business-class international seats. Our particular airline had flat-bed seats, so I tried to use Plus Points to upgrade us. Sadly, it didn’t work, but we had seats 39K and 39L, so there were only two seats on one side and we had a lot of leg room because a restroom area was nearby. They were definitely the second-best seats on the airplane.
These seats were the next best things to business class.
Return Flights
For the flights home Ales used flight credits and gift cards. Jess did the same thing. Each of them used Costco Southwest® gift certificates (purchased at sale prices).
We flew Southwest® back to Denver because I don’t love the red-eyes that United flies. I paid cash for these seats, too. We landed in Denver at midnight, so we stayed at the Westin at Denver International with a Marriott annual night certificate expiring soon.
Hawaiian Hotels on Points and Miles
Hyatt Regency Maui
Alex and I stayed at the Hyatt Regency Maui. It is a Category 7 Hotel, and we each used 210,000 Hyatt points transferred from Chase Ultimate Rewards® for six-night stays. We always have one or two of Alex’s boys staying with us in our room. Because we are both Globalists, we are also able to take advantage of their club lounge for breakfasts, afternoon snacks, and even light dinners. This saves a ton of money with a large family.
I let them know that we were celebrating our anniversary and the Hyatt Regency Maui decorated Alex’s room and left a nice note (guess they got confused 😜). They offered to send up champagne at check-in but we declined since we don’t drink.
Alex got her room decorated for MY anniversary!
Noah had a blast in Maui!
Enjoying our daily açai bowls.
Grand Hyatt Kauai
Jess’s family stayed at the Grand Hyatt Kauai, another Hyatt property that is popular with all three of us (and a lot of our readers!). She used 210,000 points for each of her two rooms. Again, the club-lounge access saved them a ton on their food. It is also a Category 7.
Jess let them know it was her stepdaughter Olivia’s birthday and they were treated well. Here is what they had in their room:
Birthday treats courtesy of the Grand Hyatt Kauai.
Jess’s family enjoyed hiking around Waimea Canyon in Kauai.
Want to Travel to Hawaii on Points and Miles?
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Bottom Line
Post-Christmas celebrations to Hawaii with points and miles can happen! We travel frequently to Hawaii on credit card points and miles, as do many of our readers. How about you—ready to plan your next nearly free trip to Hawaii?
Related Posts
Podcast #5: How You Can Visit Hawaii for Nearly Free
A Grand Stay at the Grand Hyatt Kauai
Best Credit Cards for a Hawaii Trip
Island Hopping in Hawaii on Points and Miles
Family Friday Vacation: Reader Success Story to Maui and Kauai
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