August 22, 2025
Reader Success Story: Family Western Adventure
Pam
Kate sent us her Reader Success Story: Family Western Adventure for a family of 6! We think you will love this adventure!
- Where Did We Go: Jackson Hole, Jenny Lake & Yellowstone
- Who Went: My family of 6 including me, my husband and 4 daughters (ages 14, 10, 8 & 7)
- Flight Info: 6 economy tickets from ATL —> SLC —> JH & 6 economy tickets from BZN —> IAH —> ATL
- Lodging Info: 2 Nights @ Springhill Suites – Jackson Hole, 4 nights @ IHG – West Yellowstone, 1 Night @ Under Canvas West Yellowstone & 1 Night @ Springhill Suites – Bozeman
- When Did I Start Using Points & Miles: Jan 2024
- Credit Cards Used: card_name, card_name, card_name, card_name, card_name, card_name.
The Journey Starts
In January of 2024, my eldest daughter had an unexpected spinal fusion surgery for scoliosis that resulted in complications and repeated hospital stays. As we surrendered to the confines of the hospital room, I started listening to the Travel Mom Squad and vowed that if we could ever get her healthy, we were going to finally take some family trips and delve into this points and miles hobby.
For years, my husband and I had tossed around the idea of a trip out West with our 4 children but every time we priced flights and hotels, it didn’t seem like it wouldn’t be financially feasible without a lot of saving and sacrifice. Trusting the process, I opened my first Ink card in January of 2024 and we took off!
Much like Pam, I was fast and furious at the beginning, applying for Ink cards with my P2 (my husband) and aggressively building up our points stash. By July of ’24, I had enough American Express Membership Rewards® to transfer to Delta and combine with my husband’s SkyMiles to book our flights to Jackson Hole. By December ’24, I had enough Chase Ultimate Rewards® to book our United flights back to Atlanta and book all of our hotels for the entire trip, including a one-night stay in a deluxe suite tent at Under Canvas for my 40th birthday. What was once a pipe dream was now reality!
Flight Details
In May, we flew Delta out of Atlanta, GA (to Salt Lake City, UT and then Jackson Hole, WY) and utilized a combination of points earned from the American Express® Gold Card welcome offer (100,000 points) + SkyMiles my husband had earned through work travel (135,000). While you usually don’t get the “most bang for your buck” from Delta in the points and miles world, we wanted our girls’ first flight experience to be a little nicer and we felt like Delta could provide that experience.
Also, Delta is one of the few airlines that flies directly into Jackson Hole and we wanted the convenience of starting south of Yellowstone and working our way up. Cash value of these tickets was $3,347, so already my $325 annual fee from my American Express® Gold Card was more than worth it!
Jackson Hole, Wyoming
In Jackson Hole, we stayed two nights at the Springhill Suites where I redeemed two free-night certificates (valued at 50k each from a Marriott welcome offer) and topped them each off with 15k Chase Ultimate Rewards®. The room featured two queens and a fold-out sofa—cozy, but perfect for our family of six. The cash value of this room for two nights was $938. While in Jackson Hole, we enjoyed the Best of the West parade, booked a scenic river raft tour of the Snake River through Viator and attended the Jackson Hole Rodeo. The rodeo was a family favorite—make sure to purchase tickets online in advance as this often sells out!
Snake River raft tour with the family!
Jenny Lake and West Yellowstone
After two nights in Jackson Hole, we began our travels to West Yellowstone but first, we stopped at beautiful Jenny Lake. After paying for a ferry ride across the lake (~$60), we made a ~1/2 mile hike to Hidden Falls. This was the perfect hike for my children (ages 7, 8, 10 & 14) and the views were stunning.
Stunning Jenny Lake.
Upon finishing our morning of adventure, we traveled 2.5 hours north to West Yellowstone. We arrived at the Holiday Inn West Yellowstone where we checked into our two-queen bedroom. We utilized the couch for my third child and then had a blow-up mattress for my fourth child. I utilized points earned from my card_name welcome offer and combined those with my husband’s IHG points he had earned from work travel.
For a total of 212,000 points, we booked 3 nights and then got the 4th night free (as a benefit of holding the IHG card). Cash value of this stay was $1,889. I felt the rooms here were basic and fine (which is commonplace for anything in the Yellowstone area). My kids enjoyed the afternoon chocolate chip cookies in the lobby and the game room. The town of West Yellowstone has a variety of eating establishments (much more than you’ll find inside the actual park) and its proximity to the park’s West entrance is excellent.
Redeem three nights, get the fourth night free when you redeem points for a consecutive four-night IHG® hotel stay. You can receive a fourth Reward Night free, redeemable at that same hotel during that same stay.
Activities in Yellowstone
We spent our first day in Yellowstone on an eight-hour open air guided tour we booked through Viator. This was a splurge ($1,400 for 2 adults & 4 children) but an excellent way to touch the “high points” of the lower loop Yellowstone!
Our second day was spent in West Yellowstone at the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center. My kids really enjoyed getting to see grizzlies and wolves up close. (If you have children under 12, make sure to check what time they have the bear feeding experience—kids are able to hide food for the bears before they enter their habitat . . . a unique experience!) On our third day, we ventured into the park again to tour the Upper Loop. This included Mammoth Hot Springs and spotting wildlife.
Under Canvas West Yellowstone
On our fourth day, we spent the morning in West Yellowstone doing a little bit of shopping, grabbed some lunch and then headed to our most anticipated spot: Under Canvas West Yellowstone (a.k.a. glamping). I had booked this through Hyatt (transferred Chase Ultimate Rewards®) and splurged by spending 94,250 points for a Madison River Suite (two adjoining tents).
The adult tent featured a king sized bed with a fold-out couch and a bathroom. The kids’ tent featured three twin beds. Cash value of this one-night stay was $1,186 and I have zero regrets about spending these points! Everything about this experience was FUN!
Under Canvas primary bedroom.
Lighting the fire in our woodburning stoves, enjoying complimentary s’mores in the common area, playing in the communal board game tent, visiting with other guests around the fire and under the stars—a magical experience! (Tip: try to book a tent with a bathroom because if you don’t, you’re subject to a shared bath house much like a campground. Also, if going to this location at the end of May, be prepared for very cold temps at night).
Using the wood stove to keep warm was fun!
Under Canvas bathroom.
Bozeman and Flights Home
The next day we left Under Canvas and made the two hour drive to Bozeman where we prepared to fly out on Saturday. Bozeman has an abundance of chain restaurants and stores—we felt like we were back in civilization after being in unfettered nature for so long.
We stayed at the Springhill Suites – Bozeman and thought it was the most spacious room of our trip with two queens and a sofa bed. I redeemed another FNC (valued at 50k from my Marriott welcome offer + 4k transferred Chase Ultimate Rewards® (so a total of 54k points). Cash value of this stay was $347.
On Saturday we flew United from Bozeman —> Houston —> Atlanta. To book these tickets, I transferred 136,800 Chase Ultimate Rewards® to United to redeem six economy flights—not the best use of Chase points but as TMS often says, “free is free.” Cash value of these tickets was $1,728.
Bottom Line
All in all, we spent a total of 862,050 points on 12 one-way flights + 8 nights of hotels. The grand total cash value for this trip was $9,435—can we say “yeehaw?!” 🙂 While I could have searched for other dates to get better redemption values, this worked perfectly for us and I would 100% redeem this many points again for this trip of a lifetime with my husband and kids. I hope this inspires other large families to take the plunge into points and miles—you certainly won’t regret it!
Thanks, Kate for your Reader Success Story: Family Western Adventure. Your family adventure sounds amazing and makes me want to head out on a western adventure!
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