Alex’s 2023 Points and Miles Recap

Alex

2023 was another year full of earning and redeeming points and miles for nearly free travel! This year we took more family trips than we have ever before. It was a great year full of making great memories! Here’s Alex’s 2023 Points/Miles Recap!

Alex’s 2023 Points/Miles Recap

February

The first trip in my 2023 Points/Miles Recap was in February during President’s Day weekend to St. George, UT. We used some Marriott free night certificates to stay at the Springhill Suites for a soccer tournament for my oldest. Nights were going for close to $300 this this was a great use of those certificates! This property is a little newer, has a fun pool, free breakfast, and enough room to sleep my family of 6. Bonus– my son’s team took first place in the tournament!

 

springhill suite st George hot tub - Alex's 2023 Travel Hacking Recap

Relaxing in the hot tub post-game

 

March

In March, my mom and I used some IHG points to stay at the Kimpton Seafire in Grand Cayman. We had had this resort on our radar for a while, and it did not disappoint! You can read more about our trip to the Kimpton Seafire in Grand Cayman here.

 

Kimpton Seafire Grand Cayman pool view - Alex's 2023 Travel Hacking Recap

The view from our room

 

April

In April, we spent spring break as a family in Hawaii. My parents joined us too, as we stayed at the Grand Hyatt Kauai and then island hopped on over to the Hyatt Regency Maui! We flew on Southwest using points and Southwest Companion Passes.

 

Alex's 2023 Travel Hacking Recap - Grand Hyatt Kauai

We spent Easter at the Grand Hyatt Kauai

 

Family at Hyatt Regency Maui

The whole group at Hyatt Regency Maui

 

May

In May, my mom and I went on a trip that was solely based around a flight after finding availability on Emirates first class from Milan to JFK. We flew from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam on KLM business class and from Amsterdam to Milan. Once we arrived in Milan, we drove for about an hour to our hotel, Villa Orselina, in Switzerland. After a few relaxing days here, we took that amazing flight on Emirates and then spent two nights in NYC!

 

orselina Switzerland

Views of Lake Maggiore

 

June

In June, Mitch and I spent three nights at the Alila Ventana in Big Sur, California. We used Southwest Rapid Rewards for our flights and World of Hyatt points for the resort. This was a one-of-a-kind resort! You can read all about our trip to Alila Ventana Big Sur here.

 

Big Sur Redwoods

Mitch and I hiking among the Redwoods

 

Just a couple of days after getting home, my parents and I hopped in the car and drove to Rexburg, Idaho, for my oldest soccer tournament. We used IHG free night certificates to stay at a Holiday Inn Express.

 

Man and woman with boy in soccer uniform

It was so fun to have my parents come to the tournament!

 

Later that month, we headed to the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach. Once again, we took advantage of those Southwest Companion Passes and used Hyatt points for our stay. This trip was extra fun because we invited our friends to accompany us! It was so much fun!

 

Huntington Beach boys on beach

We love that the hotel is across the street from the beach

 

July

In July, we took our annual family trip to Colorado to visit family. We drove and stayed at my parents’ house, but while we were there, we went to Denver for the Eras Tour! We got super lucky and were able to get Tickets from Ticketmaster a couple of weeks before the show. Getting hotel rooms that late was no easy task, though! Luckily (or unluckily, since the place was kind of a dump, lol), We were able to find availability at a Marriott and used our 35K free night certificates.

 

mom and daughter at eras tour Denver

Eras Tour!

 

Later in July, we spent 3 nights at the Hyatt Place Park City. We used Hyatt free night certificates for this stay. My two oldest boys were both playing in Park City for a soccer tournament, so we made a trip of it. This tournament was so fun, but the highlight was Cruz’s team taking first place!

 

soccer tournament winners

My second oldest’s team took first place!

 

September

In September, Jess and I headed to Secrets Impression Moxche. We absolutely loved it! It’s a pricey one, but we think it’s totally worth it, especially since it’s all-inclusive.

 

two girls at impressions main pool

Enjoying sunset from the Impressions main pool

 

At the end of September, we had family come to Salt Lake City for a conference our church holds semi-annually. We spent two nights at the Hyatt Regency Salt Lake City (my favorite hotel in downtown Salt Lake City) and enjoyed eating out, shopping, attending the conference, and the kids’ favorite- swimming in the rooftop pool.

 

salt lake conference center - 2023 Travel Hacking Recap

So fun spending time with my mom and sisters in Salt Lake City

 

October

My kids have a fall break in October, so we headed to Austin, Texas, to check out the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines. Jess and her family even joined us for a few days! It was so fun introducing our families to each other and we all had such a great time! Check out episode #51 of our podcast to hear all about this trip.

 

lazy river pool Hyatt Regency lost pines - Alex's 2023 Travel Hacking Recap

Enjoying the lazy river at Hyatt Regency Lost Pines

 

November

In November, we took a family trip to Hyatt Ziva Cancun. This trip was extra special because both my parents and my sister Kasey and her family joined us! The cousins had the best time together. We used Hyatt points to stay and Southwest (as always) for our flights.

 

family at Hyatt ziva Cancun - Alex's 2023 Travel Hacking Recap

These kids love Hyatt Ziva Cancun!

 

December

My last trip in this 2023  recap was our annual retreat. At this retreat, we discuss the previous year, make goals for the next year, and, of course, get some massages as well! We stayed at the Andaz Scottsdale. Each of us really enjoyed it. It’s a great spot for a girl’s trip or a couples’ trip. The three of us always have so much fun together, but somehow, this year, we didn’t get a picture all together!

 

andaz scottsdale room - 2023 Travel Hacking Recap

Jess and my mom outside our casita

 

Alex’s 2023 Points/Miles Recap

Cards Opened This Year

In 2023 I opened 7 cards and Mitch opened 5 cards.

Alex’s Cards:

 

Mitch’s Cards:

All together, from welcome offers on the cards we opened in 2023, we will have earned 1.5 million points. That does not include any points earned on meeting the minimum spend or points from referring each other to those cards.

Plans for 2024

Here are the trips I have booked for 2024 so far:

  • Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal– using those free night certificates we earned on those Hilton Honors Business cards.
  • St. George, UT for a soccer tournament (using free night certificates for the hotel stay)
  • Disneyland
  • Singapore and Kuala Lumpur
  • San Diego
  • Greece
  • Florida
  • Park City

 

Bottom Line

I hope 2023 was a wonderful year for you as well. I hope you enjoyed reading about my 2023 Points/Miles Recap. Let me know in the comments how you used points this year or what you have planned for 2024! We can’t wait to see where points and miles take you.

 

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