I made one last-minute trip for 2023 to NYC. This was a trip that I hadn’t planned on – yay, for credit card points and miles and the ability to travel spontaneously! My daughter, Kasey, invited us on their annual Christmas trip, so we decided to go to New York City on Christmas evening for a couple of nights to see the sights and watch a few Broadway plays. This is one of my favorite things to do, so I was totally on board. We ended up making a Christmas return to the Thompson Central Park.

 

 

I was also able to do Guest of Honor bookings for my daughter (2 rooms). This saved us a ton of money because she has 5 children and breakfast can be so expensive in New York. We were upgraded to Deluxe King rooms which would have cost even more. Funny thing – they actually gave her the best room in the upper stories that came with free lounge access.

 

 

Location and Check-in at Thompson Central Park

The location of the Thompson Central Park is great. Obviously, it is close to Central Park, but also walkable to most Broadway shows (about a mile) and other New York sites. I actually prefer to walk when in NYC as it seems to be faster than taking a taxi or Uber to most locations. The weather was foggy, a little cool, but, generally, not bad for December.

I could do a remote check-in, as my daughter did, but was hoping to get a suite upgrade if I checked in at the desk. This didn’t happen this time, but our room was large by NYC standards, so I was happy. A charcuterie table and macarons were brought to my room shortly after we arrived along with a Globalist welcome letter.

 

Cash Cost of Thompson Central Park vs. Cost in Points

We had two Deluxe King rooms and a Double room. These rooms would have cost a total of about $4000. And we paid 29K/night for each room, making a total of 174K Hyatt points. We earned these points by opening up Chase Ink Business Cards.

We also got free breakfast. Breakfast included a hot entree (most are almost $30), one cold beverage (orange juice is $11) and one hot beverage (starting at $7) per person. With a total of 9 people, that would have cost us almost $900 and we paid $0, no service charge, no gratuities. We also did not pay for any destination fees as they are waived on points bookings with Hyatt. We chose to have room service, but could have gone down to the restaurant too.

 

 

 

Bottom Line

Again, one of my favorite things about credit card points and miles is the spontaneity they allow me to have with my travel plans! My Christmas return to Thompson Central Park and seeing some Broadway shows would never have happened in my life before using credit card points/miles. We booked this Christmas trip within weeks of it happening. This is just another reason that I love this hobby! What was a last-minute trip that you booked on points/miles?

 

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