Family of 5: Puerto Rico Spring Break on Points

Thanks so much to Erin for sharing her success story! Erin and her family’s spring break included a trip to Puerto Rico. They were able to cover 7 hotel nights and all of their flights with points! If you’re in my Facebook group, Erin’s name might be familiar–she’s also one of the group moderators!

Hello all! My name is Erin and I am a mom of 3 girls from Des Moines, IA (not exactly travel points central!). I started with travel credit cards in early 2020 but after I found Katie’s Travel Tricks in March 2021 I decided to go all in and have since accumulated almost 900,000 miles (thank you Katie–you have truly changed my life!) We have four big trips planned in 2023, all on points.

In March we headed off to San Juan, Puerto Rico for Spring Break. My sister and I both work in public schools so we don’t have a lot of flexible time during the school year. Every year we sit at home over spring break and think “we should have gone somewhere” but the cost has always been prohibitive. This year, thanks to points and miles, we made it happen.

Our original plan was to go to Costa Rica, but the Southwest flights cost was incredibly high and there was never a flight available on our preferred return date. My sister started researching other options and we found a great deal to San Juan so we shifted our plans. This is another advantage of traveling with points–everything is easier to cancel if needed. We canceled our Hyatt hotel in Costa Rica and booked one in Puerto Rico instead.

How They Saved On Flights

For the flights, we used a total of 79,680 Southwest points + a companion pass for the flights for our family of 5. We drove from Des Moines to Chicago in order to get this great flight deal. I earned these points (and the companion pass) by signing up for a Southwest business card last summer. I then referred my mom and sister to a personal card which got me the rest of the points needed for the companion pass.

How They Saved On Hotels

For lodging, we stayed in 3 different Hyatt hotels, all on points transferred from my Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. The night before our flight we stayed at the Hyatt Place O’Hare near the airport for 8,000 points. It was a snug fit with myself, my husband, my 3 girls and my sister but for the few hours in the room, it fit our needs.

The next night we arrived in San Juan late so I booked another Hyatt Place in Bayamon for 9,500 points. Again it was a tight fit but met our needs for one night.

Our main resort in Puerto Rico was the Hyatt Residence Club Dorado, Hacienda del Mar. We used 100,000 Hyatt points to book 5 nights at this resort. My sister used her own 100,000 points (earned from her Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card when the sign up bonus was at an all time high a few summers ago) to book a second room and kindly let one of my kids stay with her since the resort only officially allows 4 per room.

The rooms bookable with points are studios which include a king size bed and queen sofa sleeper along with a small kitchenette that had a fridge/freezer, microwave, toaster and sink. The studios also include a balcony which was perfect for enjoying the amazing weather while back home they got 5 inches of snow!

We loved everything about the Hyatt Hacienda del Mar. Despite the hotel being full it never seemed crowded and we didn’t have to fight for chairs by the pool. Our kids loved swimming and participating in the various activities around the resort. There was a soccer field, ping pong, yard games and an activity room with more games for kids. Everything was in great condition and had all necessary pieces to play. I loved that I could see almost the entire outdoor area from my lounge chair by the pool so I could keep an eye on my girls while also enjoying my book. Perhaps the best part about the resort was the staff–everyone was so friendly and helpful.

Some Favorite Spots in Puerto Rico

While in Puerto Rico we visited Old San Juan, did some hiking around El Yunque Rainforest and rode horses at Carabali Rainforest Park. The best part about traveling with points and miles is that our travel budget isn’t spent entirely on flights and hotels so we can say yes to the extras that our kids want to do! We are already talking about a return trip to zipline in the rainforest (my youngest wasn’t old enough this trip) and to check out the Bioluminescent Bay. I would definitely recommend Puerto Rico for anyone thinking about visiting.

Cards That Could Cover This Trip