Points Paradise: An Unforgettable Family Trip to Aruba

One of our favorite things at Katie’s Travel Tricks is hearing how you are using points and miles to make dream vacations a reality. Today, we’re thrilled to share a story from one of our own team members, Erin. Like many of us, Erin grew up thinking expensive spring break trips were out of reach. But, armed with a few travel tricks, she and her family are now making incredible memories, including this recent points adventure to Aruba!

When I was growing up, a spring break trip seemed like the height of luxury. My family was able to travel but that usually involved piggybacking on one of my mom’s work trips or driving long distances to visit relatives. Spring break was never an option due to the elevated costs. Enter: award travel! In 2021 my sister sent me a screenshot of one of Katie’s posts and we decided we would use her tricks to schedule at least a spring break vacation every year. Since then we have gone on spring break plus a whole lot of other trips.

Letting the Deals Decide: Scoring Flights to Paradise

For this year’s spring break, our plan was simple: follow the deals to any warm beach destination with a promising Hyatt property. Flexibility paid off! We snagged round-trip flights to Aruba (AUA) on American Airlines for just 25,000 AAdvantage miles per person.

Beyond the points, we paid just under $100 each in taxes and fees. Remember that while the US departure tax is often minimal ($5.60 in our case), departure taxes from international destinations like Aruba can be significantly higher, so factor that into your budget.

Flying from Des Moines (DSM), we often find AA offers the best points value. This itinerary included overnight layovers – Charlotte (CLT) on the way down and Miami (MIA) returning. Honestly? I’ve grown to like overnight layovers. We get most of the departure day at home, and snagging an early flight the next morning maximizes time at our destination. Thanks to this strategy, we landed in sunny Aruba by 11:30 AM, ready to hit the beach!

The Suite Life: Hyatt Regency Aruba on Points

For hotels we redeemed 175,000 Hyatt points and one suite upgrade award to book the 2 bedroom family suite at the Hyatt Regency Aruba Resort Spa and Casino. This room would have cost just under $8100 for the dates that we booked.

• Pro Tip: I originally had a 2 queen standard room booked and used an alert on openhotelalert.com to let me know if the family suite became available. After a few weeks I woke up to an alert that the family suite was available so I quickly jumped on the Hyatt chat to secure it for our days.

This room was the height of being spoiled with space! Most often a standard suite at Hyatt involves a king room with a living room with a sofa sleeper. The standard suite in Aruba has a king bedroom, separate bunk room with 2 twin bunks, and a sofa sleeper in the living room. My oldest found that the chaise section of the sofa was more comfortable than the pull out bed so she made that up as her bed each night.

In addition to our family of five, we also traveled with my mom, sister, and our travel besties who are a family of four. They both had a standard 2 queen room which still provided a good amount of space. Unfortunately our friends were assigned a room DIRECTLY above the nightly music and it was very loud. After 3 nights they were able to be moved to a quieter side of the building which was much better. (If you go to Aruba and get assigned room 346, ask to be switched!)

Unlocking Value: The Regency Club Experience

In addition to the great family suite with a suite upgrade award, this hotel also has an active regency club. We used the club for breakfast each morning, sodas and snacks during the day (think mixed nuts and cookies) plus hors d’oeuvres at night. Although the club is on the smaller side, it never felt crowded. The staff is incredibly friendly and keeps everything stocked.

There are two hot options for breakfast each day and they also keep pancakes in the back, you just have to ask for them. For evening hors d’oeuvres (which we treated as dinner) there were again 2 hot options as well as salads, sides and a few desserts.

I gifted a club access award to my sister and Guest of Honor to my friend so that our entire group could access the lounge. Being able to utilize the Regency Club saved us a ton of money on meals out during this trip. We aren’t big foodies so this works out great for us. If you love checking out new restaurants when you travel, club access might not be as important to you.

Resort Fun: Sun, Pools, and Sandy Toes

The Hyatt Regency Aruba delivered exactly what you want in a beach resort.

Pools

There are 2 pools, both are multilevel. On one side is the tranquil pool for adults only, this pool is narrow with lots of chairs, umbrellas and cabanas for adults who want a quiet pool vibe. On the other side of the hotel is the activity pool; it has two levels with the lower level featuring a large shallow area that would be perfect for younger kids that aren’t great swimmers yet. This pool also has a water slide, 2 hot tubs and a swim up bar.

In addition to the pool area they have a great beach set up with palapas, umbrellas and very comfortable chairs. Chairs at the pool can be reserved a few months in advance, but we never had trouble finding chairs even on the days we didn’t have a reservation. I saw in an Aruba Facebook group that they stopped reserving palapas on the beach just after we left because all palapas on Aruba are meant to be first come, first served.

Beach

A beautiful beach setup with comfy chairs, umbrellas, and palapas. Pool chairs can be reserved in advance, but we easily found spots even without reservations.

Heads Up: According to an Aruba Facebook group, the resort stopped reserving beach palapas shortly after our visit, reverting to the island-wide first-come, first-served standard for beach shade.

Exploring Aruba by Car: To Rent or Not to Rent?

In addition to spending time at the resort we also took excursions to several other beaches, the California Lighthouse, and Arikok National Park. If you plan to go exploring off site it’s great to have a rental car; but if you plan to stay mostly in the resort area you could probably take taxis or walk to just about anything.

We paid $638 for a minivan rental for 6 days, renting through Hertz from the Capital One portal to maximize our points earnings. There might have been a better deal renting from an offsite company recommended by the Facebook group but we decided to stick with being able to pick up at the airport just to make things quick.

Overall we did not have any major issues with the card rental though service was very slow. There was no skip the counter option and they struggled to find our reservation because we made it through Capital One Travel. My husband was finally able to find the Hertz number in an email and they found it that way. They did try to sell us additional insurance but we declined, did not need to show proof of insurance from either our card or our own coverage. We had reserved an 8 passenger small van (the only thing available that would fit our group of 7) and they gave us a minivan which was nice. Drop off also took a while because there was only one person checking cars in and you couldn’t just drop it and go like other airports.

I would highly recommend the Hyatt Regency Aruba for anyone wanting a fun vibe with a great beach location. If you are lucky enough to secure the family suite you might be left wondering how you will ever fit in a standard hotel room again!

Erin’s Aruba Adventure: Key Takeaways & Tips

• Flexibility = Savings: Being open to destinations where good points deals exist (especially with specific hotel requirements) can unlock great value.
• Embrace the Layover: Don’t dismiss overnight layovers, especially with kids. They can break up travel and maximize destination time.
• Set Hotel Alerts: Tools like OpenHotelAlert.com are invaluable for snagging specific rooms or suites that aren’t initially available.
• Leverage Status & Awards: Hyatt Suite Upgrade Awards, Club Access Awards, and Guest of Honor bookings dramatically enhance stays and save money, especially for groups.
• Know Your Travel Style: The Regency Club is fantastic for saving on food if you aren’t focused on dining out every meal.
• Rental Car Reality: Essential for island exploration, but potentially skippable (using taxis/walking) if you’re staying close to the resort area. Factor in convenience vs. potential off-airport savings.
• Room Request: Avoid Room 346 at Hyatt Regency Aruba if you prefer quiet evenings!

Earn World of Hyatt Points

One of the best ways to earn World of Hyatt points is by transferring from Chase Ultimate Rewards®. World of Hyatt also two cards available that can occasionally have good welcome offers. Check out our posts here on how to earn more points for Hyatt and here for our Hyatt card guide!

Share Your Points Success Story

Thanks again to Erin for sharing her points adventure in Aruba! Do you have a points and miles success story? Share it with us here. We’d love to hear from you!