How I Used Points for 2023 Travel Adventures

I did not have as much personal travel in 2023 compared to 2022. As you can see from the graphic, I crossed a few oceans but those were work trips so I will not include those details in this article.

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2023 Travel Year in Review

The total number of points used for the year 2023 was 1.1 million, and the cash value of the flights and hotels that we used points for was $35,000. We went on two trips with my family of four and one with just me and my husband.

April- Cabo San Lucas

I used 25,500 points for my flight to Cabo San Lucas. I did not use points for the hotel because this was a trip with friends from college, so we split the cost of the rooms. We went to Secrets Puerto Los Cabos Golf & Spa Resort.

This was my first experience at an all-inclusive hotel. All-inclusive worked well for the type of trip—a long weekend with friends—but I would not be interested in this resort if I were traveling with my husband. The hotel was nice, the rooms were a good size, lots of options for food and drinks, but overall, the stay was average.

The hotel is bookable with Hyatt points, but I won’t be using my precious points at this location.

May/June-Kauai and Maui, Hawaii

This was our big family trip. My husband and I love Hawaii, but this was our first time taking the kids.

We used 165,000 British Airways Avios to book flights on American Airlines from DFW to OGG. The flight to Hawaii was in the dreaded Economy class, but I was willing to suffer for this daytime flight.

We split our time in Hawaii between two islands and three hotels.

We used 105,000 Wyndham points to book a one-bedroom condo through Vacasa Vacation Rentals in Princeville, on the north side of Kauai. The condo included a loft area with another bed and bathroom, so we got away with paying 15,000 points per night and technically had two bedrooms.

I had seen so many people talking about the Grand Hyatt Kauai that I booked one night there before we took the short flight to Maui.

The kids loved the Grand Hyatt Kauai and were unhappy when we left after only one night. This one-night stay was 50k Hyatt points, and we had a one-bedroom pool-level suite. It was a nice room, but it only had one bathroom that you had to access through the living room, so we would disturb the kids when they were sleeping. Because of the room’s layout, I am glad we were only there for one night.

In Maui, we stayed at another Hyatt that many people had posted about: the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa. The best thing about this hotel was the lounge that we were able to access because of my Globalist status.

The views from the hotel are great, but the food was underwhelming, and the pool was under construction when we were there. They have a large splash pad area for the kids, but the number of kids staying at the hotel was complete chaos. We spent most of our pool time at the Hyatt Vacation Club at Ka’anapali Beach, which is next to the Hyatt Regency. This pool area was not as fancy, but it was also not loud or crowded.

Our stay at the Hyatt Regency Maui was 160,000 points for 3 nights in a one-bedroom ocean-view suite.

Because we flew economy to Hawaii, I splurged on a flat business-class seat for our overnight flight home. I booked these seats using the Amex portal, and my Platinum Business card gets a 35% refund on business class points reservations. This flight for my family of four required 322,000 Amex Membership Rewards points.
For 10 nights in Hawaii, we used 750k total points for travel worth $25,000.

October-Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedegral Orlando

My husband and I escaped to Cabo San Lucas for 3 nights at the Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedegral. We booked an ocean-view room with two free night certificates and 120,000 points. Because of my Hilton Diamond status, we were upgraded to a three-bedroom casita. This upgrade will go down in history as my best upgrade ever.

A person in a black dress joyfully poses with raised arms on a pathway lined with cacti, in front of a hillside house with stone accents and terraces. Palm trees and blue sky enhance the tropical setting.

We used British Airway Avios to book flights to and from Cabo San Lucas (SFD) on American Airlines metal. The flight required 18,000 points each way for two people. I was lucky enough to get an upgrade on the flight to Cabo!

November- California

We took advantage of the school Thanksgiving holiday and went to California. The main goal of this trip was to go to Universal Studios Hollywood to see Harry Potter Land and Super Mario World. We stayed at the Andaz West Hollywood for three nights for 100,000 points and one night at Hyatt House at Anaheim Resort and Convention Center for 12,000 points.

Our flights to LAX were 44,000 total for four people in Economy. We flew back to DFW on the morning of Thanksgiving, and I was able to book four seats in business class for 88,000 points total.

Happy Travels!