Bahamas wasn’t on my immediate bucket list.  Ok, let me re-phrase that.  I normally book family vacations based on places we’ve talked about visiting, or airfare deals that pop up that can allow our family to fly for less/person (in points of course).  This was the latter.  Some places are generally harder to book in points and miles, and in the last few years we have chosen to book stays in Airbnbs, rather than hotels – as we added a new little one to our family, and prefer the additional space that vacation rentals tend to give.  But when I noticed that Southwest was having a sale to tropical destinations a few months back – and we had enough Southwest points to book flights for our family to the Bahamas – I decided I’d figure out where we would stay soon enough.

For starters, Southwest runs sales from time to time – they can be 2-3 day sales, tropical sales, mid-week sales, summer sales, etc.  The best time to book travel is during this time – as you will find cheaper fares in cash and/or points.  I checked out a couple destinations, and low and behold, Bahamas it was!  What’s interesting is that I had randomly booked a trip to the Bahamas (for literally 24 hours before I canceled it) prior to the pandemic.  Why did I cancel? Because the Bahamas are an expensive place to visit, and while our flights would be covered in points, a stay would easily cost us a couple grand we couldn’t afford.  (I wasn’t using points and miles then like I do now ;))  I’m a true believer in things working as and when they should, and well, it just wasn’t the time then.

In April, when the Southwest tropical sale was going on, I booked 4 flights to Nassau, Bahamas for 17k points/per person.  We don’t have the companion pass this year, so having enough points (for 4) and finding availability during my kids fall break was pretty amazing.  We’re working towards the companion pass this year and my husband is just about 50,000 points shy of earning it!  So not to worry, as he will apply for the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card later this year.  

So where will we stay?  Well, this time around I had worked smarter.  I did my research ahead of time to see if there was a Hyatt in the area.  I had also gotten the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card when the offer was at 80,000 points.  I knew I could transfer the points earned from this bonus offer to my Hyatt account, and cover our 4-night stay at the one Hyatt property in Nassau – Grand Hyatt Baha Mar – a beautiful beachfront hotel resort that we couldn’t be more excited to stay at!

We’ll be needing two rooms, so here’s what I did.  First, I transferred 68,000 points from my Chase account to my Hyatt account.  That got us one standard room, with a king bed, for 17,000 points/per night.  (The going cash rate starts at $240/night!)  That would be for my husband and I, and the baby.  Now a fellow award creator had shared how some Hyatt properties have family plans – you book the first room on points, and you get the second room ½ off the cash price.  Luckily, so did Grand Hyatt Baha Mar.  I booked a second room for my older 2 kids, with 2 beds, for ½ off the cash rate.  Yes, we are having to pay out of pocket for the second room, but that is much more affordable than having to pay out of pocket for flights and two rooms for a family of 5!

Now for curiosity’s sake, let’s see how much a room at the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar would have cost me if I had booked it directly in Chase’s travel portal:

Ummm, that’s the same hotel requiring more points + cash!  Wowza!  And that’s me searching for just one adult, one room.  

You’ll be shocked at the numbers that pop up if I searched for availability for family of 5:

NO, THANK YOU!

This is just another example of why your points are always more valuable when you transfer to airline/hotel partners as opposed to booking directly in a bank’s travel portal.  By transferring my points to Hyatt, and booking directly with them, I got a way better deal!

And that my folks, is how you book a vacation with two very easy to use, travel credit cards 🙂  Southwest makes it very simple to book, change, and/or cancel flights – with no hassle whatsoever.  They are hands down, my favorite airline to fly, especially when traveling with the family.  The Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card, is a staple and great beginner card if you are new to the world of points and miles.  With multiple travel partners such as United, Hyatt, and yes also, Southwest (I transfer my Chase points to Southwest occasionally) – you have many options as to how to book travel for you and your loved ones!