Most articles tell you that you can travel for almost free using credit card points. This is a real example of a family vacation using credit card points, covering every flight, hotel, and redemption that got us there in June of 2025.
This article shows exactly how we did it. Here’s every flight, every hotel, what cards we got, how many points we used, and why we booked each one.
California Vacation on Points Snapshot
We weren’t able to use points on all of our stays for this 10 day California family trip. We had a 4 night stay in Yosemite National Park where we didn’t use credit card points. Make sure to see my full 4 day itinerary of what we did in Yosemite.
Even with that being said, we still were able to save over $6,300 on our flights and other hotel stays.
| Trip | California Family Vacation |
| Travelers | 5 |
| Flights | United + Southwest |
| Hotels | Hyatt + IHG |
| Nights | 5 |
| Total Cash Cost | $56 |
| Total Points Used | 345,493 |
| Estimated Savings | $6,311 |
Flights We Used for California Family Trip
We booked our flights with two different airlines. We flew to California on United Airlines and flew back to Ohio on Southwest Airlines.
Using United Miles for Flights to California
Why We Chose United: As I looked at flights from Cleveland to San Francisco, I realized that United was the only airline that flew nonstop between the two cities. I also liked that the nonstop flight was in the morning.
This got us into San Francisco in the morning, which gave us a part of a day to enjoy on our trip. It isn’t always about getting the cheapest flight but it is about getting the right flight to meet your needs.
How We Booked It: Tonya and I both had United miles from opening up a couple of United credit cards. United allows people to create a family pool where you can combine your points. Through the pool, we combined our points and then booked the flights that we needed.
How Many Miles: Each ticket was 15,000 miles or 75,000 miles for the five tickets.
Taxes and Fees: Taxes and fees for a domestic flight with United is $5.60 one way. We paid a total of $28 in taxes and fees for the 5 flights that I booked
Cash Price: If we were paying cash for the flights, it would have cost $1,125 for all five tickets.
Cents Per Point: 1.5 cents per point
Savings: The total savings for flights was $1,097.
Using Southwest Points for Our Flight Home
Why We Chose Southwest: Tonya and I had a bunch of Southwest Airline Rapid Rewards Points since I opened a couple of Southwest cards a few years prior to earn the Southwest Companion Pass.
The pass is the best deal in travel. It allows you to bring a companion with you on a flight only paying taxes and fees. Make sure to read my post, on how to earn and use the Southwest Companion Pass.
There was a Southwest flight from Long Beach to Cleveland that fit our needs very well. It was better flying out of Long Beach versus LAX. So, we used the Southwest points from earning the Companion Pass to book the flights home.
How We Booked It: The Southwest points were in our account, so we booked the flights directly through Southwest.
How Many Points: Our daughter Kenzie was living in New York City at the time of the trip. Her ticket from Long Beach to New York City was 21,092 points. The other 4 tickets back to Cleveland cost us 75,401 points. The total Southwest points we used was 96,493.
Taxes and Fees: The total taxes and fees for all 5 tickets was $28.
Cash Price: The cash value of the tickets was $1,280.
Cents Per Point: 1.3 cents per point
Savings: $1,252
Hotels We Stayed at Using Credit Card Points and Free Night Certificates
Hotel points and hotel free night certificates can really come in handy when trying to save money on a trip. The following hotels are ones that we stayed at using credit card points and free night certificates.
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Fresno (River Park) Hwy 41
Why We Chose It: We chose this IHG property, since we had 2 IHG free night certificates to use.
Points Used: We used 2 free night certificates to book both of the rooms.
Cash Price: $320 for two rooms
Cents Per Point: N/A
Experience: The hotel fit our needs and it was everything that we were looking for in a one night stay at a hotel. The rooms were clean and the beds were comfortable. Breakfast in the morning was good and we didn’t walk away hungry.
Would We Stay Again: We would definitely stay at the hotel again.
Hyatt Place Fresno
Why We Chose It: We chose this hotel since this was the only Hyatt Hotel located in Fresno at the time and we had two category 1-4 free night certificates that we could use at the hotel.
Points Used: We used 2 free night certificates to book both of the rooms.
Cash Price: $420 for two rooms
Cents Per Point: N/A
Experience: Our experience at the hotel was very uneventful, which is what you want in a hotel stay. The rooms were a nice size and were clean. The beds were comfortable. We had a nice breakfast and everything went smoothly at the hotel.
Would We Stay Again: We would have no reservations staying at the hotel again. No pun intended.
Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort & Spa
There are many different hotels that you can choose to stay on or near the beach in the Los Angeles area. We chose to stay 3 nights at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort & Spa. It was a wonderful hotel and we all enjoyed our stay there.
Why we booked it: I listen to a lot of podcasts about credit card points and miles. Over the years, I heard many people share their glowing praises about staying at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort & Spa.
People shared that they loved the pools that were on the property, an adults only grotto, complimentary beach chairs and umbrellas, spacious rooms and a spectacular buffet breakfast.
I knew that we were going to do a mountain and beach family vacation, so I knew that we had to stay at the hotel.
How We Booked It: I booked the hotel by transferring points from our Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card directly to Hyatt. If you want to know how this works, read my post about how to transfer credit card points to travel partners.
Why Hyatt Points are Valuable: World of Hyatt points are some of the most valuable points for hotel stays. At the time of our booking, the transfer of points from the Sapphire Preferred credit card to Hyatt was 1:1, but that’s changing, here’s what you need to know.
Chase Sapphire Preferred to Hyatt Transfer Ratio: What’s Changing in 2026
If you had the card before June 15, 2026, you can still transfer to Hyatt at a 1:1 ratio until October 1, 2026. After that, the ratio moves to 4:3 for everyone, which means it takes about 33% more points to book the same stay.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve has and will continue to have a 1:1 ratio when transferring points to Hyatt. It isn’t affected by the changes to the Sapphire Preferred.
Benefits of Hyatt Globalists Status: World of Hyatt probably has the best top tier rewards program when it comes to hotels. You usually need to stay 60 nights in a given year to earn the status. I earned it through a status challenge, where I had to stay 20 nights in a given amount of time.
Some of the benefits of the status include: free breakfast, space available standard suite upgrades, free parking, and waived resort fees. These benefits came in handy for our stay and saved us a lot of money.
Globalist status is only good for one room that you book and only for 2 adults and 2 children. I emailed the hotel ahead of time and asked if they would extend Globalist benefits to both rooms and for our adult daughter in our room. They were kind enough to do so.
Tip: If you know someone who earns Globalist status the traditional way, they can gift you a Guest of Honor Award. When you use a Guest of Honor Award, you get all of the Globalist benefits up to a 7 night stay. This can save you a lot of money and make your stay more enjoyable.
Points Used: 174,000 points for two rooms
Cash Price: $3,222 includes $180 for parking which we didn’t have to pay because of Globalist status
Cents Per Point: 1.8 cents per point
What We Loved: The following are some of the things that we loved about the hotel.
Breakfast: Since we had Globalist status we got free breakfast. If you were going to pay for breakfast, it would be around $42 per person. The first day they didn’t have their breakfast buffet, so we ordered off of the menu, which was very good.
The next day they were serving the breakfast buffet and it was fantastic. There was so much to choose from.
There was a made to order omelet station, hot breakfast choices like scrambled eggs and thick cut bacon, a cold station with meat and cheeses, a bakery and pastry section that included bagels, muffins, and cinnamon rolls, and fruit and yogurt. It was by far the best tasting and nicest spread of food that I have seen at a hotel breakfast.
Location: The hotel has a great location right on the Pacific Coast Highway right across from the beach. There is a footbridge that you can walk across to go to the beach without having to cross the highway.
It is also located a short 5 to 10 minute walk to shops and restaurants and a 15 to 20 minute walk to downtown Huntington Beach.
Rooms: We had two rooms at the hotel that had ocean views and were very spacious. The rooms had balconies that not only had views of the ocean but overlooked one of the six courtyards at the hotel.
On Site Restaurants: It was nice having the option of being able to eat at the hotel. There are 5 distinct restaurants on the hotel grounds. There is a nice court area between some of the restaurants where you can grab a table to eat.
They have an upscale restaurant, a casual restaurant, a beachside restaurant, and two different restaurants that serve food at the two main pool areas. Surf City Grocers is a place where you can grab something to go.
Pool Areas: There are three different pool options located at the hotel. We went to the Mankota’s Pool area. I liked the fact that even though there were a lot of people at the pool, there was plenty of room in the pool and around the pool to relax.
The pool had luxury cabanas and plenty of chaise lounge chairs. You can also dine poolside from Mankota’s.
The Spa Grotto area is for adults only. There are a number of different hot tubs and rocky landscaping in this area. It is a much quieter spot than the other two pool areas.
Finally, if you have kids the Slyders Water Playground pool area is a must. The area has 3 water slides, splash pools, a ribbon shaped pool, a shallow children’s wading pool, and you can grab a bite to eat from Slyders Bar and Cafe.
Who Should Stay There: The Hyatt Regency Resort and Spa is suitable for couples, families, and business groups. The hotel has family friendly pool areas, as well as adults only areas. They also have 100,000 square feet of event space for business gatherings.
The Full Breakdown: Cents Per Point on Every Redemption
The chart below shows you an easy to read breakdown of the different points redemptions that we had on this trip.
| Redemption | Points/Miles or Certificates Used | Cash Value | We Paid | Savings | Cents Per Point |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United flights to San Francisco | 75,000 miles | $1,125 | $28 | $1,097 | 1.5¢ |
| Southwest flights home | 96,493 points | $1,280 | $28 | $1,252 | 1.3¢ |
| Holiday Inn Express Fresno (2 rooms) | 2 free night certificates | $320 | $0 | $320 | N/A |
| Hyatt Place Fresno (2 rooms) | 2 free night certificates | $420 | $0 | $420 | N/A |
| Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach (3 nights, 2 rooms) | 174,000 points | $3,222 | $0 | $3,222 | 1.8¢ |
| Total | 345,493 points/miles + 4 certificates | $6,367 | $56 | $6,311 | N/A |
Points and miles for different programs are worth different amounts. United domestic flights average 1.2 cents per point while Southwest flights are usually in the 1.3 to 1.4 cents per point. The Southwest redemption was average while the United flights were above average. The Hyatt Regency redemption of 1.8 cents per point is right on par for the value of Hyatt points.
The free night certificates don’t get a cents per point number since they have a fixed value no matter what the room costs, but at $320 and $420 in value for a $99 annual fee each, they paid for the card itself twice over in one night.
The Credit Cards We Used to Book This Trip
To pull off a trip like this, you usually need to open a few different cards to rack up enough points. We strategically opened a handful of credit cards, with each one serving a completely different purpose.
Some earned the airline miles we needed for our flights, while others earned the hotel points and free night certificates that covered our hotel stays.
Below is exactly how we did it.
Please Note: The welcome bonuses, spending requirements, annual fees, and card benefits listed below were the offers that were available when we applied. Credit card offers change frequently, so be sure to check the current offer before applying.
Some of the links below are affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you’re approved. There is no additional cost to you, and it helps support Travelwidstom.
United Explorer Card
How We Used It
Tonya and I each opened a United Explorer Card to earn the miles needed for our United flights from Cleveland to San Francisco. By earning the welcome bonus on both cards, we accumulated enough United MileagePlus miles to cover our flights.
Card Details
- Welcome bonus when we applied: 60,000 United miles
- Spending requirement: Spend $4,000 in the first 3 months
- Annual fee: $0 the first year, then $150 per year
Why We Chose This Card
Besides the generous welcome bonus, one of the biggest reasons we like having a United credit card is that United often provides cardholders access to lower-priced award flights.
In many cases, you’ll use fewer miles for the exact same flight simply because you hold one of their annual fee credit cards. That extra savings can really add up over time.
Don’t Make the Same Mistake We Did
If you and your spouse are both planning to apply for a United card, don’t submit both applications on the same day.
Instead, have the first person apply. Once approved, they can send the second person a referral link before they apply. If the second person is approved using that referral link, the first person earns an additional 10,000 United miles.
Unfortunately, I forgot to do that, and we missed out on those extra miles.
Learn more about the United Explorer Card here.
Southwest Rapid Rewards Cards
How We Used Them
I opened two different Southwest credit cards to earn the Southwest Companion Pass.
We first used the Companion Pass and many of the points from those welcome bonuses on a previous 17 day, four state family trip. After that trip, we still had plenty of Southwest points remaining, which we used to book our flights home from Long Beach to Cleveland on this California vacation.
Cards We Opened
Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Card
- Welcome bonus when I applied: 60,000 Rapid Rewards points
- Spending requirement: Spend $1,000 in the first 3 months
- Annual fee when I applied: $69 (currently $99)
Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business Card
- Welcome bonus when I applied: 80,000 Rapid Rewards points
- Spending requirement: Spend $4,000 in the first 3 months
- Annual fee when I applied: $99 (currently $149)
Why We Chose These Cards
The Companion Pass is one of the most valuable travel perks available. Once earned, your designated companion flies with you for only the taxes and fees on every Southwest flight you take while the pass is valid.
For our family, the Companion Pass has saved us hundreds of dollars over multiple trips.
If you’d like to learn exactly how we earned and used the Companion Pass, be sure to read my complete guide.
Learn more about the Southwest cards here.
IHG One Rewards Cards
How We Used Them
We needed two hotel rooms for one night in Fresno before continuing our California adventure. Rather than paying cash, we used IHG points and annual free night certificates to cover both rooms.
Cards We Opened
Tonya’s Card
IHG One Rewards Premier Personal Card
- Welcome bonus when she applied: 140,000 IHG points
- Spending requirement: Spend $3,000 in the first 3 months
- Annual fee: $99
- Includes an annual Free Night Certificate
My Card
IHG One Rewards Premier Business Card
- Welcome bonus when I applied: 140,000 IHG points
- Spending requirement: Spend $4,000 in the first 3 months
- Annual fee: $99
- Includes an annual Free Night Certificate
Why We Chose These Cards
One of my favorite benefits of the IHG Premier cards is the annual Free Night Certificate. Each certificate is worth up to a 40,000 point hotel stay. If the hotel costs more than 40,000 points, you can simply add points from your IHG account to cover the difference.
That flexibility makes these certificates much more valuable than many people realize and gives us additional options when booking hotels.
Learn more about the IHG Premier cards here.
World of Hyatt Cards
How We Used Them
We needed two hotel rooms for another one night stay in Fresno before continuing our trip. Rather than paying cash, we used two Hyatt annual free night certificates to cover both rooms.
Cards that We Both Opened
World of Hyatt Credit Card
- Welcome Bonus When We Applied: Tiered bonus of 30,000 points and a total of 60,000 points
- Spending Requirement: $3,000 in the first 3 months and a total of $15,000 in the first 6 months.
- Annual Fee: $95
- Includes an annual Free Night Certificate
Learn more about the World of Hyatt credit card here.
Why We Chose These Cards
The card has a low $95 annual fee. It gives you 5 qualifying nights that go towards elite status every calendar year. It also comes with a category 1-4 Free Night Certificate each year.
Chase Ultimate Rewards Points
How We Used Them
We wanted to stay at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort & Spa. We needed two separate rooms at the resort. So, we transferred Chase Ultimate Rewards from my Chase Sapphire Preferred card to Hyatt to book our hotel stay.
Cards We Opened
We have opened numerous cards that earn Chase Ultimate Rewards cards over the years. This includes the Chase Freedom Unlimited, Chase Freedom Flex, the Chase Ink Business Preferred, Chase Business Unlimited, and the Chase Business Cash card. The main travel card that we have used is the Chase Sapphire Preferred.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is one of the best travel cards on the market. Make sure to read my post about all of the benefits that come with the card.
The great thing about these cards is that the only two annual fee cards are the Chase Ink Business Preferred and the Chase Sapphire Preferred. They both have a $95 annual fee.
- Welcome Bonus When We Applied: 60,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points
- Spending Requirement: $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening
- Annual Fee: $95
- The card has top notch travel protections, a $100 annual hotel credit, and allows you to transfer points to travel partners.
Why We Chose These Cards
Chase Ultimate Rewards Points are some of the most valuable points to have when it comes to travel. They have 14 travel partners that are some of the best in travel.
Learn more about each card below.
No annual fee:
Annual fee ($95):
You Don’t Need Five Different Credit Cards to Book a Trip Like This
Looking at this trip, you may be thinking, “There’s no way I can keep track of all of those different airline and hotel programs.”
I completely understand because I would have felt the same way when I was first getting started.
The truth is, we didn’t earn all of these points at once. We built up different rewards programs over the last 5+ years as we learned more about travel rewards and found new opportunities to save money on our family vacations.
If I were talking to someone who was just starting out and wanted to keep it a little more simple, I would suggest that they would focus on earning Chase Ultimate Rewards points.
A person could have booked this whole trip using just Chase Ultimate Rewards points. They’d need more points than we used, and they’d still need to open numerous cards, but it’s possible.
One of the biggest advantages of Chase Ultimate Rewards is their flexibility. Rather than being locked into a single airline or hotel, you can transfer your points to multiple travel partners when you’re ready to book.
For a trip like this, you could:
- Transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to United MileagePlus to book flights from Cleveland to San Francisco.
- Transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Southwest Rapid Rewards to book your return flights from Long Beach to Cleveland.
- Transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to World of Hyatt to book your hotel stays, including the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort and Spa.
Just know that transferred points don’t count toward earning the Companion Pass itself. That takes the dedicated Southwest cards. I break down exactly how in my Companion Pass guide.
We chose to stay one of our nights at an IHG property in Fresno because we already had annual free night certificates that made it a great value.
But if I were helping someone book a stay just using Chase Ultimate Rewards points, I would recommend that they transfer points to a Hyatt and stay there both nights. It keeps everything much simpler while still providing excellent value.
The biggest lesson I want you to take away from this trip isn’t that you need five different credit cards. It’s that you don’t have to pay cash for every flight and hotel.
Whether you start with one travel card or eventually build several rewards programs like we have, the important thing is simply getting started. One flexible points program can take you much farther than most people realize.
FAQs
You can definitely book hotels and flights for a family vacation using points. For most people, it is going to take some time to build up enough points to book flights and hotel stays but it is very possible.
There are numerous factors that will determine how many points you need for a California trip. First, is how many people are going on the trip, what programs you are booking with, what flights you are booking and what hotels you are staying at.
Even with the downgrade from 1:1 to 4:3 from the Chase Sapphire to Hyatt, it still can be very much worth transferring points. You have to do the math from stay to stay to determine if it is or not. The work around for the transfer is having the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. It has a 1:1 transfer to Hyatt.
You can definitely mix hotel brands when on any kind of trip. This can be really advantageous for a hotel brand like Hyatt since their footprint isn’t near as large as some of the other hotel brands.
You can use points for multiple rooms with all of the different hotel brands. You just need to have the points in your account to book the rooms. This is also true for free night certificates.
Opening up new credit cards in the short term hurts your credit score since in most cases there is a hard pull on your credit. In the long term, if you handle the cards responsibly, your score will increase because your credit utilization will increase.
A great approach in earning credit card points is by both spouses opening up cards. This can especially be helpful if cards that you are opening have referral links. For example, if the wife opens up a card, she can send a referral link to her husband. If the husband uses the link and is approved, the wife will get a referral bonus.
We stayed a total of 3 nights at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort & Spa. It was very much worth it.
This specific trip was designed as a family vacation with our adult children and their spouses. Managing a 10 day itinerary, organizing group meals, and coordinating schedules for a larger group of adults requires a completely different approach than traveling with young children.
If you are planning a similar multi-generational getaway, check out my guide on traveling with adult children to learn how we establish boundaries, plan free time, and keep the trip smooth for everyone.
Final Thoughts
Before we started learning about points and miles, paying for a trip like this would have been difficult. Today we plan nearly every vacation this way.
Hopefully our real-world example shows what’s possible when you understand how travel rewards work. If you’re planning your own family vacation using credit card points, start with one flexible program and build from there.