We booked our Upper Class seats using Chase Ultimate Rewards points, transferring them to Virgin Atlantic. Chase points transfers usually process instantly, and sometimes there’s a transfer bonus—making your points go even further. It cost us 35,000 points and $255 in taxes and fees for each ticket.

From the moment you arrive at the airport, everything feels seamless. A private check-in area and exclusive security line set the tone for a stress-free journey. Our Upper Class ticket gave us access to both the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse and the brand-new Delta One Lounge at JFK. While the Clubhouse is great, the Delta One Lounge truly stood out. The stylish space, elevated dining, and exceptional service made it the perfect start to our trip.

We flew on Virgin’s Airbus A350, which features a modern Upper Class cabin with lie-flat seats, mood lighting, and the onboard Loft lounge—great for stretching out mid-flight. Each of us had a private suite with a sliding door, direct aisle access, and plenty of space to relax.

The best part? Thanks to points, we paid just $1,016 total in taxes and fees for all four tickets—instead of $8,129 if we had paid cash. It was an incredible value for such a premium experience. Booking Virgin Atlantic award flights is easy through their website. Availability can vary, but planning a few months in advance helps. If you’re looking to experience a special transatlantic flight, Virgin Atlantic Upper Class is an amazing option, especially when points and miles cover most of the cost.

Want to learn how to earn and use points for trips like this?
[Check out my Quick Start guide here.]

The post Flying Virgin Atlantic Upper Class: Our New York to London Adventure in First Class appeared first on What's The Point.

When: April 2025 (Spring Break)

Who: Family of 4 (Me, My Husband, & 2 kids)

Total Points Redeemed: 773,000 points

29,000 Chase points – 1 room for 1 night at Thompson Central Park in New York City

100,000 Chase points – 2 rooms for 2 nights at Great Scotland Yard in London

240,000 Chase points – 2 rooms for 3 nights at Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme

13,000 Chase points – 2 rooms for 1 night at Hyatt House CDG in Paris

53,000 Capital One points – 4 flights from New Orleans to New York City on United 

140,000 Chase points – 4 flights from New York City to London on Virgin Atlantic Upper Class

154,000 Chase & Citi points – 4 flights from Paris to Atlanta on Air France

44,000 Chase points – 4 flights from Atlanta to New Orleans on Southwest 

Total Cash Paid Out of Pocket: $1,959

$0 – 13 Hotel rooms for all 8 nights

$1,959– Taxes and fees for all 4 round-trip flights

Price for hotels without using points = $11,765

Price for flights without using points = $15,354

We paid only $1,959…Instead of paying $27,119!

The post Straight To The Point: New York City, London, & Paris appeared first on What's The Point.

When: September 2024

Who: Family of 4 (Me, My Husband, & 2 kids)

Total points: 346,000 points

23,000 Chase points – 1 night at Grand Hyatt San Francisco Airport

130,000 Chase points – 5 nights at Grand Hyatt Kauai

77,000 Chase points – 4 flights from New Orleans to San Francisco on Southwest Airlines

30,000 Chase points – 4 flights from San Francisco to Kauai on United

16,000 Chase points – 4 flights from Kauai to Honolulu on Southwest

40,000 Chase points – 4 flights from Honolulu to Los Angeles on United

30,000 Chase points – 4 flights from Los Angeles to Houston on United

Total Cash: $112

$0 – Hotel for all 6 nights

$112 – Taxes and fees for all 4 roundtrip flights

$0 – Hertz rental car

BONUS: Used $300 Capital One Venture X annual travel credit to pay for rental car in Kauai and received a free, automatic upgrade with the complimentary Hertz President’s Circle status that comes with Capital One Venture X card.

Cash value for hotels = $6,628.

Cash value for flights = $3,640.

Cash value for rental car = $283

That’s $10,551 worth of travel for only $112!

The post Straight To The Point: Kauai appeared first on What's The Point.

I used 54,000 Hyatt points for our stay, which meant we didn’t pay anything out of pocket. Since Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer to Hyatt, I transferred our points and booked directly through Hyatt. If we had paid in cash, the total would have been over $1,500 for all four nights. We booked this hotel in August 2023 and traveled six weeks later in September 2023. While booking well in advance is generally advisable for high-demand or luxury properties, this is a great example of how you can still score a free hotel stay without planning a year in advance.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is a great card to start earning my favorite credit card points. You can earn the points needed for this hotel stay with this one credit card welcome offer. Check out the offer here.

We booked a standard room which featured two queen beds and a pull-out sofa. It was perfect for our family of four. The hotel provides a complimentary breakfast, but I suggest hopping on the bus and heading to Call Your Mother in Georgetown for the best bagel ever! I highly recommend this hotel to anyone visiting Washington, D.C.

The post Washington, D.C. Hyatt Place White House appeared first on What's The Point.

When: September 2023

Who: Family of 4 (Me, My Husband, & 2 kids)

Total points: 134,000 points

54,000 Chase points – 4 nights at Hyatt Place Washington DC/White House

60,000 Chase points – 4 round-trip flights from New Orleans to Washington, D.C. on Southwest

20,000 Capital One points – 4 Tickets to the Nationals MLB game

Total Cash: $268

$0 – Hotel for all 4 nights

$268 – Taxes and fees for all 4 round-trip flights

Cash price for hotel = $1,400.

Cash price for flights = $1,200.

Cash price for MLB tickets = $200

That’s $2,800 worth of travel for only $268!

The post Straight To The Point: Washington, D.C. appeared first on What's The Point.

One morning we decided to drive to the East End of the island. It was a leisurely scenic drive that took about an hour and ended at Rum Point. Along the way we stopped at a blowhole and walked around. There are many places along the route to stop and walk around and see the shore. It took us about 2 hours to drive there and back (not including stops). On the way back to the resort, we ate at one of the many roadside “pop up fish fry” stands. They only happen on the weekends and we were told by a few locals at the resort that we must try them. It was a neat experience and I am glad we did it. After we ate, we headed back to the resort to relax for the rest of the afternoon. Exploring the East End was a nice way to get off the resort for a few hours but not having to been gone all day.

On a separate day we explored the West side of the island. This side of the island is busier than the East End. It also is the location of the cruise ports as well as The Cayman Turtle Centre which is a popular tourist attraction. We didn’t spend as much time in this area because it was more crowded and populated with homes and businesses. The Turtle Centre looked really cool but we decided to wait to experience it when we return with our kids. Other excursions we would like to do as a family are Stingray City and Starfish Point. Both look great for families!

Tip: If you choose to explore and want to avoid crowds, I recommend checking a website such as www.cruisemapper.com to see which cruises will be in port that day. If possible, choose a day to venture out when there are none (or the least amount) of ships docked.

I loved exploring the island of Grand Cayman. I always felt safe. The roads were easy to navigate once you got the hang of driving on the left side of the road (if that is not your usual driving lane of course). There are so many restaurants and shopping areas near the hotel. Two recommendations for restaurants not located at the Kimpton Seafire are Island Naturals and Mykonos. I hope you enjoy your visit to Grand Cayman as much as we did.

The post Grand Cayman Things To Do appeared first on What's The Point.

We stayed at the Kimpton Seafire which is an IHG property on Seven Mile Beach. It was phenomenal in every way. But first, the points. I opened the IHG One Rewards Premier Personal Credit Card when it had an elevated offer of 175,000 points after you spend $3,000 within 3 months. The standard offer for this card is 140,000 points. This card automatically gives you Platinum Elite status which makes you automatically eligible for upgrades if rooms are available. And boy did we get an upgrade! More on that later.

The annual fee for this card is $99. Some benefits of this card are a $100 Global Entry credit and one free night certificate. That means that every year when you pay the annual fee, you get a free hotel night certificate (value up to 40,000 points) to use at whatever IHG property you choose. If your room costs more than 40,000 points, you can top it off buy paying for extra points. I talk more about purchasing points later in this post. I will keep this card every year because the free night certificate makes the $99 annual fee worth it to me.

Click here for more details on the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card.

**Note: The welcome offer will change periodically so the current welcome offer may not be the exact offer that we received when we signed up for this card.

I booked a 1 King Premium Oceanview Room. I recommend booking this over the North Sound view because you get a view of Seven Mile Beach. But as always, do what works for you. The room rate was 70,000 points per night. Another perk of the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card is when you book 3 nights, you get the fourth night free. So for 210,000 points total (the total points needed for 3 nights) we were able to stay for 4 nights.

I earned 175,000 points with the welcome offer and 3,000 points from the actual credit card spend which brought our points total to 178,000. I purchased the remaining 32,000 points from IHG when they were having a 100% bonus sale. The 100% bonus sale means you get “buy one, get one free” points. I did this purely by luck. Don’t stress about hitting an IHG sale. Look at the points you need to purchase to top off your stay, if that price works for you do it! I purchased 16,000 points for $184 and IHG gave me 16,000 additional points for free. So recap…

Just a little side note…because it can be confusing when you book it the first time…when you book your room it will slash through the 70,000 points price and make it 52,500 points per night. This is just the 210,000 points spread out over 4 nights to make the price 52,500 points per night. The 4th night free benefit is automatically added. You don’t need to do anything once you are logged into your IHG account.

IHG charges a resort fee of $80 per night. The list below explains what the resort fee covers. Our grand total for the 4 night reservation was 210,000 IHG points and $504 cash. The $504 was the $184 points purchase and the $320 resort fee for 4 nights. The total cash price to book our room would have been just over $6,400. Totally worth purchasing the extra 32,000 points and paying the resort fee in my opinion!

Daily Guest Amenities Fee of $80 includes:

Now…back to our upgrade. We were upgraded to a 1 Bedroom Oceanfront Suite. It was beautiful. The room was over 1,600 square feet! The main area consisted of a kitchen, dining room, living room, and half bath. The bedroom area had a king bed and full bathroom. The spacious bathroom with dual separate vanities and walk in shower was totally giving spa vibes. Our suite was handicap accessible so we did not have the large spa soaking tub but no complaints here. The panoramic views from the large wrap around balcony were the perfect place to have coffee each morning. This is one the main reasons I recommend an Oceanview Room over a North Sound View room. Coffee with a beach view is my happy place. The sun rose behind us so we could enjoy coffee without the sun beating down on us and we could watch the sunset from our balcony. Heaven! I want to note that the upgrade was really fun and luxurious. But if we had not been upgraded and remained in the room we booked, I am confident that we would have enjoyed our room just as much. The Kimpton Seafire hotel and staff are top notch which is ultimately why I can’t wait to return to Grand Cayman.

The post Grand Cayman Kimpton Seafire appeared first on What's The Point.

Some may say this does not maximize our point value because this redemption only gave us a little over 1 cent per point. However, our goal (generally) is to cover flights and hotels with points, so it was worth it to me to spend the points for this redemption. The cash price for each flight was $480 (cost without taxes), so that was $960 that did not come out of our pocket. 

Remember, especially starting out, the goal is to get out there! Don’t get stuck in analysis paralysis. The goal is to travel. Maximizing point value for each redemption is great, but don’t let it keep you from taking the trip! As I became more experienced, I learned when and where to use my points to maximize their value. This trip to Grand Cayman made my husband a believer in points and miles which in my opinion is the maximum value you can get for your points! 

The post Grand Cayman: Flights appeared first on What's The Point.

Where: Grand Cayman

When: April 2024

Who: My Husband and I (20th Wedding Anniversary)

Total Points: 300,000 

210,000 IHG points – 4 nights at Kimpton Seafire

Click here for detailed information on how I booked the Kimpton Seafire.

90,000 Chase points – 2 round trip United Flights 

Click here from detailed information on how I booked our flights.

Total Cash: $560

$320 – Resort fee $80 per night

$240 – Flight taxes and fees

Cash price for hotel = $6,400.

Cash price for flights = $1,200.

That’s $7,600 worth of travel for only $560!

The post Grand Cayman Straight To The Point appeared first on What's The Point.