I’m a dreamer when it comes to travel. Half the fun of this whole miles and points hobby to me is dreaming about potential future trips! I spend at least a few minutes each day checking out possible destinations. I drive my husband crazy with this!
Luckily, I have this blog as an outlet to get some of my dreams out of my head and into words. I hope that by sharing my travel aspirations (even if they don’t come to fruition), I inspire you to plan your next getaway using miles and points.
Kid-Free Anniversary Getaway
Next year is a milestone wedding anniversary for me and my husband. I would love to take a trip with just him since we never get to go anywhere by ourselves. (Of course, we would have to really work on the childcare issue, but I’m not giving up).
Since we will likely take our kids on an overseas trip next summer and we don’t want to travel too far away from them for an adults-only getaway, I’ve been looking into a short stay at a relaxing resort in the U.S. So many resorts close to us seem to be kid and family focused, which is what we usually need. But for this trip, I want something that is more of an adult retreat.
As I was researching possibilities, Miraval Resort in Arizona caught my eye. What?? Yes, the insanely expensive resort that costs like $1000 a night for two people. And yes, I’m still the same person who routinely flies in coach class instead of wasting my points on business or first class. So why would I even consider such a splurge?
Two reasons: It’s a special occasion, and Miraval is bookable using Hyatt points.
What’s So Special about Miraval
To be honest, Miraval Resort didn’t come across my radar until Hyatt purchased the chain last year. And even when I saw it for the first time, I wasn’t that interested. We always travel with our kids, and you have to be 18 to even stay at the resort. But if we are able to get away by ourselves for our anniversary, all the rules change.
Miraval’s flagship resort is located outside of Tucson, Arizona. It’s an all-inclusive resort that includes all meals plus snacks and a smoothie bar. It also has over 120 included activity classes, pools and a spa. Sounds heavenly!
The resort picks you up from the Tucson airport, so there’s no need to rent a car. Most rates also include a $175 resort credit per person per day, which you can use for spa treatments or premium activities. There is no tipping allowed at the resort.
Miraval will be opening a resort 20 miles outside of Austin, Texas early next year. This location will be about a 3 ½ hour drive from my house! No flights required.
The Austin location was previously a Travaasa resort with phenomenal reviews on TripAdvisor. It is currently closed as it undergoes a renovation to transform into a Miraval Resort.
We do have extended family close to Austin, so I’m hoping that we could drop our kids off with them and enjoy two days at the resort. Fingers crossed!
Miraval on Points
Coughing up the cash for a night at Miraval is a hard sell. As I mentioned above, one night for two people runs over $1000. The resort has a 23% resort fee on top of that!
Using World of Hyatt points, the resort is still expensive (but doable). The cost for one person is 45,000 points per night. Adding a second person to the room brings the cost up to 65,000 points per night. The resort fee is waived for stays on points. Each person still gets the $175 resort credit per day.
Last year, Hyatt had a special promotion on points where you could get 50% of your points back for summer stays. I’m not sure if Hyatt will repeat this promotion in the future, but it was a great deal.
Believe it or not, my husband and I have never had the Chase Hyatt Visa card. It’s one of the few cards not currently subject to Chase’s 5/24 rule.
The bonus is currently 40,000 points after spending $2000 in the first three months. If you add an authorized user who makes a purchase, you get an additional 5000 points. The card has an annual fee of $75 (not waived). You also get a free night in a Category 1-4 hotel every year for your card anniversary. (Here is Leana’s referral link for this card).
If we both applied for this card and combined the bonus points with our current Hyatt points in addition to transferring some Chase Ultimate Reward points to Hyatt, we could scrape up enough points for two nights. Two nights in paradise!
Will We or Won’t We?
65,000 Hyatt points is a lot to give up for one night. And 130,000 points for a weekend? Yikes! If we sign up for the Chase Hyatt credit card, shouldn’t we make better use out of those points?
Of course, there are many less expensive Hyatt resorts where we could get more nights for our points. However, my family has stayed at our share of Hyatt resorts in the past few years. We’ve stayed at Hyatt Regency Lost Pines twice and Hyatt Regency Hill Country. We spent two nights at Hyatt Regency Coconut Point and stayed at the Grand Hyatt Denver twice. For our trips in the next 1-2 years, we plan on renting condos, so I’m not sure we will miss the points.
Our decision will likely boil down to my husband’s time off work and how many days we burn on other trips next year. It’s hard to prioritize our trips and figure out where this adults-only splurge will land among the priorities.
Have you stayed at a Miraval Resort? Would you consider using a ton of Hyatt points to stay?
Click here to view various credit cards and available sign-up bonuses
Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
I’ve been Miraval Tucson 9 times. Was worried when Hyatt purchased it that they would ruin it. They have not and now I am a member of World of Hyatt which is a very generous program. Anyway you can get to Miraval, you should. I have heard the Austin property isn’t as magical so to speak as the mother ship Tucson property, but would like to experience it.
@Carolyn Miraval is definitely still on my wish list! I’m glad you like it.
Wow that’s a lot of Hyatt points! I spent 75,000 pts on the Kauai Grand Hyatt, and I thought that was steep. I’m sure you two deserve a wonderful spa resort weekend, and it sounds logistically that it would probably be points well spent since you have babysitters in the area. So enjoy the weekend anniversary trip.
There’s no way I could get my hubby to hang out a resort all day without the kids….he would want to go sightseeing and enjoy the local food so a resort would be a waste for us. Plus, I’m Hyatt points stingy 🙂
@Stephanie Yeah, it’s a ton of Hyatt points. I think my husband would actually love the resort. It’s got a bunch of fitness and wellness classes, which he’s really into. Plus if we go to the Austin location, we’ve been to that area many times before and I don’t think we’d feel the need to sightsee.
Miraval is GREAT with the Hyatt 2 Free nights. Outside of that, it’s tough to justify using that many points. I’m sure it’s a great experience, but that number of points is steep
@Jim Yep, you’re right. I wish that the 2 free night credit card offer would return.
I have mixed feelings on this one. On the one hand, it would be super convenient: relatives close by, no airfare required, yada yada yada. On the other hand, 65k points per night, yikes!!!
Is there any way you can maybe fly to Cancun and stay at an all-inclusive there? I think it’s 25k points per night, and everyone seems to rave about it. Plus, airfare taxes are low. Another option is Jamaica.
Of course, if you really want this resort and just want to avoid the hassle of flying, why not?
Yep, I totally get what you’re saying. I think if we tried to fly to Mexico we would lose our childcare option. We would have to drive our kids 6 hours each way to our in-laws and drive back to catch the best flights out of DFW. 2 nights would turn into at least 4 nights away. But, I haven’t ruled out a trip to a Hyatt all-inclusive with my sister or a friend. I just wish it could work out for the hubs and me.
An additional thought for you. Southwest flies non-stop from Austin to Cancun. So maybe it wouldn’t be too hard to pull it off? You could even pay your relatives and still come out ahead. Of course, I don’t know if you actually want to go to that part of Mexico. Just something to consider, I guess.