If you asked my husband about his most memorable travel experience, without hesitation he would mention the 1993 summer trip to the western United States. My in-laws bought a used camper for $1k and took the kids to visit some of the greatest national parks this country has to offer. According to my husband, it was a grueling three weeks, and sharing a tiny camper (no bathroom) wasn’t fun, to put it mildly. Still, the memories he made on this trip were priceless.
So, it has been my goal for sometime to do something similar with our kids. I’ve toyed with the idea of flying to Las Vegas and renting a camper van. But since my MIL would be joining us, I’ve decided we would lose our minds after a few days in a cramped space. So, as an avid hotel points collector, I figured it would be a great chance to put them to good use. A few years ago, my husband and I got Best Western credit cards with the idea of using the stash towards this type of road trip. But something always came up and the points were just sitting there gathering dust.
I’ve finally decided that we would plan my big road trip in 2026, visiting Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Zion, Mesa Verde and a few other “greats” in a span of two weeks. Yes, it is (was) an insane plan. That’s why I gave up on it and figured we would split up the road trip into two separate vacations. Since my kids are in public school, we are basically slaves to the calendar. We only have summer and a few holiday weeks to plan trips. While summer should be nice in California, it is super hot in the southwest during that time of year.
That’s why we are going in the dead of winter for Part 1. California will be next, hopefully in the summer of the same year.
Using miles and points to reduce out-of-pocket costs
Winter break flights tend to be expensive, but there are still ways to reduce the costs. I was able to use Jet Blue stash for open-jaw flights in order to minimize unnecessary driving. I was still short 30k points for our return flight, so decided to apply for Barclays Jet Blue Plus credit card and was approved. It will take some time to get the 70k points bonus, so hopefully the flight I need won’t go up too much. I did book three tickets already and just need to add the other two. All in all, I paid a total of 36k Jet Blue points per person for nonstop flights from Fort Lauderdale to Vegas and out of Phoenix. Not dirt cheap, but not awful for holiday travel.
I’ve also decided to book our car rental now and use Capital One travel portal because it offered the best price on a minivan ($830 all-in, including one-way fee). It has a free cancellation, so I can always rebook if I find a better deal. But I wanted to lock in this rate ASAP.
As far as hotels go, I’m thrilled to finally put my Best Western stash to good use. We had 260k points at our disposal, and that covered two nights lodging near Zion, two nights in Las Vegas and two nights near Canyon De Chelly (two rooms). I’ve also used two $100 hotel credits from Amex Delta Gold cards in order to book two rooms for one night inside of Grand Canyon Village.
I’ve decided to forego a visit to Mesa Verde, since all the info I found indicated that it’s too cold this time of year. Adding Grand Canyon is a gamble too because the roads could be snowed in, making the journey treacherous.
This whole plan just might be the most ridiculous (optimistic?) idea I ever came up with.
My kids actually want to see snow, so I’m hoping there will be some in the South Rim. Just not too much. I’m also looking forward to driving through Monument Valley on the way to Canyon De Chelly.
Last but not least, my husband requested to go to Pima Air museum in Tucson, so that will be our final stop on the trip. I haven’t booked our hotel yet, but there are plenty of options in the area via various programs. On the other hand, Best Western is sometimes the only game in town when it comes to national parks. In many cases, your Hyatt stash won’t do you any good. That’s why diversification is key when it comes to miles and points hobby, and why it doesn’t pay to get too attached to a specific currency.
After my spending spree, we each have 17k Best Western points left and can combine them for free. Overall, I’m very pleased with the value I got. But keep in mind, going in the summer will likely cost you more. For example, Best Western Plus Zion Canyon hotel often runs at 70k points per night, while we paid only 22k points.
If you are interested in collecting Best Western points, the co-branded Visa Signature card actually offers a pretty decent value proposition. Application link (pays us no commission)
You can get a free night just for renewing the card, which is a nice perk. I didn’t see any cap on points, but reportedly, you have to redeem it in US, Canada or Caribbean. Still, this could be a great deal for visiting national parks, especially if both spouses each get the card. You can expect around 0.5 cents in value per point, sometimes more.
Best Western has switched banks recently, and I’m not eligible for new welcome offer. It’s likely they have the record of me getting it in the past.
To be clear, if you are new to miles and points, you probably should NOT apply for this card. Right now is an excellent opportunity to pick up Chase Sapphire Preferred, which I consider to be one of the best starter cards in the hobby.
But for those of us grizzled hobbyists, Best Western offer is worthy of consideration. Well, assuming you are into road trips, of course.
Author: Leana
Leana is the founder of Miles For Family. She enjoys beach vacations and visiting her family in Europe. Originally from Belarus, Leana resides in central Florida with her husband and two children.
@Agnes My in-laws loved Bryce Canyon. Sadly, it’s not accessible in January, or so I’ve heard. I have so much planned, I need to not overdo it!
Our favorite national park is Bryce Canyon, which is 1.5 hr drive north of Zion BP. We’ll visit again this summer with our out of the country relatives, on a large SUV with AWD, driving back to Denver.
Have fun planning the winter road trip!
@Akeks Thanks for your advice! So much to see in that part of US, and we have only 9 nights to do it. Actually, someone else has mentioned Petrified Forest to me the other day as a “do not miss.” Sadly, we will likely have to skip that one.
Zion, Monument Valley and Grand Canyon are top priorities, but the weather will determine where we end up actually going. Your comment about late December being a better bet than February is encouraging. Fingers crossed! Either way, we should be able to see some cool stuff regardless. Plus, if we miss seeing Grand Canyon due to bad weather, it’s an excuse to go back.
Nice plan! Love those national parks, some visited twice, some will revisit again – they are beautiful and are the highlights of North American continent. If you’ll have a chance – spend time at Petrified Forest park, very interesting place too.
Weather is a big factor at those remote places, typically dry and hot, but cold and sometimes snowy in winter/spring. You most likely get a dry spell in Dec/Jan thou. In my experience it snows more in Feb/March, plus early April. There is a red canyon park closer to Vegas in case Grand Canyon roads are closed due to snow. Sedona, AZ is a lovely place for hiking but most likely will be much colder vs Phoenix and other areas. You can also order an annual park pass ahead of time and pre-register for Grand Canyon gates to speed up your entries.
I’d agree that Best Western points are the best use for stays in that area. Sometimes you can pick a discount hotels magazine at local visitor’s centers – but bookings won’t be guaranteed on the spot.
Happy travels!!
@HML Yeah, I’m pretty sure the air museum will be meh for me too! But my husband is obsessed with airplanes, so had to add a detour to Tucson. Though we will likely do it as a day trip from Phoenix, since that’s the airport we are flying from.
We did the Pima Air Museum a few years ago and my daughter asks to go back every time we are in Tucson. It’s just meh for me.
Try doing Sedona when you are in the Arizona – I don’t remember if I’ve ever been but everyone loves it.
Enjoy!
@Debra Not sure we will have time for Antelope canyon, though I’ll need to look into it. As far as Horseshoe Bend goes, that’s definitely on the list. It’s on the way to Monument Valley, so it would be a shame not to stop. But the sun sets early in December, so I need to be careful not to plan too many stops, as I would hate to drive through the dessert at night in the winter.
Going in the summer is probably a better idea, but I like to do things the hard way! Plus, I hate heat, which is one of the reasons I hope to move to another state at some point.
@Michele B Thanks so much for your input ! Yeah, I was thinking we should skip Mesa Verde and do Canyon De Chelly instead. I plan to do a Navajo tour of the valley (pricey) where you can see cliff dwellings relatively close. I am really hoping to see the Grand Canyon, but realize it may not be in the cards. Going in the winter is risky, but hoping for the best. This is something I’ve been wanting to do with in-laws and kept putting it off. Now my FIL is no longer with us, and I don’t want to miss out on doing the road trip with my 80-year old MIL, whose mobility is steadily declining. There is never going to be a perfect time, might as well roll the dice.
You might want to check the best time for Mesa Verda. While the park is open year round, we went there once on a Spring Break and couldn’t see the largest dwelling due to the snowy road conditions. The largest dwelling was the one I really wanted to see. This Spring Break we went to do the same thing and we still couldn’t get to that large dwelling. We ended up heading towards Flagstaff and then up to Page Arizona for Antelope Canyon (a must see that is a tour only run by the Navajo Nation). We faced a mini blizzard in Page! Who knew? I’m from Utah and I see snow all the time. I just didn’t think about Flagstaff the first week of April having snow as we usually are done with snow at that time. If I can offer any good opinions of Utah Parks let me know!
I second the rec for Antelope Canyon! Even if you can’t a get a tour at the time of day when the light effects are supposedly best. We had cloudy weather when we visited it, so it was rather a moot point. I was just glad we didn’t get rained out, as they are strict about closing when it rains, with good reasons because there’s a real risk of flash flooding there. Anyway, it’s a very beautiful and unique place! Another must see you didn’t mention is Horseshoe Bend. It was 100% free to park and visit back in 2016, and had no guardrails, so be careful–though those things could well have changed since. One of the most amazing views I have ever enjoyed in my life, and that’s saying something. 🙂
That is great that you included Canyon de Chelly, it’s super underrated and was so peaceful and scenic. But I felt like we could walk close enough to the ruins without booking a tour. Maybe that has changed. They weren’t really what appealed to us most about the place, though they were of course cool. We were more about the lovely viewpoints and tranquility.
We are also considering a US National Park trip with our daughter (she’ll be seven by then) in 2026, to coincide with our 10th wedding anniversary–we last went on our honeymoon! But it will probably have to be in the summer, and we’re based in Germany, so its even more complicated. We’ll see!