My college student son and his friend have been working jobs and saving up for a trip to Universal Epic Universe in Florida over winter break. That makes me so happy! I told them I’d help cover flights with miles if we found decent award redemptions. Luckily, we found flights on Southwest Airlines for 5000 points each way. Score!
The boys were planning to pay cash for an on-site Universal hotel with early park access for 2 nights and asked if we could use our points to cover the 3rd night at a nearby Hyatt Place. No problem, as there is a Hyatt Place near Universal that costs 8000 points per night.
Before transferring my Chase points to Hyatt for that free night, I decided to look in the Chase travel portal for any good deals (since I found a good Chase Points Boost deal earlier this month). I’m glad I looked because I found this on-site Universal hotel for just 8550 points per night with a special Chase Points Boost rate.
Using 550 additional points per night for this hotel instead of staying at the Hyatt Place means the boys wouldn’t have to transfer hotels at the beginning or end of their stay. I decided to cover all 3 nights with points for them since we had the points available. I’m a sucker! Now, they just have to save up for park tickets, food and Uber ride to/from airport in Orlando. That will still add up to several hundred dollars, so this trip still isn’t quite free.
Have you found any good redemptions on the Chase travel portal with Points Boost?
Great work, and thanks for the heads up! One of my kid’s favorite places on earth is Volcano Bay (staying at Cabana Bay).
@Jim Bean I haven’t been to Volcano Bay, but it looks cool.
Nice find!
Strangely enough, yes. A Holiday Inn just outside the park entrance to Cedar Point had a point boost of 1.75x. Booked it!
@projectx Yay! Glad you found a good deal.
Well done! Very good tip. I honestly wouldn’t even think to check Chase, but this is a much better option than transferring to Hyatt. I’m actually in the midst of planning our own Epic Universe weekend. We don’t have to fly, just need a hotel for two nights. The main challenge is that we need a suite, so there is some separation from kids. I’ve thought about getting a room, but my husband doesn’t like all four of us crammed into one tiny space. For now I’ve used Choice points on Clarion property near Universal. But I would like something closer to Epic park, so will keep searching. Nothing decent via Points Boost as of now, but worth keeping an eye on it.
@Leana I totally get it about needing a suite. I’m trying to figure out what we’re going to do for lodging on a trip next summer. I’d usually pick an Airbnb, but there’s a specific hotel I want to try and it’s hard with older kids.