2025 Award Recap ($51,000 in Value, 7 Trips)

This is my second annual travel rewards recap. (Here’s my 2024 reward travel recap if you want to start there.)

Each year, I add up the points we spent, the cash we paid and the estimated value of what we got. 

Points and miles cost real money to earn — whether that’s through credit card annual fees, spending that could have gone toward cash-back cards, or time spent managing accounts and tracking award availability. 

If the math doesn’t work, I’d rather take the cash back and invest it.

In 2025, our family of five took seven trips using a mix of Hyatt points, airline miles, Wyndham Rewards, free night certificates and cash. 

We used roughly 1.55 million points and spent about $5,400 out of pocket. The estimated value of those trips was approximately $51,000.

That’s about half of what we got in 2024 ($90,000), but 2024 included a two-week Hawaii trip.

Here’s how each trip broke down.

#1. Winter Break 2024/2025: Family Vacation in Costa Rica

• Summary: We returned to Costa Rica over winter break, splitting the trip between three nights at the Koora Hotel in Monteverde and five nights at Andaz Costa Rica. 
• Estimated trip value: $16,837.
• Points Used: 485,125

We first stayed at the Andaz over the 2023/2024 winter break and loved it enough to book this trip again.

The one thing we missed that first year was the rainforest — the Andaz is on the west coast, and the cloud forests are about three hours away. This time, we fixed that by flying into Liberia and heading straight to Monteverde.

We stayed three nights at the Koora Hotel, an independent hotel with a two-story family room that fit all five of us. The Koora cost $1,717 total, paid in cash.

The service stood out. My daughter has severe food allergies, and we travel with an allergy card in standard Spanish. The staff at the Koora printed and laminated a new version in the local dialect.

They also arranged all our tours and transportation, making Monteverde completely hands-off.

On New Year’s Eve, we did a night walk through the cloud forest. We found the above spider, snakes, a sloth in a tree and monkeys.

If you’re planning a trip to the Andaz, I’d recommend adding Monteverde to the front end. 

Three nights was the right amount.

After Monteverde, we took ground transportation to Andaz for five nights.

The resort has two beaches, the food is good, and the daily cost of meals and activities is reasonable for a luxury resort. 

We booked connecting rooms this year, which we didn’t have last time. They’re near the kids’ area, which is convenient. The trade-off is the view — not as good as some other room locations. 

We paid 35,000 points per night per room, which was the peak rate at the time.

Hyatt has since raised the Andaz to 45,000 points per night for peak dates, and cash rates for the same dates run about $1,200 per night.

Hyatt’s next award chart update is expected in May 2026, and I’d be surprised if the Andaz doesn’t go up again — especially over spring break and school holidays. It’s one of the most in-demand properties in the Hyatt portfolio.

The flight booking is worth explaining. 

When award availability first opens, I book whatever’s available — even if it’s not ideal. This year, that was an American Airlines flight through British Airways Avios with a Charlotte stop and a 6:00 a.m. departure.

Then I set up alerts through PointsYeah. 

About a month before our trip, United released award availability for a direct flight from Chicago to Liberia. I canceled the Avios booking, transferred Membership Rewards to Aeroplan, and rebooked for 62,500 points plus CA $501 in fees.

We had a two-and-a-half-hour drive to Monteverde after landing, so eliminating the layover made a big difference.

The return was on Southwest for 72,625 Rapid Rewards points (14,525 per ticket) plus $298.45 in fees.

#2. Spring Break in St. Kitts

Summary: We spent spring break at the Park Hyatt St. Kitts for six nights. St. Kitts is a cool island with a different feel from the typical Caribbean — more rainforest and mountains than you’d expect. Estimated trip value: $21,439.

St. Kitts isn’t your typical Caribbean island. It has rainforest, mountains and a feel that’s more nature-forward than most beach destinations. We really liked that about it.

The Park Hyatt sits right on Banana Bay. It’s not a big hotel, and our connecting rooms were on the first floor with a walk-out to the beach. 

We paid 35,000 Hyatt points per night per room during spring break.

The hotel is very nice. Great service, great rooms. 

But having stayed at several other top-tier Hyatt properties, I wouldn’t put the Park Hyatt St. Kitts in the same tier of fun as the Andaz Costa Rica or the Grand Hyatt Kauai. 

The food options aren’t as strong, and there’s less to do at the resort. It was often wavy and windy at the hotel beach, so we’d hop in the car and drive to other beaches around the island.

It’s a great property for a four- or five-night stay, and I’d recommend it — especially if you have a direct flight. 

But for our family, the travel time to get there is close to what it takes to get to Hawaii, and given the choice, we’d go back to Kauai.

For the outbound flights, I booked through Amex Travel using Membership Rewards points. 

The total was $2,339 for five tickets ($421 per person plus $234 in fees), paid with the Amex Business Platinum card. 

That card gives you a 35% rebate when you book flights through Amex Travel with your preferred airline selected. 

The gross cost was 233,900 MR points; after the rebate of 81,865, the net was 152,035 points. 

It works out to about 1.5 cents per point — not an exceptional redemption, but when you’re traveling with five people over spring break and award availability is limited, flexibility matters.

The return was booked using AAdvantage points from the Aviator card signup bonus. 

We paid 75,000 AAdvantage miles (15,000 per ticket) plus $228 in fees for five tickets on American Airlines through Miami.

The trip home didn’t go as planned. We had a layover in Miami, boarded the flight to Chicago, but couldn’t land due to weather. 

The plane diverted to Houston. 

American Airlines wasn’t able to rebook us the next day in a way that worked, so we bought same-day Southwest tickets out of Dallas for $2,092.40 out of pocket ($418.48 per ticket).

After some back-and-forth with American, we got 7,500 miles back per person — half of what we paid. 

The trip was still worth it. St. Kitts is a cool island, and the Park Hyatt is a solid property.

Just not one we’d go out of our way to return to when we have other Hyatt options, such as the Park Hyatt Cabo, we like more. 

#3. Masters Weekend in Augusta for My Dad’s 70th Birthday

Summary: My dad, my two brothers and I flew to Augusta for the Masters to celebrate my dad’s 70th birthday. We stayed two nights at the Hyatt Place Augusta, booking one room for 15,000 Hyatt points per night. Estimated trip value: $2,598.

This wasn’t a glamorous hotel stay.

But it’s one of the best examples of why standard award charts matter.

Finding a place to stay in Augusta during the Masters is difficult. Rental properties charge thousands per night.

The Hyatt Place in Augusta is a Category 4 hotel. We booked at 15,000 points per night.

Cash rates for the same dates this year are $1,299 per night.

That puts our redemption at close to 9 cents per point. That’s one of the highest point-to-value ratios I’ve ever gotten.

The lesson here applies beyond the Masters. 

Anytime a major event drives hotel rates way up — college football weekends, Taylor Swift, tournaments — Hyatt’s standard award chart still holds. If you book early enough, you can get a room on points even when cash prices are $500 or more per night.

You do have to book early though.

This is one reason I carry the Hyatt credit card. It comes with a free night certificate for Category 1-4 properties each year after your cardmember anniversary, which covers a hotel like this.

Spend $15,000 in a calendar year and you get a second free night.

I’m curious how this holds up after May 2026, when Hyatt moves to five pricing tiers.

Hyatt has said that Category 1-4 free night certificates will still work at Category 4 properties under the new structure. If that stays true, the math on the Hyatt credit card gets stronger for anyone who travels around events with inflated hotel prices.

A Hyatt Place in a college town might cost $1,000 on a football weekend and $100 the following weekend. Two free night certificates covering a $2,000 stay on a $99 annual fee with $15,000 spend is great value.

#4. Anniversary Night at the Park Hyatt Chicago

Summary: For our anniversary, my wife and I spent one night at the Park Hyatt Chicago. We booked for 21,000 Hyatt points and used a suite upgrade certificate. Estimated trip value: $800.

This was a quick one. We live less than an hour from downtown Chicago, so we drove in, checked in, caught a show at Second City, enjoyed breakfast the next morning and headed home for Saturday’s soccer games. 

I had a suite upgrade certificate about to expire, so we put it to use. 

At 21,000 points for a suite at the Park Hyatt Chicago, you’re getting a room that goes for around $800 a night in cash. Add in the free valet, breakfast and Globalist perks, and it’s great value. 

#5. Summer Getaway to Acadia National Park

Summary: My wife and I spent four nights near Acadia National Park in a Vacasa rental, booked with Wyndham points. Estimated trip value: $4,696.

This was my wife’s and my summer getaway. We stayed July 7 through 11 in a two-bedroom townhome right in town, booked through Vacasa for 54,000 Wyndham points per night.

We loved Acadia. The park, the town, the whole environment — it was one of our favorite trips of the year.

For the outbound flights, we transferred Amex Membership Rewards to Hawaiian Airlines, then Hawaiian to Alaska Airlines, and booked ‘first class’ for 15,000 Alaska miles per ticket plus $36.20 in fees.

First class on this route is a smaller plane with a 1-2 configuration — not true first class, but you and your seatmate essentially get your own row.

On the way home, we flew United in economy and paid $536 in cash, offsetting $200 with airline credits. That brought our out-of-pocket to $336.

This was another Vacasa booking we were glad to squeeze in before the Wyndham partnership ended. The rental was right in town, two bedrooms, and ran about $850 per night in cash — great value at 54,000 points per night.

#6. Summer Getaway to St. Germain, Wisconsin

Summary: We booked a last-minute summer trip to St. Germain, Wisconsin — a four-bedroom Vacasa rental about five hours from home. My mother-in-law joined us for the week. Estimated trip value: $3,600.

This wasn’t a big trip. The past two summers, we did three-week trips — Switzerland and Italy one year, Hawaii the next. 

This year, a big summer trip just wasn’t in the cards, so we planned a last-minute getaway before the kids went back to school.

We invited my mother-in-law to come along and booked a four-bedroom house through Vacasa using Wyndham Rewards points. Rentals like this also mean Penny, our dog, gets to come — something that’s harder to do with hotel stays.

The rental ran about $900 per night in cash. With the Wyndham Earner card, you got a 10% discount on Vacasa bookings, bringing the cost to 13,500 points per bedroom per night — 54,000 points per night for four bedrooms, or 216,000 points total.

This program has since ended. Vacasa dropped its partnership with Wyndham in November 2025. 

We used it a lot while it lasted. 

My favorite part about this trip was taking my son fishing for the first time — we booked a guide and caught fish the guide said were close to lake records.

Summary: We spent a weekend in Champaign to watch Illinois play Western Illinois at my wife’s alma mater. We used two Category 1-4 free night certificates at a Hyatt Place. Estimated trip value: $846.

We drove down to Champaign for a football weekend, stayed at the Hyatt Place, and watched Illinois play Western Illinois. 

Cash rates were $423 per night — on a college football weekend, even mid-tier hotels charge a premium.

That’s a big reason I make sure to hit the $15,000 spend threshold every year.

What’s Ahead in 2026

We started the year at the Park Hyatt Los Cabos — we left January 1, so that one officially counts for next year’s recap. It’s an amazing property. 

I wrote a full review of the new Park Hyatt Cabo.

For the rest of the year:

• San Diego (spring break). We booked a Vacasa rental well ahead of time, so this will be our last Vacasa redemption. For the flights, we transferred Amex Membership Rewards to Hawaiian Airlines, then from Hawaiian to Alaska Airlines, and used Alaska miles to book.
• Alila Ventana Big Sur (July). My wife and I are finally making it to Big Sur. We had this booked for our 15th anniversary in 2024, but the road collapsed and the hotel closed. This time we moved the trip to summer — the kids’ schedules make anniversary (April) travel harder now, so we try to get away once a year whenever it works.
• Alaska (summer). Our big family trip this year. After one summer without a major trip, we’re going back to doing a longer one with some friends. 

2025 Travel Rewards Summary

Is the Points Game Worth It?

Using 1.55 million points in a year sounds like a lot. It is. Between two people, that’s roughly 750,000 points per person — you don’t get there from normal spending alone.

Our household puts roughly $250,000 per year on credit cards across personal and business expenses. At a flat 2% cash-back rate, that’s $5,000. At 3%, it’s $7,500.

We got $51,000 in travel value instead.

Most of the best sign-up bonuses pay out in points, not cash, so the comparison isn’t as simple as “just take the cash back.” You’d be leaving the highest-value offers on the table.

There’s a real cost, though.

Managing multiple cards, tracking award availability, setting up alerts, rebooking when better options open — that takes time. It’s become a hobby for me, and I enjoy it. If I didn’t, the math alone might not justify the effort.

I also know this window is short.

Our kids are 6, 10 and 13.

The years where we can travel as a family during school breaks and everyone still wants to come are limited. That changes the calculus. $51,000 in family travel during these years is worth more to me than the same number ten years from now.

Not every year will look like this one. But for now, the points still win.