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Travel Party of 5 | Points & Miles for Family Travel
Let us pull back the curtain and show you how you can maximize money you're already spending to earn enough credit card points and miles to travel with your family for nearly free.
We've used credit card points and miles to take our family of 5 on trips to places like Costa Rica, San Diego, Disneyland, Oceanside, NYC, Washington DC, Hawaii, and next year we have already booked Paris, Spain and Japan!
Using credit card points and miles (often called travel hacking) doesn't have to be overwhelming or take a ton of time, and we can show you how.
Can you earn a lot of points and miles without opening up multiple credit cards? Only if you have a really high amount of spend each month. For people with larger families, opening new cards is the easiest and fastest way to earn enough points and miles to take a couple of really low cost (but not low budget) family vacations every year!
If you want to learn ways to help you and your family travel more affordably using credit card points, this show is for you.
Travel Party of 5 | Points & Miles for Family Travel
The Best of 2024: Our Annual Travel Highlights!
2024 was filled with memorable travel experiences, from top hotels and flights to unforgettable vacations. The episode focuses on sharing the best moments, while highlighting family-friendly options and personal favorites that made the year special.
• Best couple's hotel at the Kempton Seafire in Grand Cayman
• Top family hotel was the Park Hyatt Aviara
• Most memorable flight on Air France from Paris to Phoenix
• Overall favorite vacation revealed to be the trip to Grand Cayman
• Reflecting on childhood memories in Japan
• Excitement for upcoming trips planned in 2025
Hi, friends, today's episode is going to be our best of 2024. So think best hotel, best flight, favorite destination, favorite credit card, and so on. So happy new year and listen in. Hi, I'm Raya.
Speaker 2:And I'm Dwayne.
Speaker 1:And we are your hosts of the Travel Party of Five podcast, where we share how we travel as a family of five around the world.
Speaker 2:We will also share how we use points and miles to travel as affordably as possible and sometimes even completely free.
Speaker 1:So if you're wanting to travel more with your family but you're not sure how, we'd love for you to listen in.
Speaker 2:So welcome to our podcast, where we hope you learn a thing or two to get you closer to your next trip. Hi friends, happy New Year, happy New Year, welcome back, welcome back. Travel Party of Five podcast.
Speaker 1:Hi friends, happy new year. Happy new year welcome back. Welcome back Travel Party of Five podcast Clocking in for another year around the sun. Yes, so we are going to cover in today's episode our best of 2024. And we're a couple weeks into January, so hopefully people are not sick of 2024 yet. And so we're going to do things like best hotel we stayed at, best card we think we opened, and that kind of thing. Dwayne isn't super prepped for this episode. I don't think he's had much time to think about it.
Speaker 2:I'm never prepped for any episode.
Speaker 1:That's also fair. Okay, so let's jump in. I'm going to ask you first so what do you think your best hotel of 2024 was that we stayed in? And I think let's separate it from trips that you and I went on without the kids and then also do a family one, so do like a couple's hotel and a family hotel.
Speaker 2:Definitely couple's hotel was the Kempton Seafire in the Grand Cayman. Yes, that was my view. Yes, just a beautiful property, wonderful service, I mean great location. It was our first time there so I mean that might play a role in that, but I mean it was beautiful.
Speaker 1:The service was unlike anything that we've ever had at any Hyatt, and so it's funny, because we have predominantly stayed at Hyatt's this year or last year rather Well, and this year too we will, but yet our favorite hotel was an IHG property.
Speaker 2:Yes, I mean, it was phenomenal.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that was. That was my favorite too. For couples. Um well, okay, what would you say for families? Did I tell you mine already?
Speaker 2:or no, your family.
Speaker 1:Yeah, did I tell you mine. Don't say it if I didn't know. Okay, good, I want to see if we'll say the same thing I mean I have probably two top ones.
Speaker 2:Okay, uh, would be the park hyatt aviara um and the Grand Hyatt in Kauai.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay, yeah, Mine was the Park Hyatt Aviara, also for families. That was a surprise to me actually.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because typically, though, the Park Hyatts are known to be, you know, the top end, and this one is top end. I mean, yeah, it was Again. That was also a beautiful property and the service there was pretty good too. It was yeah. I think, I mean that was probably second on my list in 2024. Kempton and then the Park Hyatt.
Speaker 1:Well, okay, so tell what you loved about the Grand Hyatt Kauai. By the way, we have episodes on all of these trips and vacations with a lot more depth, so we won't go super in-depth here. If you want to listen, you can go back and find them.
Speaker 2:I mean the Grand Hyatt, kauai. It was just perfect for families. It was a huge property, huge pool, a separate beachy area. What was it? You mean like the lagoon? Oh yeah, the beachy area? What?
Speaker 1:was it? You mean like the lagoon? Oh yeah, the lagoon. There was a beach, but the waves were too.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the beach is not swimmable there.
Speaker 1:It's swimmable if you're, maybe if you're an adult yes, and an expert swimmer.
Speaker 2:I mean every.
Speaker 1:There were so many people surfing and boogie boarding the flags were red almost every day we were there so so I wouldn't take your kids in there because the currents are super strong. But they built this lagoon area right behind the beach to kind of make up for the fact that you can't swim in the beach and it has sand and stuff. Yeah, mine was the Park Hyatt Aviara, the Park Hyatt Aviara. I liked the Grand Hyatt Kauai too, but the Aviara was a surprise to me because I didn't expect it to be so family friendly, I think, and there was a ton of families and a ton of kids A ton of families, and so that was my best family one In a great location.
Speaker 2:They had a great pool.
Speaker 1:Yep, they had a few water slides. Really good service. They do turndown service, which was extra fun for the kids. So you know they like set out your slippers and they'll bring you little chocolates, and that was a good time.
Speaker 2:Yes, very good time.
Speaker 1:Okay, so the next one is best flight of 2024 and I know mine, but I think all yours were roughly the same.
Speaker 2:But you can I mean, I excuse me, I don't even know which flight was the best like you don't?
Speaker 1:yeah, like I'm pretty sure every flight you were on this year was southwest, like which is yes, it was definitely southwest.
Speaker 1:Yeah, every time um, mine was the my air france flight from paris back to phoenix, where I upgraded to business class. So, um, I have a whole episode on it if you want to go back and listen. But essentially we had booked economy tickets from paris direct to phoenix. They they have a new nonstop flight as of summer 2024. Thank you, olympics. Hopefully it sticks. And we paid 20,000 points one way per person in economy and I was flying.
Speaker 1:I was traveling with my mom back from our girls trip earlier this or earlier last year and I paid $900 to upgrade on the 11 hour flight to business class and it was worth every cent that I paid. Um, and it was the only reason I was able to do that is because it was just me. If it had been all five of us, there's no way I would have paid $4,500 plus no way. There probably wasn't five seats available for upgrades anyway. So, but that was by far my favorite flight.
Speaker 1:It was my first time in business class and it was a really nice way to travel after running around Paris in the cold and rain for three days, plus Italy before that I know everyone talks about. You should fly business class from the US to Europe because it's an overnight flight and you can sleep, but I kind of prefer it the other way, because you're awake for the entire flight, which means you get to enjoy it the entire time, and I did. I had all the coffees and hot chocolates and snacks and meals and I watched like a 10 episode miniseries, subtitled in English because it was in French. That was really good. Actually it was. I have fond memories of that flight 10 episodes is a lot.
Speaker 1:Well, I was literally an 11 hour flight, so, and I was awake the whole time.
Speaker 2:so, yeah, that would be my best flight, um, okay, best overall vacation I mean, all of our vacations are pretty good until the kids get sick. Oh god, stress, um again. It would have to be the grand cayman, because it was just you and I.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was very, very relaxing it was the only trip of 2024 that felt like a vacation yes, and if you didn't listen to the previous episode on it, we had only one thing planned, yeah, and that was an excursion to the bioluminescence bay or whatever. So it was very relaxing, very needed. Yes, yeah, low key.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we literally ate food. Sat on the beach, had some cocktails, ate some more food. I got a massage. Dwayne rode a jet ski. Yeah, we really didn't do much. It was very, very nice.
Speaker 2:Watching basketball games at the pool bar. It was a great time. Oh, I watched the Olympics at the bar. That's what it was.
Speaker 1:It was a great time. Um, oh, I watched olympics at the bar. That's what it was, not. Yeah, do. Do you have a favorite family vacation that we took?
Speaker 2:um again, the park aviara, the time in california. We always have a good time in california.
Speaker 1:We yeah, we were there for seven days or seven nights.
Speaker 2:I think we love California um, especially San Diego and Oceanside well, we'll remember.
Speaker 1:Okay, so remember, we did Costa Rica oh yeah, I forgot Costa Rica and Kauai. So do you have a favorite amongst those to those um, I mean again, all our vacations are are great.
Speaker 2:You plan them out well. Um, but you know costa rica. We had an unfortunate event where one of our kids had to go to the hospital. Yeah, um, and then kawaii, our youngest one, got sick. So you were in the hotel room for two days, while the boys and I just hung out at the pool and drove around that yeah drove around the island one day. Um, but yeah, I mean other than that, I don't know a favorite, probably costa rica, because we've never been yeah, I would.
Speaker 1:I would say, mine is probably also costa rica, but specifically the la fortuna, of course, costa Rica, which we were there for three nights and our son got sick in the beginning part, which was we were in Manuel Antonio, so the La Fortuna part.
Speaker 1:I really enjoyed that. That was where we had the hot springs and we stayed in an Airbnb that was inside a hotel. The hotel was called Los Lagos, which has a ton of hot springs, so we got to use their amenities for free, so hot springs and pools at no charge. They also had, obviously, food, restaurants and stuff that you could eat at. Obviously that's not free, but we enjoyed eating there a few days.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that property was also very was very nice very nice yep yeah, um is there.
Speaker 1:Do you think there's an underrated or overrated place? We stayed in 2020, 2024, I don't think there's any overrated um.
Speaker 1:I mean, I don't I'm gonna give a hot take here and maybe, like before I say this, I just keep in mind that we had a sick kid on this trip and it was incredibly stressful for me in particular. So I think the Grand Hyatt Kauai is a little overrated A little. I think it's a great hotel for families, but it's not really near a lot of things. You have to do a lot of driving, yeah, and I just like, if we were going to go back to Hawaii, I would go back to Maui.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but excuse me, kauai, anywhere in Kauai you have to drive.
Speaker 1:I mean, I know, I just I think your expectations were. Too high maybe.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:That could be.
Speaker 2:And the fact that Maui, everything was right there, yes, and the fact that maui, everything was right there, like I mean, except for the road to hana, and but we were in a vicinity where everything was nearby.
Speaker 1:That's true, yeah, but anywhere in kawaii, if you stay in you have to drive yeah, you have to drive, you have to have a car the difference is when you drive in maui, there's, like it, really beautiful. You're driving along the coast, the views are stunning, and when we were driving in Kauai, most of the time you're driving in the middle of the island and so there's cornfields and stuff.
Speaker 2:And trees, Unique trees though.
Speaker 1:Yes, I mean, it's not ugly, certainly, but I think I was expecting Kauai to be my favorite Hawaiian island and it is not so far.
Speaker 2:I think people that choose Kauai as their favorite island choose it because it's less touristy. It is that that's true A lot of the other islands, yep.
Speaker 1:Yep, that's true. Okay, well, one last question what are you most like? What trip are you most looking forward to in 2025? Or, I guess, maybe not a trip, if there's something else, I don't know.
Speaker 2:Oh no, it's definitely a trip. It's back to the motherland, japan. Yes, super excited for that.
Speaker 1:For those that don't know, or maybe our new listeners, dwayne grew up in Japan, so his dad was in the army, and so he grew up on a military base right outside of Tokyo. And you were there. From what age? Until you graduated high school.
Speaker 2:From 87 to 99. So I graduated high school in 99. So seven to 11 or seven to 18.
Speaker 1:graduated high school in 99, so 7 to 11 or 7 to 18.
Speaker 2:Age 7 to 18, yeah, and you have like really fond memories of it.
Speaker 1:But best times wouldn't change my childhood for like. Describe in like a couple minutes like what was it like growing up in japan, in like, near such a huge city?
Speaker 2:um, I mean, it was great, the friendships I made there I still have today. My best friend today is, you know, someone I met in japan, but I do regret not taking in the culture you know, because I was young and dumb and yeah wanted to have fun instead of appreciate where it was that I was at yeah, it's almost like you didn't appreciate it until you were gone, right, yeah?
Speaker 1:but just put like this I took spanish in high school instead of japanese, like yeah but your parents like an idiot your parents would just I mean, part of it was the time right, it was the 90s. But also japan is a very safe country super safe your parents would just let you like. You would leave the house in the morning and you'd be gone all day all day and they would have no idea.
Speaker 2:Where was that, you know, because this was before pagers and cell phones. But but I did have a cell phone at age what I was like 15. So that was like 95. That's early for that time frame. Well, Japan was, you know, 10 years ahead of the US in technology.
Speaker 1:So, but you okay, so you would like go into Tokyo sometimes, right?
Speaker 2:We'd go into Tokyo, take the train and we would go in. You know other smaller cities like Machida, and yeah, right, we're going to tokyo, take the train and we would go. And you know other smaller cities like machida, and yeah, we would go to yokohama, we would ride bikes everywhere yeah, how old were you taking the jet, the train, just like 13, 14, 15, 16, you know it's just wild to me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, meanwhile, I grew up in a very tiny town with what literally one stop stoplight.
Speaker 2:Population 600 people yes, I've been there and it was complete opposite end of the spectrum to what I was to what you grew up.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, um, so that okay, yeah, that is.
Speaker 2:I'm also looking forward to japan a lot um, but I, we're also going to Europe twice. It's also up there because I've never been to Europe and we're going twice next year, so excited for that too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm also super excited for Japan. I think, probably, if I had to pick a trip I'm most looking forward to, it's the Christmas markets. Oh, by the way, we booked a trip to the Christmas markets in the last couple weeks for next beginning of December 2025. That was kind of impromptu and spur of the moment, and so all five of us are going. I think maybe we'll talk more about that in our next episode, because next episode, next week, will be like what's coming in 2025, but I think that's probably the one I'm looking forward to. Um, I am also really looking forward to japan, though, like because that's some that will be completely different from anything I've ever experienced before, and I'm really excited for all the food and all that fun stuff 7-Eleven.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, it'll be nice to put like I mean, dwayne's been talking about Japan since we met and that's been like 13 years ago, so I'd be excited to finally get to experience it, so that'll be good. But since you said Japan, I'm not going to say that and I will say Christmas markets. The Christmas markets have been on my list, like my bucket travel list, for years and years, like a long time right, very long Since way before we started using points and miles. It's just tricky because there's only like a month-ish of the year where you can go to them. And I don't much enjoy traveling during the holidays because I like to decorate the house and you know we do fun holiday things on the weekends, like bake cookies and go see Christmas lights and all that, and that takes a lot of time, so I prefer not to travel during that time.
Speaker 2:But I mean I just I'm just dreading the cold.
Speaker 1:It's going to be cold, the frigid temperatures. Yeah, I'll be stockpiling warm weather gear for us over the next 10, 11 months.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, it's 50 degrees in Arizona right now. We're starting fires in our fireplace.
Speaker 1:It's chilly, okay, well, good.
Speaker 2:I think we had a really good 2024.
Speaker 1:We did a lot of very grateful for that. Yeah, a lot of trips, a lot of a lot of memories made um, but I think 2025 might be even better. We've got some big trips this year so yes we're really looking forward to it. We obviously will bring you along for all the trips we take and all the fun recaps that we talk about. So we will catch you in the next episode and, until then, hope you have a great new year.
Speaker 2:Yes, hopefully it's off to a great start.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we'll catch you on the next one.
Speaker 2:Have a good one.
Speaker 1:Bye.