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Our site may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened with our partners, and this may impact how or where these products appear. While we don't cover all available credit cards, our editorial team creates and maintains all of the analysis of these cards, and our content is not influenced nor subject to review by any credit card company, bank or partner prior to (or after) publication. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.
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Tuesday Travel Tip: You can book a family vacation to Maui for $330
Ariana has been writing about points and miles for almost a decade. She previously served as editor at FlyerTalk, Frugal Travel Guy and NerdWallet while running her own travel blog, PointChaser.
May 5, 2020 • 8 min read
The cards we feature here are from partners who compensate us when you are approved through our site, and this may impact how or where these products appear. We don't cover all available credit cards, but our analysis, reviews, and opinions are entirely from our editorial team. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
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Quick summary
A family trip to Maui can be planned for as little as $330 out of pocket by strategically using loyalty program points and miles.
Airfare, lodging and activities can be covered through a combination of airline and hotel loyalty programs, minimizing cash expenses.
Condo rentals in Maui offer family-friendly amenities like kitchens, free parking and shuttle service, providing both comfort and savings.
Discount cards and loyalty program portals can further reduce costs on local activities and excursions.
What to consider
Some offers and point redemption rates mentioned may no longer be available, so check current program terms before planning.
Booking condos through select hotel partners can provide added perks such as grocery discounts and complimentary transportation.
Point values for activity redemptions may vary, and using points for activities could yield less value than transferring to travel partners, per TPG's valuations as of June 2024.
What you'll miss from the article
Step-by-step strategies for combining points, miles and discounts to maximize value on a Maui family vacation.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
To help you plan your future travels while we’re all stuck on the ground, we’re launching “Tuesday Travel Tips.” Check back for a new travel tip every week!
Unless you've been isolating on an island resort courtesy of the Maldivian government, quarantine life probably hasn't been easy. You're probably isolated at home with your family, teaching the kids between your own work assignments, working 87 different Zoom calls (and passwords), have cooked every recipe in your repertoire, ran out of interesting projects to do weeks ago and are fantasizing about the day when you can all check into a resort and relax on a lounger while the kids build sandcastles on the beach. No Zooms allowed.
But, budgets are tight for many families during this crisis, and likely will be even as life resumes. This makes future planning a post-crisis trip to Maui for less even more appealing: Right now, you can pull off a four-night trip for as little as $330 out of pocket, including airfare, ground transportation, lodging and activities.
If you are starting from scratch without any of these points and miles in the bank, it can be done with three credit card sign-up bonuses. After that, here comes paradise with the kids in tow. Sounds a lot better than thousands of dollars out of pocket. Here's how to do it:
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One of the cheapest ways to fly to Hawaii on points and miles is through the Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles program. A round-trip economy class ticket on United Airlines costs just 15,000 miles plus $11.20, which is a bargain considering United charges 22,500 miles each way for the same award.
Earning Turkish miles is fairly easy, thanks to Turkish Airlines' partnership with the Citi ThankYou program. Points transfer instantly to Miles & Smiles at a 1:1 ratio. That means the 80,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening from the Citi Premier® Card offers enough miles for four round-trip economy class tickets to Maui.
The earning rate as follows:
3x per dollar on air travel and hotels
3x per dollar at restaurants
3x per dollar at supermarkets
3x per dollar at gas stations
Additionally, cardholders will receive a $100 statement credit when charging a single hotel stay of $500 or more through Citi ThankYou travel once a calendar year. This can be as much as a 20% discount and offsets the $95 annual fee entirely. While that's a nice saving, we can do even better on the hotel discount front when it comes to Maui family vacations.
Kaanapali Beach on Maui. (Photo by ejs9/Getty Images)
Points needed: 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards or 50,000 Capital One Venture miles
Cards: Chase Ink Business Preferred Credit Card or Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Out-of-pocket cost: $95 - $190
Families have more options than ever when it comes to affordable accommodations in Maui. While there are lots of great hotels in Maui you can book with points, you may want a little more space if you have kids in tow. Booking a suite or two rooms can get expensive quick – even using points. Luckily, Hyatt partners with several Destination Residences properties in Maui to offer affordable condo rentals.
For just 25,000 points per night, you can book a one-bedroom condo with ocean views, two bathrooms and a full kitchen at the Wailea Ekolu Village. These condos provide all the convenient amenities of a resort (i.e. housekeeping and pool access) along with the comforts of home (i.e. an in-room washer and dryer). The fully equipped kitchen is especially great for families looking to save on meals.
Guests at Wailea Ekolu Village also get a host of money-saving amenities like free parking, grocery discount cards and free rides throughout Wailea in the resort's Tesla Model X shuttle. All of this can offer tremendous savings for families looking to travel to Maui on a budget.
With the 100,000-point sign-up bonus from the Chase Ink Business Preferred Credit Card after spending $15,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening, you can cover at least four nights at this resort. If you can't qualify for a business card, then the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is a great alternative, with a 60,000-point bonus (after spending $4,000 in the first three months of account opening) that will cover two nights. Add on the first tier of the 25,000-point welcome bonus (after spending $3,000 in the first three months) from The World of Hyatt Credit Card and you'll have four nights for $190 out of pocket (in the form of annual fees).
A lot of condo and timeshare owners rent out their properties on Airbnb, making it a great place to score a bargain and save some points. For example, you can book a beachfront Maui condo in late August for as little as $99 per night. The 50,000 mile sign-up bonus (after spending $3,000 in the first three months) from the Capital One Venture Card can cover up to five nights for a Maui condo rental for a family of four. The card is also offering the opportunity to earn 100,000 bonus miles after you spend $20,000 on purchases in the first 12 months of account opening (for a limited time).
Maui is all about water activities, and those can be expensive for a family of four. There are a few ways around this. For starters, you can save up to 50% on activities with the Shaka Gold Card. It costs just $30 and gets you discounts of 10-25% year-round. Once a month, tour operators increase discounts to 50% on activities like jet ski rental, diving excursions and more.
You can easily get more than $30 in savings off a single booking, so it's well worth the investment. Depending on whether the activity is processed as a travel purchase, you may be able to charge it to your Capital One Venture card and offset the charge with the 50,000-mile welcome bonus.
For example, a quick search for Maui activities in late August turned up a guided dive in Lahaina for just $1.10 or 88 points. This may well be an error (or a response to slow tourism) but it's just an example of what's out there.
Whether you're looking to cover the cost of a biking adventure or a snorkeling expedition, you can put your Ultimate Rewards to good use by booking activities. Points are worth 1.25 cents each for Sapphire Preferred cardholders and 1.5 cents for those who have a Chase Sapphire Reserve account.
While this is less than the 2 cents per point you can get by transferring them to partners for premium awards, keep in mind that points are there to save you money. If you'd rather save cash on a family vacation in Maui than book a business class ticket to Europe, then do what makes sense for you.
A family vacation in Maui doesn't have to be that dream that never arrives. It also doesn't have to be budget-busting expensive or require serious sacrifices of comfort to make it happen. For less than the cost of the groceries and toilet paper stockpiled in some people's garages, you can plan a relaxing family vacation in Maui by leaning on your points and miles.
While we may not know exactly when that trip might be possible again, there's no harm in saving up points now so you can book your dream vacation when it's the right time.
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By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
