The Points Guy believes that credit cards can transform lives, helping you leverage everyday spending for cash back or travel experiences that might otherwise be out of reach. That's why we publish a variety of editorial content and card comparisons: to help you find a great card to turn your goals into reality.
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.
Advertiser disclosure
The Points Guy believes that credit cards can transform lives, helping you leverage everyday spending for cash back or travel experiences that might otherwise be out of reach. That's why we publish a variety of editorial content and card comparisons: to help you find a great card to turn your goals into reality.
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.
News
Booking last-minute flights and hotels for Super Bowl LIV in Miami
Richard Kerr is a veteran naval officer and founder of the Award Travel 101 Facebook community. He’s one of the foremost experts in points and miles strategy, featured in Forbes, US News, Money Magazine, Kiplinger Personal Finance and presented at #SXSW 2017. Richard has visited over 45 countries, lived in England and Japan, and spends his spare time dissecting loyalty program award charts to maximize the value of points and miles. Richard holds a BBA in International Business and has his wife and two small children in tow for his travels as often as possible.
January 21, 2020 • 9 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.
Comments
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.
Related stories
Quick summary
Traveling to the Super Bowl in Miami presents high demand and limited availability for both flights and hotels, with prices and award requirements elevated.
Standard hotel and airline policies, such as blackout dates and cancellation flexibility, are often suspended during major events like the Super Bowl.
Booking award nights may require multi-night stays, and travelers should expect to pay at booking with little to no cancellation options.
Flying into Fort Lauderdale instead of Miami can offer better availability and lower prices, and alternative loyalty programs may provide additional hotel options.
What to consider
Award availability and pricing fluctuate rapidly during periods of extraordinary demand, with minimum-stay requirements and nonrefundable bookings common.
Some airlines add extra capacity for major events, but flights may be oversold and airport congestion is likely, especially the Monday after the game.
Hotel loyalty programs may not display all available rooms unless accessible room options are selected, and premium rooms can require a significant number of points.
What you'll miss from the article
Detailed strategies for using points and miles efficiently for last-minute Super Bowl travel, including specific hotel and flight options and tips for navigating event-related restrictions.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
The Super Bowl match-up is set and there will be lots of red descending on South Florida in less than two weeks. With plenty of crimson in both team's colors, the Kansas City Chiefs will take on the San Francisco 49ers in Miami on Sunday, Feb. 2 for Super Bowl LIV. At the conclusion of the AFC and NFC Championship games Sunday night, I'm sure thousands of fans headed straight to their computers to research flight and hotel options.
In all likelihood, those without points and miles were dejected to see what flights and hotels really cost for these last-minute reservations. (Not to mention the four-figure pain for game tickets, which surged in value with the demand.) If you hope to attend the big events in Miami the first weekend of February by using points and miles, here are the best remaining options. Note that all results are accurate as of Monday, Jan. 20, at and will fluctuate as the hours and days tick by.
There are a few things to know when it comes to booking travel around events at the level of the Super Bowl. For hotels, many of the standard policies you are accustomed to won't be in place:
The standard "no blackout dates" policies can be suspended because of what many hotels refer to as "a period of extraordinary demand." Just because a hotel has a base room available does not mean it will be available for award bookings. The reality is that this is extraordinary demand.
There may be an opaque minimum-stay requirement for the weekend in order to get room availability to show. If you search for just Sunday night at a property using points, you'll have a much lower likelihood of finding an award night. Search instead for a two- or three-night period to get award availability to display.
There is no standard cancellation policy for the weekend in Miami. Expect to pay at the time of booking and not be able to cancel.
For more TPG news and travel tips delivered each morning to your inbox, sign up for our free daily newsletter.
If you're going to cut it close and book flights scheduled to land right before key events (or even the game itself), make sure you fork over $19 for Freebird protection and have the ability to get on the next available flight to Miami regardless of what carrier is operating it.
Expect to be in oversold situations on flights to and from Miami that weekend -- plus the Monday after the game. If you have any added flexibility, the compensation for taking a later flight could be significant.
If you're flying out Monday after the game (like me), you need to get to the airport early. Like really early. Last year Atlanta saw Monday-morning security lines two hours long and many folks missed flights completely. Clear and PreCheck will help, but still allow lots of extra time.
Finally, the game is played in Hard Rock Stadium. This is in Miami Gardens north of the city almost equidistant from Miami International Airport (MIA) and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL). That means you could fly into and stay in either city if you're just interested in the game. If you're interested in the South Beach party scene -- or the Super Bowl Experience and other official Super Bowl activities in the Miami convention center -- you'll want to be sure you can get to Miami either by rental car, train or other ground transportation.
I'll just start with a blanket statement: If you want convenient, nonstop flights to Miami for Super Bowl weekend, at this point you'll be paying absurd award or revenue costs. No legacy airline in the U.S. has a standard award chart, so there is no saver space left to South Florida. You may still find some cheaper award flights, but from the searches I ran, they'll have long layovers on ill-timed flights. If you're a Chiefs fan, you can fly Kansas City to Miami for 14,500 United miles on Friday, Feb. 3, but you'll go by way of Newark starting at 5:45 a.m. and have a six-hour layover:
For revenue flights, if you're a fan heading from either Kansas City or San Francisco for the game, flight prices into Miami on Friday and returning Monday are hovering between $460 and $700 for round-trip economy tickets. That $460 is actually less than I was expecting, but those United itineraries do require a connection.
The cheapest round-trip itineraries to Miami I saw on Super Bowl weekend are from the New York City area. American has nonstop itineraries from JFK for $327 round-trip for basic economy tickets. This is rather surprising because award tickets prices are 44,500 American miles. In this case, you'd want to use cash or fixed-value points.
The real savings come from flying into Fort Lauderdale (FLL) instead of Miami. FLL has a huge footprint for both JetBlue and Spirit with lower prices and stiffer competition. Spirit still has nonstop round-trip itineraries for under $200 flying from Newark (EWR), LaGuardia (LGA) or Chicago (ORD) to FLL. You can buy these for even less if you buy the tickets at an airport counter.
The $310 round-trip options I found from JFK or LGA to FLL on JetBlue would also include free Wi-Fi, live TV and more legroom than Spirit, so that would get my vote. For me here in Atlanta (ATL), JetBlue is $317 round-trip to Fort Lauderdale compared to $431 on Delta or $512 on the cheapest itineraries to Miami for the weekend.
In summary, in order to find the best flight prices, I would research flying into Fort Lauderdale. Remember that Southwest results don't show up in an online travel agency or Google Flights, so check with Southwest directly. If you have a Companion Pass, that will almost certainly be your best bet for a two-person trip.
The following hotels are showing award availability for Friday-Sunday night in South Florida and are within a reasonable commuting distance of Hard Rock Stadium:
Remember Hilton makes premium rooms available for award bookings but they cost such astronomical amounts of points I can't recommend booking one, even for the Super Bowl. If needed, remember to click the "accessible room" option for Hilton as these do not show up in standard award search results and may yield additional rooms available on award points.
Moving outside of the big three hotel programs, don't forget about programs like Wyndham Rewards and Choice Privileges. Wyndham has multiple La Quinta properties in Miami and Fort Lauderdale with award space for 15,000 Wyndham points per night. The Tryp by Wyndham Miami Bay Harbor resort is available for 30,000 points per night.
If you can't find what you need with traditional miles or points, look to using your points at a fixed value. Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders can redeem Ultimate Rewards for 1.5 cents each towards flights and hotels,. Those with The Business Platinum Card® from American Express can redeem Membership Rewards for 1.56 cents each toward flights. Wells Fargo Go Far Rewards, Merrill+ points, U.S. Bank Flexperks, Citi ThankYou points and others can be redeemed for more than 1 cent each toward flights and or hotels.
Your only firm rule to follow if you're headed to South Florida for the big game? Book now.
Comments
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.
