Why you should use points and miles to book holiday travel

Holidays can be a great time to travel if you have kids in school or you’re running low on vacation time at work, and sometimes they’re your only chance to get together with extended family. The downside? Prices tend to spike around Thanksgiving, Christmas and even long holiday weekends like Labor Day.

At TPG, we often discuss the value of being flexible in your travel plans, which can help you find the best deals. But sometimes holidays are the only times you can travel. Thankfully, points and miles can help you avoid paying exponential prices on holiday trips.

Here are some points and miles deals I found for upcoming holidays, from the Fourth of July to New Year’s. Whether you’re looking for a long weekend getaway, visiting far-flung family on a budget or planning a dream vacation over winter break, these suggestions can help save you money on holiday travel.

Related: Need points for holiday travel? Now is the time to sign up for a new credit card

Celebrate the Fourth of July in style

July Fourth falls on a Thursday this year, making it perfect for a long weekend getaway. Unfortunately, many hotels know this and adjust their prices accordingly.

Let’s look at Hyatt’s boutique New Orleans hotel, The Eliza Jane. While rates start at $230 per night most weekends in July, those prices spike to over $500 per night the weekend of July Fourth.

But thanks to World of Hyatt’s award chart, award rates start at only 20,000 points per night. For a room that would cost at least $538, that comes out to a value of 2.7 cents per point — well above TPG’s June 2024 valuation of 1.7 cents apiece for World of Hyatt points.

Marriott Bonvoy, like most hotel loyalty programs, has ditched its award chart in favor of dynamic pricing, but there are still deals to be found. For instance, you could spend three nights at the W Chicago — City Center for a total of 80,000 Bonvoy points — a stay that would set you back $723. This comes out to 0.9 cents per point, slightly above TPG’s June 2024 valuation of 0.85 cents each for Bonvoy points.

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Labor Day getaways

If you’re hoping to beat the heat this Labor Day, Air Canada has some cheap award flights from the West Coast to the Great White North. You can fly from Los Angeles to Calgary (near Banff National Park) for as little as 25,000 Aeroplan points in business class, which is actually slightly cheaper than economy.

You could fly home for about the same price or downgrade to economy for only 10,000 points, for a grand total of 35,000 points.

Cash rates start at $631 for the same route, giving you a solid value of 1.8 cents per point — well above TPG’s June 2024 valuation of 1.5 cents apiece for Aeroplan points.

Air Canada also has round-trip Calgary fares from Denver for 23,000 Aeroplan points and from Seattle for 24,000 points.

If you’d prefer to spend the long weekend on a beach, Hawaiian Airlines has main cabin fares from Los Angeles to Honolulu for 47,500 HawaiianMiles plus $12 in taxes and fees. If you don’t have enough HawaiianMiles tucked away, don’t worry; you can transfer them from American Express Membership Rewards.

You could also fly Southwest Airlines from the Bay Area to Lihue on the island of Kauai for around 34,000 Rapid Rewards points and $12 in fees. These flights start at $485 round-trip, giving you a solid value of 1.4 cents per point (TPG pegs Rapid Rewards points at 1.3 cents each, according to our June 2024 valuations).

Spend Thanksgiving with family ... or not

Airfares are often cheap if you can fly on Thanksgiving Day, but for any other day that week, rates can be eye-popping. Still, you may be surprised to see great — or at least reasonable — award rates on the same flights. And because cash prices tend to be so high over holidays, you can get outsize value from your points.

For example, say I wanted to visit my relatives in New York City over Thanksgiving. Economy fares from Denver, where I live, start at $600 round-trip on United Airlines, or I could pay 25,500 MileagePlus miles.

This gives me a value of 2.4 cents per mile, which is pretty good considering that TPG values United miles at 1.35 cents each, per our June 2024 valuations.

Or you might skip the family reunion in favor of a mini vacation, as I did in 2022 when I spent Thanksgiving on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. This year, I could fly Delta Air Lines from Denver to New Orleans for only 31,000 SkyMiles plus $11 for a round-trip ticket. Plus, if I had a Delta cobranded credit card, I would need only 26,350 miles due to Delta’s TakeOff 15 feature, which allows cardholders to save on award tickets.

For a flight where cash rates start at $413, I’d get a value of 1.3 cents per mile, a little higher than TPG’s June 2024 valuation of 1.15 cents each for SkyMiles. Delta is offering similar award fares to New Orleans from Boston (starting at 30,500 miles round-trip), Atlanta (starting at 27,000) and Seattle (starting at 32,500).

Christmas abroad

If you’re dreaming of a European holiday, you could spend Christmas in London for only 38,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles and under $200 round-trip.

For a flight that starts at $820, this provides an excellent value of 2.2 cents per mile (compared to TPG’s June valuation of 1.7 cents each for AAdvantage miles).

If you’d rather explore Germany’s magical Christmas markets, United Airlines has economy fares to Munich from East Coast cities like New York and Boston for 110,000 MileagePlus miles plus $144 round-trip.

The same economy seats start at $1,600 in cash, giving you a solid value of 1.5 cents per mile.

New Year’s Eve in New York City

New York City is at the top of the list for many travelers looking to ring in the New Year. Unfortunately, hotels know this and room rates tend to skyrocket Dec. 31.

For instance, rates at the Motto by Hilton New York City Times Square are going for a ridiculous $558 on New Year’s Eve. (On Jan. 1, the price drops to $245; by Jan. 7, it’s down to $138). Alternatively, you could book a room on New Year’s Eve with 80,000 Hilton Honors points.

This comes out to 0.7 cents per point, a good value for Hilton points, which TPG values at 0.6 cents each, per our June 2024 valuations.

The Hyatt Place New York City / Times Square is similar, with rates spiking from around $300 to $563 on New Year’s Eve. But if you book an award stay, you’ll pay only 23,000 points that night, giving you an excellent value of 2.4 cents per point.

Best credit cards for booking holiday travel

If you have to pay cash for some or all of your holiday travel plans, make the most of it by using a credit card that earns bonus points or miles on travel. The following cards earn valuable transferable points or miles, with at least 2 points or miles per dollar on travel categories, and some even come with trip insurance. Here are some of our favorite travel credit cards:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
• Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
• The Platinum Card® from American Express
• Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card (see rates and fees)

Related: Best travel credit cards

Bottom line

Points and miles can come in handy when you’re staring down outrageous holiday travel prices. And because cash prices often spike around the holidays but award prices may not, you can find some great deals and get extra value from your points and miles.

But remember to start planning holiday travel early, and always check multiple avenues before booking to help you find the best rates. If you do end up paying cash, be sure to use a travel credit card to maximize your rewards.