Trip canceled? How last-minute availability can save the day

You might be stuck in a winter storm this Christmas weekend, but you don't have to spend the rest of the holidays trapped in the cold — using points and miles can land you a last-minute vacation at a bargain.

Here at TPG, we even teach our own to maximize their points and miles as much as possible in order to avoid potentially overpaying for hotels and flights. And even though it's pretty difficult to find a good last-minute deal on airfare or hotels, it's always worth checking for awards because you never know what you might find.

TPG's Mary Kate Heaney decided she wanted to spend the holidays in someplace warm with her fiancé, so she zeroed in on Grand Hyatt Baha Mar in the Bahamas, the Andaz Mayakoba in Mexico's Riviera Maya and The Cape in Cabo.

Related: How I used points and miles to book my dream trip to Europe

She also had accrued a total of 145,000 World of Hyatt points, partly from a canceled trip to the Alia Napa Valley. Plus, MK also transferred some points from Chase Ultimate Rewards to World of Hyatt. Chase Ultimate Rewards points can be transferred to World of Hyatt at a 1:1 ratio.

As a result, MK — with the help of fellow TPG colleague Zach Goldman — was able to snag a last-minute deal for the holidays Thursday afternoon, booking a chic room with an ocean view at The Cape hotel in Cabo for four nights using 116,000 World of Hyatt points.

The cash value for the room was otherwise around $1,800 a night, so for around 29,000 points a night, MK said she's been able to get around eight cents a point — a great redemption value.

One of the best things about booking on points is that you don't have to pay taxes or resort charges. Plus, with points, you also don't end up having to pay high service charges, either. As you can see in this example, those can quickly add up.

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And to save on airfare from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to Los Cabos International Airport (SJD), she used a combination of United MileagePlus miles and Chase points to book one leg of her flight for her fiancé. MK also had some credits from American Airlines that she was able to apply to another leg of the flight. Ultimately, her fiancé's round-trip was booked solely through miles and credit, while MK only had to spend cash on one plane ticket.

Related: How I maximized my points and miles to travel as a teacher on a limited budget

Even though MK had decided to book a trip last minute, she didn't have to pay an arm and a leg to go somewhere nice. Instead, she was able to use her points wisely, booking a five-star hotel for five nights, all while receiving a high redemption value for her purchase.

Bottom line

Trying to book a vacation for the holidays — especially now — can be notoriously expensive, but if you're able to leverage your points and miles, you can still book hotels and flights to high-end places without having to shell out thousands of dollars.

Even if it's last minute, it never hurts to look to see what you can get with your points and miles.