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Guides
5 cities with hotels you can still book with points for Memorial Day weekend
Katie Genter is a digital nomad who has traveled full time since June 2017. She writes and edits stories about points and miles, and loyalty programs, often letting her personal experiences color these stories.
May 6, 2024 • 12 min read
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Quick summary
Memorial Day weekend offers a prime opportunity for a short getaway, with many popular U.S. destinations still showing hotel award availability.
Miami, Austin, Charleston, Palm Springs and Portland, Maine, all have options for redeeming hotel loyalty points, though award rates and availability vary by city and program.
Miami and Austin generally have strong availability across major hotel loyalty programs, while Palm Springs and Charleston present more limited or higher-cost options.
Travelers should act quickly, as award availability and pricing are expected to tighten as the holiday approaches.
What to consider
Award rates can be significantly higher in popular destinations, especially near beaches or city centers.
Some properties add extra charges, such as amenity or parking fees, which may affect overall value.
Certain loyalty programs offer perks like a free night on longer award stays, which can enhance redemption value.
What you'll miss from the article
A detailed comparison of specific hotel options and strategies for maximizing points redemptions in each featured city.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
As a kid, Memorial Day marked the start of pool season and summer golf tournaments. But as an adult, it's the first three-day weekend I'll get since January without using any vacation time.
If you, too, get a three-day weekend this Memorial Day, you might want to take a short two- or three-night vacation. Here's a look at a few popular Memorial Day destinations and their hotel award availability (as of the time of writing).
Miami
Miami is a popular spot for a long weekend. There's still a lot of availability if you want to book a hotel in the Magic City for Memorial Day weekend. Here's a quick look at your options.
Marriott Bonvoy
Most Marriott Bonvoy hotels you'd want to book in Miami are still available for a Memorial Day weekend stay using points.
MARRIOTT.COM
Although many of these properties cost too many points for my budget, especially since I like to save my Marriott Bonvoy points for stays of five nights or more, the Courtyard Miami Beach South Beach offers Marriott PointSavers award pricing for Memorial Day weekend. As a result, it may provide an excellent option if you want to stay near South Beach.
Most World of Hyatt hotels in Miami are still available for Memorial Day weekend.
HYATT.COM
However, you'll only see whether there's award availability by clicking through to the individual property. I'd likely choose the Hyatt Regency Miami if I wanted to redeem Hyatt points for a Memorial Day weekend stay since it's a bit less expensive than the other centrally located options in the city.
Most Hilton Honors hotels in Miami still have standard room awards available for Memorial Day weekend. However, you'll pay 70,000 points (and up for premium room awards) per night to stay in Miami Beach. You'll pay at least 60,000 points per night to stay in downtown Miami.
HILTON.COM
Unless you have a few Hilton weekend night certificates to use on this trip, it may be best to skip Hilton if you want to travel to Miami for Memorial Day. But if you're set on staying with Hilton and don't mind staying away from the beaches, you can find some less expensive award nights at the properties by the airport.
IHG One Rewards has perhaps the worst award availability for Miami stays this Memorial Day weekend, but if you want to redeem IHG points, you'll still find some opportunities.
IHG.COM
If you're not interested in staying at a hotel near the airport, the Holiday Inn Port Of Miami-Downtown is a good option. The Kimpton Angler's Hotel South Beach carries a similar award cost but also has a $39-per-night amenity fee, which sours me against the property.
Late May is typically a good time to visit Austin since the summer heat shouldn't be too bad yet. You should be able to catch some live music shows, take a walk around Lady Bird Lake and perhaps even visit Zilker Metropolitan Park. Luckily, there's still plenty of hotel award availability over Memorial Day weekend.
Marriott Bonvoy
Using points, you can still book most centrally located Marriott Bonvoy hotels in Austin for a Memorial Day weekend stay.
MARRIOTT.COM
As a former Austin resident, I usually rent a car and stay on the city's northern end while seeing friends and visiting my favorite spots. But as a tourist looking to enjoy a Memorial Day weekend in central Austin, I might redeem 110,000 Marriott points for a three-night stay at the Residence Inn Austin Downtown/Convention Center.
Plenty of standard room rewards are still available if you're looking to redeem Hilton Honors points for a Memorial Day vacation to Austin.
HILTON.COM
I'd likely book the DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Hotel Austin, which costs 44,000 points for the first night. After all, it's right next to the Texas State Capitol and its scenic grounds. If you want to stay closer to the nightlife, the Hilton Austin (which costs 50,000 points for the first night) might be a better option.
Travelers have two primary options they can book with IHG points in downtown Austin for a Memorial Day weekend stay.
IHG.COM
I'd likely choose the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Austin Downtown — University because its location is better for live music. However, the Holiday Inn Austin-Town Lake is also a reasonable option close to Rainey Street and Lady Bird Lake.
Charleston is a popular destination for all ages. You'll likely have a great time if you want to walk the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge or hang out in downtown Charleston's South of Broad neighborhood. And, as luck would have it, Charleston still has plenty of Memorial Day weekend hotel award availability.
Marriott Bonvoy
If you want to redeem Marriott points for a trip to Charleston over Memorial Day weekend, you have plenty of options.
MARRIOTT.COM
You'll need to decide whether to prioritize keeping the amount of points you redeem low or staying near the spots you want to frequent. I usually stay over the bridge on the Mount Pleasant side when visiting Charleston, as I only want to spend about half a day in downtown Charleston and don't mind using a ride-hailing service to get around, but your preferences might be different for a long-weekend trip.
The only centrally located World of Hyatt properties in downtown Charleston with award availability for a Memorial Day weekend stay are the co-located Category 4 Hyatt House Charleston/Historic District and Hyatt Place Charleston/Historic District.
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HYATT.COM
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HYATT.COM
If you're willing to stay a short drive from downtown Charleston — and closer to the beach — the Category 2 Hyatt House Charleston / Mount Pleasant or Hyatt Place Mount Pleasant Towne Centre might be a more budget-friendly option.
If you want to visit Charleston for Memorial Day weekend, there's plenty of standard award availability, but the rates are high.
HILTON.COM
I'd likely choose a different destination, but if you have your heart set on Charleston and want to stay downtown, the Hampton Inn Charleston-Historic District might offer the best value.
Award availability is scarce if you want to redeem IHG points for a Memorial Day weekend stay in Charleston.
IHG.COM
As such, your best option when redeeming IHG points is the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Charleston Dwtn — WestEdge. However, this hotel will require a bit of a walk to reach many of downtown's popular sites.
Memorial Day weekend in Palm Springs sounds bougie, and the award prices match. But, there is still ample award availability for stays in Palm Springs over Memorial Day weekend.
Marriott Bonvoy
You have four choices if you want to redeem Marriott points to stay in Palm Springs.
MARRIOTT.COM
Travelers looking to experience Palm Springs while minimizing the points they redeem might enjoy a stay at the Courtyard Palm Springs for 117,000 points. But there's also something to be said for redeeming 153,000 points to stay at the Renaissance Palm Springs Hotel.
World of Hyatt only has one hotel currently open in Palm Springs: the Category 3 Hyatt Palm Springs. Unfortunately, this Hyatt only has premium suite award availability over Memorial Day weekend.
You'll still find award availability at multiple Hilton Honors properties in and around Palm Springs.
HILTON.COM
If you want to stay in Palm Springs, the Hilton Palm Springs will be the best Hilton option for you. But if you have a car and want to save some points, the Homewood Suites by Hilton Cathedral City Palm Springs or the Hampton Inn & Suites Cathedral City might provide better value.
There's no award availability at IHG properties in and around Palm Springs. You can keep checking back to see if an opprotunity to redeem IHG points appears, but I'd recommend choosing a different destination or hotel loyalty program for your Memorial Day vacation.
While several New England destinations like Boston and Portsmouth, New Hampshire, still have availability at points properties for Memorial Day weekend, I focused on Portland since I've enjoyed my time there and found a number of solid accommodation options.
Marriott Bonvoy
You can still redeem Marriott points to stay in or near Portland for Memorial Day weekend.
MARRIOTT.COM
You'll likely want a rental car even if you fly in, so you may be able to save some points by staying outside Portland. Redeeming 88,000 points for a three-night stay that only requires paying a $5 parking fee per night makes the nearby Residence Inn Portland Scarborough appealing.
MARRIOTT.COM
If you'd rather stay in downtown Portland, consider redeeming 154,400 points for a three-night PointSavers stay at the AC Hotel Portland Downtown/Waterfront, ME.
The only World of Hyatt property in Portland is the Category 5 Hyatt Place Portland-Old Port. Luckily, this ideally located property still has availability for two room types for stays over Memorial Day weekend.
You have plenty of options if you want to redeem Hilton points for a Memorial Day weekend stay in Portland. You'll find three properties in downtown Portland starting at 70,000 points for the first night, but award rates drop to as low as 52,000 points for the first night if you are willing to stay out by the airport.
HILTON.COM
Consider what you plan to do during the long weekend and whether you'll have a car when deciding where to stay in Portland.
If you want to redeem IHG points to stay near Portland this Memorial Day weekend, only one property currently has award availability: the Holiday Inn Express & Suites South Portland.
All isn't lost if you haven't booked a Memorial Day trip yet but want to go somewhere. However, flight prices are likely to be high at this point. So, you may want to search for inexpensive airfare to several destinations or find an appealing destination within driving distance.
Consider booking your trip soon, as I expect availability and pricing will worsen as the holiday nears. And if you're looking at redeeming IHG points for a three-night stay, consider extending your stay to four nights to benefit from the fourth-night-free reward perk offered as a perk of having select IHG credit cards.
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.
