00:00:00:02 - 00:00:05:19
Chris
Vacations don't have to be long to be meaningful. Some of the best trips can happen just over a weekend.
00:00:05:21 - 00:00:13:16
Katie
So today we're sharing our favorite U.S. destinations for short 2 or 3 night escapes. No PTO required.
00:00:13:18 - 00:00:19:04
Chris
And the best part? Every one of these spots has great hotels that you can book at points.
00:00:19:06 - 00:00:32:14
Katie
If you've been waiting for the right time to travel. This episode might convince you that your next trip is just a long weekend away.
00:00:32:16 - 00:00:35:16
Chris
Hey, I'm Chris. Welcome to the Upgraded Points podcast.
00:00:35:19 - 00:00:57:00
Katie
And I'm Katie and we have a lot to talk about today. We've got some universal news, some capital One news. We've got a great discussion at the end of the show about some differing opinions on Bill 2.1. And we are talking about weekend travel. So you do not have to take weeks on end to get a really great trip under your belt.
00:00:57:02 - 00:01:15:06
Katie
Before we get to that. Don't forget to like and subscribe wherever you're watching or listening. Share us with a travel loving friend and if you have questions or comments for us, you can reach us at podcasts at Upgraded points.com. So Chris just got back from universal. What what was it like? What were you doing there?
00:01:15:08 - 00:01:42:16
Chris
So I was there for Universal Mardi Gras 2026, in Orlando. This year's, official theme is International Flavors of Carnival. And I'm just going to say this right now. This is the best deal in theme parks right now. This is such a fun party that is included with your theme park ticket. This event. Yeah. There's not many things that are included in theme parks nowadays.
00:01:42:16 - 00:02:04:03
Chris
So this what makes this really special? And it's just fun. So now through April 4th, there are daily parades with shows and live music and characters and, and there's just like a really fun vibe. And then every night there are floats and they're tossing beads. And this is all included with your ticket to Universal Studios Florida. It's so much fun.
00:02:04:04 - 00:02:26:11
Chris
And if you go on one of the weekends every weekend, they have shows like real shows, concerts. When I was there, they had the DJ Cascade. The Barenaked Ladies are going to be there later this month or next month. It's like they have actual shows. So if you go on night with a free show, I mean, you could make the argument that you're getting a free park ticket as well because the theme park is open, you can ride all the rides.
00:02:26:13 - 00:02:38:12
Chris
You can take advantage of all these parades and floats, and next year live music and then the concert. And then it's just a really fun experience. And there's special food and there's just an really, really good time.
00:02:38:13 - 00:02:43:08
Katie
Oh, that sounds like a lot of fun. Awesome. Where are your beads, Krista? Did you get any?
00:02:43:10 - 00:02:46:22
Chris
They're all packed. I just got back, and they're all my luggage. I got a lot of beads.
00:02:47:04 - 00:02:49:16
Katie
Okay. Disappointed? I was expecting beads.
00:02:49:18 - 00:02:50:09
Chris
I'm sorry.
00:02:50:11 - 00:03:11:21
Katie
That's okay. Next time. Well, it sounds like a lot of fun. Okay, so there is a new Capital One landing that just opened at LaGuardia, and some are calling it possibly the best lounge in LaGuardia. So those are strong words, because my favorite lounge is in LaGuardia. So I'm dying to check this out. So it opened on February 18th.
00:03:12:02 - 00:03:32:03
Katie
It is in terminal B, which is the kind of a main terminal that service by American, JetBlue, Air Canada, southwest, United. So a lot of people are going through that terminal. It has floor to ceiling windows, a lot of natural light. So it kind of almost has sort of an outdoor cafe vibe. And we're going to put up some pictures here.
00:03:32:03 - 00:03:55:00
Katie
So if you're listening to this, you should actually go over to YouTube and check out some of these pictures because it looks beautiful. It is a dining focused lounge, so a little bit different than just a regular Capital One lounge. It's done in collaboration with Jose Andres and the Jose Andres Group. So there's a huge 20 to, 100 square foot like, professional kitchen.
00:03:55:02 - 00:04:12:17
Katie
There's a tapas style bar. You can order items directly to your table. There are, roaming carts with things like, mimosas and martini service and, Jose's signature caviar cone, which was super fun.
00:04:12:19 - 00:04:13:09
Chris
Wow.
00:04:13:12 - 00:04:40:06
Katie
Yeah, I know, right. You can get caviar cone and airport lounge, which is just crazy. It has capacity for just over 180 guests, and this is going to be popular. So we'll we'll see if it's going to be super, super crowded. In the first, you know, few weeks or months that this is open. But if you are flying through the Guardia, it is definitely going to be worth a quick stop to to see what that new lounge is all about.
00:04:40:08 - 00:04:53:14
Chris
Wow. Well, that sounds awesome. I think I'm you know what? My next card is going to have to be? Katie, because you have been talking up these Capital One lounges, and now we have this new addition. This is this looks really nice.
00:04:53:15 - 00:05:01:17
Katie
I know it's too bad they just changed their their guest access, because now I have to get a card for my husband for him to come in, but, yeah, just leave him out.
00:05:01:19 - 00:05:03:06
Chris
So I guess, you know, I'm.
00:05:03:06 - 00:05:04:18
Katie
Going to.
00:05:04:19 - 00:05:23:22
Chris
Grab grab some caviar, but I. All right. Well, last week we talked about my epic family trip to Japan. And while that kind of trip might be your ultimate goal, it was mine. It took me years to book. It can be far. It can be hard to find the time and the points, to make that all happen.
00:05:24:00 - 00:05:42:10
Katie
Yeah. So today we're focusing on something completely opposite. Quick weekend trips that you can take with points and miles. So you don't need that three week vacation that Chris took to get some amazing travel experiences. Because we all know that that's really difficult to get even a week of time for many of us.
00:05:42:11 - 00:05:52:21
Chris
Yeah, yeah, we're going to focus on destinations all across the US, so that you have nearby options, whether you're in the East Coast or Pacific Northwest or anywhere in between.
00:05:52:23 - 00:06:18:01
Katie
So we're going to share some of our favorite destinations, and we have some suggestions from other upgraded points staffers to get inspired to book a weekend trip of your own. So let's start. We're going to break these up regionally. Let's start with the South and Southeast. Now, if you know, Chris, or if you have listened to maybe any one of our podcasts, you probably have a pretty good idea what Chris is for.
00:06:18:01 - 00:06:19:14
Katie
Suggestions?
00:06:19:16 - 00:06:42:21
Chris
Oh geez. I'm getting the reputation here. But it's going to be an easy one. Yeah, yeah, it's popular for a reason, especially with families. And then that's going to be Orlando, Florida. It's no shocker here, especially if you like theme parks. Orlando is as expensive as theme parks can be. Getting there and staying in Orlando is actually quite cheap compared to many other popular destinations.
00:06:42:23 - 00:07:03:12
Chris
Flights are often relatively affordable, either in points or with cash for domestic flights. I did a quick search right now 7500 Alaska miles. You could fly from Chicago to Orlando on American Airlines. Or if you want to fly a budget, airlines there $40 from Texas on Spirit or Frontier. There's just a lot of options. And then when you get there, the hotel options are limitless.
00:07:03:18 - 00:07:27:07
Chris
You have budget hotels, you have motels, and then you have all luxury options from Four Seasons to Ritz-Carlton. There's that Conrad we've talked about a few times with the Giant Lagoon. Yeah, and that could be an attraction in itself. You don't even have to go to theme parks. But if hitting the theme parks is on your to do list, you, you know, stay on site and you get those early, you know, those extra hours at the park and that would even stretch your your vacation even further.
00:07:27:07 - 00:07:46:07
Chris
So it's really nice options. For a long weekends in the US, staying close to Orlando. This came from Juan. He's one of our writers. He says. While I think my state of Florida is overrun by tourists already, if he wasn't from here, he would crave a weekend down at the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point. With kids.
00:07:46:07 - 00:08:04:12
Chris
He says it's an amazing hotel right near Naples and Fort Myers. And you can fly right into our. Still be directly from dozens of U.S airports. It has an onsite water park, boat ride to a gorgeous beach, and caters to all types of crowds. But it is really good for families with young ones.
00:08:04:14 - 00:08:27:01
Katie
Yeah, absolutely. Have, I looked at the review we have of that. It looked like a pretty nice place. Okay, so moving up the coast a bit to one of my favorite weekend trips, Greenville, South Carolina, I went for the first time in 2024 and I loved it so much. I went back last year. It's just a delightful small town, but it's not small.
00:08:27:01 - 00:08:53:05
Katie
It's got that southern charm, but it still feels very modern and progressive. A really nice, walkable downtown with shops and restaurants and special events. There's, a big park kind of right downtown. With what? Waterfalls. There's a Saturday morning farmer's market. There's a Friday evening, music series. They have a yearly arts festival called Artist Sphere. Just a really cool vibe.
00:08:53:05 - 00:09:19:15
Katie
I fell in love with this town and it is a wonderful spot for a weekend trip. Couple of, hotel options. My favorite choice is the Grand Bohemian Lodge. It's an autograph collection. You can book it starting at 52,000 points a night. It is like part chic lodge and part art gallery. It's I love this kind of hotel, like, super kinda arty and quirky.
00:09:19:17 - 00:09:25:22
Katie
There's this gorgeous purple circular couch in the lobby that I was like.
00:09:25:22 - 00:09:26:07
Chris
I like.
00:09:26:07 - 00:09:52:16
Katie
Purple, I did, I like, if I could have gotten this thing in my luggage, I would have completely sold. But there's an actual art gallery there. It's just really a cool, cool hotel. Great food at the restaurant. It's right there. So it's just steps from the heart of downtown Greenville. Really great option. I also stayed at the AC hotel, which can be booked for as few as 30,000 points.
00:09:52:16 - 00:10:12:08
Katie
So a few, you know, a little bit tighter on your points budget. That's a great option to it's new, it's modern. It's not as interesting and arty. Yeah. Marriott. Not as interesting or already as a grand bohemian, but, but great location. Clean, comfortable. Great, restaurant right there. And there's tons of other options in Greenville.
00:10:12:09 - 00:10:32:04
Katie
I wrote a whole guide that will link to, the other thing, if you are in, going to Greenville, there is the BMW Performance Driving Center right outside of town. If you buy a new BMW, you do get a free like class at this place. But if you don't, you can you can always just book yourself into one of these.
00:10:32:08 - 00:11:02:03
Katie
So we did this last year. It was a blast. My husband was loving it. Like before we even left, he was looking up the like two day program. So you get it. What we did, it was like a two part thing and you can like go on the track and do some off road stuff. It's really cool. And, if you want more of a weekend or not, weekend like a vacation vibe, there's a hotel closer to that BMW performance driving center, still in Greenville, called Hotel Harkness.
00:11:02:05 - 00:11:23:20
Katie
And that was a really nice option, too. Not bookable with points, but a great option. So Greenville is just all around a fantastic place for a weekend trip. Moving along to Georgia, we have a couple of options. Atlanta, Georgia is super easy to get to from, you know, all over the country. Delta is hub, so you're going to find a ton of options.
00:11:23:22 - 00:11:42:07
Katie
We stayed. I did this trip last year with my daughter. We just did a super quick. I think we were there for two nights. And we stayed just outside of downtown at the western Atlanta perimeter. North. Great. If you're on a budget with points, you can get it starting as 22,000 points per night.
00:11:42:09 - 00:11:43:12
Chris
Wow. For a Western.
00:11:43:12 - 00:12:04:10
Katie
Yeah. Yeah. And it was, it was it was really nice. I mean, nothing, you know, crazy fancy special, but really clean, comfortable. Great staff. We did have a car, so that was easy, but I didn't want to drive into downtown Atlanta. And there's a Marta train stop. I don't know, maybe a mile away from the hotel. And the hotel offered us a free drive down to that station.
00:12:04:15 - 00:12:29:04
Katie
So they drove us to the little train station. We took the train down into, you know, 15 minutes, maybe into downtown Atlanta. We did the Georgia Aquarium and then the world of Coca-Cola is right next to it. Fantastic way to spend the day. If you are going to Atlanta, go up to Sandy Springs, which is actually very close to that hotel I spent or I stayed at.
00:12:29:06 - 00:12:47:18
Katie
It's just a suburb of Atlanta, but they have a place called the Splatter Studio. It was a total blast. My daughter and I both agreed it was our favorite part of that trip. You go in and it's it's kind of what it sounds like. You, you get a canvas or a sculpture and you can just, like, throw paint.
00:12:47:18 - 00:12:52:18
Katie
They give you this, like, white jumpsuit and you can throw splatter paint.
00:12:52:18 - 00:12:53:18
Chris
It's just.
00:12:53:18 - 00:13:16:12
Katie
So fun. So if you are in Atlanta, take the time to go out to Sandy Springs. It's very close. And if you're doing that with like teens or pre-teen, you can absolutely do that as an adult. But if you do have, teens or pre-teens, there is a place right next door, a couple doors down called Battle and Brew, and it's like a video game kind of restaurant place.
00:13:16:12 - 00:13:38:11
Katie
So that's a nice little, you know, afternoon if you're going to take the time to go, just outside of downtown to Sandy Springs. So that was a fun option. Another Georgia option is Savannah. It's great little walkable place, tons of great restaurants. Really nice hotel options. We stayed at the Ondas a couple of years ago.
00:13:38:11 - 00:13:57:20
Katie
It is still a Hyatt category for and it's a great option for those free night certificates. It's one of those that I keep expecting to see on that list. They come out with every March and I haven't seen it yet, so hopefully it doesn't come out this year, but that's a great option if you have free night certificates.
00:13:57:22 - 00:14:29:09
Katie
There's also a J.W. Marriott in Savannah points starting at 54,000 a night, and it's owned by the same group that owns that Grand Bohemian Lodge. And even if you don't stay there, go to the lobby. It is so cool. You walk in and it feels kind of like a museum. There's huge geodes, that I think all from the owner's collection in some way, a huge silver like Brontosaurus sculpture hanging from the ceiling.
00:14:29:11 - 00:14:49:10
Katie
Just a really, really cool place. I did not stay there, but we went through the lobby and it was just it's really neat and it's right kind of on the waterfront. So it's, you know, if you're heading in Savannah, it's right there. Okay. Moving on. Another one from a Carolina, but we're going to North Carolina this time.
00:14:49:12 - 00:15:13:19
Katie
I did a very quick trip last year to Charlotte. There's a really nice J.W. Marriott. Right downtown. Some really good dining right around the corner. There's a really nice art museum right around the corner. From that, you can get that, starting at 38,000 points per night. There's a really nice spa and executive lounge at that hotel, rooftop pool and bar, really nice lobby restaurant.
00:15:13:21 - 00:15:36:09
Katie
And then, in addition to that art museum, there's also a museum of illusions like. Right around the corner. So there's a lot you can do right there. You know, and I know a lot of people travel there for business. So even if you, you know, want to just check out one of those little things, it's really easy to get to, if you have a car, you can drive about 25 ish minutes.
00:15:36:09 - 00:15:50:13
Katie
I think it was to the Carolina Raptor Center. It's kind of like an outdoor zoo rescue type situation for raptors. And they have a little raptors. No, not velociraptors.
00:15:50:15 - 00:15:50:23
Chris
00:15:51:01 - 00:16:11:01
Katie
Sorry. I'm still I didn't you're still stuck on the dinosaurs. I do not see any velociraptors. I did see, like, bald eagles and all kinds of really cool birds. And there's, like, an outdoor, like, I don't know, mile trail that you walk through, and it's just a really. We enjoyed it. You know, spend an hour or two there.
00:16:11:03 - 00:16:14:17
Katie
But it's a great little stop if you're going to be in Charlotte for the weekend.
00:16:14:19 - 00:16:38:12
Chris
Okay. Well, another North Carolina addition to add this one is from Kelly. And she loves Chapel Hill. She stayed at the Carolina Inn, and she loved it. Because you're on campus of unk. So you you have incredible walking options, is great little shops, and it's great for little ones. And then weekend sports outside of the big major ones are like $10 a ticket.
00:16:38:13 - 00:16:57:21
Chris
So you can really have a nice little weekend there. And this category for heights, you can use your, you know, your, your French to get there. So that's a, that's a good option. Another one from the team. McKay said that, a few come to mind when you're in Nashville. There's the Conrad, the Graduate and Union Station are all great stays, and there's so much to do.
00:16:57:23 - 00:17:07:16
Chris
Her other favorites are Charleston, South Carolina, the zero, George Street Hotel, which is bookable through Amex, and the Mills House hotel. Okay. And write those down.
00:17:07:18 - 00:17:28:19
Katie
Great options. Okay, let's move up the coast a little bit. We're going to do some East Coast and northeast, locations. A quick mention, New York City, I think obviously we all know what to do in New York. If you haven't been there, it's worth it. I love New York. I've done, the Thompson Central Park. It's a category six Hyatt.
00:17:28:19 - 00:17:50:01
Katie
Great location, great globalist breakfast. It's a little dark and a little moody. Kind of, you know, it's not for everyone, but I did enjoy it. There's also the Park Hyatt New York, which is kind of right across the street. It's category eight, so it's a definite splurge. But it's it's it's a beautiful place. And if you have globalist status, that's when you want to do that.
00:17:50:01 - 00:18:11:02
Katie
Or get a, guest of honor. Stay from a friend. The breakfast is fantastic. You can get room service, globalist breakfast delivered to your room, and that's all included. So that's a really nice, option. And if you've been to New York a whole bunch of times, one suggestion I have go across the river to Hoboken, new Jersey.
00:18:11:04 - 00:18:35:18
Katie
I do have a soft spot. I used to live there for like five years. I love Hoboken, tons of great bars, lots of great restaurants, beautiful views of the city. There's like parks right along the the riverfront with, there's a lot I think there's a hotel there now. And but there's some great restaurants and just really nice views, and it's nice just to get out of the city and spend, you know, an afternoon in a slightly different area.
00:18:35:18 - 00:18:38:04
Katie
Super easy to get to as well.
00:18:38:06 - 00:18:56:10
Chris
Nice. You could probably say a lot of the similar things about New York over to Boston. They've got some great hotels, but it's going to be on the more expensive side. I'm going to move up a little bit further north and let's talk about Vermont. It's somewhere that I go quite frequently. But I don't often stay in hotels when I do.
00:18:56:10 - 00:19:16:17
Chris
They're actually really nice. In Burlington, they have the Hotel Champlain. Burlington. It's a Curio Collection by Hilton. So you can book a nice hotel right in downtown. Great views of the lake. Using your Hilton points. That's a great option. Another one that's been on my radar that I have not been able to book yet. This is the Kimpton Taconic Hotel.
00:19:16:17 - 00:19:45:09
Chris
This is in Manchester, Vermont, and this is an IHG property that often has rates around 40,000 points tonight. So that means you can use your free night certificate from your Chase IHG card, which A is sometimes hard to do but almost feels impossible to do at a Kimpton, especially in the US. In the northeast, it's just this hotel gets great reviews, so if you're doing a little road trip or fall foliage or whatever it is summer trip, put that on your on your on your map.
00:19:45:09 - 00:20:04:00
Chris
People love that hotel. And one final one that I have visited a few times because it just makes so much sense, even though it's expensive. Is the Lodge at Spruce Peak? It's a destination by Hyatt Hotel, and so this is one of those really expensive properties. But if you pay cash, then you can earn a bunch of points there.
00:20:04:00 - 00:20:25:00
Chris
If you're a globalist, you get benefits there. But you can go to Stowe and go either in the winter for skiing or in the summer for hiking, fishing. There's lakes everywhere, great food, breweries, and this is just a quick drive through, you know, three hour drive from Boston, a little bit long from New York or even shorter from Montreal.
00:20:25:01 - 00:20:42:11
Chris
But you can find find flights to Burlington on Frontier or Breeze or using your points using Delta or Virgin. It's just it's a good option. It feels like, a nice little getaway, but it's it's really close for a lot of people on the East Coast. Lots of options up and down the coast. Let's take a break.
00:20:42:11 - 00:20:49:20
Chris
And when we get back, we're going to go check out the other coast.
00:20:49:22 - 00:21:16:08
Katie
Yeah. Welcome back. Let's move to the other side of the country. To the West Coast. My first question is Monterey, California. This is a place, but I've actually visited a couple times in the last couple of years. You can get direct flights into Monterey on Alaska United, an American, which makes for a nice. You don't have to drive from, you know, San Francisco or something like that.
00:21:16:10 - 00:21:36:07
Katie
Obviously the Monterey Bay aquarium is a fantastic place to visit. We spent the entire day there. And we could have absolutely spent more time there. It was wonderful. There's also whale watching. You can take a boat or a kayak out on Elkhorn Slew to sea otters, which is a really cool, activity to do there. I've stayed at two different hotels.
00:21:36:09 - 00:22:00:10
Katie
There's the Monterey Beach Hotel, which is a tribute portfolio collection. It is the only beachfront hotel in Monterey. Which is kind of surprising because you think California on the coast, it's all beachfront, but it is not. So that is a really unique hotel. I really enjoyed it. Because it really, focuses on working with local partners to bring that local experience to the guests.
00:22:00:10 - 00:22:28:08
Katie
So they use local coffee, they use a local, bread maker. They use local only serve local wines. So it's very, it's got a great vibe. Really beautiful hotel. It's fairly new. I think I visited, I want to say 2024, and I was pretty new at that point after some major renovations. Really, really cool spot. I also stayed at the Hyatt Regency in Monterey, and I did that with my family.
00:22:28:08 - 00:22:49:03
Katie
That's category five, so really reasonable with points. You get a s'mores kit, so they've got firepits out so you can take your s'mores kit out. And then in the evening, great breakfast. I was a globalist at the time. And so we eat breakfast there every morning. Awesome breakfast. Loved it. And there's a golf course there if you want to play golf.
00:22:49:03 - 00:23:08:11
Katie
There's also, like, outside ping pong, bocce, giant chess, that kind of thing. I think if I was going back, I'd probably stay at the Monterey Beach Hotel, but I think that Hyatt Regency might be better for families. If you're traveling with kids. It's just lends itself a little bit more to to more of a family vacation. But they were I really enjoyed both hotels.
00:23:08:13 - 00:23:10:15
Katie
And that was just a really fun area.
00:23:10:17 - 00:23:16:13
Chris
Nice. I'll take it, a little down the coast a little bit. We're going to go to Anaheim. And if any local.
00:23:16:13 - 00:23:16:21
Katie
Shops.
00:23:16:23 - 00:23:33:03
Chris
Guess why. Yeah. That's where this little, little park they called Disneyland is. And, this is a locals park and it's just smaller. It's not like Disney World where you need to, you know, spend a good chunk of time to get to see all the parks. You could do both parks in one day if you needed to.
00:23:33:05 - 00:23:57:15
Chris
But Disneyland is great events year round. We'll post, a link in the show notes about the event calendar, but, the onsite hotels are really great, but they are super expensive. Fortunately, just outside the gates, there are plenty of other hotels chains and not that are much more affordable. Plus, Disneyland has some really affordable tickets or more affordable compared to what they used to be.
00:23:57:17 - 00:24:10:14
Chris
Especially for kids right now, this summer, you can get $50, tickets per child for a one day Park Opera ticket. And so that's just a that's a really good price especially we talked about Disney in the US.
00:24:10:16 - 00:24:32:16
Katie
Absolutely. Let's move. Not too too far away. Another California destination Palm Springs area. And I've last year I visited both Palm Springs and La Quinta, which is part of that Greater Palm Springs area. We did two nights in each. You could do either one as a separate trip, or you could, you know, one night each or combine them.
00:24:32:18 - 00:24:55:22
Katie
One of my favorite things out there, in addition to like hiking and things you would expect is the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens. We it's a really cool zoo, but we went during there. Glow in the park. It's their spring Lantern festival. It's usually from late March through late April, and it's really cool, even during the day and then into the night.
00:24:55:22 - 00:25:23:17
Katie
They have these amazing lanterns and things to look at. That all light up as the evening comes. So then you're in the dark with these gorgeous like lantern sculptures. It was really fun. We really enjoyed that. I stayed at the Hyatt Palm Springs. It's kind of mega, but it's got a great location and it's category three. And so sometimes when you're just looking for an inexpensive, quick getaway, that's what you want.
00:25:23:19 - 00:25:43:19
Katie
So no complaints. You know, it's not a fancy hotel, but it was comfortable in a great location and reasonable on points. Lots of great shopping just right outside the door. There's also a newer palm. I'm sorry. Thompson. Palm Springs kind of down the street. It's category six. I did not stay there. But if you're looking for something, you know, a step up, that might be a good option.
00:25:43:21 - 00:26:06:00
Katie
And then I did two nights in La Quinta, which I want to say it was maybe 25, 30 minutes away. Don't quote me on that. But not too far still in that general area. And we stayed at La Quinta Resort and Club. It's a Hilton property. You can, book it for 85 to 95 points per night, usually lots of availability.
00:26:06:06 - 00:26:27:11
Katie
So that's a nice thing. It is more of a resort feel. It's I think it was like 40 plus pools at this location. It is a sprawling property. The the rooms are sort of casita style. So it might be like one building with four rooms, and then each little group has its own pool and hot tub. There's tennis courts, there's golf.
00:26:27:11 - 00:26:53:22
Katie
So it definitely is more of a a destination type of a hotel. It is considered a resort. So you can use that Hilton Aspire card resort credit at this property, which is a really, nice perk. And then downtown La Quinta was really cute. Lots of great shopping, some great restaurants. We did like a pottery painting thing. So it was just a nice spot to spend a couple of days.
00:26:54:00 - 00:27:16:22
Chris
Nice. Well, here's one from Stella. She's taking us over to Utah. She said she use her Amex Fine Hotels Resort credit at the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley. She's done that three times now. And during all the other months, except for peak winter, you can easily score rates for under $300. Of course, you can use high points there as well.
00:27:16:22 - 00:27:37:01
Chris
It's a category six, though. It's only ten minutes from Park City, and there's even a complimentary luxury shuttle will that will take you to Main Street. So that's awesome. There are endless hikes, great shopping, food downtown. The Winter Olympic Village is so much fun for kids and adults alike. And stop by swig if you're into that kind of thing.
00:27:37:03 - 00:27:38:05
Katie
I had to look that up.
00:27:38:05 - 00:27:39:05
Chris
Because I'm like, what is it?
00:27:39:07 - 00:27:52:13
Katie
You're watching it. It's like a kind of fancy soda type place. Oh. And actually, when I looked it up, I realized that we had been to one last year when I was in Utah.
00:27:52:15 - 00:27:53:11
Chris
So you are into that?
00:27:53:12 - 00:28:00:06
Katie
I am not. My husband likes that kind of stuff, like weird sodas. So, I really he liked it, but,
00:28:00:08 - 00:28:01:05
Chris
Good. But yeah.
00:28:01:09 - 00:28:04:11
Katie
I was thinking, if you're into that kind of thing. Stella, what are we talking about?
00:28:04:17 - 00:28:07:07
Chris
Yeah, that's like. Okay.
00:28:07:09 - 00:28:24:10
Katie
One more quick suggestion for the West before we move on. And I actually haven't done this trip yet, but we are doing two nights in Seattle this summer. And I wanted to point out there's a Hyatt Regency there. It is a category for a killer use of free night certificates, which is what I booked it with.
00:28:24:12 - 00:28:46:05
Katie
The cash cost for two nights would have been $1,400, and I booked it with two free night certificates, so that's a great use. And then there's also a Grand Hyatt there. It's a category five, so you can't use the certificates, but there is a, a club lounge at that location. So if you have a club access award, that could be a nice way to use that.
00:28:46:06 - 00:29:07:15
Katie
Okay, let's move on. We have a couple in the Midwest. Because we're not going to leave out the good old Midwest. Chicago, I think, is one everyone's familiar with. Great. Easy spot to get to. Really fun. Especially a great weekend trip because you can pack a lot into a couple days. I've stayed at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, another category four, so that's another great option.
00:29:07:17 - 00:29:27:02
Katie
Those Hyatt free night certificates. It used to have a club lounge and I just looked and it sounds like it is closed now, which is kind of a big bummer. Yeah, it was a nice set up because they had the club lounge, but they still gave you breakfast down in there full restaurant so you could get snacks throughout the day in the lounge and then a full breakfast.
00:29:27:07 - 00:29:47:14
Katie
That is not the case anymore, but it's a great location and, you know, easy on the points budget. If you're looking for a quick trip to Chicago and I can't leave out my hometown of Columbus, Ohio, guys, it's a lot cooler than it sounds. It's a lot cooler than most people think it is. We actually have a lot going for us.
00:29:47:14 - 00:30:13:04
Katie
There's a really big art scene. There's a short north area with tons of galleries, restaurants. Very hip. I've stayed at the Meridian, Columbus, the Joseph. You can book it for 40 to 70,000 Marriott points per night. Also, if you want to move out into the suburbs a little bit, there's an AC Marriott in Dublin that is in the downtown Dublin area, which is a really fun area.
00:30:13:04 - 00:30:36:09
Katie
It's been revitalized in the last five ish years. There's two sections connected by a pedestrian bridge over the river, lots of shopping, lots of restaurants. The AC has a rooftop bar and restaurant that looks out on to everything, and it's all within walking distance right there. If you're traveling with kids, even if you're not traveling with kids.
00:30:36:11 - 00:30:48:13
Katie
Our zoo is only about ten minutes away from that hotel in Dublin, and it is consistently ranked one of the best zoos in the country. So it's a great spot for a couple of nights.
00:30:48:15 - 00:31:08:03
Chris
Okay, okay. Well, we can't cover every city in every region, but we have one more. This one comes from Christine on the team, and she says for a budget weekend, Saint Louis is a great option. There's an affordable Hyatt and a Hilton, both by the arch. The Hilton is a good place to use up your Hilton.
00:31:08:09 - 00:31:30:05
Chris
Amex credits. There's a lot to do. The art paddle boat, but boat ride, botanical gardens, the Clydesdale horses at Grant's Farm, the Anheuser-Busch brewery tours the science center, the zoo, and more. Downtown is easily accessed, from the airport by the Metro light rail and the city would just make a great weekend getaway. All right.
00:31:30:09 - 00:31:31:04
Chris
Thank you. Christine.
00:31:31:07 - 00:31:54:08
Katie
Awesome. Well, we hope that our suggestions inspired you to book a little weekend trip. If you have any other great weekend suggestions, let us know. We'd love to hear from them. I know I'm always trying to squeeze in a weekend trip, so, you can always reach us a podcast upgrade to points.com. So today we don't actually have a question, but we have sort of a comment that we got, via email from Matt.
00:31:54:10 - 00:32:17:06
Katie
And it was in, reaction to our built, episode. And it was we had talked about built 2.1 in that episode and, as a reminder, that is that second program that built introduced where you can earn up to 1.25 points per dollar on your housing or rent payment. We discussed that in detail in episode 44.
00:32:17:06 - 00:32:34:06
Katie
So if you want to go back to that, you can get all the details there. So Matt emailed us and I'm not going to read the whole thing because we had a big discussion. But I'll just give you this, which kind of gives you the gist. He says, the mortgage does not count as card spend. It's money which will be spent no matter what and would normally earn zero points.
00:32:34:06 - 00:33:03:16
Katie
Bill changes all of this now for the same $2,000 monthly spend, you get an additional 2500 points. Points you would get nowhere else. And this was in reaction to sort of a way that I was calculating, the built points per dollar a little bit differently than he was. And I wanted to mention this, just to kind of remind everyone that a lot of these programs can be left up to interpretation, and neither view is necessarily right or wrong.
00:33:03:18 - 00:33:23:15
Katie
Everyone sort of evaluates programs within their own situation. So I just thought it was important to kind of point that out there to say, you know, these discussions are fun to have. And either way, if the program works for you in a certain way, then that's great, and that's okay. That maybe doesn't work for me in the same way.
00:33:23:17 - 00:33:26:07
Katie
What do you have any thoughts on that? Chris.
00:33:26:09 - 00:33:44:09
Chris
Yeah, I was reading through the comments on, on YouTube as well, and there's a nice healthy debate. So if you have an opinion, go jump in there as well. But this is exactly where the difference in valuation comes from. One way to look at built 2.1 is, you know, rent and mortgages money you're spending anyway, normally earning zero.
00:33:44:11 - 00:34:09:13
Chris
And if Bill lets you earn 1 or 1.25 x points, that's incremental incremental value that you cannot get anywhere else. Viewed that way, it's a clear win. Another way to look at it is from an effective return perspective. If you include housing in your total monthly spend when calculating points per dollar, the blended return can look very different, especially once you factor in, you know, these additional spend requirements.
00:34:09:15 - 00:34:36:16
Chris
So neither framework is objectively wrong. They're just answering slightly different questions. One ask is is better than zero? Absolutely. The other one asks how strong is the total return relative to overall spend in effort? So, you know, rent and mortgage is the biggest expense for for most households. If optimizing the program requires stacking, a significant percentage of additional spend on top of that, you know, 75% and you know, some in some program.
00:34:36:16 - 00:34:57:06
Chris
In one program. I just want to know if that's realistic for the average family. That's, you know, the lens that I'm using when I evaluate it. But at the end of the day, it's it's okay if someone sees have strong value in it and someone else doesn't. The right answer depends on your spending patterns and how much complexity, you're willing to manage at the end of the day.
00:34:57:08 - 00:35:15:22
Katie
Absolutely, absolutely. And, you know, thanks for that email, Matt. And for those of you who have commented on YouTube, we've, you know, been having some discussions there. And I just I enjoy discussing how to use these programs differently and how to look at it. And I think that's like, you know, Chris said it's a healthy, healthy discussion to to understand these programs from all different perspective.
00:35:15:22 - 00:35:26:08
Katie
So thanks so much for that email, Matt. If you have any comments for us, again, you can reach us a podcast at Upgraded points.com. And that's going to do it for us this week. And we will see you next week.