00:00:00:03 - 00:00:08:11
Chris
Hawaii is one of the most popular points destinations in the game, but hotel prices vary wildly depending on which island you're on and where you stay.
00:00:08:12 - 00:00:20:18
Katie
So we're going island by island through Maui County, the Big Island and Oahu, breaking down the best steal and splurge options at each one, with real cash prices and real points costs.
00:00:20:21 - 00:00:26:19
Chris
For that, I'll share my take on the new Universal Kids Resort and whether it deserves the online criticism.
00:00:26:20 - 00:00:38:11
Katie
Plus, we have Built and Wyndham News. That's all coming up next on the Upgraded Points podcast.
00:00:38:13 - 00:00:41:13
Chris
Hey I'm Chris. Welcome to the Upgraded points.
00:00:41:15 - 00:01:00:18
Katie
And I'm Katie and today we have Chris's take on the new Universal Kids Resort. We have some built in Windham news and then we are breaking down, steal and splurge Hawaii hotels. Before we jump into all of that, don't forget a free way to support the show is by leaving a five star rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
00:01:00:19 - 00:01:13:07
Katie
It's a chance for you to tell us what you like about the show, and it helps others discover it, too. So let's jump right in. Chris just got back from checking out the brand new Universal Kids Resort in Texas. How was it, Chris?
00:01:13:09 - 00:01:37:05
Chris
It was a lot of fun. I was there, I brought Jessica and her family, so we had some kids in there to get some reviews from their perspective. But just a quick overview. This is a kids park in Frisco, Texas. There are seven lands and it has, you know, Shrek and Trolls, Jurassic World, SpongeBob and minions. It's a cute little park with a mix of shows and some some kiddy rides and splash pads that kind of stuff.
00:01:37:11 - 00:01:53:16
Chris
The tallest ride you know, the park is 42in to get to get on. So a lot of kids, both my kids, will be able to get on all the rides. That was only one ride. That was the called the Swings over Del Mar, which is one of those kind of like state fair kind of swings where you swirl around on chains.
00:01:53:16 - 00:02:21:13
Chris
And it was fun. That was actually the only one that got me a little nervous because I get pretty high. Everything else is for kids 30 to 39in and below, including they have one for Jurassic World. The coaster, which I honestly thought was like a great step up coaster for kids. I mean, I'm big fans of the Lost to Costa over at Universal Islands of Adventure, so this is kind of like a cool way for kids to get into that, you know, roller coaster ecosystem.
00:02:21:14 - 00:02:48:08
Chris
And then they had the minions below Bay, which is like a it's a water ride, wet ride. You go down in a raft and you get you get really wet. It's a legit ride. You could this could be in any park. But after this media event that I was at, there was a lot of hate online for the park, and most of it came obviously from people that haven't been there because pretty much everyone I talked to that was there, like the park, and I actually exceeded my expectations.
00:02:48:09 - 00:02:50:14
Katie
How can you hate a park that you haven't been to?
00:02:50:14 - 00:03:15:14
Chris
I know, and that's what I've been trying to figure out online, but I can agree on some of the points. The pictures are not flattering, so even like the pictures I took from my room, it's just a lot of concrete. And it's Texas. It's the summer, it's hot, limited shade. And when you just compare the, you know, the concept art to what was delivered, it's just it's there's kind of a gap there.
00:03:15:15 - 00:03:32:19
Chris
Just the concept art has lots of big, lush trees, and it's just different from what was delivered since the media event. They've painted some things, so I don't know if that was already in the plan or if they're actually just reacting to the, the, the online painting. Yeah. So I think it will get better and it will get better.
00:03:32:19 - 00:03:51:08
Chris
As you know, the trees grow and that kind of stuff. But this is the same criticism that Epic universe got last year. But like I said, I had a good time. And the most important part, the kids that we were there with, they all loved it. It was fun. But it's an outdoor theme park in Texas. It's going to be hot, but we'll see.
00:03:51:09 - 00:04:10:04
Chris
I mean, it's a wet park. There's five different water attractions, so that'll help. But for $55 a day or 75 for two days, I think the annual pass is $130 and it already sold out. This is it's good for what it is. It's not trying to be epic universe. It's going to be a good locals park for kids.
00:04:10:04 - 00:04:24:18
Chris
I probably wouldn't travel for this park, but if I was in the area or if, you know, you were in the area and you said, hey, is it worth it? I think it's definitely worth $55. If you've got kids, you know, it's a 2 to 10 age range. There's a lot of stuff to do.
00:04:24:20 - 00:04:33:19
Katie
Yeah. Sounds like especially for, like you said, local and easy driving distance. It's going to be a nice, fairly inexpensive option for a day out of the park.
00:04:33:20 - 00:04:54:18
Chris
And like I mentioned, Jessica was there and she's a she lives in Texas and she's a Walt Disney World annual pass holder, and so are her kids. And so they are used to big theme parks. And they loved it. They're like, we will be back. And so that's kind of probably what universal is hoping for. They don't people that don't want to travel all the way to Orlando but that are close by.
00:04:54:19 - 00:04:56:00
Chris
So we'll see.
00:04:56:00 - 00:05:25:04
Katie
Cool. Sounds good. Well, we have some some built news that dropped a couple weeks ago at this point, but we just wanted to mention it. They added a new transfer partner and the new partner is Preferred Hotels and Resorts, which we're seeing a lot more now pop up in our conversations in the points and Miles world. It is a 1 to 2 transfer ratio built blue members, so that's anyone without status has to have at least 2000 points in their account to transfer anyone else.
00:05:25:04 - 00:06:00:01
Katie
Silver, gold or platinum can transfer with 1000 point minimum. This is built 24th overall partner and their seventh hotel partner, so they've made a lot of of additions in the recent years. I mean, well, the whole thing's new in the recent in recent years, but they have made a lot of moves fairly quickly. And if you're not familiar, Preferred Hotels has more than 700 independently owned hotels, resorts, residential style properties in more than 85 countries, and reward nights start at 15,000 points at participating properties.
00:06:00:01 - 00:06:01:21
Katie
So that's a nice little addition there.
00:06:01:22 - 00:06:02:14
Chris
Yeah.
00:06:02:15 - 00:06:21:08
Katie
Okay. Some other news that just dropped just over a week ago is from Wyndham. And they are expanding their award chart. So not amazing news but it's not too bad. And they did give us some heads up. None of this changes until September 15th of this year. So you have some time to make moves if you need to.
00:06:21:09 - 00:06:42:00
Katie
They are moving from three tiers in their award chart to four, so not too big of a change, but it's something you should know about. So now the lowest tier will start at 5000 points, which is actually great news. It's down from 7500. So if you are more of a budget traveler, you might be able to save some Wyndham points with this new award chart.
00:06:42:00 - 00:06:55:03
Katie
Then 15,030 thousand are there. Next two tiers? Those are staying the same. They're adding a higher fourth tier that will cost 45,000 points per night.
00:06:55:05 - 00:06:56:04
Chris
I don't like that.
00:06:56:05 - 00:07:18:20
Katie
I don't like that either. They did say that the bulk of their hotels will stay in the bottom three tiers, so we're hoping that it's only the very, you know, highest end hotels that are going to end up at that 45,000 points. But they will rearrange the current hotels. So some hotels might move up, some hotels might move down.
00:07:18:21 - 00:07:24:13
Katie
It's one of these situations where if you've been eyeing something go ahead and book it.
00:07:24:16 - 00:07:25:05
Chris
Yeah.
00:07:25:06 - 00:07:46:10
Katie
Because if it goes up then you've locked in that lower price. If it goes down, you cancel it and rebook it. So thankfully we do have a couple months to to take a look and get any reservations done that you need to get done. You know, not great news, but not terrible, especially considering the prices that the other hotels are charging right now.
00:07:46:11 - 00:07:52:23
Chris
Yeah, and it's nice to see a lower category. We'll just see how many, you know, properties fall into that at the end of the day.
00:07:53:01 - 00:07:55:03
Katie
Yeah. Yeah. So something to keep an eye on.
00:07:55:04 - 00:08:18:10
Chris
All right. Let's take a quick break. And when we get back we're going to talk about crystal clear Hawaiian waters, golden beaches and the kind of luxury you only dream about. But how you can balance that once in a lifetime splurge with some point savvy stays. We'll be right back.
00:08:18:12 - 00:08:25:00
Chris
Hey, real quick before we jump back in. If you're listening to this podcast, you're exactly the kind of person we built our free newsletter for.
00:08:25:03 - 00:08:35:06
Katie
We break down the best credit card offers, transfer bonuses, award alerts, and travel news that actually matters. No fluff, no spam. Just the stuff we text a friend if something big dropped.
00:08:35:07 - 00:08:40:03
Chris
A lot of the deals we talk about on the show don't last long. The newsletter is where we flag those fast.
00:08:40:04 - 00:08:52:15
Katie
It's totally free and you can sign up at upgrade points.
00:08:52:17 - 00:09:13:13
Katie
Okay. Welcome back. Let's dive into Hawaii. I actually just got back from Hawaii, so I thought this was a great time to go over some great Hawaii hotels that you can book with points. We are going to look at splurges and steals. So whatever your budget is, whatever island you want to visit, hopefully we'll have some good ideas here for you.
00:09:13:15 - 00:09:35:03
Katie
A note about the prices that we are going to talk about. These are all real prices that we found in the last two days before recording. They were all found sometime in 2026. So anything you're hearing is an actual price that we found between, you know, yesterday and the end of 2026. They all include taxes, fees, resort fees, everything.
00:09:35:04 - 00:09:54:11
Katie
It's the out the door price that we're talking about. And the prices we do mention are the lowest available prices when you're booking direct. So a lot of these are non cancel rates. When you are booking in real life. Maybe you do want to spend a little bit extra for a refundable rate. Just keep that in mind. But they are all on that base level rate.
00:09:54:11 - 00:10:05:11
Katie
So you're going to still be able to see how all of these hotels stack up against each other. Let's start it off with probably, maybe the most popular island in Hawaii to visit Maui.
00:10:05:12 - 00:10:34:04
Chris
Yeah, Maui. That is a great place to start. And I'm going to start with a steal. This one is a Hampton Inn and Suites in Maui, North Shore. Now, Hampton Inn is probably not the first brand that comes to mind when you are booking a Hawaiian vacation, but with rates starting at $430 or 65,000 Hilton points, it's a solid value for Maui, where prices can be really high across the board.
00:10:34:05 - 00:10:58:02
Chris
Now this hotel, even though it's a Hampton Inn, it gets 4.5 stars for a Hawaiian hotel. And it looks really nice. We're going to drop some pictures for those who are watching the video version of this episode, but this is not your average Hampton Inn, so this is a nice little option if you're looking to save some cash compared to other hotels, or you get some Hilton points you want to you want to use.
00:10:58:03 - 00:11:29:01
Chris
Next, I will move over to a steel ish kind of hotel. Yeah. It's not it's not the cheapest option, but this is one we've covered a few times. And I've actually stated this hotel a few times. The Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa, this is a Hyatt Category six hotel, so that means you can find rates between 20 and 30,000 points per night, and with rates starting at $600, this is a good place to use your points.
00:11:29:02 - 00:11:51:18
Chris
Now, if you have a lead status, maybe you're globalist. This hotel has a club lounge which adds some meaningful value because you can get club access. Or maybe you want to use a club access award. This is at the lower end in the points range for, you know, in Maui there are some much more expensive hotels on the island with high points.
00:11:51:18 - 00:12:01:09
Chris
So this is why I said it was kind of a steal ish, because you get a really nice resort for starting at 20,000 points tonight with lounge access.
00:12:01:13 - 00:12:08:00
Katie
Yeah. When you add that lounge access, especially when you can get it at that lower 20,000 points a night, that adds so much value.
00:12:08:00 - 00:12:35:05
Chris
Yeah. So let's move over to the other end of the spectrum for a minute. I'm going to go on a splurge here at the Grand Wailea. This is a Waldorf Astoria resort. Prices here easily start at $870 a night. Standard award price at this hotel is 110,000 Hilton honors points per night. This hotel has been recently renovated. I think one just put a review up on upgraded points.
00:12:35:07 - 00:12:55:11
Chris
So go go check that one out. This is also bookable through Amex Fine Hotels and Resorts, and it is just one of the most iconic resort experiences in Hawaii. I stayed here pre renovation and while it was showing its age at the time, it was still a lot of fun. And we always talk about our Hilton free night.
00:12:55:13 - 00:13:24:09
Chris
This is a good place to use one. Moving on. Right next door actually to the Grand Wailea is the Wailea Beach Resort. That's from Marriott, and you're going to be in a beautiful part of the island, and prices start at $725 or 35,000 Marais points. Availability is a little bit more restricted at these at that low 85,000 points per night rate, but this is also bookable via the edit by Chase and Katie.
00:13:24:09 - 00:13:26:18
Chris
I think you stayed here a few years ago, right?
00:13:26:21 - 00:13:47:02
Katie
Yeah, it was actually I think it's like eight years ago now. So a while and I did look at the website and it has been renovated since I stayed there. So I'll put up a couple photos from when I stayed there, but it has been renovated since. I loved it though. The great great pools. One pool that had like a zero entry with some sculptures and like little water fountains.
00:13:47:02 - 00:14:05:00
Katie
Great for little kids. My daughter was five at the time and she loved it. There are waterslides just and it's like you said, it's right next door to the Grand Wailea, and there's that sort of walkway that kind of goes along the the beach in front of some of these hotels. It's just I really enjoyed that hotel. So that's a that's a great one.
00:14:05:02 - 00:14:32:21
Chris
Yeah. That's nice little area there with all the hotels I'd mentioned the High Regency that was on the, you know, the stylish, the low end side of the Hyatt points on the higher end if you're swimming in Hyatt points or in Chase points built points, you have the Andaz Maui with rates starting at $830 a night. This is a category eight, so that means you could spend between 35 and 55,000 points per night.
00:14:32:22 - 00:14:48:08
Chris
Although those 35,000 points are hard to come by. This is bookable via the edit by Chase and Amex Fine and Resorts. So if you are looking for something a little bit fancier compared to the higher Regency, the Andaz is going to be your option.
00:14:48:10 - 00:15:04:17
Katie
And I actually think the Andaz is on the other side of the Wylie Beach Resort. So it's like the Grand Wailea, the Marriott, and then I think the Andaz is next. I never walked to it. I don't know how close, but I think it is kind of it's in that same area, which is just a really nice area of Maui.
00:15:04:17 - 00:15:23:06
Katie
I really enjoyed that spot. Yeah, so great options on Maui. There are there are a ton of good options. I love Maui, let's move over to Kauai, which is actually one of the islands that I was just on. And the first hotel we'll talk about is where I stayed this trip. And it is one of our steals for Kauai.
00:15:23:08 - 00:15:49:18
Katie
It is the Sheraton Kauai Coconut Beach Resort. Rates start at $388 per night, including all the taxes and fees, and most of the nights you could get for under $500, which for Hawaii is a steal. That's and points prices started at about 70,000 Marriott points per night. This hotel is it's a smallish hotel. It's not one of these big sprawling resorts.
00:15:49:18 - 00:16:11:02
Katie
There's one main pool. It does have a separate shallow end of the pool for kids and it's divided, so it's really nice if you have little kids. It's all very shallow, perfect for like a toddler age or young kid. I mean, my daughter, who's 12 now, didn't want to have anything to do with it. But if you have a little kids, it's great because they're going to be separated.
00:16:11:02 - 00:16:32:13
Katie
They're not going to get trampled by anyone. So I really appreciated that. There's a great hot tub right by the main pool that's really good size, and the pool is never too crowded, which is really nice. Even we, you know, leisurely go to breakfast and get to the pool. Maybe, let's say 10 a.m. there were still chairs left, which doesn't there was no fighting.
00:16:32:13 - 00:16:48:02
Katie
Yes, I did notice. Strangely, it got busier later in the day. In the afternoon there were more people by the pool, but still not crazy crowded. There was an easy ordering system for food. They just had like a little QR code by your table at the pool, and it was just so nice to be able to just do that.
00:16:48:02 - 00:17:07:13
Katie
Order food and drink so you don't have to worry about, like flagging someone down. They had free shave ice by the pool every afternoon, which was a nice little touch. They had, you know, daily activities which a lot of Hawaii hotels have, lei making and ukulele lessons and all that good stuff. They had a great luau. I loved the luau.
00:17:07:15 - 00:17:09:04
Chris
I love the.
00:17:09:06 - 00:17:30:11
Katie
Yeah, this one was really good. It was in an outdoor kind of event space, so it was covered. It did take away a touch of the ambiance, because the other loos I've been to have been all outside. However, I've been to a luau that's been rained out, so I appreciated that. Even if it's raining, this one will not get rained out.
00:17:30:11 - 00:17:52:18
Katie
And you have the the beach and the ocean in the background. But the show itself was phenomenal. I really liked it. It was music, singing and dancing and all the typical luau stuff. But I just really liked the way they sort of told the story and showed you different versions of hula throughout Polynesia, not just Hawaii. It was it was a great show.
00:17:52:19 - 00:18:14:01
Katie
I really enjoyed it. There was a little like a marketplace, coconut something or other coconut beach marketplace, something like that that you could just walk to on. It had one of those paths kind of along the beach, similar to what we were talking about in Maui. So you could go there and buy souvenirs, you could rent bikes for the day that was included in in your resort fee.
00:18:14:02 - 00:18:36:23
Katie
So it was a really nice little intimate. Hotel rooms are basic, but they were modern and clean and comfortable, and we had a great oceanfront balcony. And because it's a smaller ish hotel, the oceanfront balconies really are very oceanfront. You are close. You had a great view, could hear the ocean. So I had it was a really nice little quick, you know, three night stay.
00:18:36:23 - 00:18:38:07
Katie
I really enjoyed it.
00:18:38:09 - 00:18:39:12
Chris
That's so nice.
00:18:39:16 - 00:19:05:14
Katie
So on the other end of the spectrum is our splurge for Kauai. And that is the Grand Hyatt Kauai. It is a category eight. Most nights were 55 to 65,000 points per night. I found a handful for the rest of the year at 45,000, but those are few and very few and far between. Rates start at $799 per night.
00:19:05:15 - 00:19:24:01
Katie
Most nights were over a thousand, so this is a true splurge. It is bookable through the edit by Chase. So maybe for a two night stay, if you want to pay cash, you could save a little bit and get some some benefits through that. I did stay here. I was I guess also about eight years ago, it was on that same trip.
00:19:24:01 - 00:19:46:08
Katie
I stayed at the Wailea Beach Marriott. And it's it's a gorgeous property. It's a big sprawling resort property. When you think of a big fancy resort in Hawaii. This is what you're picturing. They have a really cool man made lagoon because the beach there is pretty rocky and kind of hard. You know, it's like a lot of places in Hawaii.
00:19:46:08 - 00:20:12:03
Katie
It's not great for swimming. So they have a man made lagoon with sort of a sand entry. Again, great for little kids, but also like it's a really big lagoon. You can grab a drink and just kind of chill and walk around. And it was we loved it. There's a lazy river, a water slide. This hotel also has a club lounge, so if you have one of those club access awards, you're going to get a lot of value at this hotel.
00:20:12:04 - 00:20:29:14
Katie
When I booked this, I booked with points and I actually paid the extra price for a club room because I don't I don't think club access a word or a thing back then and it was worth it. You get your breakfast, they had snacks throughout the day and a couple of days we even ate dinner there. It was enough where they would have a couple different entrees.
00:20:29:15 - 00:20:55:15
Katie
So that is one where you are going to get a lot of value from those club access awards. And oh, in addition, it is also bookable through fine hotels and resorts through Amex. So two very, very different properties here at very different price points. Both will give you access to all the cool things to do on Kauai. It's just a matter of do you want to save some money and have a nice place, but you know, nothing too fancy?
00:20:55:15 - 00:21:00:14
Katie
Or do you really want to go and splurge on a fantastic resort?
00:21:00:17 - 00:21:19:08
Chris
Yeah, those two properties sound really nice. I've never been to Kauai, but it is definitely on my to do list. But I'm going to take us over to the Big Island, and I'm going to start with a steal of a property. This is going to be the Hilton Waikoloa Village, and this is somewhere I stayed. I think it's been two years ago.
00:21:19:10 - 00:21:42:19
Chris
And this is really unique because if you've ever been to the Big Island, you know that the terrain is completely different from Maui or Oahu. We're used to these lush, tropical landscapes, and you get off and get to the airport and start driving to your hotel, and it looks like you're on Mars or something, because you're just in the middle of giant lava fields, a black heart and lava.
00:21:42:19 - 00:22:18:04
Chris
And then you pull into the Waikoloa Village and then just this whole really unique, complex prices start at $435 here, or 75,000 Hilton points per night. And so when I stayed there, I stayed five nights for obviously paid four nights and then got the fifth night for free. This complex, I'm staying complex instead of resort because it has a mile long canal with a boat and a monorail connecting all of the towers with the guest rooms and the Hilton Grand Vacations.
00:22:18:05 - 00:22:44:20
Chris
It is really impressive and it is overwhelming, so I would not recommend staying here for a night or two because it'll just you won't even know where to go. But we stay there for five nights and after two nights you really it's easy to to understand, but there are multiple pools. There's another big lagoon with snorkeling and there's turtles in there that you can do, stand up and all this stuff around.
00:22:44:20 - 00:23:14:01
Chris
And then they also have like a dolphin area, which, I mean, you can argue if that's really appropriate or not, but they have it. And if you're looking at your room and you see dolphins swimming in your property, that is pretty unique. Yeah. So with the multiple pools and the snorkeling and the dolphins and the actually pretty reasonable prices, especially when you're paying with Hilton points, this is a great option, especially for a large family or maybe a big group.
00:23:14:01 - 00:23:28:16
Chris
And also just like your experience. Katie, I had an awesome luau there as well with fire breathers and the food is just so good. This is one of the hotels that when we think about Hawaii as a family, this is the one that always pops up.
00:23:28:18 - 00:23:33:14
Katie
I've never been to Big Island, but I have that hotel on my radar for my next trip.
00:23:33:18 - 00:23:56:20
Chris
Yeah, you should do it. Especially with the Hilton points. Makes tons of sense. But yeah, the the landscape is just so different that there is no beach at the hotel because everything feels like it's old lava, hard and lava. So they have this lagoon. That's where you're going to do get your sand. But otherwise hanging out in the pools is where, where you're going to be.
00:23:56:21 - 00:23:59:10
Katie
Sorry. Did you write a review that for the website?
00:23:59:10 - 00:24:29:22
Chris
I did, I think I did. I'll double check. And if we did, we'll put it in the show notes. But you know that that is that is one I would definitely go back for. On the same part of the island is the Fairmont Orchid. And we don't talk a lot about Fairmont, but we should. And because you can book them with your all a core points and with prices starting at $712 a night, you're a core points are worth €2 cents per point.
00:24:29:23 - 00:24:51:00
Chris
And so that's 1000 points equals €20. You have to use some 2000 points at a time. It sounds confusing, but when you go and do it, it's actually not. But this hotel is a continent traveler's Choice Award winner. Number one resort in Hawaii. Travel and leisure a top ten resort year after year. This is a really nice property and you can book it through Amex Fine Hotels and Resorts.
00:24:51:00 - 00:24:56:13
Chris
So if you don't have any Hilton points or if you want something a little bit nicer, definitely take a look at this option.
00:24:56:14 - 00:25:18:02
Katie
Great great options. I can't wait to get to that island. Okay. Let's take it over to Oahu, which is where I spent the last five nights. So I'm excited to talk about this. The first steel we have, it's the Hyatt Place Waikiki. This is a category four, so if you have free night certificates, this would be a great option.
00:25:18:03 - 00:25:44:16
Katie
Most nights were 15 or 20,000 points per night, and cash costs started as low as $225 per night, which is amazing. You might be thinking, why would I want to stay at a Hyatt place going to Hawaii? But if you're in Honolulu, it's a big city. Most hotels are not on the beach. Even. You know, I never went to the pool at our hotel in Waikiki, even though we had one.
00:25:44:16 - 00:26:02:16
Katie
Just because there's so much other stuff to do. The beach is great. You don't. I mean, it's all public, so you can just walk right to the beach. So Waikiki is definitely a city where I could, I would consider maybe staying at a high place to save some money. And that's a great option. Another steal is where I actually just stayed.
00:26:02:16 - 00:26:21:06
Katie
And that's the Hyatt Regency Waikiki. This is a category five. Most nights were 20 to 25,000 points per night. So just a little bit more expensive than the Hyatt Place. Cash cost was starting at $332, and I found a lot of nights for just under $400.
00:26:21:06 - 00:26:21:15
Chris
Solid.
00:26:21:16 - 00:26:36:11
Katie
Yeah, that's a solid price for for a Wahoo. And actually we ended up I was there were three of us and we needed two beds and we wanted a nicer view. So we ended up just paying cash, which felt really weird actually. I didn't love it.
00:26:36:11 - 00:26:37:20
Chris
But wrong episode.
00:26:37:22 - 00:27:00:06
Katie
Yeah, but but it was still compared to everything else, it was still a reasonable price. The location is fantastic. It is right across the street from the beach. So it's a super close walk. And you can also get a lot of rooms, have the ocean view. And what I thought was interesting because you can get an ocean view room or an ocean front room.
00:27:00:08 - 00:27:18:18
Katie
What I was reading on some brochure or something. Maybe their website, the Ocean View Room, means that you'll be able to see some bit of the ocean from your balcony. So it might be one of these where you're, you know, over to the side. The ocean front room means that you should be able to see ocean from inside your room.
00:27:18:18 - 00:27:35:11
Katie
So it's not necessarily like your balcony is going to be parallel to the beach. You're going to be able to see the beach from your room. And we had an ocean front room. It was a little bit at an angle. It worked out great though, because our balcony was in the shade in the morning and in the evening, so it was great to sit out there, have some coffee.
00:27:35:11 - 00:27:54:10
Katie
I did some work out there in the morning. I really enjoyed that view. That was a really nice benefit of the hotel, but it's a huge hotel. There are two towers. You're going to wait for the elevator. They do have a club lounge. I did use my club Access award which adds some value. It's not the best club lounge I've ever been to.
00:27:54:11 - 00:28:13:12
Katie
It was pretty basic and it was really crowded. But if you have one of those awards, it really helps because food and Hawaii is not cheap. Even if you're sticking to basics, you're going to be spending probably more than you want to on food. So if you have some Hyatt points and a club access award, that can be a really good option.
00:28:13:12 - 00:28:32:02
Katie
And again, rooms are functional. Their basic it's not going to excite you. But everything else I was happy I stayed there. I would I would be happy to stay there again. So that's a good option. Let's move over to some. We have one more steal and then we're going to move to some splurges. No I take that back.
00:28:32:02 - 00:29:03:21
Katie
We have two more steals steal issues. The next one is Hilton Hawaiian Village. Rooms start at about $267 or 75,000 Hilton points. Now this is a huge complex 22 acres. I think there were five towers, a salt water lagoon. It is right on the beach and we walked through this resort because we took a boat trip that left from the pier at this hotel, and it looked really cool.
00:29:03:21 - 00:29:14:08
Katie
I considered staying here for this trip, it just didn't work out. But I when I walked through, I was like, maybe I should have stayed here. This looks pretty cool. Now, Chris, you have stayed there, is that correct?
00:29:14:09 - 00:29:34:05
Chris
Yeah. What did you think? And I really enjoyed it. And we actually booked one of the I guess it would be the Hilton Grand Vacation Apartments. And so it came with a kitchen and pullout sofa and everything. So it can be an even better value if you are with a bigger group, because you could fit a bunch of people in that, in that suite that we booked our apartment.
00:29:34:05 - 00:29:58:02
Chris
Really. And then you can make your own meals. But yeah, I think the only negative is that it's just so big. But I mean, again, you're in Waikiki and if for whoever is not familiar, Waikiki is it's a big city. It's, you know, Miami, it's a Rio de Janeiro, it's a big city on the beach. And. Yeah, so this property has, you know, it has a lot to do with out leaving, which not that's not a bad thing.
00:29:58:03 - 00:30:02:04
Chris
You have options. But yeah, it's I would definitely stay there again.
00:30:02:07 - 00:30:12:22
Katie
Yeah. As we were walking through we were really hot because we've been walking my daughter like she goes can we stay here? I want to go and I like I was like, yeah, sorry, not Lagunas.
00:30:12:23 - 00:30:15:05
Chris
I think Laguna is public technically. So I think you could have.
00:30:15:05 - 00:30:22:08
Katie
Used I think you're right and I but I mean, we were right across from the beach, so it all worked out. But maybe next time.
00:30:22:10 - 00:30:23:19
Chris
It's a good. It's a good spot.
00:30:23:20 - 00:30:52:23
Katie
Yeah. Okay. My next one is steel ish. And it is the Moana Surfrider room start at 489 or 60,000 Marriott points. And I thought that was a great Marriott points price. It's often called the First Lady of Waikiki. It opened in 1901. So it's a historic hotel. I think they had said on one of my tours that it was the first hotel that was built in Waikiki, and it's a gorgeous property.
00:30:52:23 - 00:31:12:01
Katie
I didn't go in, but we walked by it a few times. It's really beautiful. So it's definitely one that if you have some Marriott points, that could be a really good deal and it is bookable through the edit by Chase. Now we have two splurges. First one and I'm not going to pronounce this right Carly I think Waikiki Beach.
00:31:12:01 - 00:31:45:08
Katie
Sorry, I'm mispronouncing that it is an LQR hotel. Prices start at $609 or 100,000 Hilton points, so maybe if you have some free night certificates that could be an interesting option. They just finished renovations and I mean just finished like last week I think I tried to go check out the hotel and just see the renovations, and unfortunately it didn't work out with my schedule, so I was a little bummed to not see it, but it should be refreshed and ready to go.
00:31:45:08 - 00:32:10:21
Katie
And it is also bookable through Amex Fine Hotels and Resorts. And it's also down in that Waikiki area, walking distance to all kinds of stuff. And our last splurge is the Ritz-Carlton Oahu, turtle Bay. It is starting at $1,000 per night or 94,000 Marriott points, which actually seems for $1,000 a night property.
00:32:11:00 - 00:32:13:01
Chris
Not that good. Redemption. Yeah, yeah.
00:32:13:02 - 00:32:32:22
Katie
And this is on the North Shore. So this is not in Waikiki. This is way on the North Shore of Oahu. It's a lot calmer. A lot of people really prefer that area. If you want more of a traditional Hawaiian experience with, you know, the beach and a little bit calmer atmosphere, and that one is bookable through the Edit and Amex Fine Hotels and Resorts.
00:32:33:03 - 00:32:42:23
Chris
Awesome, man. You just got back from Hawaii. I was there early, just on a layover early this year. But man, every time I talk about Hawaii I want to go back. It's so good.
00:32:43:00 - 00:32:57:22
Katie
Yeah, we were playing in the waves one day and because my husband didn't come with us and so my daughter and I were playing and we're like, we have to bring him back here. We like, we've got to come back. So we were planning our next trip while we were in the ocean. Like, not even done with that trip.
00:32:57:23 - 00:33:03:05
Katie
Yeah, I love it every time I go and like, I could absolutely come back again.
00:33:03:07 - 00:33:27:03
Chris
Yeah. Awesome. All right, well, let's wrap it up so our listeners can go book their own trips. But before we do, we have one question that someone sent in. This was from drew. He sent it by email and he says hello. With the changes to the Chase Sapphire Preferred card that have rolled out and the new exciting sign up bonus got me thinking about signing up my husband for the card.
00:33:27:03 - 00:33:46:21
Chris
I already have the Sapphire Preferred and neither of us have a Sapphire Reserve. I was just wondering what considerations I should be making when determining whether he and I should be signed up for the exact same card. I am confident enough we'd get the value out of holding both to await annual fees. I don't have any concerns about credit.
00:33:46:22 - 00:33:52:00
Chris
What other things should I be thinking about before I decide to pull the trigger on this?
00:33:52:01 - 00:34:15:19
Katie
Yeah, this is a great question. I actually emailed a bit with drew to find out more about their situation, and they also have a venture X and an Atmos summit card. So. So drew, I would say yes. Have your husband applied for the card, get that 100,000 point offer and then I don't see any need for you to to have two Sapphire Preferred cards, because you have other cards.
00:34:15:19 - 00:34:46:19
Katie
You can get the TSA credit through other cards. There's really no benefit to holding two of those Sapphire preferred. So after a year, have your husband download download, not download. Downgrade that card to a no annual fee Freedom flex. Because if you're in the Chase ecosystem, that's a great card to have to earn some some solid points. And it's one that it's not super exciting to sign up for on its own because the bonuses are just never amazing, so it's a perfect opportunity to get that Sapphire Preferred.
00:34:46:19 - 00:35:05:02
Katie
Now get the bonus, keep it for a year, and then downgrade to a Freedom Flex. But you know, if they had not had any other cards, there could be an argument for keeping to for that TSA PreCheck Global Entry credit, but most likely not. So yeah, have them sign up for it and then downgrade after a year.
00:35:05:03 - 00:35:24:02
Katie
Thank you so much, drew for your question. We appreciate it. If you have a question that you would like to submit for us to answer on air, you can reach us at podcast and upgraded Points. And that's going to do it for us. We hope you go and book a trip to Hawaii. Let us know where you're staying and we will see you next week.