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Hola Travel Junkies,

About a month ago I was de-stressing with my wife at our favorite diner, after yet another long week of work.

We were in one of those moods where we we’re ready to quit our jobs, move to some remote island in the Maldives and live off the land. (I’m sure you can relate)

We needed a weekend getaway

Before sitting down to dinner I was scrolling through my emails and a reminder popped up on my phone: “Two Free Hyatt Nights Expire Soon”

Suddenly it struck me. I had two free nights at any Hyatt in the world (thanks to my new Hyatt credit card) and a long Memorial Day weekend only a few days away. So I motioned to the waiter for a round of cheesecake and flipped over my placemat for brainstorming space. It was time to get to work.

While scanning the Internet for the best hotels to use our two free nights, my wife politely suggested, “we need a beach and tropical drinks” – and she was right.

Four days later I was lying in a hammock in sunny and beautiful Cancun, Mexico.

Here’s how I did it

A man relaxes on a hammock on a balcony overlooking a sandy beach and turquoise ocean under a cloudy sky, enjoying the view after booking his travel with miles. Ornate black iron railings are in the foreground.

Baltimore to Cancun – 16,188 Southwest Points and $27.91

Map of the eastern United States, Gulf of Mexico, and part of the Caribbean, showing a red line connecting BWI (Baltimore/Washington) to CUN (Cancun), highlighting travel miles and key points along the southeastern U.S. and Gulf.

We live in Manhattan, so we typically opt to fly out of JFK, LGA, or EWR. But with the Memorial Day Holiday just days away every flight was either sold out, insanely expensive (miles wise), or full of long layovers and multiple stops.

After doing some searching it seemed that flying out of BWI in Baltimore was a much better option for this trip. BWI had the exact flight we wanted: early in the morning (we wanted to maximize our all-inclusive hotel), non-stop, and with Southwest Airlines.

There were two seats left on the plane, so I quickly grabbed a one-way ticket for myself and then added my wife for free using my Southwest Companion Pass.

The total price for both of our tickets was 16,188 points and $27.91.

Screenshot of a flight booking summary showing a route from BWI to CUN on 5/26/2016, using 16,189 points plus $27.91 in government taxes and fees. The total travel cost is $27.91 and 16,189 points used.

The night before our early-morning flight, we hopped on a train down to Baltimore after work. One-way train tickets came to a total of $95.

We shacked up at the Aloft BWI Hotel for a cheap 4,000 SPG points, earned through my Starwood Preferred Guest sign up bonus.

The Starwood Preferred Guest is one of our favorite hotel credit cards here at 10xT for this very reason. You would be hard pressed to find any other hotel program on earth that features rooms for just 4,000 points per night.

(You can find more information about the Starwood Preferred Guest credit card on our credit cards page).

Table row showing a travel award redemption of 4,000 points on 05/23/2016 for an Aloft BWI Baltimore Washington International Airport stay, category 2: free weekday night.

We landed in Cancun at 10:00am and cleared customs in a matter of minutes.  Our hotel was just a short shuttle ride away and we were sipping Mai Tai’s by the pool before noon.

The Hyatt Zilara, Cancun – 2 Free All-Inclusive Nights

A luxury resort pool at sunset welcomes you to a serene, tropical escape. Palm trees, lounge chairs, and a pavilion reflect in the calm water—perfect for travel enthusiasts using points or miles to experience this vibrant paradise.

We opted to stay at the Hyatt Zilara, Canun to make use of the two free Hyatt nights that I mentioned earlier.

I had earned these two free nights almost a year ago thanks to the Hyatt Credit Card by Chase. The certificates expire exactly one year from the date of issuance, and there was no way I was going to let these babies go to waste.

Of course, the goal would be to maximize your two free nights by finding the best value, and with some of Hyatt’s Category 7 hotels going for more than $889 a night – there are some incredible options out there.

(Some of the most popular options for using the two free nights: Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome, Park Hyatt Maldives, Park Hyatt Tokyo, Park Hyatt New York)

The Park Hyatt Zilara turned out to be the best hotel experience we’ve ever had.

I booked our room by calling the Hyatt customer service line. There are certain rooms specifically set aside for free night certificates (and they are often booked out far in advance), but after working my charm and explaining that this was our first wedding anniversary (close enough, anyway) we ended up with an upgraded room that was going for $992 USD per night – oh yeah.

A hotel room with a king-size bed, heart-shaped rose petals, swan towel art, a small table with two wicker chairs, a wine bottle and glass, a Jacuzzi tub, ocean-themed artwork on the walls—perfect for travelers earning points on every mile.

Any room booked at the Hyatt Zilara is all-inclusive, meaning we ate and drank whatever we wanted (including all room service and any booze) from the minute we checked in to the last mimosa I guzzled down before hopping on our shuttle back to the airport.

Whether we were sipping Pina Coladas in a cabana by the pool or enjoying our room’s view of the beautiful Cancun sunsets, our experience at the Hyatt Zilara was second to none.

A person in a sunhat relaxes on a lounge chair beside an infinity pool overlooking the ocean at sunset, earning travel points while enjoying palm trees, other people swimming, and a swim-up bar in the background.
A person sits under a shaded cabana, facing a pool with palm trees and the ocean in the background—a tropical, relaxing travel setting at sunset or dusk.
A person in a red dress stands on a balcony overlooking miles of beach and ocean, with soft clouds in the sky and two empty chairs and a small table nearby.

Cancun to NYC – 22,268 Southwest Points and $52.07

A map of the eastern United States, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean displays a straight red line flight path from LGA (New York, USA) to CUN (Cancun, Mexico), ideal for planning your travel or calculating points and miles earned.

After three days in paradise, it was time to head back to our concrete jungle.

Heading home is never fun, so I took the slightly higher priced flight back straight to LGA in NYC. I booked my ticket for 22,268 Southwest points and added my wife with my companion pass. Our fees were a bit steeper on this flight, but our trip was seamless and eased the pain of coming home.

Screenshot of a flight booking summary showing travel from CUN to LGA on 5/29/2016, Wanna Get Away fare type, 22,268 points used, $52.07 for taxes and fees, with a total payment of $52.07.

And there we were, in the same booth of our favorite diner as just a few days ago, with slightly burnt skin and sand in our flip flops, refreshed and ready to sell our souls to the NYC work grind again.

I never would have thought, at 23, I would be taking weekend trips to Cancun for stress relief.

Just one of the many reasons why I love this game.

Wheels Up,

Luke

Photo Credit: Hyatt.com