Two-Card Trip Charleston: The Holy City at Half the Price

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Whether you’re in town for a bowl of she-crab soup or a tour of Fort Sumter, Charleston is famous for its mix of Southern charm, cuisine and historical sites. And if you’d prefer to save your cash for freshly-caught seafood, drinks, entertainment and historical tours, points and miles can help make that happen.

By applying for and earning the welcome offers on just two travel rewards credit cards, you can have your flights and hotel stays paid for entirely using points. Whether you’re planning a romantic Southern getaway for two or an educational holiday for the kids, you can do it using points.

Let’s see how to make it happen.

The Two Cards To Get You to Charleston and Back

The two credit cards that will help fund your trip to Charleston—by paying for your award flights and hotel stays using their welcome offers alone—-are the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card and Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card.

To qualify for the Ink Business Preferred, you’ll need to be a small business owner. If you think you don’t qualify, fear not. You might be surprised to know that your small side-hustle or weekend babysitting gig could be enough to qualify you as a small business owner.

Let’s take a look at what these two cards have to offer, as well as their typical welcome offers.

Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

The Ink Business Preferred Credit Card is a solid choice for small business owners.

You’ll earn 3X points on the first $150,000 spent per calendar year across a range of business spending categories, as well as on travel. You can transfer these points to any of Chase’s 14 airline and hotel transfer partners at a 1:1 ratio.

Here’s a full rundown of the card’s features:

• 3X points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, Internet, cable and phone services, and on advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year..
• 1X points on all other purchases
• No foreign transaction fees

Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card

The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card offers superior perks and points multipliers for loyal guests of Marriott.

This card offers a range of benefits, from complimentary Silver Elite Status to an annual free night award. You’ll also get a boost toward Gold Elite Status with 15 complimentary Elite Night Credits issued to your account every calendar year.

Keep in mind that Marriott has a complex set of rules regarding applicant eligibility, so be sure that you’re eligible to qualify before applying for the Boundless Card.

Here’s what the card has to offer:

• 6X points at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy (total of 17X points when combined with Silver Elite Status)
• 3X points on the first $6,000 spent in combined purchases each year on grocery stores, gas stations and dining
• 2X points on all other purchases
• Annual free night reward, valid for a one-night stay with a redemption value of up to 35,000 points
• One Elite Night Credit toward Elite Status for every $5,000 spent
• 15 Elite Night Credits each calendar year
• Complimentary Silver Elite Status
• Upgrade to Gold Elite Status after spending $35,000 within a calendar year
• No foreign transaction fees

Earning Each Card’s Welcome Offer

The Ink Business Preferred Credit Card has a typical welcome offer of 90,000 to 120,000 Ultimate Rewards points after spending $8,000 within the first three months of card membership.

Likewise, the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card has a typical welcome offer of either 75,000 to 125,000 Marriott points or three to five free night awards after spending $3,000 to $5,000 within the first three months of card membership.

Generally speaking, you’re best off applying for the Ink Business Preferred Credit Card first, as your 5/24 count will be taken into consideration when applying. To make your life easy, focus on first earning the Ink Business Preferred’s welcome offer before applying for the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card. That way, reaching the minimum spending requirements will be more manageable.

To earn the Ink Business Preferred’s welcome offer, you’ll need to spend an average of $2,667 per month. For some businesses, reaching this minimum spend requirement will be easy. However, if your business’ monthly spending is less than this, consider opening the card when you have large business expenses on the horizon. For instance, you could pay for new capital or renovation costs using your Ink Business Preferred Card.

Once you’ve secured the Ink Business Preferred’s welcome offer, you can apply for the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card. As with the Ink Preferred Credit Card, you’ll want to focus on applying for the Boundless Credit Card when the welcome offer is highest—either when it’s close to 125,000 points or five free night awards.

To earn the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Card’s welcome offer, you’ll need to spend an average of $1,000 to $1,667 per month. For the average American household, this spending shouldn’t present much of a challenge, as long as you focus on charging all daily expenses to your card.

However, if your average household expenditure is on the lower end, consider alternative ways to hit the spend requirement. You could pay your utility bills and taxes or prepay upcoming expenses such as vacations and insurance premiums to hit the minimum spend naturally. That way, you’ll avoid overspending.

If you applied when both welcome offers were at their highest, you should have approximately 120,000 Ultimate Rewards points and 125,000 Marriott points (or five free night awards). If you pursue a two-player mode strategy with your significant other or travel buddy—meaning you both applied for and earned the welcomer offers on each card simultaneously—you’d have double the number of points to play with, working out to 240,000 Ultimate Rewards points and 250,000 Marriott points (or ten free night awards).

Let’s see what these points can get you.

Booking Your Flights to Charleston: Best Airlines

With 120,000 Ultimate Rewards points in your (virtual) pocket—or 240,000 points between you and your travel partner—it’s time to get them to work for you.

If you’re looking to push the value of your points further, transferring them to one of Chase’s domestic airline partners can give you even greater value.

You can transfer your points to United Airlines, JetBlue Airways or Southwest Airlines. Point transfers are 1:1 between each of these airline programs and are typically instant.

Let’s take a look at your options.

Southwest Airlines

Southwest offers competitive fares from airports across the United States to Charleston.

Southwest makes finding low-cost fares a breeze with its suitably named Low Fare Calendar. Using this tool, you can search for the cheapest fares by month, which is especially convenient if you have flexibility with your travel dates.

If you’re planning on checking a bag, Southwest’s Choice Extra fares include two checked bags. This can be particularly cost-effective for large families and longer stays, when checking a bag is an inevitable cost.

Southwest offers nonstop flights on select days/seasons to Charleston from many cities, including Chicago, Dallas, Houston and Nashville.

A one-way economy award fare from Chicago-Midway (MDW) to Charleston (CHS) costs around 11,917 Rapid Rewards points + $5.60 in taxes and fees.

From Houston-Hobby (HOU) to Charleston, a one-way award fare starts at around 11,531 points + $5.60 in taxes and fees.

You can also find nonstop flights operated by Southwest from Denver (DEN) to Charleston. A one-way economy award fare from Denver starts at approximately 10,682 points + $5.60 in taxes and fees.

United Airlines

United Airlines gives you the option of flying first or economy class to Charleston from a range of cities across the U.S.

United displays more award fare availability to its MileagePlus members, so it’s best to create an account and log in while searching for fares. United also offers Saver Award fares, which can help further reduce the cost of airfare.

Using United’s search tool is simple and allows you to search for the cheapest fares by month.

If you hold the United℠ Explorer Card, you and up to one companion can each check a bag free of charge when flying with United. If you hold the United Quest℠ Card, you and your companion can each check two bags free of charge. This benefit can significantly reduce incidental fees when flying as a large family.

You can find a one-way economy Saver Award fare from Newark (EWR) to Charleston from 8,300 miles + $5.60 in taxes and fees. If you want to fly to Charleston in style, a one-way, first-class award fare from Newark would cost you 30,000 miles + $5.60 in taxes and fees.

From Washington-Dulles (IAD) to Charleston, you can find one-way economy Saver Award fares starting at 10,200 miles + $5.60 in taxes and fees, and one-way business award fares starting at 30,000 miles + $5.60 in taxes and fees. Using your 120,000 Ultimate Rewards points, you could easily book you and your partner return first-class award fares at this rate.

From Houston-George Bush (IAH) to Charleston, you can find one-way economy award fares from 21,400 miles + $5.60 in taxes and fees, and one-way business award fares from 39,200 miles + $5.60 in taxes and fees. If both you and your travel partner earned the Ink Business Preferred’s welcome offer, you have enough points to book first-class return award fares at this rate.

JetBlue Airways

JetBlue is another affordable U.S. transfer partner of Chase, offering routes to Charleston from multiple airports.

It’s Best Fare Finder makes it easy to score low-cost award fares and enables you to search by month.

Finding nonstop flights with JetBlue will be easiest from one of its hubs, such as Fort Lauderdale, New York and Boston.

From Fort Lauderdale (FLL), a one-way economy award fare costs just 6,200 points + $5.60 in taxes and fees.

A one-way economy award fare from Boston-Logan (BOS) to Charleston costs around 6,900 points + $5.60 in taxes and fees.

A nonstop economy award fare from New York-Kennedy (JFK) to Charleston starts at around 6,600 points + $5.60 in taxes and fees.

These are highly affordable fares, enabling you to fly the entire family to Charleston and back, and still have points leftover.

Redeem Your Points for a Hotel in Charleston

After you’ve booked your award fares to Charleston, you can shift your focus to accommodation.

If you earned the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Card’s welcome offer at its highest, you’ll have 125,000 points or five free night awards to play with. And if your travel partner did the same, you’ll have a total of 250,000 points or ten free night awards, giving you maximum flexibility.

If you earned a points-based welcome offer on the Boundless Card, you can take advantage of Marriott’s fifth night free policy. Using this promotion, you’ll have the lowest-priced award night free of charge for every five consecutive nights you stay.

Depending on how many total points you have and which property you choose, you might be able to stay anywhere from a couple of nights to more than 10.

Let’s look at some example Marriott properties in Charleston where you can stay using points. Whether you want to be in the heart of the action in the French Quarter, enjoy the Southern charm of South of Broad and Cannonborough/Elliotborough or escape the crowd in Mount Pleasant, Marriott has a property for every type of traveler.

Charleston Marriott

Situated in Downtown Charleston, the Charleston Marriott offers ease of access to Charleston’s hotspots combined with luxury accommodations.

With views of the Ashley River, you’re not far away from the Citadel, the old city market and outstanding restaurants serving quintessential Southern classics.

This hotel includes a pool, business and fitness centers, as well as a signature on-site restaurant—Saffire—and rooftop bar with views across Charleston and the waterfront.

It has 340 rooms to choose from, with award stays typically running between 34,000 and 56,000 points per night.

SpringHill Suites Charleston Riverview

SpringHill Suites Charleston Riverview offers a range of amenities and centrality to Charleston’s hotspots.

In addition to views of the Ashley River Marina, you’re just moments away from the Citadel, College of Charleston, Le Creuset and the Medical University of South Carolina.

The hotel’s 123 modern rooms offer spacious suites, giving you more space than your typical hotel room. Award nights range from 33,000 to 50,000 points per night.

Courtyard Charleston Waterfront

Located just outside the historic district of Charleston, the Courtyard Charleston Waterfront offers stunning views in a luxurious setting.

It’s outdoor swimming pool, whirlpool, firepit and fitness and business centers mean you’ll never be lost for something to do. You can also take advantage of the hotel’s free shuttle service to the historic district, saving you energy for the rest of the day.

If you have your own car, you can easily reach local historical sites and plantations from the hotel for a cultural tour of Charleston.

With just 179 rooms, this hotel is a little on the smaller side, making for a relaxed stay. Award stays here start around 37,000 points per night and can easily go up to 59,000 points.

Final Thoughts

By playing your cards right and earning both the Ink Business Preferred and Marriott Bonvoy Boundless’s welcome offers, you can enjoy Southern charm and cuisine on the cheap.

By taking advantage of award fares with United, JetBlue or Southwest, as well as redeeming your points for a Marriott property in the area, you can save a significant amount of cash all while enjoying all that Charleston has to offer.

For further points-funded trip inspiration, check out more of our two-card trip articles to see where welcome bonuses can take you.