We just took a fun family spring training weekend to Phoenix and kept our out-of-pocket cost really low by mixing points, free night certificates, and a few cash expenses.
Flights
We rebooked our flights out of Colorado Springs instead of Denver, which ended up being a much easier option.
For our outbound flight, we flew Southwest nonstop on Friday night.
That looked like this:
- 57,000 Southwest points + $11.20 in taxes for 2 tickets
- 1 Companion Pass ticket for $5.60
- 1 ticket booked using a $235 Southwest flight credit + 11,000 Southwest points + $51.65
For our return flight, we used:
- 50,000 American Airlines miles
- $22.40 in taxes/fees
Total flight cost:
$90.85 out of pocket
Cash price without points:
Southwest outbound: $397.15 per person = $1,588.60
American return: $406 per person = $1,624
Total cash cost for flights without points: $3,212.60
Hotels
For Friday night, we stayed at a Marriott near the airport using:
- 1 Marriott 35K free night certificate
- 12,000 Marriott points
For the rest of the trip, we stayed at the Westin Kierland in Scottsdale, which was such a fun family spot with a lazy river, water slide, and FlowRider.
That redemption looked like this:
- Night 1: 85K free night certificate + 2,000 Marriott points to top it off
- Night 2: 72,000 Marriott points
- Night 3: 87,000 Marriott points
Total hotel points used:
- 173,000 Marriott points
- 1 Marriott 35K free night certificate
- 1 Marriott 85K free night certificate
Cash cost for hotels without points:
$3,345
Rental Car
We booked a Turo for the weekend for:$240.51
Baseball Spring Training
One of the most fun parts of the trip was scoring 4 tickets to a White Sox vs. Mariners spring training game through VetTix for:
- $11.97 total plus a $10 donation
Trip Totals
Points and credits used:
- 68,000 Southwest points
- 50,000 American miles
- 173,000 Marriott points
- 1 Marriott 35K free night certificate
- 1 Marriott 85K free night certificate
- $235 Southwest flight credit
Cash costs:
Flights
- $90.85
Hotel and resort costs:
- Food, drinks, and tips: $339.17
- Resort fees and tax: $236.17
Transportation
- Turo rental car: $240.51
- Airport parking: $32
Fun stuff
- FlowRider at the resort for 3 days: $441.86 *my kids LOVED this and we didn’t mind splurging since the overall cost of the trip was pretty low!
- VetTix tickets for Mariners/White Sox: $11.97
- Tigers/Rockies tickets: $122
- Ball game dinner, snacks, and drinks for 2 games: $188.73
Other credits/perks we used:
$100 Resy credit from our American Express Platinum for take out one night from the Village Tavern
$150 open table Chase Sapphire Reserve credit for a fancy dinner at the Fat Ox
Our Marriott status got us free breakfast for 2 each morning at the Westin-the buffet was fantastic!
Total cash cost with points
$1,693.26
Total cash cost without points
- Flights: $3,212.60
- Hotels: $3,345
Total cash cost without points all in: $8,513.34
Why we love trips like this
This is exactly why we love points and miles. A quick family getaway can get expensive fast once you add flights, hotel, parking, rental car, food, and activities.
Using points helped us turn what could have been a really expensive weekend into something much more manageable. Because of points and credits, we are able to eat, drink, and splurge pretty freely and it is really nice not having to penny pinch while on vacation!
And honestly, the best part is that this was not some over-the-top luxury itinerary. It was just a fun family weekend with sunshine, baseball, pool time, and memories together.
We absolutely LOVED the Westin Kierland! They had all kinds of kids activities, bingo by the pool, great customer service, and wonderful amenities. We highly recommend this property for a family getaway and can’t wait to go back!
-Lisa
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