HOW WE SAVED ON OUR SEATTLE + SAN JUAN TRIP

This trip was a perfect example of why we love stacking points, card benefits, travel credits, military perks and discounts.

For our family of 4, the trip had a cash value of about $6,479.74.

We paid $3,269.29 out of pocket + 145,605 points.

Here’s how we did it 👇

FLIGHTS

• Used leftover Delta SkyMiles
• Transferred Amex Membership Rewards points to Delta to top off our accounts
• Cash price: approximately $1,600 for 4 people
• We paid just $44.80 in taxes

HOTELS

• Used 37,000 Marriott points from the Marriott card we opened for our one-night airport hotel
• Used Citi Strata Elite $300 hotel credits x2
• One 2-night stay that would have been $614.53 was covered with the $300 credit + 31,453 points
• The second 2-night stay that would have been $682.34 was reduced by another $300 credit + 23,952 points, leaving $142.82 OOP

RENTAL CAR

• Turo rental: $318.19
• Used a $282.20 travel credit
• Stacked a $20 back card offer
• Final OOP: just $15.99

FOOD

• Used 2 Marriott Amex cards to get $50 off food

$100 Amex Resy credit on a nice dinner!

AIRPORT LOUNGE

• Used Priority Pass in Seattle
• Free lounge access for all 4 of us
• Food + drinks included

MILITARY PERKS

• Active-duty military + family received free admission to the Whale Museum in Friday Harbor But here’s the big takeaway…We could have spent even less. But this was our one big summer trip, and we didn’t want to spend the entire vacation trying to spend as little as possible.

The kids got lemonade with dinner. 🍋

We got ice cream every night. 🍦

We let them pick out some things from the cute little shops. 🛍️

We treated ourselves, enjoyed the restaurants and said yes to the little things that make a vacation feel like a vacation.

Because that’s WHY we work so hard to save money upfront with points, credits and perks.

We don’t want to penny pinch once we’re there.

We’d rather put in the work before the trip to lower the cost of the big expenses, then actually enjoy ourselves when we’re on vacation.

Save strategically. Spend intentionally. Enjoy the trip.

THE BIG PICTURE

We didn’t rely on one huge redemption.

We stacked:

✨ Points

✨ Transfer partners

✨ Travel credits

✨ Hotel credits

✨ Card offers

✨ Lounge access

✨ Military benefits

✨ Free admission

And that’s really the point. You don’t need ONE magical credit card. It’s about learning how to use the benefits you already have together.

OUR TRIP NUMBERS

💰 Cash value: ~$6,579.74

💳 Actual OOP: $3,269.29

🎯 Points used: 145,605

💵 Approximate difference: $3,310.45

👨‍👩‍👦‍👦 Travelers: 4

And that included flights, 5 hotel nights, rental car, kayaking, a boat day, food, groceries, activities, parking and shopping.

We saved where it made sense so we could splurge where it mattered. ❤️