What feels like a lifetime ago, I had the opportunity to visit Peru for about ten days. However, due to some unfortunate circumstances, I didn’t get to enjoy the trip the way I’d hoped.

Okay—fine. I was seven months pregnant, super sick, and way too adventurous for my own good. Not exactly the ideal setup for trekking around at altitude. But even through the nausea and questionable choices, I fell in love with the country and promised myself I’d come back for a do-over.

Ten years later, I got that chance. And this time, I brought my four kiddos along for the adventure. Here’s exactly how I pulled it off.

 

Finding Flights for Six

Quick note: our Peru trip was just one part of a much bigger six-week whirlwind through South America. But that’s a story for another day.

When planning a trip like this, I always start by tackling the biggest hurdle first: the flights. And depending on where you’re headed (and how many tiny humans you’re bringing with you), the process of finding seats can vary wildly.

Sometimes it’s easy.
Sometimes it’s a puzzle.
And sometimes you have to get a little scrappy and think outside the box.

For this trip, I tried all my usual go-to strategies for award bookings but got nowhere. Nothing had enough availability for six people at a sane mileage price. That’s when I remembered I’d been quietly hoarding a stash of United TravelBank credits thanks to my  American Express Platinum Card®. Each year, you get $200 in credit toward airline incidental fees.

I searched United’s cash fares instead of awards—just to see what was possible. And sure enough, there they were—flights from my home airport in Salt Lake City all the way to Lima. It wasn’t the perfectly optimized award redemption I’d hoped for, but it got all six of us to Peru without draining my points balances.

 

Lima: Beautiful Hotel, Incredible Breakfast

Fast forward a few months:

After a long travel day (including a ridiculously lengthy Dallas layover), we finally touched down in Lima. I booked us two rooms at the Hyatt Centric, which was an absolute steal. As a Hyatt Category 2 property, rooms start at 6,500 World of Hyatt points per night in the off-peak season.

The property was fantastic, and thanks to Hyatt Globalist status, we were upgraded to a swanky room and treated to free breakfast every morning. And not the sad American “bagel and yogurt cup” version—this was a full, gorgeous spread of fresh fruit, pastries, eggs, and local dishes that we all practically inhaled. It was the perfect way to start our trip and gave us the energy we needed for the real adventure waiting beyond Lima.

Two days later, and we were off.

Check out our blog post for tips on finding hotel stays for families of five (or more).

 

Lima to Arequipa: RIP to an Amazing 4,500-Mile Redemption

From Lima, we hopped over to Arequipa on the now-obsolete LATAM flight, booked through Alaska Airlines MileagePlan (now Atmos Rewards), for only 4,500 miles each. If you’re new to points, let me just say: That was a steal.

Arequipa was our launching point for the next big chapter of the trip, so we stayed one night at a Wyndham property—the Costa del Sol—booked on points. It was fancy, clean, and exactly what we needed. The next morning, we grabbed an Uber back to the airport, picked up a rental car, and braced ourselves for the drive to Colca Canyon.

 

 

Colca Canyon: Stunning Views, Altitude Drama, and Chase Travel℠ Saves the Day

Colca Canyon (specifically the city of Chivay) sits around 12,000 feet, and it is spectacular—towering mountains, dramatic cliffs, herds of alpacas, scenery that looks like a painting. But to get there, you need transportation, time, and ideally, children who don’t get altitude sickness.

We had two out of three.

Within hours of arriving, one of my sons was hit hard with altitude sickness. But after water, rest, and a very slow acclimation, he surprised me and bounced back. He ended up doing great the rest of the trip.

 

 

Because there aren’t really chain hotels in Colca Canyon (and honestly, that’s part of the charm), I used Chase Travel℠ to book our three nights in the region. Fixed-value redemptions aren’t the most brag-worthy, but they get the job done.

Speaking of Chase Travel℠, I also ended up booking our rental car through this program. While driving in Peru wasn’t something I was looking forward to, it really was the best way for us to explore everything we wanted to and at our own pace. Having a car made all the difference for us during our stay in the Colca Canyon. We could come and go as we please, get sidetracked and stop at random ruins that popped up unexpectedly on our drive.

 

Back to Arequipa

After our time in the canyon, we drove back to Arequipa and checked into our hotel. The property was honestly so beautiful I couldn’t believe it was a Hampton Inn. Think colonial courtyards and a cave-like restaurant carved from volcanic stone.

Arequipa quickly became one of our favorite cities on the entire trip. Walkable, friendly, incredible food, and of course, looming volcanoes in every direction you look—exactly the kind of place you want to explore slowly.

 

Cusco: The Hilton With Bunk Beds (Automatic 10/10 for Kids)

From Arequipa, we hopped on a night bus. My kids loved it; I, however, would rank it among my least favorite parts of the entire trip. The bus was hot, incredibly bumpy, and reclined in that unfortunate “your seat goes back only by invading the personal space of the person behind you” kind of way. When the person in front of me reclined, they were basically in my lap.

By the time we rolled into Cusco, I would’ve gladly checked into a cardboard box if it meant I could lie flat. Luckily, the new Hilton Motto in Cusco was the exact opposite of that. Our rooms had bunk beds, which instantly made this hotel a highlight. It was central, clean, and modern, and the price was just right, starting around 27,000 Hilton Honors points per night.

 

Our Two-Day Machu Picchu Trip (and a $3,000 Redemption Win)

While we were staying in Cusco, we broke away for a two-day, one-night Machu Picchu trip that included a hike into the Sacred Valley. I booked the tour through a local company and paid with my old Barclay Arrival Plus (no longer open for applications), which lets you redeem points directly for travel purchases. I erased the entire charge afterward, saving us roughly $3,000 out of pocket.

 

 

The tour itself was well-organized, the hike was manageable for the kids, and having everything handled—transportation, tickets, guide—made this part of the trip much easier logistically.

 

Ollantaytambo: A Points Splurge

After Machu Picchu, we headed to Ollantaytambo for three nights and stayed at Las Qolqas, a Mr & Mrs Smith property with large safari-style tents. This was our biggest points splurge of the trip, but the setup worked perfectly for a family. The tent was spacious, comfortable, and was such a fun change of pace after city hotels.

 

 

Back to Cusco for One More Night

Once our time in Ollantaytambo wrapped up, we made our way back to Cusco and stayed one final night at the Hilton. The city was hosting festivals—parades, music, crowds—so it was a lively end to our Peru segment before we packed up and continued on to Chile.

 

Wrapping Up Our Peru Adventure

Peru turned out to be one of the most memorable parts of our six-week trip. We covered a lot of ground, mixed several different types of accommodations, and relied heavily on points to keep the costs manageable. It wasn’t a perfectly smooth trip—altitude, long drives, and the night bus definitely humbled us—but the variety of it all made it completely worth it. Using points and miles lets us stretch our budget far enough to make a trip like this possible, and it’s a country I’d happily return to again and again.

 

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