September 25, 2026
Reader Sucess Story: Bora Bora
Pam
Demita posted her reader success story to Bora Bora in our Facebook Group and agreed to let me add it here. Thanks, Demita!
Wow, what a dreamy once-in-a-lifetime vacation we took to Tahiti and Bora Bora. This is by far the most complicated point trip I have ever booked. Important note: Conrad devalued right after I booked a year ago. Free-night certificates may be the way to go. We also felt like we did everything: swam with whales, with sharks, and snorkeled in coral reefs; rode jet skis; paid for a Polynesian show and dinner; flew business class/premium economy; and experienced the overwater bungalows.
Booking Hotels
For this trip, I had to book the hotel first. I noticed because it’s high season aka dry season (May through October), rooms available with points were selling out shortly after being released and before flights were even out—not my preferred order to book things.
Conrad Bora Bora Nui
At the time, we held the The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, which gives you the fifth night free on a five-night booking. I booked this, then canceled the card. Membership Rewards® points transfer to Hilton at 1:2, so every American Express point equals 2 Hilton points, cutting the cost in half, plus the free night. We paid 240,000 Membership Rewards® points for 5 nights!!!!!!! [Pam’s note: Remember, Demita did this before a devaluation.] Rooms are literally thousands of dollars per night.
All information about American Express cards have been collected independently by Points Talk Squad. American Express cards are no longer available through Points Talk Squad.
Other Hotels
I then discovered Hilton Moorea Lagoon and Spa and used 95,000 Membership Rewards® points total for two nights—super easy to book and available! We needed to be back in Tahiti for one night before a 7 a.m. flight back to LAX, so I used Chase Travel℠ and my $50 Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card credit to book a hotel across from the airport that only cost me $100.
Flights
If you’re planning this trip and need to fly out of LAX or San Francisco to PPT, look at United, Air France, or Alaska (to book Air Tahiti Nui). Then either book ferries, Air Tahiti, or Air Moana to the different islands. I personally recommend flying after seeing ferry cancellations due to swells/winds in Bora Bora (and on another trip I took in Greece).
From LAX to Papeete (Tahiti), we transferred Membership Rewards® points to Qantas to book Air Tahiti Nui. We paid 82,250 points each plus $168.02 in business class. This gave us business-class lounge access in LAX.
For our way home, I booked Air France Papeete to LAX, which cost us 65,500 miles per person plus $121.51 each.
I scored premium economy, which we have never tried before either:
We decided to pay cash for our inter-island flights, and the flights from Papeete to Moorea to Bora Bora, and from Bora Bora to Papeete on Air Tahiti cost $1,009.57.
For positioning flights, we used Virgin Atlantic miles to book Delta flights from DTW to LAX for 74,000 points for 4 tickets, plus $22.40 total. We dropped off our kids near LAX to stay with my sister, so those flights were an extra expense. Return flights were the same amount, but we flew through San Diego instead of LAX.
Air Tahiti Nui business class
Since the airport in Bora Bora is on an island not connected to anything, you have to pay for a boat transfer to the hotel. The Conrad charges $180 round trip per person.
Major Money-Saving Tips
1. Check out the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card, which gives you Hilton Diamond Status. That translates to getting a free buffet breakfast for the entire stay. It is $65 a person a day otherwise, so this alone makes the card worth it.
2. Hilton Honors™ Diamond Status gives you the best chance for upgrades. We were upgraded to a private bungalow room with our own pool in Bora Bora. Standard points rooms do not have a pool and are in a hotel-like building.
3. A few of the Hilton cards give you $50 dollars or $200 dollars quarterly or semi-annually to spend at Hilton properties. You can email the hotel for a payment link, apply these amounts to your portfolio to spend, and get the money back. We already had $500 of basically free money added to our portfolio months before we arrived at the Conrad.
4. Several restaurants will pick you up for free from the Hilton in Moorea. Food is better and cheaper off-site. Highly recommend Rudy’s.
5. Bora Bora is extremely expensive, e.g., $9 for a can of Coke, $41 for a burger. Since the Conrad is not on the main island of Bora Bora, you are a captive audience. Portions are small. You can take a free water taxi (aka speedboat) to the mainland. We went once; lunch was 1/4 the price off-resort, and then we went to the grocery store and bought a pack of beer, Coke Zero, snacks, and PB and J. We paid for one nice meal a day at Conrad with free breakfast (eat several plates lol) and sandwich lunches. It’s not worth going to the mainland for dinner; the boat is free in the morning and early afternoon, but at dinner it’s $60 per person RT!!!
6. Book activities through Viator as they are cheaper. I also earned 12 points per dollar through Rakuten. I’ll put activity prices below in final costs. In Bora Bora, a boat will pick you up at the hotel dock. In Moorea, they sent a local taxi to pick us up, and it was included in the price.
7. I learned that the days of $500 overwater bungalow upgrades are gone, at least during high season at Conrad. They found two nights available for an upgrade and wanted $1,300 per night!!! I negotiated them down to $1,000, and we did it one night with early check-in at noon and late check-out at 4 pm for the experience.
The staff told us there are no lower-tier OWBs here; they are all premium, with Infinity pools and netting after closing, and they’ve been reconstructing all the bungalows for several months. Therefore, they said the days of cheap upgrades are gone, and all bungalows are premium with a higher price tag. We tried to get them to go lower, and they would not budge.
9. The Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card also comes with a free-night certificate, which has no monetary limit. If a standard room is available for your nights, you can use that, which is a great deal.
10. Do not sleep on Moorea!!!! It’s cheaper than Bora Bora, and you have easier access to go off-site for dinner for free!!! The bungalows are less fancy than at the Conrad; there no infinity pools. Upgrades, if available for OWB, are cheaper; we heard from another couple that was offered one for an additional $400 a night. Conrad customer service is higher level, but it’s also way more expensive. If you are bringing kids, the water is much safer (less deep) and easier for kids to access coral.
11. Minibar in Moorea is free (pop, beer, waters, etc.). They give you two free refillable water bottles to fill up on property. The minibar at the Conrad is NOT free. Tap water is unsafe to drink in Moorea, but it’s safe at Conrad in Bora Bora.
12. Both places have paddle boards, kayaks, and snorkel gear for free. You can use the sauna for free at the Conrad.
13. Moorea: I had no bug bites, but I was eaten alive at the Conrad. We got a bottle of bug spray from the restaurant for free, but it didn’t have DEET. If you want DEET, bring your own.
Viator Tours
Moorea Swimming with whales: $646.62
Bora Bora Jet Ski: $345.80
Bora Bora Snorkel: $167.13
Taxi from Moorea Hotel and airport: $70 RT
$70 RT (both took credit card, unlike Tahiti)
Thanks, Demita, for letting us republish your reader success story. Bora Bora is a popular destination for all of us!
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