A lovely reader sent in this reader success story about her trip with her son to Seattle!  Here’s Candace’s story:

 

I’ve used points and miles for a long time. My first redemption was in 2011, when I used travel portals from two different cash-back credit cards to book flights to Kauai for my husband and me.

But until finding the Points Talk Squad podcast and signing up for ATA Next Level, I only earned miles slowly, through everyday spending on co-branded credit cards. The guidance I’ve gotten from Points Talk Squad has been instrumental in learning about transferable points and leveraging welcome offers.

 

How the Trip Came to Be

My son has been asking to take a trip with just me for a while, and when he put it on his tenth-birthday wish list, I decided to use points and miles to make his wish come true. He wanted to visit Greece, but since we had already traveled to Paris, London, and Amsterdam for his birthday (on points and miles, of course), we decided on a shorter, closer trip. I grew up in New York City, and I really enjoy visiting cities where I can get around on foot. We live in Salt Lake City, so we decided on Seattle: it’s a walkable city, less than a two-hour flight from home, and has amazing food.

 

Miles and Points Used

Flights

For flights from SLC to SEA, I use Delta miles earned through my Delta credit card. I have had the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card for many years because SLC is a Delta hub, and I’ve made good use of the annual companion certificate every year.

This year, I upgraded to the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, which offers lounge access, four guest vouchers each year, and, like the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum card, 15% off award flights operated by Delta. Holding the Reserve card also gives me a head start on earning status. I used the miles earned through the upgrade offer and paid 25,400 miles + $11.20 for both tickets. After enjoying lunch and some plane spotting in the Delta Sky Club®, we boarded our flight. Despite only having lowly Silver Medallion status this year, my son and I were upgraded to Comfort+, which made our flight more comfortable.

To return home, I transferred 22,000 American Express Membership Rewards® (earned through an American Express® Gold Card welcome offer) to Virgin Atlantic to book Delta flights. I paid $11.20 in taxes and fees for both of us.

We were still able to use the Delta Sky Club® in Seattle because we were flying Delta. The best part about access to this Sky Club was the customer service. Because I booked through Virgin Atlantic, my SkyMiles number wasn’t attached to the reservation, even though I entered it at the time of booking. Neither the representative I chatted with nor the agent at check-in could help, but an agent in the lounge added my number and us to the upgrade list. Our upgrades cleared at the gate, and we got to travel home in Comfort+ on that leg as well!

 

Hotel

I wanted to stay in downtown Seattle, where many of the sights we wanted to see would be easy to walk to. I’ve stayed near the convention center for work before and decided that would be a nice central location. I booked the Hyatt Regency Seattle, which was well situated between Pike Place Market, the Waterfront, Lake Union, and the Pacific Science Center.

I transferred 30,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards® (earned through an Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card welcome offer) to Hyatt to book a two-night stay. About a week before check-in, a hotel representative sent an email to welcome us. I replied with a very abridged version of Pam’s template, explaining that we would be visiting to celebrate my son’s belated birthday, and asked whether they had any rooms with a view available.

The hotel upgraded us to a corner room with views of the waterfront on one side and the lake on the other. To our surprise, they also had a birthday card waiting for my son at check-in, along with a $20 voucher for their on-site restaurant and market. 

 

 

Sightseeing

We spent the first afternoon exploring Pike Place Market and the waterfront. I introduced my son to Piroshky Piroshky Bakery, and we browsed handmade crafts.

The next day, our only full day, we headed back to the market for breakfast at The Crumpet Shop. From there, we walked to the Seattle Science Center (where we got free admission through the ASTC Passport Program by holding a membership to our local Natural History Museum of Utah). After exploring the Science Center, we had oysters at Taylor Shellfish (one of the things my son looked forward to most!).

We had initially talked about doing a Seattle Underground Tour, but there weren’t any tickets left by the time we sat down to lunch, so instead we headed to the Center for Wooden Boats at Lake Union, where we rented a rowboat (for free) through the Public Peapod Program. We treated ourselves to Top Pot Doughnuts on the way back to our hotel and ended our evening at Dough Zone, one of our favorite places for dumplings.

 

 

 

Bottom Line

Even a couple of years ago, an affordable weekend getaway would have meant driving to a nearby hotel at a cheap cash rate, but with points and miles, we paid just $22.40 for round-trip flights and a hotel stay for two!

 

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