How To Book a $1960/night Luxury Hotel Room for $275/night

I'll explain how I saved over $10k on luxury hotels in Costa Rica and Carmel Valley using points, free nights, and elite perks. I’ll walk you through every step, from how to book with points, when to buy them on sale, how to stack hotel credits, which hotel programs give you upgrades and free breakfast, and more!

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Resources Mentioned
Best Cards: https://chrishutchins.com/cards
Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card: https://chrishutchins.com/amexhiltona...
Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card: https://chrishutchins.com/amexhiltons...
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express: https://chrishutchins.com/amexbizplat

⁠Maximize Hilton cards⁠⁠: https://frequentmiler.com/how-to-maxi...
Hyatt's Guest of Honor Globalist⁠⁠: https://nerdwallet.com/article/travel...
Up to 6 free nights with Hyatt Brand Explorer⁠: https://thepointsguy.com/loyalty-prog...

Award Search Tools
⁠Rooms.Aero: https://rooms.aero
⁠⁠AwardTool⁠ ($20 off ⁠w/ code ALLTHEHACKS)⁠: https://chrishutchins.com/awardtool
Points Path⁠: https://pointspath.com
PointsYeah: https://pointsyeah.com/hotels
⁠⁠Awayz⁠ ($10 off)⁠: https://chrishutchins.com/awayz
MaxMyPoint: https://chrishutchins.com/maxmypoint
⁠⁠StayWithPoints⁠: https://chrishutchins.com/staywithpoints

Costa Rica
⁠Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica⁠: https://hilton.com/en/hotels/lirguwa-...
Adobe Rent a Car⁠: https://adobecar.com
⁠⁠Sensoria⁠⁠: https://sensoria.cr/tours/healing-the...
Diamante Eco Adventure Park: https://diamanteecoadventurepark.com
⁠⁠La Finca⁠: https://lafincacr.com

⁠Carmel Valley Ranch⁠: https://hyatt.com/unbound-collection/...
Little Ranchers⁠: https://hyattexperiences.com/unbound-...
River Ranch⁠: https://carmelvalleyranch.com/activit...
⁠Earthbound Farm⁠⁠: https://earthboundfarm.com/
Lucia Restaurant & Bar⁠⁠: https://bernarduslodge.com/carmel-val...
The Great Tide Pool⁠⁠: https://g.co/kgs/CMP4FvX
Revival Ice Cream⁠⁠: https://revivalicecream.com/pages/whe...
Snack Shack at Lovers Point: https://snackshackloverspoint.com/
⁠⁠Lucy's On Lighthouse⁠⁠: https://lucyspg.com/
Monterey Bay Aquarium⁠: https://montereybayaquarium.org/

⁠Alila Ventana Big Sur Hotel⁠: https://alilahotels.com/ventana/

⁠Buy World Of Hyatt Points For 20% Off⁠: https://onemileatatime.com/deals/buy-...

ATH Podcast
⁠Luxury Hotel Upgrade Program: https://chrishutchins.com/upgrade
⁠Ep #157: Costa Rica: ⁠https://chrishutchins.com/157
⁠Ep #167: Booking Hotels with Points & Miles:    • Best Tools for Booking Flights + Hotels wi...  
⁠Ep #182: ⁠Shortcuts to Elite Travel Status:    • 11 Shortcuts To Get Elite Status (Insider ...  

Full Show Notes
(00:00) Introduction
(00:47) How Chris Got Six Free Hilton Night Certificates
(01:53) How Hilton Free Night Certificates Work
(02:59) Earning Free Nights with Hilton Credit Cards
(04:13) Planning the Trip to Costa Rica
(06:23) Buying Hilton Points (and the Caveats)
(09:40) Ways to Earn Hilton Status
(13:48) Stacking Amex and Hilton Credits
(16:14) Booking Flights with Points & Leveraging Alerts
(19:35) Renting Cars in Costa Rica
(20:55) The Flight Experience
(22:16) Adobe Car Rental Review
(23:03) Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica Overview
(25:20) How We Handled an Issue at the Hotel
(30:09) Resort Layout, Pools & Amenities
(33:16) Our Sensoria Rainforest Excursion
(35:46) Diamante Eco Adventure Park & Zip Lining
(37:06) The Dining, Drinks & Staff Experience
(40:33) Sharing Feedback & Tipping the Hotel Staff
(41:59) Overall Costa Rica Takeaways & Total Costs
(45:33) How to Maximize Travel Perks without Points
(48:50) Booking Carmel Valley Ranch with Hyatt Points
(51:29) Hyatt Globalist Perks & Guest of Honor Certificates
(54:08) Hyatt Brand Explorer Program
(54:37) The Experience at Carmel Valley Ranch
(58:21) Off-Property Activities & Local Recommendations
(01:00:06) Trip Recap & Key Takeaways

Connect with Chris:
Newsletter: https://landing.chrishutchins.com/new...
Membership: https://chrishutchins.com/join
Twitter:   / hutchins  
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LinkedIn:   / chrishutchins  

Editor’s Note: The content on this page is accurate as of the posting date; however, some of our partner offers may have expired. Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.