7 Nights in Aruba for Spring Break 2020 for a Family of Four
                . . . .   And how I saved $5954!

Step 1:  Book flights early & shop around for days, departure airports and final destinations
Booked Flight 6 months in Advance (**The day flights were released on Southwest Airlines)
* Standard flight price was $764 per person => $3056 for a family of four
* I booked flights using my Southwest Airlines Frequent Flier Miles
          * Cost => 16,468 points per person and $90.55 in fees
                                 = > 65,872 pts & $362.20 for a family of 4
              (Note:  Fees are higher because the flight is International)
           * How I got the points: Chase Southwest credit card offer that had a 75,000 mile bonus that I 
              had done way in advance of planning my trip.
* Savings ~ $2694

Step 2:  Find Lodging.  Because I had 6 months before my trip, I could research places to stay using points and sign up for credit card offers that got me the points I needed.  This is what I found:
Holiday Inn Resort Aruba-Beach Resort & Casino - 5 Nights 
* Standard Cost was $1528 for 5 nights
* We paid $0
            * How I got the points: Chase IHG Credit Card that had a 150,000 point bonus offer
                        *  Room was 40,000 points a night plus 1 free night if you booked 3 nights
                            (a perk of the card) =160,000 IHG points for 5 nights
                        * Hotel points are great because you generally do not pay anything, even if there
                           are charges for parking, wifi or resort fees.
                        * Additional perks of the card included automatic Platinum Status at the hotel (so
                           possible room upgrade when we arrive) and free Cabana Rentals at the resort!

* Savings ~ $1528

Renaissance Aruba Resort & Casino  - 2 Nights 
* Standard Cost $1732 for 2 nights
* We paid $0
               * Signed up for the Marriott Bonvoy American Express that had a 75,000 mile bonus offer                       and an automatic upgrade to Gold Status
                * Room was 35,000 points per night = 70,000 points
* Savings ~ $1732


Getting sign up bonuses on credit card offers
I use to try to include links to the offers I had signed up for on credit cards, but the offers change so frequently that it is impossible to keep them up to date. 

** Booking flights on Southwest Airlines 
While most airlines allow you to book flights up to 11 months in advance of your travels, Southwest Airlines does it differently. They release their fares in batches, going as far out as about seven months.  For Spring Break dates, the low fare flights go quickly, so I mark my calendar so that I can check prices the day the fares are posted.

Weekend in Napa Under $200 per person - Flights, Lodging, & Rental Car

January 2018
The best way I have found to travel inexpensively, other than using frequent flyer and/or hotel points, is to watch frequent flyer blogger posts.  A couple that I always find up-to-date and useful are Million Mile Secrets and Johnny Jet.   You have to keep in the mind that when you find an awesome deal, it will go quick, so you have to act fast.  

In January while perusing some travel blog posts, Pondering Perks found a non-stop, round-trip flight, from Chicago to San Francisco, on United Airlines, for $144, including all fees!  We could not resist so we booked it ASAP.  We talked our spouses into going, booked flights for a long weekend in February, and began hunting for lodging.  Flight -> $144/person

For our rental car, I went to Priceline, put in a bid for 40% lower than published rates for a standard car ($19/day), and low and behold my bid was accepted!  Rental car & gas -> $46/person

First night lodging - We landed late in San Fransisco on a Thursday night and wanted to head toward Napa.  We wanted to get out of San Fransisco while traffic was light because most hotels charge more points if you book in large cities like San Francisco.   We found the San Pablo Holiday Inn Express, 40 minutes from the airport, for 25,000 points/night which included free parking and free breakfast.  Perfect!  Friday night lodging and Saturday morning breakfast -> $0

Friday/Saturday Lodging - We booked a room at the Meritage and paid using the $600 travel credit I had on our Barclay Arrival Plus Signature Visa.   Friday-Saturday night lodging -> $0. 

Sunday Night Lodging - We booked the Holiday Inn Fisherman's Wharf, in downtown San Fransisco, for 40,000 points.   Sunday night lodging -> $0.

Food/Tours/Wine - Obviously you will spend money going out to eat, touring Napa and trying out all of the wine!  You can spend as much or as little as you want.  We booked a group wine tour through Platypus Tours for $100/person and highly recommend it. 

Hopper Creek

Summary
*  Watch travel bloggers and jump on flights when they are low
*  IHG Points - I got 80,000 IHG points, with no fee, after spending $1000 in 3 months with the Chase IHG MasterCard.  I used 65,000 miles for this trip and still have 15,000 stored for my next trip.
*  Barclay Arrival Plus Visa - I got 60,000 travel credits, equivalent to $600, to pay for anything travel including hotels, car rentals and airfare.  My offer had no fee for the first year and I had to spend $3000 in 3 months to get the $600 credit
*  Priceline - Wait until you are close to your travel date and place a low bid on your rental car.  If your low bid isn't accepted, you can always bid again.



CHEERS!