After flying on 90 flight segments in 2013, I feel like I am getting the shakes – my last flight was from SEA-EWR on December 8. I mentally penciled-in a nice 5-month break between the last weeks of pregnancy and first few months of motherhood to adjust to our new life as a family, but with devaluations happening left and right, I couldn’t help but to already search for my next escape!
I figured Aruba would be a nice and relaxing solo getaway for Mr. Points Traveler and I, and since there is non-stop service from EWR-AUA, just 3 nights away would be plenty. Baby Points Traveler will be in good hands, spending the weekend with Mom and Dad, but I’m sure I’ll be missing him like crazy.
For a total of 70,000 United Miles and $140 in taxes, I booked two round-trip flights from EWR-AUA, and was even able to squeeze in a free one-way trip from EWR-LAS for both of us to use at a later date (one of my favorite benefits of booking International round trip tickets with United). If I were to book the EWR-LAS segment separately, it would have cost us an additional 25,000 miles for both of us. Tacking this segment on to our round trip only resulted in an increase of $5 in taxes for 2 tickets – no brainer.
As for hotels, we are spending all 3 nights at the Radisson in Aruba entirely on points. Room-rates are astronomically priced at over $546 a night (including taxes) for a standard room during the nights we will be there, so this is definitely a case where points save the day. Here is my strategy in booking the 3-night stay: I booked the first two nights on ClubCarlson.com at the standard rate of 50,000 points per night.
Since I am a Club Carlson Premier Rewards Visa Signature® Card holder (IMHO, the best hotel credit card by far), one of the most-valuable perks is this: a free night when you redeem points for 2 or more consecutive nights at a Club Carlson property. With that said, it’s like I booked my first two nights at 25,000 points a pop – truly a steal! 50,000 points for ~$1,100 worth of hotel nights. For the 3rd night, I had a free-night certificate that is valid at any Radisson property in North America that I was able to use.
Another good thing is that I have top-tier Concierge status with Club Carlson from a previous MegaDo, so I am hoping to receive a complimentary room upgrade, and I am looking forward to the free hot breakfasts every morning.
Summary
All in all I am very proud of my choice of redemption -Â For just 70,000 United miles, $140 in airline taxes, 50,000 Club Carlson points, and a free hotel night voucher, we were able to book a weekend getaway that easily prices out at over $2,500… and that’s not even including value of the free one-way tickets to Las Vegas later on.
Credit Card Resources
If you’re looking to duplicate this trip, here are credit cards that can help you book something similar:
- Club Carlson Premier Rewards Visa Signature® Card Earn up to 85,000 points (50,000 points after your first purchase!), first year free
- United MileagePlus Explorer Card Earn 30,000 MileagePlus miles after spending $1,000 in 3 months (note: there is also a targeted offer with a 50,000-mile sign-up bonus that some people have been receiving – check your junk mail frequently)
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card 40,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months (points transfer 1:1 to United)
- Ink Plus® Business Card 50,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 in the first 3 months (points transfer 1:1 to United)
This will be my first time visiting Aruba – Any tips? Restaurant suggestions? “Must see attractions?”. Looking forward to recommendations!
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Hi Angelina,
We go to Aruba every year.. Just booked last week and going again next week to get away from this Northeast cold. I used my Radisson points but decided to hold on to my United points since jetblue tickets were pretty cheap.
Hints for Radisson – Email ahead of time and get a hut. Yes, its $35 a day for a front row hut but so worth it then standing in line at 4pm the day before. Ask for the huts all the way to the right. The cruise ship people come in and line up their chairs in front of you if you are on the left side of the property. if you want email me and I will let you know which hut to go. If you go before 7am to the lobby they have free juice, water bottles, coffee and pastries set up. I never cared for their breakfast buffet but Gilligans on site has great blueberry pancakes. There are so many places to eat within walking distance including breakfast. You don’t have much so I am not sure what you want to do. If you don’t want to sit on a beach all day.. Rent a soft top jeep – more 4 less is great.. and go 4wheeling around the island. Start at the lighthouse to the Natural Bridge. Take a snorkel tour. Black Pearl is great if you want quiet and books up sometimes months in advance. If you want more party atmosphere take the Jolly Pirates. Sopranos Piano Bar is a great place to hang out at high. Hyatt’s casino is the most active with a band usually playing at night. Bungloe bar which is on the pier to the left of the Radisson is a great place to get lunch or drinks for happy hour. If you have a car/jeep rental.. take the 5 minute drive down to eagle beach and walk the beach down there.. beautiful, much different then palm beach where you are staying. There are so many great restaurants in aruba. Check out Passions on the Beach, good food.. GREAT view with feet in the sand, make reservations and ask from front row. Enjoy!!!
Sounds like a great trip! Aruba is one of my wife’s and my favorite vacation place! It’s convenient, safe, beautiful, and fun. It’s the real driver behind my initial interest in accumulating miles. We took a trip there back in 2001 or so and just loved it. We recalibrated our expectations of beautiful beaches when we visited the Maldives last year, but Aruba can’t be beat for proximity and relatively low cost compared to the Maldives.
If you decide to pay for a room sometime (or use MR or UR points to pay for one), you should consider booking at the Manchebo Beach Resort. The beach there is the best on the island. The high rise area is good for night life, but the beaches are small and very crowded in peak season. The Manchebo beach is extremely large and beautiful, and the hotel rates are very reasonable in off season compared to the high rise.
Hope you have a great time! We’re hoping to get back again (our 4th time) either later this year or early next.
(And, by the way, thanks for your blog! Thoroughly enjoy it!)
De Palm Island has great snorkeling!
Sounds like a nice redemption & trip but I personally would wait for the baby to be born before booking anything.
I agree with Michael. I would spend a little time with your baby first and adjust to your new life, especially if you’re planning on breastfeeding. Consider taking the baby with you. 3mo is a wonderful time when they start to be interactive. We took our daughter at 3mo to Hawaii this summer, it was incredible.
How did you tack on the Las Vegas trip for free? Was it a multi city trip so you basically go to Las Vegas as soon as you land in Newark (the next day)?
I went to Aruba with my family a few years ago before Aruba was in the news. It is a small island, very flat, somewhat windy, but great snorkeling and scuba diving. Locals are very friendly and speak very good English. I think 3 days is the perfect length of time to explore the island.
P.S. Buy a coconut head carving, they are my favorite.
I also certainly would not have been ready to depart on a trip with or without my infant that early into first time motherhood. Nursing alone could be tricky with getting enough stocked up at home to be gone for three days (and pumping on the road), and some kids aren’t fantastic at switching back and forth from a bottle to mom that soon…but the good news I suppose is that with miles and points you should be able to cancel or change with no penalty if you decide it isn’t the best time for what otherwise sounds like a fun trip!
You will figure out what works for you, and every situation is different, but just don’t put pressure on yourself to have to be ready for a trip away that soon. If it doesn’t work out, no big deal. If it does work out, then I’m sure you will enjoy the uninterrupted sleep.