00:00:00:00 - 00:00:06:18 Chris Some of our favorite travel memories didn't come from business class flights. They came from the hotels we checked in after we landed. 00:00:06:20 - 00:00:14:19 Katie And the best part is, a lot of these stays would normally cost hundreds or even thousands per night. And we booked them using points. 00:00:14:21 - 00:00:22:05 Chris That's right. And today we're sharing some of our favorite hotels that we've ever seen at From beach Resorts to Hidden City Gems. 00:00:22:07 - 00:00:32:15 Katie And more importantly, we're breaking them down to show you exactly how you can book them to. 00:00:32:17 - 00:00:36:02 Chris Hey, I'm Chris. Welcome to the Upgraded Points podcast. 00:00:36:04 - 00:00:52:14 Katie And I'm Katie and today we are talking about a new welcome offer on the Chase freedom Unlimited, a new Capital One travel app. And then we are talking about some of our favorite hotels we've ever booked with points. Before we get to all of that, don't forget to like and subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, or wherever you're watching your listening. 00:00:52:17 - 00:01:03:08 Katie And if you have questions or comments for us, you can reach us at podcasts at Upgraded points.com. So let's start with this awesome welcome bonus on a really amazing card. 00:01:03:10 - 00:01:33:12 Chris Yeah, this is the Chase Freedom Unlimited card, and right now you can earn a $250 bonus after spending $500 in purchases within the first three months. And this deal is valid through June 11th of 2026. Now, if you're not familiar with the Chase Freedom Unlimited, this card has a no annual fee. Okay, first of all, 5% cashback on travel purchase through Chase travel, 3% cashback on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, and 1.5% cashback on all other purchases. 00:01:33:13 - 00:02:00:06 Chris These are some great categories for a card with no annual fee. And now you may be thinking, okay, $200 cashback. That's great. But I mean, we want points, right? Yeah, yeah. Me too. Okay, well, you know, if you have a card that already earns Chase Ultimate Rewards, like the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card or the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, that $250 bonus will actually show up in your account as 25,000 points, which is a great deal. 00:02:00:07 - 00:02:10:00 Katie Yeah, that's a really nice card for people who are in that Chase ecosystem to earn more than one point per dollar on every purchase and at no annual fee. I mean, gotta keep it in your wallet. 00:02:10:02 - 00:02:10:08 Chris Yeah. 00:02:10:09 - 00:02:28:09 Katie Yeah, absolutely. So the next thing we're going to talk about is the new Capital One Travel app. And when I first saw the headline, I was kind of like a traveler who cares? Like whatever. But I downloaded it this morning and it's actually pretty interesting. And I think it's a really nice solution for those people who really are looking for simplicity. 00:02:28:11 - 00:02:55:13 Katie And I'm recommending the Capital One program a lot more than I used to, because it's so easy to use. And this app really is designed well. And just makes that whole process easier. So you can book flights, hotels, all of that good stuff in this app. Your points show up right there. It's really easy. I personally don't necessarily book through the Capital One travel portal, but what I really loved is the Live Lounge locator. 00:02:55:19 - 00:03:16:10 Katie So there's a really easy to see, page that just shows you what, what Capital One lounges are around, and if they're busy. And you can also add yourself to the waitlist with the click of a button right there without having to go through the Capital One regular app. And like, digging around like you can do it, but it takes a minute to kind of get there. 00:03:16:10 - 00:03:33:08 Katie And this is so quick and simple. You can also get your QR code to get into the lounge. So if you've forgotten your credit card, which I have done, you can just get that, QR code automatically and get into the lounge. So there's some really nice features on that new app. So I wanted to just mention it. 00:03:33:08 - 00:03:37:07 Katie For those of you who are in the, Capital One ecosystem. 00:03:37:09 - 00:03:42:00 Chris Yeah, that is great. I love to see when technology really starts helping out and, you know, real world examples. 00:03:42:00 - 00:03:44:09 Katie Yes. Absolutely. Absolutely. 00:03:44:11 - 00:03:56:22 Chris Okay. Well, let's move on to our main segment. We often talk about these big bucket list flights that we've taken. First class business class. But it's no secret that those flights can be hard to find and even harder to book. 00:03:57:00 - 00:04:13:02 Katie Yeah. So we wanted to today highlight some of the hotels that we've stayed at, that we've loved and that we've paid for with points. And this is a great episode for beginners, too, because hotel bookings are usually much easier than flight bookings. 00:04:13:04 - 00:04:27:11 Chris Yeah, that's right, there's no more dealing with only one seat available. If you find availability, you've got your trip. This is going to be perfect for the solo trip for group trips. Family trips, and when points really start to feel tangible, so can you want to kick it off for us? 00:04:27:13 - 00:04:50:22 Katie Yeah, absolutely. So one of the, best redemptions I've ever made was the Hotel Duluth in Paris. And let's start off with it has an amazing location, literally next door to the Louvre. Incredible. Within walking distance to a lot of attractions. There's restaurants all around there. There's just a lot. It's a really, really great location. This is a Hyatt hotel. 00:04:51:00 - 00:05:23:11 Katie I stayed there, I paid 120,000 points for four nights and the cash cost was $2,300, so I was really happy with that. It is a category seven, so it's one of the higher ones. So right now if you book it, it will cost you either 25, 30 or 35,000 points per night in May when the award chart expands and Hyatt is going to go to their dynamic, not dynamic pricing, that award category will now go up to 55,000 points per night. 00:05:23:16 - 00:05:42:17 Katie So I know if this is on your radar, if you have a Paris trip planned, if you're thinking about it booking now, you can book at those lower prices. And if for some reason you don't take the trip, you just cancel it. One of the beauties of paying with points is they're easily cancelable. So I said, the location is amazing. 00:05:42:19 - 00:06:05:14 Katie This was the only meaningful globalist upgrade I ever got. So I was a globalist at the time of this day I am not anymore, but they upgraded me before I got there without asking to a junior suite with a view which I was so excited about. I get to the room and we are on the corner with a little balcony, and it's one of those where you can step out. 00:06:05:14 - 00:06:27:15 Katie You can't sit out there overlooking the Louvre like this is incredible. It was so cool and I was with my mom. It was her first time in Paris. It was a birthday trip, so it was just spectacular. The room was comfortable. There's a great little restaurant down there on the first floor that has a breakfast. It is a buffet, but then you can order off the menu as well. 00:06:27:15 - 00:06:55:05 Katie The food was incredible. The staff was really nice. It was just one of those all around amazing stays. And that same year, I also stayed at the Park Hyatt in Paris, which was a category eight. So it's a little bit more expensive. Great breakfast, comfortable room, but I really like the hotel to live better. Nothing. I had nothing against that Park Hyatt, but the Hotel Duluth is just a special place, so highly recommend it if you are going to Paris. 00:06:55:06 - 00:07:21:15 Chris That is awesome! Seeing high praises. All right, well, I'm going to move on. We talked about the high program. I'm going to jump over to Hilton. One of my family's favorite stays was at the Conrad Evermore in Orlando, Florida. Now, I thought the Evermore Resort was going to be overrated. It wasn't. This might be one of the most underrated, family friendly luxury resorts that you can book with points. 00:07:21:19 - 00:07:42:10 Chris This hotel was going for $1,000 per night in Orlando, Florida. Yeah, expense not cheap. I paid with 90,000 Hilton honors points. Also not cheap, but I earned those as part of a welcome bonus from the Hilton Honors American Express aspire card. And with this card comes with a long list of benefits. I've. We've talked about them many times. 00:07:42:12 - 00:08:06:18 Chris But one of them is diamond status. So I got upgraded before arrival and breakfast each morning, and the card comes with two $200, semiannual resort credits. And this Conrad Evermore was one of the listed resorts. So we paid with points and then got $200 in essentially free food during our stay. And I talked about Disney a lot. 00:08:06:18 - 00:08:27:08 Chris Everybody talks about Disney a lot. This hotel, nobody is talking about it when you're talking about Disney. And it is just minutes from the gate. But it feels like you are on the other side of the world. There is a giant lagoon with eight acres of water, overwater bungalows it like. Depending on the angle of the photo, it looks like you're in the Maldives. 00:08:27:10 - 00:08:46:12 Chris It has 20 acres of white sand beach, a giant waterslide, private cabanas, and then dining and entertainment options. It's just wild to think of that, where you're in the middle of Orlando, but you feels like you're in the middle of anywhere. If you have Hilton points sitting around, this is one of the easiest wins. 00:08:46:14 - 00:08:56:12 Katie Yeah, I really want to check that place out. I tried to to look at it for a quick spring break trip, but I don't have enough Hilton points, so I need to get that aspire card and get some of those free nights. 00:08:56:13 - 00:09:16:18 Chris Well, let me get off topic for just a second, because I was also looking at it for an upcoming family trip to Orlando with extended family. Now, the Conrad Evermore is the hotel at evermore. But this it is a giant complex with, apartments and flats and houses and I think the smallest flat that you can rent there sleeps 11 people. 00:09:16:20 - 00:09:31:03 Chris And when you break it down by head, you can really make it affordable. If you decide to pay cash and you still have access to all of this incredible resort, and then the houses are just a whole other level. Can sleep 20 or 30 people. It's crazy development over there. 00:09:31:05 - 00:09:55:11 Katie Oh wow, that's good to know. I didn't realize that. Awesome great great option for families. Okay, moving back to Europe for my next one. The Andaz Amsterdam. Another Hyatt. Yes, I realize I'm kind of on a Hyatt kick right now. It is, currently a category seven hotel, so the same prices as the Hotel Duluth. If you're thinking about it, book it before May so you can lock in those prices. 00:09:55:13 - 00:10:14:08 Katie It was a category six when I booked, so I paid. I've actually stayed there twice and I usually never stay at a hotel twice, especially if I really like it because I'm so afraid I'm going to be disappointed. The second time. And there were a couple little things. The second time that I was like, oh, that's not quite the same as the first time, which was a fantastic state, but both times were wonderful. 00:10:14:08 - 00:10:36:02 Katie I love this hotel. The first time I paid 58,000 points plus a category one through seven for three nights, cash cost was 22, little over 2200, and the second stay I did 145,000 points for five nights. The cash stay on that one was over 4000. So great value there. Yeah, it is a great location right on a canal. 00:10:36:04 - 00:11:00:08 Katie Walkable to anything. I mean, we never took public transportation when we were there. We walked everywhere. Just a cool, quirky hotel, super design forward. It does not let you forget you're in Amsterdam. Every little detail is something having to do with Amsterdam in some way. But like, really whimsical and fun. And I love that kind of hotel. 00:11:00:08 - 00:11:22:14 Katie Like it is not boring at all. The first year I stayed, I did get a room that overlooks the canal, which was really, really nice. The second year I overlooked the garden in the back, which was very nice. I definitely would go for the canal view if I had to choose. Again, the weird thing about this hotel that I want to mention is the bathrooms are pretty open. 00:11:22:20 - 00:11:42:19 Katie So like if you're going as a couple, no big deal. Or family like who cares? The sink and everything are completely open. It's like the bed is there and the sink is kind of next door to it. And then the shower. The shower itself has like a mirror door so you can't see through, but it just opens into the room. 00:11:42:21 - 00:12:03:10 Katie So it's not one that like, I mean, I'm generally not one to share a room with friends when I'm traveling because that's just where I am. But like, if you're sharing a room with a friend, yeah, make sure it's a really good friend because it could just be slightly awkward, like popping out of the shower. The toilet does have its own little room, but it is just it's something a little, little different that you should know about before you're booking that. 00:12:03:12 - 00:12:10:18 Katie And I don't know if the suites are like that. I only stayed in the regular rooms, but I really, really cool hotel. I would absolutely recommend that. 00:12:10:20 - 00:12:31:20 Chris Okay. Well, then I will give you something that a little bit opposite of that, that bathroom. Katy I'm going to take us to Japan, the Waldorf Astoria Osaka. And when I tell you this is one of the nicest bathrooms I have ever been to, it had multiple doors and sounds and automatic features. It was really next level. But that's pretty common in Japan. 00:12:31:22 - 00:12:50:06 Chris This is one of the newest Waldorf stores in the world, and you can book it with points. This is the kind of hotel that makes you feel like you're playing the game correctly. The rates at this hotel start around $80 a night. But it is a little bit more expensive on the point, say the 120,000 Hilton honors points per night. 00:12:50:06 - 00:13:12:06 Chris That is their minimum rate. So you'll have to save up for it. Or in my case, I used a free night certificate, and that comes with every year you pay the annual fee on the aspire card, you get one of these certificates. So when you make these kind of redemptions, it pays for that $550 annual fee easily without even trying to take advantage of all the other other benefits. 00:13:12:08 - 00:13:34:08 Chris But this hotel, from the second you walk in it, it just feels different. The chaos of this massive Osaka city just disappears. You get shot up to the 31st floor, and you have these views of the entire city. Whether you're near the room, the pool, or the, you know, the famous Peacock Alley bar at all, the Waldorf Astoria, the just the views of the skyline are endless. 00:13:34:08 - 00:13:58:14 Chris So it's really cool. And what makes this room extra different? I guess, especially in Japan, is the rooms were huge. We got an upgrade for the view, but, we are still in the the, the bass category room and the rooms were huge and packed with tech. And like I mentioned, there was a huge bathroom and separate toilet, separate shower, separate tub. 00:13:58:20 - 00:14:07:14 Chris And then there's also a walk in closet. So it was just a really, really nice hotel. And it was one of the hotel, those hotels. It lives up to the hype. 00:14:07:16 - 00:14:14:15 Katie So would you book this hotel again and risk being disappointed like I've talked about on that second stay 100%. 00:14:14:15 - 00:14:22:01 Chris No question. I would risk it. This is one of those true luxury experiences you get Japan. If you're looking for that, this is it. 00:14:22:03 - 00:14:33:12 Katie Awesome. Awesome. Let's take a quick break. And then when we come back, we have a few more of our favorite hotels to talk about. 00:14:33:14 - 00:14:43:19 Chris Yeah. Hey, real quick, before we jump back in, if you're listening to this podcast, you're exactly the kind of person we built our free newsletter for. 00:14:43:21 - 00:14:53:22 Katie We break down the best credit card offers, transfer bonuses, award alerts, and travel news that actually matters. No fluff, no spam. Just the stuff we'd text a friend if something big dropped. 00:14:54:00 - 00:14:58:21 Chris A lot of the deals. We talk about on the show don't last long. The newsletter is where we fly those fast. 00:14:58:23 - 00:15:07:16 Katie It's totally free, and you can sign up at upgraded points.com/newsletter. 00:15:07:18 - 00:15:25:16 Chris You. Okay. Welcome back. We are talking about some of our favorite stays. And we've booked using points. And we've covered some great options using Hyatt points and Hilton Points. Katie, why don't you give us a great example that you stayed at using IHG points? 00:15:25:18 - 00:15:50:14 Katie Yeah, absolutely. I'm admittedly not. A big user of IHG points, but this one was spectacular. And it is the Kimpton C fire in Grand Cayman. When I booked it, it was 70,000 points per night, and I checked right before recording and it's still 70,000 points per night. Wow. And guys, this hotel starts at like $700 plus per night. 00:15:50:14 - 00:16:13:19 Katie It can easily go over $1,000 a night. So it is a fantastic use for IHG points. And I looked through and just was plugging in random days and I was finding availability very, very consistently. So this is a great option. The big difference that I noticed between when I booked this and this, I did say there a couple years ago and now is when I booked. 00:16:13:19 - 00:16:35:01 Katie You could get into an oceanview room on points, that base level room for 70,000, that was fantastic. You can still book a room for 70,000, but they were, like different views in rooms. So you're not going to be able to book that oceanfront. So maybe hopefully you'll get an upgrade if you have some status. But you can still book a room at this resort for 70,000 points, which is amazing. 00:16:35:03 - 00:16:52:12 Katie You will get your fourth night free if you have any of those IHG cards, which is what I did. And that's a huge perk. And that, correct me if I'm wrong, Chris, that comes with even just the the no annual fee traveler card. Yeah, it's a great reason to just keep that card in your in your wallet. 00:16:52:14 - 00:17:15:08 Katie So this one does charge a $95 resort fee per night on point stays, which is bananas if you ask me. I can't stand resort fees. They are sort of a necessary evil these days. And I think when I when it was like 87 or something, I would still go like it sucks to have to pay that, but I really, really loved this resort. 00:17:15:10 - 00:17:36:10 Katie One thing when you're booking, you'll see something that says a 12% service charge is also added on to your bill per night, and it's a little confusing. And it was still confusing back when I booked. And I looked yesterday when I was, kind of seeing if this was still available and it is, it's still confusing. So if you pay cash, you will have to pay that. 00:17:36:15 - 00:17:59:18 Katie But if you're paying with points, 12% of zero is zero. So if you're paying just with points, you're not paying any cash, you're not going to be charged that 12% service fee. According to how you're reading it on the website, it could make you sound like you do have to pay that, but if you do it points in cash, you are going to have to pay that on the cash part. 00:17:59:18 - 00:18:19:01 Katie But if you do solid points per night, you will not have to pay that 12% fee. So that is a nice little perk of using points at this particular hotel. The hotel itself was absolutely lovely. Really cool pool, not a huge sprawling resort, which was kind of nice sometimes. There's one pool when I was there wasn't crowded like there were people there, but you could always get a chair. 00:18:19:01 - 00:18:40:23 Katie They weren't playing that game where they get up at 6 a.m. and put, you know, towels out on every chair, really comfortable lounge chairs with the little flag that you put up if you want something to eat or drink. And the staff was there, like as soon as you picked your chair, they would like rush over and set up your chair with like a towel that hooked over the back of the the lounge chair, bringing you drinks. 00:18:41:00 - 00:19:00:21 Katie It's not all inclusive, so you're paying for them and they're not cheap, but really great service. And that same service at the beach too. And it's just a gorgeous white sand beach. Amazing water. Just an all around really nice Caribbean vacation. I just I really love that hotel. And that's one I would go back to if I had the chance to be in Grand Cayman again. 00:19:00:23 - 00:19:03:07 Chris And that's an easy flight for a lot of people to. Yeah. 00:19:03:12 - 00:19:05:14 Katie Yeah, absolutely. Okay. 00:19:05:16 - 00:19:23:18 Chris Well let's talk about one. That's not the easiest flight, but I know it's on a lot of people's bucket list. And that's Hawaii and one of my family's favorite stays. And we've been there a few times now is that the Hyatt Regency in Maui now, I will be the first to tell you this is not the fanciest hotel. 00:19:23:20 - 00:19:47:10 Chris But it might be the most fun. And we have plenty of writers here at upgraded points that have been to this hotel, and it gets mixed reviews and we'll drop some links of to both sides of that, in the show notes. But if if you're traveling with kids, this is where points really shine, because Hawaii is so expensive and this is how you can actually do it without paying Hawaii prices. 00:19:47:12 - 00:20:07:10 Chris So cash rates start at $600 and they can go as high as they want. But you can still find high rates for as low as 25,000 points a night. And yeah, that's going to go up a little bit and maybe go down a little bit. But when you're comparing the cash cost, it's it's going to be a great deal no matter what. 00:20:07:12 - 00:20:25:18 Chris Now each time that I've gone there, I've been able to stack with higher Global's benefits. The first time I went there, I was I globalist and that was great. A second time I went, I used a guest of honor from a friend, and so they gave me the same amount of benefits and I got upgraded before we arrived. 00:20:25:20 - 00:20:49:04 Chris Comes with breakfast and the happy hour and the happy hours in the lounge. And if you've been or we'll put up some some clips here, the lounge is really just an outdoor patio. And so think about it. You're watching the sunset, having a happy hour in Maui, and they have such a solid spread of food that this was enough for dinner for me and my and my young kids. 00:20:49:06 - 00:20:49:10 Chris They. 00:20:49:10 - 00:20:50:11 Katie Love it when that happens. 00:20:50:11 - 00:21:14:03 Chris Yeah. And a lot of people are going to be a little bit jet lag, you know, traveling, whether you're coming from the East Coast or West Coast or whatever, to Hawaii, that's there's going to be some time difference. So we would be waking up early watching the sunrise. There were whales jump. You could see the whales from our balcony, and then we'd spend the whole day in the pool and then head down to the happy hour at the end of the day, by by 6 or 7:00, my kids were done. 00:21:14:03 - 00:21:29:16 Chris So as long as we could get a little food in their belly, they were out for the night, so that was great. But yeah, we swam with turtles right off the beach, and there's a water park right on property, and there's just so much to do there. And you can transfer your point. Your chase points to Hyatt. 00:21:29:21 - 00:21:40:18 Chris They're going to hit in two seconds. And you can book, you know, your Hawaii vacation for tomorrow. There's really good availability and it's just an easy option for families. 00:21:40:20 - 00:21:48:05 Katie Chris, is that like an official Regency club that someone could use club access award to to get those benefits? 00:21:48:07 - 00:22:02:14 Chris Yeah, I think so. I'll, I'll double check and we'll, we'll leave it in the notes. If not. But you know, this is a club because I remember seeing the option to pay for club access and I was like, no, I'm going to save my points and use my globalist, guest of honor certificate instead. So yeah. 00:22:02:16 - 00:22:07:09 Katie Yeah, that could be a great place to use a club access or to get like, solid value from those. 00:22:07:09 - 00:22:13:20 Chris Good point. Yeah. If you don't have a globalist, status or guest of honor, those those lounge access, that can be really nice. 00:22:13:22 - 00:22:38:12 Katie Yeah, absolutely. For anyone else who maybe doesn't have Hyatt points, I've stayed at the Marriott Wailea Beach on Maui as well, and I really enjoyed that hotel. So it's a great option for for Marriott points in Hawaii. Another Marriott option is Le Meridien Maldives. And you probably need to maybe book this for next year because you're going to have to fly through the Middle East most likely. 00:22:38:12 - 00:23:02:02 Katie And it's a little dicey right now. So, you know, consider this one for future planning. But I wanted to mention it because it's such a killer deal on points. And for a place like the Maldives, which can be very expensive on points and in cash. So I paid 335,000 Marriott points for six nights, which works out to just under 56,000 points per night, which is just crazy. 00:23:02:04 - 00:23:22:19 Katie I, I know right like that. That's a that's an amazing price. And I looked and still to this day, as of yesterday when I looked, there were plenty of nights available from 55,000 to 70,000 Marriott points per night. And that's before factoring in the fifth night free with Marriott. When you have, you know, when you're booking with points. 00:23:22:21 - 00:23:48:10 Katie And the one of the reasons I booked this hotel when I was doing my Maldives trip was I wanted to stay in an overwater bungalow, or an overwater villa. I'm not going to the Maldives and hoping that I'm getting upgraded. So I was looking for points, hotels that I could book directly into an overwater villa. And this is one of those hotels that 55 to 70,000 points per night will get you an overwater villa. 00:23:48:12 - 00:24:07:23 Katie There's sunrise and sunset. I stayed in the sunrise. Highly recommend that one because, you know jet lag is going to hit hard. And I was, you know, 4:35 a.m. ready to go. Oh yeah, I went out on the, the the balcony and watched the sun come up with coffee and it was fantastic. And then you're in the shade in the afternoon. 00:24:08:00 - 00:24:31:14 Katie Smart. The bathroom was incredible. Like this. It's one of those, really. It's like a room unto itself. So like, the bathtub is in sort of the shower room. And then it was all glass looking out onto the water. And you don't have anyone in front of you. So, I mean, yes, someone could walk by in theory. I don't think that might have happened once. 00:24:31:14 - 00:24:59:19 Katie And you I mean, there are shades there if you want to put them down or if not, you know. Hey, leave them up. Whatever floats your boat, but it's just one of those just really cool. And the shower opens up directly onto your deck, which has direct water access. So it gives you that true Maldives vibe. There's the house reef, which was right off of the the, location where my villa was at and amazing. 00:24:59:19 - 00:25:19:16 Katie Startling if you are a snorkel. Snorkelers, this is incredible. We. So my husband and I are scuba divers and I actually am more scared of snorkeling than scuba diving. For some reason, I feel like I have less control on the surface of the water. My husband is not. He is. He loves it. He loves snorkeling, love scuba diving. 00:25:19:18 - 00:25:42:11 Katie So he was happier than anything to go out multiple times a day to snorkel on their house reef. Some amazing fish we saw, you know, sharks and turtles and all, I mean everything. So if you're into snorkeling, this is a fantastic option. We went scuba diving once. It was stupid expensive. So we like canceled the rest of our things like like you're expecting it to be expensive for the Maldives, but this. 00:25:42:12 - 00:26:07:18 Katie Yeah. Bananas. Okay. The food was again expensive except for breakfast, which was really reasonably priced. But you can do an all inclusive option if you're trying to keep your costs, you know, under control. But this is a great option if you want to have one of those true Maldives experiences at a reasonable point cost. Don't forget there are things like seaplane transfers. 00:26:07:18 - 00:26:23:10 Katie And really, any time you go to the Maldives, to get to that hotel, it's almost $600 per person. So that is not a cheap destination. But when you're paying such a reasonable price and points, it makes everything else kind of feel a lot more affordable. So I really enjoyed that one. 00:26:23:12 - 00:26:26:12 Chris That's incredible. That's a great price for an overwater villa. 00:26:26:14 - 00:26:45:00 Katie Yeah. And the fact that you can book directly into that overwater villa, I did not want to worry about trying to get upgraded. And this was I know there are a few others, but this one had that combo of a great price and a guaranteed overwater villa, which was super important to me when I plan that trip. 00:26:45:02 - 00:27:06:21 Chris All right, well, I'll I'll wrap things up. And if any listeners listen to our episode about my trip to Japan, you can probably guess what this next one is. My final choice for favorite hotels is the Park Hyatt Tokyo, and this is one of those days where you walk in and immediately think, there's no way I should be here on points. 00:27:06:23 - 00:27:25:23 Chris If you if you're into points and miles, this is probably on your bucket list as it was mine and I paid 40,000, points per night, high points per night, and then used a guest of honor certificate, for the stay. And that got us an upgrade. Changed our view a little bit. And breakfast for four people each morning. 00:27:26:01 - 00:27:48:07 Chris And rates at this hotel often are going for $1,200 per night. And so with 40,000 or whatever the new rate is going to be, it's probably still going to be worth it to pay with points. The hotel starts on the 41st floor and then goes up from there. So you'll have incredible views of Shinjuku and the rest of Tokyo. 00:27:48:09 - 00:28:17:03 Chris And our room had views of Mount Fuji, which was just incredible, waking up and, you know, everything's automated. The room is, renovated and modern and click one button and the shades are opening, and then there's Fuji. Just there, and it's so big, it's kind of startling because you see it before you actually see it. You think it's kind of like a cloud or like then you realize that it's just taking up almost half of the horizon, but it is just wild. 00:28:17:05 - 00:28:37:02 Chris And then I we've, I went in-depth about this and I wrote a review on upgraded points.com, but just the breakfast was just next level. The room was beautiful. The service was incredible. If you want pure luxury, this is it. If you want family friendly luxury, this is it as well. It was just so good. 00:28:37:04 - 00:28:39:04 Katie Sounds good to me. So I'm here. 00:28:39:06 - 00:28:39:19 Chris Let's go. 00:28:39:19 - 00:28:43:21 Katie Just need to get myself to Japan. So saving your high points now, people. 00:28:43:23 - 00:29:07:08 Chris Yeah. Okay. Well, that was fun. Now, let's answer some, reader questions that we received. Key them and read this one to you. This actually an email we received, and, Shelly says I have the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, and my husband has the Chase Sapphire Preferred. Neither of us are interested in the Woohp credit. But my daughter and her husband I so. 00:29:07:14 - 00:29:10:06 Katie Sorry I couldn't I couldn't let you go down. 00:29:10:08 - 00:29:31:00 Chris Well I didn't put the exclamation point here. So let me write that. There you go. Oh okay. But my daughter and her husband each already have the Woohp with their the membership. Would either of my CSR benefits or my husband KSP benefits help them at all 80. You please cover this. 00:29:31:02 - 00:29:54:07 Katie All right. So yeah so this benefit is actually a it's essentially a Chase offer. And I looked through the terms and conditions and I didn't see anything that prohibits you from using this Chase offer to gift a membership to someone else. So, a couple things that you would want to think about is, make sure you're meeting the requirements of the Chase offer. 00:29:54:12 - 00:30:24:09 Katie So for this particular one, you have to activate it. And it's valid through May 12th. But the Sapphire Reserve, you have to spend at least $359 on an annual life membership. And that's a little confusing. The life membership is not for life. There's an annual life membership, if you use it, if you, you know, do that and have some other discount and somehow spend less than $359, it will not trigger the credit you have to spend at $359. 00:30:24:11 - 00:30:55:14 Katie And then with the Sapphire Preferred, that one's a little different. Again, you have to activate it. That's $100 off any membership. So if you're meeting those requirements, it should be no problem to gift that membership to your daughter and her husband if their membership renews by May or before May 12th. I think you should be able to go in and they can just use your credit card as payment as long as it meets those those minimums, it should be fine. 00:30:55:14 - 00:31:15:02 Katie If for some reason their current membership is valid, you know, past May 12th, you might have to get a new membership for them. I don't know if there's a way to kind of prepay and, you know, then they might lose some historical data. So it might not be worth it, but maybe it is, I haven't used Woohp yet. 00:31:15:02 - 00:31:27:04 Katie So I don't know how important that historical data is. But yeah as long as you're following the terms of the Chase offer it should be relatively no problem to give those to your to your daughter and her husband. 00:31:27:06 - 00:31:27:18 Chris So yeah question. 00:31:27:20 - 00:31:28:08 Katie Yeah. Thanks for the. 00:31:28:11 - 00:31:33:05 Chris Sure I'm sure there are plenty of people out there that aren't going to use a credit but don't want that go to waste. 00:31:33:05 - 00:31:49:17 Katie Absolutely, absolutely. And that's a that's a great way to be able to. Yeah. Oh absolutely. Oh well I think that's going to do it for us today. If you have a question that you would like to submit to be answered on air, you can reach us at podcasts at upgraded points.com. And otherwise, we will see you next week.