A n00b’s Weekend in New York.

Posted by on Jun 22, 2012 in British Airways, Chase Bank, Miles, Rapid Rewards, Sapphire Preferred, Southwest, Trip Reports, Ultimate Rewards, Uncategorized | 0 comments

NYC is calling my name and I must go.

I will be in New York this weekend for work / fun / gotta get away trip. I’m always looking for a reason to go spend some time in NYC.

I will be flying British Airways to New York, and Southwest on my way back home. And I’m pumped about my stay at the Grand Hyatt New York. Here are the details on how I’m getting there and what it’s costing me.

 

British Airways Flight 

I was able to find a one way flight for 10,000 Avios and $2.50. I was hoping for something less, but I’m probably just being greedy. It is a peak season flight to NYC, after all. In the past, I have been able to find one way flights for 4,500 Avios points.

Avios points are great for short-haul domestic flights on British Airways’ partner, American Airlines. You can book these flights on the British Airways website. So convenient. Check out this blog post for more info and step by step directions. 

British Airways is a transfer partner of Chase’s Ultimate Rewards program, so I transferred over a few thousand Ultimate Rewards points to my British Airways account. I have plenty of UR points, thanks to my Sapphire Preferred and Ink Bold cards. [I haven't yet applied for the British Airways card, but it will probably be in my next app party.]

Southwest Rapid Rewards Flight

For the flight back, I was able to book a Southwest Rapid Rewards ticket for 9,000 points. Again, I was hoping for something a little lower, but I’m just being greedy. It’s peak season and NYC. A couple months ago, my wife and I went to San Fran for 20,000 total! That’s a good redemption rate.

Southwest is also a transfer partner of Chase’s Ultimate Reward program, but I had some SW Rapid Rewards points left over from my Southwest card. Unfortunately, the 50k Southwest card is dead now. The best current card to earn points is the Chase Sapphire Preferred. Read my previous blog post for more options.

Grand Hyatt Stay

It’s no secret that I love Hyatt properties. I chose the Grand Hyatt in New York City because of it’s location. I will be in meetings in the area, so it made sense for me book the Grand Hyatt (that’s how I’m justifying it, at least).

Believe it or not, Hyatt is a transfer partner of Chase’s Ultimate Rewards program. However, I didn’t use points for this stay. This is “technically” a business trip, so my work covered the hotel. If I were to use points, it would’ve been 22,000 points a night. No thanks. I would rather pay the rate than spend that kinda mileage coin.

 

I’m pumped about getting away for the weekend (even if I have to do some work) and love that miles and points helped me cut some of the costs of traveling. As you can tell, Chase Ultimate Rewards points can offer some great flexibility when booking flights and hotels. I love the options I have with my UR points. Maybe too much.

p.s. I will be doing a full NYC and Grand Hyatt review, so keep an eye out for that.

— Noob Master

This content is not provided or commissioned by the company whose products are featured on this site. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or evaluations provided here are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the Advertiser. This site may be compensated through the Advertiser’s affiliate programs.