Points inflation—a phenomenon in which it’s increasingly easier to accrue points but harder to extract meaningful value from them—is real. But in a time marked by actual price inflation, tariffs and overall economic uncertainty, it remains tempting to want to use points to get that luxury vacation you’ve been dreaming of.
The expert consensus is that hoarding points and miles is a terrible idea. Like storing fine wine for too long, it’s a matter of diminishing returns. So spend them—but do so wisely. Don’t redeem them for quick weekend escapes and instead use them for bucket-list stays that you’ll remember for a long time. Here are five ways to play that game, with strategies that work for truly iconic hotels from Paris to Koh Samui.
Ritz Paris
An icon in a city full of famous hotels, the Ritz remains a preferred spot for royals and other VIPs who adore a view of Place Vendôme and a clawfoot tub with gilded faucets. Guests also get priority access to the pint-size Bar Hemingway and the hotel’s jasmine-filled Grand Jardin.
Book through: The Leading Hotels of the World Leaders Club
What it normally costs: About $2,400 or 30,000 points per night
The points hack: Earn 10 points per dollar spent when booking hotels and car rentals through the Citi ThankYou Rewards online portal. Then you can transfer these points to LHW at a 5-to-1 ratio, which means you’d need only 150,000 of them—easily accumulated on one or two vacations—for a free night at the Ritz.
Also try it at: Badrutt’s Palace Hotel in St. Moritz and the iconic Hotel Hassler Roma
Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi
With 11 restaurants for its 117 villas—all perched on a secluded shore or directly over the turquoise waters—the Waldorf Astoria Maldives is over the top even for this luxury-laden archipelago. Other amenities on the private island range from an “aqua wellness” pool complex in the spa to padel courts and a sprawling kids club with its own little water park.
Book through: Hilton Honors
What it normally costs: About $3,000 or a million-plus points per night
The points hack: Earn 150,000 points just for signing up for the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card. Then use the calendar feature on Hilton Honors’ website to search for the rare summer dates when the overwater villas drop in price to 150,000 points (even though they’re still $3,000 in cash).
Also try it at: Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal in Mexico; Conrad Koh Samui in Thailand; Grand Wailea Maui
Park Hyatt Sydney
No other hotel in the world has a view quite like this: Rooms with walls of glass and large terraces that put you at eye level with the Sydney Opera House. After 35 years, the Park Hyatt remains one of the top options in town, thanks also to excellent butler service and a dreamy rooftop pool.
Book through: World of Hyatt
What it normally costs: About $1,000 or 40,000 points per night
The points hack: A single Chase Ultimate Rewards point is equivalent to one World of Hyatt point, and Hyatt’s low redemption rates make it especially popular with travel hackers. You can earn those 40,000 points by making $8,000 in travel purchases through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal, since you earn 5X five points per dollar spent. Then transfer those to World of Hyatt at a 1:1 ratio. Or sign up for the World of Hyatt Credit Card; it offers as many as 60,000 points as a welcome bonus.
Also try it at: Alila Ventana Big Sur in California; Park Hyatt Beaver Creek Resort & Spa in Colorado; Miraval Arizona Resort & Spa
Palacio del Inka, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Cusco
A 500-year-old manse with painted fresco ceilings, this former palace in Peru’s Sacred Valley—just under 50 miles from Machu Picchu—is part of the sacred Qorikancha temple grounds, which honor the Incan god of the sun.
Book through: Marriott Bonvoy
What it normally costs: About $350 or 45,000 points per night
The points hack: Sign-up offers for some Marriott Bonvoy credit cards can net almost 100,000 points, enough for two free nights. And remember: When you book four nights on points with Marriott, your fifth night is free.
Also try it at: The St. Regis Bora Bora Resort; Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve in Puerto Rico; the Gritti Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel in Venice
Raffles Hotel Singapore
A fleet of butlers ready to fulfill almost any request makes the Raffles Singapore the gold standard of luxury service. The rambling gardens and courtyards, parlors for tea or reading, and grand colonnades connecting its 115 suites ensure that this 137-year-old institution feels like a country estate at the center of an action-packed city.
Book through: Accor Live Limitless
What it normally costs: About $1,000 or 50,000 points per night
The points hack: To redeem points with Accor, you trade 1,000 of them at a time for rebates worth the equivalent €20 in local currency. There’s no great points deal here, but one vacation can pay for the next. Earn one point for every €2 spent on partner airlines such as Air France or KLM, or get three points per euro on a safari with Giltedge Africa. That should be enough to approximate (or even exceed) your 50,000-point goal.
Also try it at: Sofitel Legend Old Cataract Aswan in Egypt and the Savoy in London
The expert consensus is that hoarding points and miles is a terrible idea. Like storing fine wine for too long, it’s a matter of diminishing returns. So spend them—but do so wisely. Don’t redeem them for quick weekend escapes and instead use them for bucket-list stays that you’ll remember for a long time. Here are five ways to play that game, with strategies that work for truly iconic hotels from Paris to Koh Samui.
Ritz Paris
An icon in a city full of famous hotels, the Ritz remains a preferred spot for royals and other VIPs who adore a view of Place Vendôme and a clawfoot tub with gilded faucets. Guests also get priority access to the pint-size Bar Hemingway and the hotel’s jasmine-filled Grand Jardin.
Book through: The Leading Hotels of the World Leaders Club
What it normally costs: About $2,400 or 30,000 points per night
The points hack: Earn 10 points per dollar spent when booking hotels and car rentals through the Citi ThankYou Rewards online portal. Then you can transfer these points to LHW at a 5-to-1 ratio, which means you’d need only 150,000 of them—easily accumulated on one or two vacations—for a free night at the Ritz.
Also try it at: Badrutt’s Palace Hotel in St. Moritz and the iconic Hotel Hassler Roma
Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi
With 11 restaurants for its 117 villas—all perched on a secluded shore or directly over the turquoise waters—the Waldorf Astoria Maldives is over the top even for this luxury-laden archipelago. Other amenities on the private island range from an “aqua wellness” pool complex in the spa to padel courts and a sprawling kids club with its own little water park.
Book through: Hilton Honors
What it normally costs: About $3,000 or a million-plus points per night
The points hack: Earn 150,000 points just for signing up for the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card. Then use the calendar feature on Hilton Honors’ website to search for the rare summer dates when the overwater villas drop in price to 150,000 points (even though they’re still $3,000 in cash).
Also try it at: Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal in Mexico; Conrad Koh Samui in Thailand; Grand Wailea Maui
Park Hyatt Sydney
No other hotel in the world has a view quite like this: Rooms with walls of glass and large terraces that put you at eye level with the Sydney Opera House. After 35 years, the Park Hyatt remains one of the top options in town, thanks also to excellent butler service and a dreamy rooftop pool.
Book through: World of Hyatt
What it normally costs: About $1,000 or 40,000 points per night
The points hack: A single Chase Ultimate Rewards point is equivalent to one World of Hyatt point, and Hyatt’s low redemption rates make it especially popular with travel hackers. You can earn those 40,000 points by making $8,000 in travel purchases through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal, since you earn 5X five points per dollar spent. Then transfer those to World of Hyatt at a 1:1 ratio. Or sign up for the World of Hyatt Credit Card; it offers as many as 60,000 points as a welcome bonus.
Also try it at: Alila Ventana Big Sur in California; Park Hyatt Beaver Creek Resort & Spa in Colorado; Miraval Arizona Resort & Spa
Palacio del Inka, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Cusco
A 500-year-old manse with painted fresco ceilings, this former palace in Peru’s Sacred Valley—just under 50 miles from Machu Picchu—is part of the sacred Qorikancha temple grounds, which honor the Incan god of the sun.
Book through: Marriott Bonvoy
What it normally costs: About $350 or 45,000 points per night
The points hack: Sign-up offers for some Marriott Bonvoy credit cards can net almost 100,000 points, enough for two free nights. And remember: When you book four nights on points with Marriott, your fifth night is free.
Also try it at: The St. Regis Bora Bora Resort; Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve in Puerto Rico; the Gritti Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel in Venice
Raffles Hotel Singapore
A fleet of butlers ready to fulfill almost any request makes the Raffles Singapore the gold standard of luxury service. The rambling gardens and courtyards, parlors for tea or reading, and grand colonnades connecting its 115 suites ensure that this 137-year-old institution feels like a country estate at the center of an action-packed city.
Book through: Accor Live Limitless
What it normally costs: About $1,000 or 50,000 points per night
The points hack: To redeem points with Accor, you trade 1,000 of them at a time for rebates worth the equivalent €20 in local currency. There’s no great points deal here, but one vacation can pay for the next. Earn one point for every €2 spent on partner airlines such as Air France or KLM, or get three points per euro on a safari with Giltedge Africa. That should be enough to approximate (or even exceed) your 50,000-point goal.
Also try it at: Sofitel Legend Old Cataract Aswan in Egypt and the Savoy in London
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