Points Travel in 2025
- Erin Cokeh Halla
- Jan 3
- 5 min read
It's very satisfying for me to review my year, and see how I used my points and how much value I got out of it. So here's a points wrap up, mostly for my sake, but I love reading how other people used their points too!
March
We had a wedding in San Francisco, and since it was a quick trip, we opted to fly instead of drive. We paid cash for our flights, but I was able to use 2 IHG free night certificates (up to 40k points) at the Kimpton Fishermans Wharf, courtesy of my IHG personal and business cards (I get 1 each year for each card for the $95 annual fee). It would have otherwise cost $300 per night, $600 total for both nights, so I definitely came out ahead on that, in addition to the other perks that the cards provide! I feel that is a reason in itself to hold that IHG card!
March-April
Finland Trip- it has been a dream of mine to see the Northern Lights, so I planned a trip to Rovaniemi with a stop in Helsinki for our family's spring break
Flights LAX-Helsinki (Round trip)- 120k points + $800 in taxes and fees for 4 people- Comes out to 15k points + $100 taxes each way per person, as I was able to take advantage of a transfer bonus from Chase! Cash price would have been $5142
Hotel- Choice Hotel Express Helsinki Airport- 7,500 Citi points each night (transferred to Choice at a 1:2 ratio for 15k choice points). This was a super convenient hotel, literally right outside the baggage claim of the airport. We stayed for 1 night on the way to Rovaniemi, and 1 night back for a total of 2 nights, and just took a taxi into Helsinki to explore for the day. It would have been 200 euros each night to stay there if we paid in cash.
We paid for cash flights from Helsinki to Rovaniemi, less than $100 per person each way.
I really wanted to stay in a glass igloo in Rovaniemi, but all the resorts were at least $700 per night, and fit only 2 people when we had a family of 4. I found a wonderful air bnb that had a small cottage, but in addition had a small glass igloo that we could sleep in, for around $300 per night. We stayed here for 4 nights and our host was wonderful, and we did a snowmobiling safari and ice fishing for an additional fee. He also hooked us up with a friend who did a more authentic reindeer visit. We also went dogsledding while we were here.
June
Family Trip to the Pacific Northwest
I brought my kids with my mom to visit relatives in Oregon, Vancouver and Seattle, with my husband meeting us for the last leg in Seattle. I paid 82.5k Alaska (now Atmos) points for 4 legs of flights up and down the coast for the 3 of us, which would have cost $1668. We stayed at relatives homes the entire trip, except for 1 night at the Grand Hyatt Seattle, which I booked last minute at 20k points (or $250 per night).
July
Vegas/Backstreet Boys!
I got lucky with getting Backstreet Boys tickets at the Sphere (only $120 each all in for center 400's seats) so my sister and I headed there for 1 night to celebrate our milestone birthdays. I used another IHG free night certificate (otherwise $300 per night) to stay at the Holiday Inn Vacation Club in Vegas, which shares its parking lot border with the Sphere. It made for a super convenient location, and free parking in Vegas??? Yes please :)
Big Sur
My friend and I decided to go on a girls trip to Big Sur, specifically to check out the Alila Ventana Big Sur resort. I booked 1 night on my points, and she booked the other night and we shared a room. So for my one night I paid 66k points, for a $2500 stay. Yes, not kidding, it's really that much and I can't imagine anyone paying that much in cash, but that's why we do points. It's a beautiful resort and all inclusive, with all meals and non alcoholic drinks included, as well as some free activities (and paid ones if you wish). No additional tipping needed, it's all included in the resort price!
Ironically, since we weren't able to get up to Big Sur til later in the evening, we opted to stay one night in Monterey at the Rodeway Inn for 4K Citi points per night (but still $200 cash price for that room!). Talk about going from economy to luxury!
December
Tokyo, Japan! We planned a trip with a large group of friends and family. I used points to fly my family and mom (5 of us) on Singapore airline for 384k points + $56 Fees round trip. Since we were traveling at peak season, retail value of those flights would have been $14,400 when I booked (for economy!). We stayed 3 nights at Comfort Inn Tokyo Bay to go to Disneyland/DisneySea, and 6 nights at Comfort Suites Roppongi. While Choice Hotels/Comfort Inn is generally not looked upon favorably in the States, they're so much better overseas. Not luxurious in Tokyo by any means, but it was just fine especially since we were out of our rooms all day exploring. It was only 4k Citi points per night (8K Choice points at a 1:2 ratio per night) so I was able to book my entire extended family of 8 rooms for 96k points for the entire 9 night stay. Rooms were running about $300 USD per night each, which means it would have cost $7200 for all of my family's rooms.
In summary:
Free Night Certificates used: 3
Value of 3 night Certificates: $900
Points for Flights used: 586,500
Value of Flights: $21,210
Points for Hotels used: 201,000
Value of Hotels: $10,618
All in all, we got $32,728 worth of travel for 787,500 points. This is why I love using points over getting cash back for credit cards, cause usually credit card companies only give you 1 cent per point in cash back (or less) which would have resulted in $7,875 instead. I don't get too into calculating cents per point value when I book things, I just make sure it's a good enough deal to use my points, but at an overall value of 4.1 cents per point at the end of it all, I'd say that is pretty good! We had a year full of travel, and money saved on flights and hotels could then be used on local experiences.
I'm super excited for what 2026 travel holds for us! What was your favorite trip this year?
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