How to book Mexico City on points: Flight and Hotel
Mexico City
While going to Mexico City was not spur of the moment, I waited until the last minute to finalize things. Flights were booked fairly early but not the hotels. One hotel was booked the week of and the other the day before I left! I almost did not have a room at the second hotel because they were sold out on their site. Luckily, when I reached out on WhatsApp, they found a room.
Preparing To Travel
After checking the balances on my points accounts, I decided to utilize American Airlines miles, Delta SkyMiles, and Chase Ultimate Rewards. I did not open up a new credit card for this trip.
The Flights
My flight to Mexico City was 10,000 miles + $47.24 on American Airlines + $30 for my bag because I am not a carry-on warrior. I actually like it when I am traveling solo to check my bag so that my hands are free. My layover was in MIA and of course, my flight to Mexico City was delayed. I am always delayed on American Airlines, knock on wood. During my layover in Miami, I used the Centurion Lounge via my American Express Business Platinum to grab drinks and food before doing a little jewelry shopping in the terminal.
My flight home on Delta Airlines was 36,500 + $97.96, the bag was included here because I have an American Express Delta Platinum and to make things even better I got upgraded to Comfort + on both legs thanks to my Gold Medallion Status. This layover was in ATL and I stopped by the Delta Sky Club to grab food and drinks using my American Express Business Platinum.
Total Cost: 46,500 miles + $175.20
The Hotels
For the first two nights, I stayed at the Andaz Mexico City Condesa, a Hyatt hotel. I paid 15,000 points for night one and night two was 18,000 points. The hotel without points was $462.90. To book the Andaz, I transferred points from my Chase Ultimate Rewards to Hyatt.
This hotel did include breakfast but I decided to eat outside the hotel each morning. To see where I ate read this article here. The rooftop view was stunning. I would recommend going up there to take a dip in the pool or eating at the restaurant. If you want a tour of the room, check out this video here.
The next two nights, I moved to Casa Roma by Kukun where I paid $302.10. This hotel was more like many apartments where you had a kitchenette to utilize if you wanted to cook some of your meals. If you want a tour of this room, check out this video.
The location was great. There was a corner store nearby that sold a little bit of everything, in addition to a taco stand on the corner that sold some of the best tacos I had while in the city. We went to the stand during the free walking taco tour that we took, the tour is tip-based.
Total Cost: 33,000 points + $302.10 cash.
The Nitty Gritty
For this trip, I spent
79,500 points + $477.50 in cash on my hotel and flights.
This does not feel like the best redemption but cash flight prices were steep. I try to conserve my cash as much as possible so that it can be used for excursions, food, and souvenirs.
Tips
- Be flexible on dates, I went before most of my friends so I could use less miles on my outbound flight.
- You can adjust point booking on Hyatt, so I should have booked two nights initially and made changes, so I would not have had to use 3,000 more points.
- Sometimes, a layover is your cheapest flight, just keep in mind how long your layover is.
Related Post
You did well with booking your accommodation last minute and got great deals. They both look amazing.
Thanks! I was a little nervous with how late I was doing things!
Brilliant idea to use your travel points for accommodation and flights. You did a great job and that is the way to go. 🙂
Thanks!
This points usage is wild and totally new to me. (I only recently cleaned up my credit enough to have credit cards) . I am also going to read your 8 ways to pay for your travel post to learn more about how you make this work
Yes! Check that out and I also have a post about the credit cards I have and why that may be helpful to you!
Always love hearing about people’s experiences when using point to travel!
We also always leave booking our accomodation to the last moment, or even the day itself. However we haven’t really used points, it’s not really a thing here in the Netherlands. We did use discounts on hotels, since we booked enough times with them. Love the points usage, it really saves a lot of money.
Interesting! The only time I have done the day of is when I was in South Africa!