Plan your ski journey utilizing factors and miles: Tips on how to ebook flights, motels, raise tickets and extra

The 2024-2025 ski season is sort of upon us. Huge-name U.S. resorts like those in Vail, Colorado; Park Metropolis, Utah; and round Lake Tahoe on the California-Nevada border are slated to open in mid-November, and Colorado’s Wolf Creek Ski Space is already open due to an October snowstorm. Meaning now is a good time to begin planning (and budgeting for) a winter getaway.

Even a budget-conscious ski journey can simply value between $200 and $500 per individual, per day once you embrace raise tickets, gear leases, meals, lodging and transportation. Tack on some personal ski classes, flights or a splurge on fancy lodging, and that whole can rapidly multiply.

Nonetheless, your subsequent journey to the mountain does not have to empty hundreds of {dollars} out of your checking account. In truth, you’ll be able to pay for a lot of your ski journey utilizing factors and miles. Here is how.

Associated: The whole lot you must learn about packing for a ski journey

Flights are one of many largest bills when taking a ski journey — and one of many best methods to get monetary savings by utilizing factors and miles.

When you’ve got a stash of airline factors or miles or a bank card that earns transferable factors or miles, you’ll be able to ebook award flights instantly via airways. You will often discover one of the best offers both on the final minute (when lodge costs is probably not equally low cost) or far prematurely, so we advocate beginning your search early. Most airways provide some form of calendar characteristic, permitting you to see which dates have one of the best costs.

Listed below are some nice choices we discovered.

*Word costs had been correct on the time of publishing.

Flights to mountain airports

There are two methods for flying to a ski vacation spot. The primary is to fly right into a small airport that is near the slopes. That is very handy when every part goes easily, however needless to say you are much less more likely to discover a nonstop flight to those smaller airports and extra more likely to see your flight get delayed or canceled as a consequence of unpredictable mountain climate. A number of years in the past, TPG’s Summer time Hull was caught in Aspen, Colorado, for days as a consequence of a snowstorm (fortunately, she had built-in journey insurance coverage through her Chase Sapphire Reserve®).

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Additionally, seats on these flights may be fairly expensive, particularly on weekends or holidays throughout peak ski season. However there are some unbelievable award offers on the market that may show you how to get to your favourite ski slope for (virtually) free.

As an example, United Airways persistently provides Saver awards from many U.S. cities to high ski locations for 15,000 MileagePlus miles (plus $5.60 in taxes and charges) every method.

You possibly can usually get these flights for much less by reserving them via Turkish Airways’ Miles&Smiles program or Avianca LifeMiles as a substitute. On this case, the very same United flight from Boston Logan Worldwide Airport (BOS) to Aspen/Pitkin County Airport (ASE) prices solely 12,500 LifeMiles (plus 51,351 Colombian pesos, or about $12) every method.

American Airways has January flights to Jackson Gap Airport (JAC) in Wyoming from East Coast airports like Miami Worldwide Airport (MIA) and Charlotte Douglas Worldwide Airport (CLT) starting from 8,500 to 11,000 American Airways AAdvantage miles and $5.60 in taxes and charges every method. It additionally has loads of award house for flights from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Worldwide Airport (ATL) and Dulles Worldwide Airport (IAD) close to Washington, D.C., for under 6,000 miles every method. That is an awesome deal for flights that value roughly $200 to $400 one-way, supplying you with a worth of over 3 cents per mile. (AAdvantage miles are value 1.6 cents every, per TPG’s November 2024 valuations.)

Alaska Airways Mileage Plan has open award house to Vail’s Eagle County Regional Airport (EGE) from main airports like Chicago’s O’Hare Worldwide Airport (ORD), Minneapolis-St. Paul Worldwide Airport (MSP) and Seattle-Tacoma Worldwide Airport (SEA) for under 7,500 miles and round $20 in taxes and charges every method. Since these flights value upward of $400 every method, that offers you a wonderful worth of over 5 cents per mile.

Southwest Airways does not fly to a ton of smaller ski locations, nevertheless it does serve Yampa Valley Regional Airport (HDN) in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. For instance, you might fly from Houston’s William P. Pastime Airport (HOU) to HDN for underneath 10,000 Southwest Fast Rewards factors every method this January — and when you maintain the sought-after Companion Cross, you might deliver a liked one for simply the price of taxes and charges. You will additionally get two free checked luggage, which is particularly useful when touring with ski gear.

Most airways aren’t so beneficiant in terms of baggage, however having an airline cobranded bank card will usually get you at the least one free checked bag.

Flights to bigger airports

It’s possible you’ll select to fly into a bigger airport, even when it is a bit farther from the slopes. Some widespread ones embrace Denver Worldwide Airport (DEN), Salt Lake Metropolis Worldwide Airport (SLC) and Reno-Tahoe Worldwide Airport (RNO), relying on the place you are planning to ski. This provides you extra choices in terms of flights and doubtlessly higher award pricing.

As an example, you’ll be able to fly to Denver on Delta Air Traces this upcoming ski season for underneath 10,000 SkyMiles every method from locations like Seattle (5,500 miles), Minneapolis (6,500 miles), Chicago (7,000 miles) and Boston (9,500 miles). United is at the moment providing flights to Reno from New York Metropolis ranging from 13,300 MileagePlus miles every method or from Seattle ranging from 10,100 miles one-way. As for American, the service has award house to Salt Lake Metropolis from Miami, Dallas and Charleston, South Carolina, for round 10,000 AAdvantage miles every method.

Since Southwest does not serve a lot of the smaller mountain airports, flying into an even bigger airport will give Southwest loyalists much more choices to make use of their Fast Rewards factors, Companion Cross or bank card perks.

The draw back of this method is that you’ll have to prepare journey from the airport to your vacation spot. Fortunately, many ski locations provide shuttle companies and public transportation choices, and there are a number of methods to ebook rental automobiles with factors or miles — we’ll cowl these in additional element later.

Associated: Denver airport will get 17 new safety lanes — here is what you must know

Bank card portals and perks

When researching flights, do not overlook bank card journey reserving platforms, the place you’ll be able to redeem factors for flights at a flat price. As an example, many Capital One cardholders can get 1 cent per mile on Capital One Journey purchases, whereas these with the Chase Sapphire Most well-liked® Card or the Chase Sapphire Reserve can get 1.25 or 1.5 cents per level, respectively, utilizing the Chase Journey℠ portal.

On this case, the price in factors or miles correlates to the money value of a flight. In case you discover a low cost flight to your ski vacation spot, this may very well be a good way to ebook it with factors or miles. And since airways sometimes code these flights as paid income flights, you will seemingly nonetheless earn airline factors or miles on them.

You can even select to ebook a flight in money after which redeem your factors or miles for a press release credit score to cowl the acquisition. For instance, the Capital One Enterprise X Rewards Credit score Card provides a price of 1 cent per mile whereas permitting you to benefit from bank card perks like journey cancellation and interruption.

Do not forget to benefit from different card advantages, both. Airline playing cards usually present free checked luggage or boarding upgrades. Some playing cards provide money again (within the type of a press release credit score) on airline incidental purchases; for instance, The Platinum Card® from American Specific offers an annual (as much as) $200 assertion credit score towards airline incidental charges (enrollment is required). You should use this to cowl checked baggage charges (which may actually add up on a household ski journey) or pay for seat assignments to make sure your group can sit collectively.

Merely holding sure playing cards can get you worthwhile reductions on award flights. For instance, Delta’s TakeOff 15 characteristic offers many eligible Delta cobranded cardholders a 15% low cost on flights booked with Delta SkyMiles, whereas the United Quest℠ Card offers two 5,000-mile rebates on award flights every year.

Associated: United Quest vs. Delta SkyMiles Platinum Amex: Battle of the mid-tier airline playing cards

In case you’re a frequent skier, you already know the way expensive on-mountain lodging may be throughout ski season. The excellent news is that many of those motels belong to main loyalty packages like Hilton Honors, World of Hyatt and Marriott Bonvoy, that means you should use your hard-earned factors and miles and free evening certificates to slash the price of your ski journey.

Even higher, most of those motels’ websites provide a calendar characteristic that can assist you discover one of the best charges and dates in your wintry trip. Listed below are some offers we have discovered at the preferred packages.

*Word costs had been correct on the time of publishing.

Hilton Honors

In case you’re a Hilton loyalist, there are lots of choices for redeeming your Honors Honors factors at motels at or close to ski resorts. With the Hilton Honors program, there isn’t any set award chart. As an alternative, the lodge operates utilizing dynamic pricing, besides for normal room rewards. Every lodge has a variety for the variety of factors it costs per evening for normal room rewards that you will discover utilizing Hilton’s Factors Explorer instrument.

Though you’ll be able to count on most dates throughout ski season to fall underneath peak pricing and thus have the very best award charges, there are some cheap choices on the market. For instance, the Hampton Inn & Suites South Lake Tahoe runs between 47,000 and 70,000 factors per evening in January.

Since these are normal room rewards, these with a Hilton Honors American Specific Surpass® Card (after spending $15,000 in a calendar 12 months) or a Hilton Honors American Specific Aspire Card may theoretically use a free evening reward — however we would not advocate it. These certificates are extraordinarily worthwhile as a result of you should use them for any normal room reward value as much as 150,000 factors. You are higher off utilizing your free evening at a property just like the Waldorf Astoria Park Metropolis, which prices 110,000 factors for the standard room reward. Money charges there throughout ski season frequently climb to effectively over $1,000 per evening.

The knowledge for the Hilton Honors American Specific Aspire Card has been collected independently by The Factors Man. The cardboard particulars on this web page haven’t been reviewed or offered by the cardboard issuer.

Like lots of Hilton’s ski properties, the Waldorf Astoria Park Metropolis is assessed as a resort by Hilton, that means Aspire cardholders can use their semiannual (as much as) $200 Hilton resort assertion credit score there. Different Hilton ski resorts embrace the DoubleTree by Hilton Resort Breckenridge, the Hilton Trip Membership Lake Tahoe Resort South, the Homewood Suites by Hilton Mont-Tremblant Resort and the Hilton Whistler Resort & Spa.

Hilton provides a number of cobranded bank cards to fast-track your Honors factors. Many of those present elite standing, which not solely offers you perks throughout your keep but additionally lets you ebook a fifth evening free with factors.

Associated: Greatest Hilton bank cards

World of Hyatt

World of Hyatt is a well-liked lodge program amongst vacationers, partially as a result of it nonetheless makes use of an award chart — which may end up in some unbelievable Hyatt redemptions.

Whereas the top-notch ski resorts will sometimes require between 25,000 and 45,000 World of Hyatt factors per evening, there are a number of hidden gems in this system. For instance, Hyatt Place Keystone / Dillon and Hyatt Place Park Metropolis are each Class 4 properties, that means they value solely 18,000 factors per evening on peak dates. For these with the World of Hyatt Credit score Card, it is a nice alternative to make use of your annual Hyatt Class 1-4 free evening certificates.

You possibly can usually get probably the most worth out of your factors at higher-category properties. As an example, the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley is a Class 6 property, that means peak dates will set you again 29,000 factors per evening. Money charges common round $1,300 throughout ski season, supplying you with a worth of roughly 4.5 cents per level — effectively over TPG’s November 2024 valuation of 1.7 cents every for World of Hyatt factors.

When checking award charges at a person lodge, click on “Factors Calendar” to see which dates are most cost-effective. Though most dates throughout ski season are inclined to fall underneath “peak” pricing, you could get fortunate.

One main good thing about utilizing your factors at Hyatt properties is that resort charges are waived on award stays. Parking charges are additionally waived for Globalist members, even on paid reservations.

Associated: World of Hyatt elite standing: What it’s and how one can earn it

Marriott Bonvoy

If an annual ski trip is in your future, you will most likely wish to begin incomes factors inside the Marriott Bonvoy program ASAP. That is as a result of it provides the best variety of ski-friendly properties throughout out west and past. There’s every part from high-end ski-in, ski-out resorts to extra budget-friendly properties not too removed from the primary ski villages.

Marriott now makes use of dynamic pricing, and ski season usually interprets to the very best charges. You possibly can seek for the most cost effective dates by checking the “Versatile dates” field when setting the dates in your search.

Some moderately priced properties embrace the Residence Inn Steamboat Springs and the Sheraton Steamboat Resort Villas, the place award charges this winter are principally within the 60,000- to 75,000-point vary. Each motels provide full kitchens, so you might save much more by eating in.

However as with Hyatt, you’ll be able to usually maximize the worth of your factors at Marriott’s luxurious properties — when you’ve got sufficient factors to ebook them. As an example, a weekend at The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe in January will set you again roughly 125,000 factors per evening. With money charges round $1,300, you will get a worth of over 1 cent per level. That is fairly good, contemplating TPG values Bonvoy factors at 0.85 cents apiece, as of November 2024.

Different upscale resorts to think about embrace The Cloudveil, Autograph Assortment in Jackson Gap, Wyoming, and The Sky Residences at W Aspen and The Westin Riverfront Resort & Spa, Avon, Vail Valley in Colorado.

Sadly, in contrast to Hilton and Hyatt, Marriott costs nightly resort charges, even when you ebook with factors or maintain elite standing. You will obtain your fifth evening free when reserving with factors, nevertheless it’ll take off your least costly evening.

Some Marriott playing cards present annual free evening awards that you should use at quite a lot of properties. The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit score Card is at the moment providing 125,000 bonus factors after spending $5,000 in eligible purchases in your first three months from account opening. The Marriott Bonvoy Daring® Credit score Card has its best-ever provide: You possibly can earn 60,000 factors plus one free evening award (valued as much as 50,000 factors) after you spend $2,000 on eligible purchases inside the first three months from account opening. (Sure motels have resort charges.)

Associated: The very best Marriott all-inclusive resorts for an ideal trip

Different motels and trip leases

We have lined among the hottest factors motels, however they are not the one ones to think about in your ski journey.

IHG Motels & Resorts provides a handful of properties conveniently situated close to ski resorts, just like the Vacation Inn Steamboat Springs, the Vacation Inn Specific & Suites Park Metropolis and the Vacation Inn Membership Holidays Tahoe Ridge Resort. Many of those value 40,000 IHG One Rewards factors or much less per evening, which implies you should use your annual anniversary reward evening certificates (capped at 40,000 factors) that comes with the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit score Card. Cardmembers additionally get a fourth evening free on consecutive award stays.

Wyndham Motels & Resorts has a number of choices which might be a bit exterior of well-liked ski resorts, leading to a lot decrease costs. As an example, the Tremendous 8 by Wyndham Dillon/Breckenridge Space is inside a half-hour drive of Breckenridge and Keystone, Colorado, and prices solely 15,000 Wyndham Rewards factors per evening. Some Wyndham resorts require a two- or three-night minimal keep, so it could actually assist to verify for award availability for a number of nights.

Alternative Motels’ portfolio features a handful of properties close to ski slopes, like Consolation Inn Close to Vail Beaver Creek in Colorado and High quality Inn Close to Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort in California. The draw back is you could’t ebook with Alternative Privileges factors till 100 days prematurely.

In case you’d want a trip rental — maybe since you’re touring with a big group or hoping to economize by eating in — there are a number of methods to ebook trip leases with factors via locations like Vacasa, Marriott Houses & Villas, Houses & Hideaways by World of Hyatt and Bluegreen Holidays. Moreover, some bank card journey portals, like Capital One Journey, now provide a number of trip leases. An alternative choice is to ebook a Vrbo or an Airbnb with money and use your bank card factors or miles to repay the acquisition.

Associated: Planning for ski season: How I booked a $1,500 trip rental for simply 45,000 factors

Bank card journey portals

As with flights, you’ll be able to ebook motels instantly with factors or miles through your bank card’s journey portal. This feature is engaging when you maintain Chase’s Sapphire Most well-liked or Sapphire Reserve, as they provide you a redemption worth of 1.25 cents per level and 1.5 cents per level, respectively, once you ebook via Chase Journey.

Moreover, the Capital One Enterprise X Rewards Credit score Card offers a $300 journey credit score every cardmember 12 months; nevertheless, you need to ebook via the Capital One Journey portal.

Get raise tickets and ski gear utilizing factors and miles

As soon as your flight and lodge are taken care of, you would possibly assume you have lined the majority of your ski journey bills. However remember about the price of raise tickets, ski passes and gear. These bills are simple to miss, however they will rapidly stack as much as tons of of {dollars} per individual. Fortunately, there are methods to cowl some or all of them with factors and miles.

Elevate tickets and passes

One tip to economize (or factors and miles) and assure a day on the mountain is to buy raise tickets earlier than the season begins. You are able to do this via advance single-day ticket reservations or a bigger bundle or go, which usually provide higher charges than shopping for your ticket on the mountain. A season go is sensible when you plan to take a couple of ski journey, and it could actually even be definitely worth the cash for a single weeklong journey. Bear in mind that go costs usually rise as ski season nears, and gross sales often finish in some unspecified time in the future in fall.

With regards to utilizing factors for raise tickets and passes, you’ve a number of choices. Many rewards playing cards provide a method to put your factors or miles towards earlier purchases, supplying you with a press release credit score that successfully cancels the acquisition. Nonetheless, the classes you are able to do this with — and the worth you will get out of your factors or miles — rely on what card you’ve.

As an example, Capital One enables you to pay with miles for journey purchases at a price of 1 cent per mile. Nonetheless, ski passes sometimes do not code as journey purchases; they usually code as leisure. You could possibly redeem your Capital One miles for money again to cowl the price of your ski go, however that might offer you half the worth at 0.5 cents per mile.

One method to get round that is via a website known as Undercover Vacationer. A number of big-name ski passes, such because the Epic Cross, can be found for buy through the positioning. In case you purchase your go via Undercover Vacationer, the acquisition will code as journey, supplying you with extra choices to redeem factors and miles.

For instance you purchased a three-day Epic Cross for $330 on Undercover Vacationer along with your Capital One Enterprise Rewards Credit score Card. Since Capital One considers this a journey buy, you might redeem 33,000 miles to cowl it. In case you purchased the identical go elsewhere and it coded as leisure, you might nonetheless redeem your miles for money again, however you’d have to redeem double the miles to cowl the acquisition.

Associated: What’s one of the best ski go this season? Evaluating Epic, Ikon, Mountain Collective and Indy passes

Redeem factors for ski present playing cards

Alternatively, you’ll be able to put your factors towards raise tickets by redeeming them for related present playing cards. For instance, Chase enables you to redeem Chase Final Rewards factors at a price of 1 cent every for present playing cards at varied retailers, together with REI. Citi enables you to redeem Citi ThankYou Rewards factors for present playing cards on the similar worth, and you’ll generally stand up to 1.11 cents per level throughout gross sales.

You can even redeem 28,600 American Specific Membership Rewards factors for a $200 Aspen Snowmass present card, however we do not advocate it. At lower than a 1-cent-per-point redemption, this is not an awesome possibility for vacationers, particularly when TPG values these factors at 2 cents every as of November 2024. Generally, you are higher off utilizing your factors for flights or lodging.

Ski without spending a dime

Along with utilizing factors and miles, there are lots of methods for kids and seniors to ski without spending a dime (or at a drastic low cost). Concentrating on resorts the place at the least among the household can ski for much less can prevent critical money and/or factors and miles.

Lease ski gear utilizing factors

As with raise tickets, you’ll be able to redeem your factors and miles for present playing cards or assertion credit to place towards ski gear purchases. However when you’ve got Chase Final Rewards factors, you can even use them to hire ski gear in lots of places.

Within the Chase Journey portal, you’ll be able to redeem factors instantly for journey. Ski gear leases are included underneath the “Actions” tab.

Simply enter your vacation spot and dates, then filter the outcomes for phrases like “ski.”

It is a fairly good use of your factors since you’ll get a worth of greater than 1 cent per level. Sapphire Most well-liked cardholders can redeem factors at a price of 1.25 cents every; these with the Sapphire Reserve get a fair higher price of 1.5 cents every.

Guide floor transportation in your ski journey with factors and miles

Final however not all the time least is getting from the airport to the mountain (and again).

Rental automobiles

In case you want a automobile throughout your ski trip, there are a number of methods to ebook rental automobiles with factors and miles. As with flights and motels, you should use rental automotive rewards factors to ebook your automobile instantly, or you’ll be able to ebook it with bank card factors or miles via your issuer’s journey portal. You can even use cash-back rewards towards assertion credit to cowl the price of a rental automotive (in addition to associated purchases like fuel and parking).

And remember that many journey rewards playing cards provide automotive rental insurance coverage, so you will not have to pay additional for it. Some playing cards present elite standing at sure rental companies, which frequently comes with perks like automobile upgrades or a free second driver, saving you much more cash.

Associated: What I’ve realized from a number of automotive leases with the Capital One Journey portal

Shuttles and public transportation

In case you’re balking on the considered paying for a rental automotive (or navigating snowy mountain roads), a shuttle service or public transportation could also be simpler in your pockets and your nerves.

Epic Mountain Specific provides van service (with free Wi-Fi) from the Denver airport to many Colorado ski areas, similar to Vail, Breckenridge, Keystone and Copper Mountain — and Epic Cross holders get a 20% low cost. The Snowstang bus runs to a number of ski hills in Colorado, and Amtrak provides a Winter Park Specific practice.

Identical to with gear leases, you’ll be able to generally ebook these shuttles and airport transfers via the Chase Journey portal. And since many ski villages provide free shuttles round city, you most likely will not miss having a automotive when you get there.

Associated: The very best bank cards for Amtrak and practice journey

For flights, lodging, rental automobiles, and anything that codes as journey, use a card that offers you bonus rewards on journey purchases. Many journey playing cards include built-in journey safety, eliminating the necessity to purchase journey insurance coverage and supplying you with a security web in case your journey does not go easily. Listed below are a few of our favourite choices:

For nontravel purchases like raise tickets and ski gear, take into account a card that earns bonus rewards on each buy:

*Eligibility and Profit degree varies by Card. Phrases, Situations and Limitations Apply. Please go to americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for extra particulars. Underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance coverage Firm, an AIG Firm.

Associated: Greatest bank cards to make use of on ski journeys