By booking through The Hotel Collection, the reservation also included a complimentary room upgrade and a $100 resort credit, which we used on breakfast, coffee and snacks during our stay. Within days after booking the Loews Sapphire Falls for our trip, the full $200 credit was applied to my Amex Platinum account, dropping the total cost from $578 to $378. In fact, the benefits and savings to be had from the card can more than offset the fee.įor example, the Amex Platinum comes with an annual $200 credit on prepaid stays of at least two nights at properties in The Hotel Collection or Fine Hotels + Resorts, which can be booked through Amex Travel (Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay). Although this card comes with a high $695 annual fee (see rates and fees), it also comes with a long list of benefits that can help travelers save big on their trips. So, where did the savings come into play? I booked our stay through American Express’ The Hotel Collection, which I get access to thanks to my Platinum Card® from American Express. We ended up booking at the Loews Sapphire Falls Resort, a 1,000-room property splashed with an island surfing motif, for $278 per night.Ī review of the American Express Platinum Card But they can also run $500 per night or more. For our trip, we looked at the preferred and premier tiers, which include the top resorts that are minutes by foot or boat to the park gates and come with extras. Universal Orlando operates eight on-property hotels across its value, prime value, preferred and premier tiers. And, if you can use travel rewards to bring the expense down, even better. Yes, these hotels are generally more expensive - sometimes much more so - than staying off property, but factoring in added benefits and time saved, it could be worth it to pay a bit extra. When visiting Universal (or Disney World), staying on property will often make your vacation more pleasant and convenient. When saving cash is the goal like it was for us, this 95% savings was a great opportunity. This, as opposed to paying $450 for the same flights. In addition to the 75,000 bonus miles you’ll get for meeting the minimum spending requirement, you’ll also get additional benefits like an Admirals Club lounge membership, priority check-in and boarding and a free checked bag for holding the card.įor our flights, we elected to pay just $22.40 in taxes and fees after redeeming 44,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles. For example, with the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®, you can earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $7,500 on the card in the first three months. American Airlines offers quite a few credit cards that can help you earn miles quickly. If you don’t have a stash of American miles, that’s not a problem. How to access some of the world’s best airport lounges In total, we paid $22.40 out of pocket rather than $450 for the same flights. While I would normally save my American miles and pay cash for a relatively inexpensive ticket like this, in the context of a trip with many extra costs, I chose to redeem 22,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles, plus $11.20 in taxes and fees per ticket, to make the flights almost free. On the dates we were looking to travel, American Airlines was pricing flights at $225 for a round-trip ticket from Philadelphia to Orlando. Competition between several airlines that fly this route and the robust supply of daily flights keep round-trip prices relatively reasonable throughout most of the year. Orlando (MCO) is perennially one of the most popular domestic destinations from our home airport of Philadelphia (PHL). Here’s how we saved more than $1,500 on our vacation - and how you can do it too. The cost can be prohibitive or necessitate saving for years, but if you can make travel rewards part of your payment strategy - as my wife and I did for our October 2021 visit to Universal for its annual Halloween Horror Nights festival - you can cover a good chunk of the expenses. According to sample calculations from vacation planning site Orlando Informer, the average family of four drops between $2,200 and $4,500 on a four-night Universal Orlando vacation, excluding airfare. Visit to learn more.Ī vacation to any one of Orlando, Florida’s theme parks can cost as much - if not more - than a vacation to the Caribbean or Europe. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. We may receive a commission through our affiliate partners if you apply and are approved for a product, but our reporting is always independent and objective. Your CNN account Log in to your CNN accountĬNN Underscored reviews financial products based on their overall value.
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