The Upgraded Points Team’s Best Flight and Hotel Redemptions of 2024

Put your money where your mouth is … but with points and miles. That is exactly what the team at Upgraded Points has done this year, and then some!

In 2024, our team turned award travel into an art form, redeeming millions of points and miles for experiences most people only dream of. Whether it was flying Etihad’s luxurious A380 or soaking up the Maldives in an overwater villa, even going on a quick round-the-world date, we didn’t just travel — we explored every corner that points could take us.

From Maui to Nairobi, if it was bookable with points, chances are we made it happen. Let’s take a look at some of our most unforgettable redemptions of the year.

Alex Miller, Founder and CEO

Etihad Airways Airbus A380 The Residence

For over 10 years, I’ve dreamed of flying Etihad’s The Residence — and of course, without paying the full cash price!

I flew it not just once, but twice this year. I figured if I were going to make this dream a reality, I’d go all in. To book, I used a mix of miles and cash:

• Booking The Apartment: I used 400,000 Etihad Guest miles and $1,127 in cash to book Etihad’s First Class product on the A380.
• Upgrading to The Residence: Normally, upgrading would cost an additional $4,790 each way in cash. However, I paid $4,790 plus an additional 400,000 Etihad Guest miles for the round-trip to reduce the cash outlay.
• Total: 800,000 miles plus $4,790 for over 28 hours of flying in The Residence.

But here’s the kicker: I didn’t actually need 800,000 miles! Thanks to a 40% transfer bonus from Capital One earlier this year, I transferred just 500,000 miles, which then converted to 700,000 Etihad miles. Combined with 110,000 miles already in my account from a canceled trip, I had enough to book this ticket.

Yes, this was a significant investment of miles and cash, but after waiting 10 years, it was completely worth it and frankly, I’d do it again! Remember that if you were to pay in cash it would cost $15,000 to $30,000 or more each way for this route!

Carissa Rawson, Senior Content Contributor

You want to talk about best redemptions? This year included my best redemption ever, which took place as a series of first class flights around the world and involved a weeklong stay at a luxury Maldives resort. Buckle in.

I always do something fun for my birthday in January, and this year was no exception. I didn’t actually start off trying to fly around the world in first class, but as more seats opened up, I ended up rebooking a few of my flights to make it happen.

Flights

The entirety of my journey took place over 18 days. You’ll spot a number of bucket-list flights on there, including Lufthansa first class, Etihad first class, and ANA first class. Many of these required finagling, especially Lufthansa first class, since they don’t release award space until 3 days before departure.

Even better, I flew Etihad first class on my birthday — or rather, it became my birthday during the flight. To celebrate, the crew made decorations and gave me a cake while singing “Happy Birthday.” It was definitely an incredible experience!

All told, I spent 317,000 miles and $1,486 for these 11 flights. Not all of them were in first class, but the most important ones were!

I earned the miles for these flights in a few different ways, but since most of these came from my American Airlines AAdvantage account, they came from SimplyMiles purchases and AAdvantage Hotels stays.

To book my ANA flight, I transferred my American Express Membership Rewards to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. For the Lufthansa first class flight, I converted my Citi ThankYou points to Avianca LifeMiles. This is one of my favorite uses for them and something I do often.

Hotels

I wouldn’t be a points and miles traveler if I didn’t redeem a million points for luxury hotels, would I? The pièce de résistance here was of course the 7 nights I spent in an overwater villa at the Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi.

It cost me nearly a million Hilton Honors points, but boy, was it worth it. I earned these by buying Hilton points and then convincing my boyfriend to do the same. I also redeemed a free night certificate from the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card — a huge value considering the property charges 150,000 points per night.

All information regarding the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.

Here’s a look at all of my hotel redemptions in 2024:

I also used a Hyatt free night certificate at the Park Hyatt Tokyo that I got from earning World of Hyatt Globalist status. Unfortunately, the hotel was under renovation, so I wasn’t able to hang out at its world-famous bar, but I still had a nice time.

Overall, I had an incredible 18-day journey around the world. Can I afford to do it again? Probably not for a while, but it’s something I’ll remember forever.

Christopher Hassan, Social Media and Brand Manager

2024 started out great, as my wife and I were able to check off bucket list redemptions as part of a round-the-world trip to get us to and from Australia for a wedding.

When I realized we’d be leaving the kids at home in Brazil with their grandparents for our trip to Sydney, I knew this was the perfect chance to book the seats we’d been eyeing but could never secure for a group of 4 using award availability.

Japan Airlines Airbus A350-1000 Business Class

Getting from Brazil to Australia isn’t the easiest task, especially when you are dead set on paying with points and miles. Except for 1 flight from Chile, most flights route via the U.S. or Middle East. After exhausting my searches for our (very specific) dates, I started looking at flights from the U.S.

I had booked a nonstop Delta economy flight from Los Angeles (LAX) to Sydney (SYD), but when I received an award alert for Japan Airlines business class, I couldn’t resist.

Japan had long been on our bucket list. We certainly didn’t want to fly 15 hours in economy and figured Tokyo and Sydney were relatively close, so it would be worth it just for the experience. We were right.

The 14-plus-hour flight on JAL’s brand new A350-1000 was nothing short of spectacular. The food, service, seat, and overall experience was the perfect way to get our round-the-world trip started for just 60,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles plus $5.60 in taxes each earned from my Citi^® / AAdvantage^® Platinum Select^® World Elite Mastercard^®.

The Tokyo EDITION, Ginza

Although our stay in Tokyo was brief and was essentially a long layover, we were able to squeeze in stays at a couple of very nice hotels. Our first stop was at the brand-new The Tokyo EDITION, Ginza.

This gorgeous boutique hotel is in the very desirable Ginza neighborhood and the definition of understated luxury. With high-end amenities, the most comfortable bed I have ever experienced, and a staff that anticipates your every need, it is no surprise that this property comes with a high price tag.

Fortunately, I paid the $750 nightly rate with my free night certificate from my Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card. Not a bad redemption!

For our final 2 nights in Tokyo, we moved over to the famous Conrad Tokyo. This is another luxury property popular with the points and miles crowd, and we were no exception.

Since my wife and I each have the Hilton Aspire card, we each used our annual free night certificate to cover the $500-plus nightly rate. Plus, since the card grants us each Hilton Honors Diamond status, we received complimentary breakfast and happy hour, which was a nice way to save cash.

Qantas Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner Business Class

We had made it to Japan, but we still needed to get to Australia. Fortunately, that was the easy part.

To get from Tokyo Haneda (HND) to Sydney (SYD), I booked 2 Qantas business class seats for just 40,000 American Airlines miles per seat. This was a great deal for the over-9-hour flight.

Qatar Airways 777-300ER Qsuites Business Class

After spending a week at the Kimpton Margot Sydney (which I highly recommend), it was time to head home. I’m not going to lie: I essentially built our entire trip around this flight.

I had long heard from fellow travelers how awesome Qsuites are, and I knew this was my chance to finally try them. Once I found saver availability from MEL-DOH-GRU, I knew I had to book it. For “just” 120,000 Avios per person (transferred from the Brazilian points program, Livelo), my wife and I flew 30 hours in the world’s best business class … and I wanted more! We had to reposition from Sydney to Melbourne to catch the flight, but that was easy, as was the quick layover in Doha.

We all dread the end of a great vacation, but the prospect of finally flying this bucket list product and getting back to our kids after 2 weeks of being away made it the perfect end to our round-the-world trip.

Ehsan Haque, Content Contributor

Lufthansa Airbus A340-600 First Class

I booked a one-way Lufthansa First Class award for 87,000 Avianca LifeMiles (before the devaluation). This was an incredible redemption, especially considering many programs charge more in business class. Unfortunately, it costs significantly more miles for the same redemption now.

This was an incredible experience — from relaxing in the private First Class Terminal in Frankfurt (FRA) to being driven to and from planes in a Porsche, this was a trip I will never forget.

Turkish Airlines Airbus A350 Business Class

I also took advantage of a huge Turkish Airlines promo. I booked a one-way Turkish business class award between the U.S. and Madrid for just 31,500 Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles miles.

This was booked before the major Miles&Smiles devaluation and the promotion, which made it an even better deal in retrospect.

Juan Ruiz, Senior Editor and Content Contributor

Etihad Airways Airbus A380 First Class Apartment

I kicked off this year in style by flying Etihad’s First Class Apartment on the A380 from London (LHR) to Abu Dhabi (AUH) in January. I’ve been dreaming about this premium flying experience for years, and I finally snagged this highly acclaimed seat for just 62,500 American Airlines AAdvantage miles and $32.70 in taxes and fees.

This one-way flight would have set me back nearly $5,000. So, when I redeemed AA miles for this bucket list flight, I got an impressive value of 8 cents per point!

Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort

During spring break, I had the wonderful opportunity to take my family to Hawaii. This was our second visit to Maui but our first experience staying at the Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort, which is a World of Hyatt property. I was wondering if this upscale hotel would cater more to couples than families, but I was pleasantly surprised to see other families enjoying their spring break there, too.

This hotel tends to have cash rates that often exceed $700, and booking with points can be quite a challenge because of the limited award inventory available. I set up an alert through maxmypoints.com and hoped for the best. Lo and behold, just a week before our trip, the dates we needed opened up for booking using points, and I ended up paying between 35,000 and 40,000 World of Hyatt points per night. I was really excited to redeem Hyatt points for a stay here, as I had heard nothing but amazing things about this hotel.

Air France Business Class From Rome to Miami

Flying a family of 5 in Air France business class from Rome (FCO) to Miami (MIA) via Paris (CDG) using points and miles is truly remarkable. After our lovely family vacation in the Amalfi Coast and Rome, I booked business class tickets with Air France for all 5 of us, using just 47,500 Flying Blue points each.

Considering the cash price topped $3,000 per person, I was able to earn a redemption value of more than 6 cents for every point.

Keri Stooksbury, Editor-in-Chief

I felt like I went after earning more points than I redeemed this year, which is mostly thanks to the lack of award availability on Qatar Airways, my preferred carrier from our home in Doha, Qatar. I did have a few shining redemptions in 2024, and I look forward to having great redemptions to report in 2025.

SriLankan Airlines Economy Class From Doha to Colombo

For a winter break trip from Doha (DOH) to Colombo (CMB), Sri Lanka, I was unable to find 5 economy award seats on the same Qatar Airways flight. The limited inventory I could find was priced at 17,500 Avios each. Since Avios can be used on multiple carriers, I ran the same search through British Airways and scored 5 one-way tickets through SriLankan Airlines for 13,000 Avios each.

With a cash price of $456 each, after deducting taxes and fees, this award achieved a value of 2.62 cents per Avios, more than double our value of British Airways Executive Club Avios.

Hyatt Regency Nairobi Westlands

My stay at the newly opened Hyatt Regency Nairobi Westlands wasn’t an over-the-top redemption. For this Category 1 property, I received a redemption value of around 2.88 cents per World of Hyatt point, still higher than our valuation of Hyatt points at 1.5 cents each. I certainly achieved a greater value since we were upgraded to a Deluxe Suite through a Guest of Honor award.

This was a stellar redemption for me because of what I earned back. My stay cost 27,500 points, but I earned 5,000 points back because of a new hotels bonus offer and Hyatt’s Bonus Journeys promotion, enough for a free night at a Category 1 property!

Fraser Suites Al Liwan, Bahrain

One of my favorite redemptions this year was a bit niche. Fraser Hospitality operates a portfolio of hotels and serviced apartments across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. My family stayed at a Fraser Suites in Singapore when we arrived and departed our expat assignment there, and we collected a handful of points in the brand’s Fraser World loyalty program. During the pandemic, I won 2 Fraser World Instagram contests with prizes totaling 10,000 points. With the points finally expiring in 2024, it was time to figure out how to redeem them.

My family planned a spring break road trip from Qatar to Bahrain, and Fraser Suites Al Liwan, Bahrain, caught my eye. For 9,500 points, I booked a Two-Bedroom Deluxe room with over 1,400 square feet of space. It was outrageous how large this room was, with a full kitchen, dining room, amazing patio, living room, and king and queen bedrooms. It was also in a very cool outdoor shopping center with access to a movie theater, retail shops, and restaurants.

I never even checked the cash rate because the redemption was just ridiculously unbelievable — having the points in the first place was a fluke, and being able to have a huge room for the night for free was literally priceless. I think the lessons here are: You can’t win if you don’t enter, and don’t let points go to waste.

Lori Zaino, Senior Content Contributor

In 2024, I used 17,000 Iberia Avios per person, per way, to fly my family of 3 in economy from our home in Madrid (MAD), Spain, to Chicago (ORD) to visit friends and family. This was mainly possible thanks to the ease (and the transfer bonuses) of transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards and Amex Membership Rewards to Iberia.

As this is a route I frequently fly, I try to have a constant supply of points flowing into my Iberia Avios account so it always stays topped off. I also shop using the Iberia Plus eStore shopping portal, which has bonuses of up to 15 Avios per $1 spent in some cases, to keep my Avios balance high.

Dreams Onyx Resort & Spa in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

In July, I also used 97,500 Hyatt points (mainly earned with The World of Hyatt Credit Card and moving over some Chase Ultimate Rewards) instead of the cash price of $1,800 to stay for 3 nights at the Dreams Onyx Resort & Spa in Punta Cana, an all-inclusive beachfront resort.

We stayed in a beautiful Preferred Club Pool View Junior Suite and had a blast, and I slept easy knowing I got a value of 1.9 cents per point (which is great, as Upgraded Points values Hyatt points at 1.5 cents per point).

Ryan Smith, News Managing Editor

My best redemption this year came from a short-notice booking, which I’ve found to be a rather common experience.

Park Hyatt Buenos Aires

As rooms fill up, cash prices rise. If you’re using a rewards program with fixed redemption rates, you can get crazy value for your points.

That’s what my wife and I are getting the last weekend of November in Buenos Aires. Our favorite soccer team from Brazil qualified for the final of Copa Libertadores — the top tournament in all of South America. Once we qualified, I scrambled to find flights and a hotel room for us in Buenos Aires. Rates were eye-watering.

At nearly $1,200 per night for the Park Hyatt Buenos Aires, there’s no way we would’ve booked this hotel at the cash rate. For 25,000 World of Hyatt points, however, we were really happy to find an available hotel that wouldn’t cost a fortune. The fact it was a Park Hyatt was the cherry on top — and we got nearly 4.7 cents per point on this redemption.

Final Thoughts

Looking back at our best redemptions of 2024 reminds us that points and miles can help create unforgettable experiences. Whether a last-minute getaway to catch a soccer game or a bucket list flight filled with caviar, the possibilities are endless … and surprisingly affordable.

We hope that our adventures inspire you to turn your points into lifelong memories and see just how far they can take you, too!