Zero Expenses: How We Did Our Free Mexico Trip with Points
Our Destination: Punta De Mita
Undoubtedly, Mexico is one of–if not, the–most popular destination for Spring Break with its cool vibe, great beaches, and tropical weather. So for us, it was only a matter of time and identifying which part of Mexico we’re traveling to for the break.
From Cancun to Isla Mujeres, our travel options were endless, but this time, we gathered our points and headed to Punta de Mita, a 6-kilometer private peninsula towards the north of Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco. This paradise is surrounded on three sides by the Pacific Ocean. What’s great about it is the mild tropical climate where temperature, even in the summer, reaches up to only 85F – this is great especially as we’re traveling this time with our 5-month old.
Where We Stayed: W Punta De Mita by Marriott
This is a really cool property. It has about four restaurants on it, it has a huge pool that goes straight out to the beach, lots of places to lounge and sit and lay out. Surprisingly, all of the restaurants are really pretty affordable and all the drinks and everything too.
The Rooms – Jurassic Park Style!
I found this place to be kind of like a combination of ABC’s Lost and Jurassic Park. The rooms were kind of hidden in the jungle setting and just a really cool beach and jungle vibe to it.
Courtesy of Marriott Hotels - W Hotel Punta de Mita
Music
The other cool thing about the W is they have a lot of music going at all times honestly it was a little annoying sometimes but we had our five-month-old and it kinda drowned out some of the other noise. There were some live DJs at night and that was all pretty good.
Pool Area
The pool area is really cool, overlooks the beach and its really hard to find a better spot than this for spring break.
How We Did This For Free!
What’s special about this trip is that every part of it was free – from our flights down to our restaurant bills, everything was covered by our points. Here’s how we did it:
Flights
The way we actually did this for free was to use the Companion Pass on Southwest to fly from Denver to Puerto Vallarta with points and miles from Southwest. I have my companion pass by getting the bonuses from the Chase Southwest Business Premier business card and Chase Southwest Plus personal card.
Highest bonus amongst the Southwest business cards. You are eligible even if you have the Southwest Premier Business card. Great to combine with personal card to earn the Southwest Companion Pass.
This has the lowest annual fee of all Southwest personal cards, and comes with two EarlyBird passes per year.
Hotel
We used Marriott points to book the W hotel so our stay was free. We redeemed our Marriott points for a five night stay, but since one of the benefits of the Marriott program is that you receive your fifth night free, we only had to redeem points for a total of four nights — making this a great use of our points. And then because Virginia was a Marriott Gold Elite, she was able to get us an upgrade to an ocean view room, which was also really really cool.
The Marriott Business Amex card offers several perks for those who love to stay at Marriott hotels and offers a free annual night award and 15 Elite night credits toward status each calendar year. Certain hotels have resort fees. Terms apply.
With an annual fee of $650, perks include Platinum status, dining credits, 25 Elite nights credit towards status per calendar year, Priority Pass select and Global Entry/TSA PreCheck fee credit and a free night award annually (after your card renewal month). This is a very intriguing card for those looking for instant status and a lot of Marriott benefits. Terms Apply.
With this unique offer, you'll earn 3 free night awards (up to 50,000 points per night). The free nights expire 12 months after they are earned.
This is a solid card from Marriott, plus there are many benefits, such as the annual free night certificate you receive on each account anniversary and 15 Elite nights toward status per calendar year.
Food Expenses
Lastly, because we have Capital One Venture Miles to pay for our hotel bill, we put all of the restaurant and food bills on the room. Then we used the Venture Card to pay the room bill. Once our statement comes, we’ll use the Venture Miles to cover that charge because it will code as travel.
For a limited time, new cardholders get a $250 Capital One Travel credit to use in their first year! Best "easy to use" starter card (or complement to the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Credit Card) for those who don't want to think when it comes to earning and redeeming miles.
So a few different cards went into making this free. I think that’s what you learn when you get those big sign up bonuses. You can quickly rack up a lot of points and end up traveling for free at some really great vacation spots.
Our Points vs. Actual Expenses
Ready to see how much we saved on this trip? The table below shows you how much points we’ve redeemed and their corresponding retail value. All in all, we saved $3,100.25 for this trip!
| Expense | Card | Points Redeemed | Vs. Actual Value in Retail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flights | Rapid Rewards Miles and Companion Pass | 42,050 | $630.75 (including $184 in taxes) |
| Accommodation/ Hotel | Marriott Bonvoy | 50,000 per night (200,000 total) - 5th night for free | $349 x 5 = $2,095 (plus taxes) |
| Food/ Restaurant charges | Capital One Venture miles | 37,450 | $374.50 |
| $3100.25 |
