What I Spent: Hotels Booked in Points for Whole Season
Share
At My Cheer Budget, we are huge fans of travel hacking--it's like a little game where the prize is free (or super cheap) flights and hotel stays! If you don't carry credit card debt and can resist the urge to overspend, there are so many ways to take advantage of sign-up bonuses and your regular monthly purchases to help fund your cheer travel.
I just wrapped up booking all of our family's hotels for the upcoming season (except for local comps--we'll just drive). I figured it would be fun to break down exactly how exactly many points I used across different hotel brands, plus the extra costs we'll have to cover, based on the hotels we chose and credit cards we're using.
| Event | Hotel | Nights | Points | Points Source |
| Comp #1 | Sheraton | 1 | 40,000 | Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer (50% bonus promo, so transferred 27,000 CUR points) |
| Comp #2 (Stay-to-play) |
Hyatt Sheraton |
1 2 |
5,000 48,500 |
Chase Ultimate Rewards transfers |
| Comp #3 | Holiday Inn | 4 | 81,000 (+ $304 for parking/ mandatory resort fee) | IHG Credit Card sign up bonus |
| Comp #4 | Hampton Inn | 2 | 140,000 | Hilton credit card & earning from 2023-2024 trips |
| Comp #5 | Hilton | 1 | 50,000 |
|
| Total | 316,000 |
| Credit Card | Annual Fee | Sign up bonus earned this year |
| Chase Sapphire Preferred | $95 | 0 |
| Chase Freedom Unlimited | $0 | 0 |
| Chase Ink Cash (business) | $0 | 75,000 |
| IHG Traveler | $0 | 100,000 |
| Hilton Honors Surpass | $150 | 0 |
| Total | $245 | 175,000 |
Total Spending:
$245 (credit card fees) + $304 (parking and mandatory resort fees) = $549
We're staying a total of 11 nights this season. So, when you spread that $549 across all 11 nights, it works out to just $49.90 per night 🤯 💰
Honestly, when I sat down to write this, I didn't know what to expect. This year, I opened two new credit cards with $0 annual fees and awesome sign-up bonuses, and it's really paid off. For us, the credit card annual fees we do pay are totally worth it, especially when you factor in other perks that come with the cards.
But enough about me--how do you handle travel for cheer competitions? Do you travel hack too? Crash with friends or family? Let me know in the comments--I'd love to hear your tips!
Cheers,
Lexie
PS: Need some help with your cheer travel planning? Be sure to check out our travel resources and grab the Credit Card Rewards 101 e-book made specifically for cheer families!