Please be kind to us… this was our first time trying to use points to plan a trip, and we were noobs, and Fiji was still not cheap with the few points we had saved up. The trip was our honeymoon, and we did not plan it like a budget trip.
Back in November of 2021, we decided that we wanted to go to Fiji for our honeymoon! We are avid Survivor fans; so after watching the seasons in Fiji, we had to go!
I was very apprehensive because I am pretty frugal, but I came around and started to see how we could use points and miles to reduce the cost. Now, I want to see how much we actually saved.
Since we had Chase cards (the Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Chase Freedom), we made most bookings through the Chase Travel Portal. We both had the Freedom Card for a few years, but in preparation for this trip, we each opened a separate Sapphire Preferred card in November 2021, and our trip was scheduled for June 2022.
When we got our Chase Sapphire Card, we purchased our flights to Nadi, Fiji departing from Los Angeles, California. The total cost was $1,594 for two round-trip tickets. I KNOW, what a deal!! At least, I thought it was. So the flights were booked, and there was no looking back.
Now, I know I said I am cheap and typically am. But… It was our honeymoon, so I wanted to stay somewhere fancy with no kids. Call me bougie, but you only get one honeymoon, am I right?! So the next thing we purchased was our five-day, four-night stay at LikuLiku Lagoon.
The total cost was $3,605. We did not use any points for this accommodation. LikuLiku lagoon is a top-rated resort with all food included, and I found it challenging to find a resort that offered food with the package.
We booked our final nights at the Hilton Fiji Beach Resort and Spa for 89,900 points! The cash amount for this stay was $1,123. We could finally say we were staying somewhere for “free” with our points! The reservation was for a 4-day, 3-night stay. How exciting!! Before we got to this point, Brandon transferred his Chase rewards points to my account so we could pool our points. You can move your points, but only to another Chase card with Ultimate Rewards belonging to you or one household member.
We last needed flights from Atlanta (our home base) to Los Angeles. The price of these tickets was RIDICULOUS! $1,324 round trip for two travels. We used 103,331 Chase Ultimate points to book this flight.
I am positive we did not book that flight at the right time. We most likely procrastinated and waited until the last minute, causing the price to be higher.
So the grand total that we paid in cash for a nine-day trip to Fiji from Atlanta was $5,199
| Flights | Amount | Amount Paid in Cash |
| Atlanta to LA | $1,324 | $0.00 |
| La to Nadi | $1,594 | $1,594.00 |
| Accommodation | ||
| LikuLiku Lagoon | $3,605 | $3,605.00 |
| Hilton Fiji Beach Resort and Spa | $1,123 | $0.00 |
| Total | $7,646 | $5,199 |
Funny enough, we had to cancel all of this trip due to covid. More one that another day.
If we had planned better, saved up more points early on, or opened a few more travel credit cards, we would have brought that total down significantly.
One day, we will become experts at this whole travel hacking thing. But it was fun to try it out for the first time. We will time flights better to save money and look at cheaper accommodation. This trip was not a budget trip by any means, and it was fun to try out the points game!
