How we used Credit Cards to get One Free Month at a Beach Resort!
PLEASE NOTE: THE HILTON DEAL HAS SINCE EXPIRED
Credit Cards are probably the easiest way to earn points and miles in a hurry. Usually, you can earn 1 mile or point per $1 spent, but a lot of the cards give you 2, 3, 4, 5, even 12x the points per dollar earned.
It may sound crazy, but there are ways to stay completely free, for up to a MONTH, at a 5 star beach resort, and not pay a dime. Whether you can get a full month off from your job is another story, but even if you just use this on a smaller scale, getting a week or two for free, twice a year, and pay absolutely nothing. At most of these resorts, you’ll even get free wifi and free breakfast!
We wrote last week about the Hilton Surpass American Express and how it gives 100,000 points at signup. We got our own card and couldn’t be happier with it. We also found that a lot of the readers applied for the card, as we got emails from happy readers saying “Approved! Can’t wait to go on our vacation!” Congrats
Last year, we totally fell in love with Egypt. It was our first time in Africa, and we cannot wait to go back and explore more of the country. If you’d love to see more about our trips to Egypt, here’s a handy guide:
The one place that we didn’t get a chance to stay at was Sharm el Sheikh, or Sharm for short. It’s really a shame, because it’s one of the most gorgeous places that I’ve seen in Egypt. The scuba diving and snorkeling is amazing, the people friendly, and the hotels are … well … CHEAP.
From Hilton.com
Fifth Night Free
When you’re an elite member of Hilton (benefit from the credit card) you’ll be able to redeem your points and get the fifth night free! You’re allowed to do this for a maximum of four times per reservation (20 total nights) but there is no limit to the number of reservations you can make during a year.
Using this benefit, we’re able to secure a ton of free nights at really awesome hotel locations all over the globe.
Category 1 hotels
In our Hilton Amex post from last week, we also wrote about our desire to stay at Category 1 hotels whenever possible. It’s the most bang for the buck, and a fantastic way to use your miles. Egypt has a plethora of Category 1 hotels from the Hilton Family, and one of them is the Sharm Dreams resort. The Sharm Waterfalls resort is ALSO a category 1 hotel, but this one is a little closer to the action of the city.
Remember the signup bonus of 100,000 points after just $3,000 in spend? Well here’s what 80,000 points would get you at this resort. 20 nights … for free!
Hilton Shark Dreams Resort
Just book a separate reservation for the other 10 nights and you’re good to go! Total cost is 120,000 points for the entire month. As you can see, the price goes down to 4,000 a night when you kick in the free night benefit.
Sharm Hilton Resort
So if you’re any good at math, you’re thinking… 120,000 points? The signup was for 100,000 points! True, but remember you have to spend $3,000 to get those points. I plan on spending those $3,000 at grocery stores (buying gift cards) which earn 6x points, so that’s in actuality 118,000 points. Throw in a few hundred more dollars in spending and voila! You’ve got your free night.
You don’t HAVE to stay in Cat 1 hotels…
One of the benefits of booking with points is that 5th night free, and since Hilton has hundreds of hotels in their portfolios, so you can stay at a Category 2, 3, or even 4 and get a few free nights out of it.
Hurry Up!
The signup bonus that we mentioned earlier ends on 5/31, so if you’re interested in getting those 100,000 points, you had better not dilly-dally around. To apply, you can either click on the Limited Time offer below OR head up to the Credit Card links at the top of the page. While you don’t have to use our links, we sure would appreciate it. It’s those clicks and applications that provide us the resources to keep bringing you great content (and trips to Egypt!). Thanks in advance, we appreciate it!
May 23, 2017
Sweet. Have you completed the stay yet? I can’t wait for the review.
May 24, 2017
Nope, it’s on the list 🙂