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The Idea
My husband and I have lived far from family for most of our 13 years of marriage. Therefore, trips alone with the 2 of us have not been a frequent occurrence. This past year we ended up with titanium elite status with Marriott, and we decided to try and make a New York trip a reality. With this status, we could enjoy a high end hotel with lounge access in the city that never sleeps. I have never been to New York and I am over the moon excited about it. Here’s how the planning of our anniversary trip went.
Central Park and 5th Avenue Hotels
We had a lot of Marriott points, but as is common knowledge in the points world, Marriott points don’t go very far. So we decided to find the best Marriott with a lounge, for at least part of the 4 day trip.
We decided to spend 2 days at the JW Marriott Essex House.
For our second half of the trip we chose a Hyatt, because Hyatt is the best choice for transferrable points from Chase. We love our Chase points from the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Ink Cards. We were really torn between the Thompson and the Hyatt Andaz 5th Avenue. At the end of the day, the location, along with the free drinks and snacks at the Andaz won me over and we will be spending 2 nights there.
Direct Flights
For flights, we looked at several options. We have the Southwest companion pass, but we kind of wanted to try a different carrier for a trip with just the two of us. We ended up transferring points from Chase to Virgin Atlantic to book direct flights from Denver to LaGuardia. Virgin Atlantic points can be used for Delta flights, and often fetch cheaper points prices than Delta.
New York Experiences
This is our first time in New York so we will be doing touristy activities.
On our list…
Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island Tour
9/11 Memorial
Chinatown
Rockefeller
Empire State Building
New York Public Library
The MET
Grand Central Station
Central Park
Chelsea Market
The Highline
Broadway
Booking Broadway with Hyatt
We booked our Broadway tickets with Hyatt FIND experiences. This allows you to either use or earn Hyatt points through your booking.
We chose to pay for this and receive Hyatt Points.
We paid $326 for Center Front Mezzanine tickets. We could have redeemed 23,285 Hyatt points for this. We received 3,260 Hyatt points for this purchase. The cost/benefit was worth it for us, but if you are trying to cover as many expenses as possible with points, this is a GREAT option!
What questions do you have about our planning? What recommendations do you have for NYC??
