How We Booked Costa Rica for a Family of 4 Using Credit Card Points
Costa Rica completely ruined every other family vacation for us… in the best way possible!
Between the monkeys, hot springs, waterfalls, and incredible Hyatt stay, this quickly became one of our favorite trips ever.
The best part? We booked a huge portion of this trip using credit card points and miles.
In this post, we're breaking down exactly how we booked our flights, hotel, excursions, and transportation for our family of 4.
Flights
We repositioned and flew out of JAX to LIR via American Airlines
We transferred Capital One Points to Qantas when they had a transfer bonus going on and used 74k points (one way) to LIR and paid $188 taxes and fees/total for 4 people
For the return trip I ended up finding flights to my home airport from LIR on AA using 54k points from Citi and paying $243 in taxes and fees for our family of 4.
We’ve learned that flexibility is one of the biggest keys to booking family travel with points. By repositioning out of Jacksonville instead of only searching our home airport, we were able to save a significant amount of points.
Hotel
We stayed at the Andaz Peninsula Papagayo which is a Hyatt property that honestly ruined us for future vacations.
Every morning we woke up to monkeys outside our balcony. The property itself felt like a luxury jungle resort, but still incredibly family-friendly.
Some of our favorite parts:
Complimentary kayaks and paddleboards
Multiple pools
Private boat shuttle to the Andaz Beach House
Wildlife everywhere
Amazing service (special shoutout to JJ for taking care of us all week!)
We used 30k points/night for a 4-night stay (Transferred 120k total points for our hotel and paid $0. Cash rates during our stay were around 1,000+ per night.)
(Sadly, this property has gone up a lot in points since we booked it two years ago.) I personally still think it’s worth going back to!
Excursions
One of the highlights of our entire Costa Rica trip was our excursion day with Frank the Tank Tours — and honestly, it’s one of the biggest reasons this trip completely ruined every future vacation for us.
We booked the Volcano Mega Combo Tour, which ended up being a full-day adventure packed with activities for our family. Transportation was included directly from the Andaz Peninsula Papagayo, which made everything so easy. We were picked up early in the morning and didn’t return until the evening, but the day flew by because there was so much packed into it.
This excursion included:
* Ziplining through the jungle
* Horseback riding
* A cultural experience
* Waterfalls
* A tractor safari ride
* Hot springs
* Sauna + mud bath
* And the famous jungle waterslide
Yes… the jungle waterslide was exactly as wild as it sounds. They actually had us wear special leather “diapers” before going down the slide because of how fast it was. Our kids still talk about it constantly.
The hot springs portion of the day was one of our favorite parts because it gave us a chance to relax after all the adventure activities. Between the volcano views, waterfalls, rainforest scenery, and nonstop activities, it truly felt like we experienced so much of Costa Rica in a single day.
One thing we really appreciated was how smooth everything was organized. The guides were amazing with families, transportation was easy, and we never felt stressed trying to coordinate anything ourselves.
I believe we paid around $500 total for our family of 4 for the excursion and transportation, and honestly, it was worth every penny.
If you’re visiting Costa Rica with kids, this is absolutely something I would recommend adding to your itinerary.
Total Cost for Our Family of 4
Flights: 128k points + $431 in taxes and fees
Hotel: 120k Hyatt Points ($0 out of pocket)
Excursion: Around $500 total for all 4
Food: Around $1k on property
Without points and miles, this trip easily could have cost our family well over $8k-10k.
The Card We Used to Help Book This Trip
One of our favorite beginner cards for earning Hyatt points is the Chase Sapphire Preferred.
We personally use Chase points heavily for Hyatt stays because of how much value we get from family travel redemptions like this Costa Rica trip.
If you’re wanting to start traveling like this too, you can check out our recommended beginner card here.
