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When most people think “honeymoon,” they think of luxe accommodations in far-flung locales. I had the same idea in mind while planning my own honeymoon, but given that I was planning it at a time when COVID-19 was scuttling travel plans left and right, I decided to forego the “far-flung” piece for an epic journey right in my own backyard: the Pacific Coast Highway.
Choosing California’s PCH as a honeymoon destination gave me peace of mind, but it offered another advantage, too: the ability to stay at not one, but multiple luxury resorts on my personal hotel bucket list. Over the course of two weeks, my husband and I stayed at seven different California properties and paid for all but one of them with credit card points, leaving us with extra cash to fund activities, dining out, a rental car, and a sitter for our puppy back home. Here’s how we used points from three different loyalty programs to cover our stays.
San Francisco Proper Hotel
We began our journey by flying from our home of Portland, Oregon, to San Francisco and renting a car for the journey south. While we’ve spent time in San Francisco on other trips, we wanted to take a day in the city as the official start of our expedition and then another to drive up to Point Reyes and the surrounding area before beginning our trip down the PCH.
The San Francisco Proper, centrally located on Market Street, participates in Marriott’s loyalty program, meaning I could use 95,000 Marriott Bonvoy points to cover a two-night stay that otherwise would have come out to $873.66 with taxes and fees. While Marriott points are more difficult to earn than most, I generated a large sum not only by getting married at a Marriott portfolio property, but by putting all my venue, accommodation, and catering expenses on the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card, which earns six points per dollar on eligible purchases at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy (terms apply).
Hyatt Carmel Highlands
Before reaching what we considered the crown jewel of the trip—Big Sur—we wanted to take some time to explore the charming town of Carmel and the nearby scenic 17-Mile Drive, so we booked a night at the Hyatt Carmel Highlands. While we don’t earn many Hyatt points outright, Hyatt is a transfer partner of Chase Ultimate Rewards, so my husband was able to move over points earned with his Chase Sapphire Preferred® card.
