It’s not everyday that Annie’s Wildcats and my Fighting Illini play each other in college basketball. So when we learned that the University of Illinois is traveling to play the University of Arizona this November, there was no question we had to be there.
For this trip, we’ll be spending two nights in Tucson and then driving to Phoenix. After one night in Phoenix (which we extended to two nights afterwards) visiting family, we’ll head back to Chicago. Of course, this was another opportunity to see how much money I could save by booking the trip using points and miles. This post explains how we booked and what we saved.
Airfare
Annie and I have flown American Airlines to Tucson in the past and they have several flight options that work with our schedule. Checking on flights from Chicago to Tucson and Phoenix to Chicago, I found that two tickets in the main cabin would set us back $870.
As I mentioned in my Tucson planning post, the two non-cash options were to use American Airlines miles or use Chase Ultimate Rewards points and transfer them into British Airways Avios miles. As a reminder, these options would cost me either:
- 50,000 American Airlines miles, or
- 40,000 British Airways miles
So Which Option is the Better Deal?
Figuring out which option is the better deal can be a difficult one, but there are few points you should be aware of while you compare the options.
- How much are miles or points worth in the programs you’re comparing?
- What is the equivalent spend of the miles redemption?
- Do you need to save a particular program’s miles for a different trip?
How much are miles or points worth in the programs you’re comparing?
The industry standard value of American Airlines and British Airways miles is around 1.5 cents per mile. With option two, I’d be using Chase Ultimate Rewards points to transfer to British Airways, so I also need to consider the value of Chase points. Based on most valuations, Chase points are worth around 2 cents per mile.
What is the equivalent spend of the miles redemption?
If I spend 50,000 American miles on this trip and those miles are worth 1.5 cents each, that’s the equivalent to spending $750 (50,000 x 0.015).
If I spend 40,000 British Airways miles on this trip and those miles are also worth 1.5 cents each, then the equivalent spend is $600 (40,000 x 0.015).
Would you rather spend the equivalent of $600 or $750? Obviously the lessor amount is better, so that means redeeming British Airways miles is the better deal in this comparison.
Now because the source of my British Airways miles are actually Chase Ultimate Rewards points, I need to compare the American Airlines miles spending equivalent to that of Chase Ultimate Rewards points.
Chase had a 30% bonus special running on transfers to British Airways when I transferred my points. So instead of the normal 1:1 transfer ratio, I received 1.3 British Airways miles per each Chase point.
Prior to May 30, 2019, flights between Chicago and Tucson cost 10,000 British Airways miles. Beginning May 30, 2019, those same flights went up to 11,000 miles. Due to not thinking about time zones, I actually booked the outbound flight prior to May 30 but the flight home after. It was technically May 29 in Chicago, but already May 30 in London. So instead of needing 20,000 British Airways miles per person, I ended up needing 21,000 miles or 42,000 in total.
To have enough miles to use for this redemption, I transferred 33,000 Chase points to British Airways. With the 30% transfer bonus, that translated into 42,900 Avios.
The equivalent spend of the 33,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points is $660 (33,000 x 0.02). Again this is better than the American Airlines spending equivalent of $750.
Do you need to save a particular program’s miles for a different trip?
Since I have a ton of Chase points, transferring them for this trip would not negatively impact any future trips.
My Redemption Summary
In total, our flights cost 33,000 Chase points (equal to 42,000 British Airways Avios) plus $22 in taxes. That’s a savings of $848!
Hotel
I have a free night from my Hotels.com rewards account that I decided to apply to this trip. We want to stay close to campus and I found a room at the Tucson Marriott University Park, which is literally steps from the university.
The free night is worth $157 which almost pays for one whole night. In total, the hotel will cost us $252, with a total savings of $157!
In Phoenix we were originally planning to stay with family but those plans changed. So now we’re going to stay two nights at the Hilton Garden Inn Scottsdale North/Perimeter Center, which is only a short drive away.
Rental Car
Getting a cheap rental for this trip was a must and I performed an exhaustive search. I started with the car rental companies themselves, checking Hertz, Avis, Budget and Enterprise. I also looked at Costco and on the Chase and American Express travel portals. In the end, for a full-size vehicle, Enterprise had the cheapest price at $253.
Although it was more than I wanted to pay, I knew I had explored all avenues so I was confident I had found the best deal. Then I remembered about AutoSlash. AutoSlash is a website that tracks car rental reservations you’ve made elsewhere and notifies you if it finds a better deal.
To enable AutoSlash to track your reservation, you need to fill out a form on the website. It take no more than a minute or two, and requires information about the booking, including name, rental company, confirmation number, pick-up date and the price reserved. It also uses information about which memberships you hold and which credit cards you carry to help get you the best deal.
About 15 minutes later, I received an email saying that AutoSlash had found a lower rate for my upcoming rental. They had found me a rental through Hertz for $118, a savings of $135!
Click here for my guide to saving money on car rentals with AutoSlash.
Tucson Redemption Table
| Retail Cost | Our Cost | Miles and Points Used | Points Source | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 one way tickets from Chicago (ORD) to Tucson (TUS) | $240 per person ($480 total) | $5.60 taxes and fees ($11 total) | 15,385 Chase UR points -> 20,000 BA miles | - Chase credit cards |
| 2 one way tickets from Phoenix (PHX) to Chicago (ORD) | $195 per person ($390 total) | $5.60 taxes and fees ($11 total) | 16,924 Chase UR points -> 22,000 BA miles | - Chase credit cards |
| 2 nights at the Tucson Marriott University Park | $205 per night ($410 total) | $253 | 1 free night from Hotels.com Rewards (worth $157) | - Hotels.com Rewards |
| 2 nights at the Hilton Garden Inn Scottsdale North/Perimeter Center | $227 per night ($454 total) | $454 | N/A | N/A |
| 3 day car rental with Hertz | $253 | $118 | N/A | - Autoslash |
| Total | $1,987 | $847 | - 32,309 UR points - 1 Hotels.com Rewards night | - $1,140 in total savings - 57% off retail cost |
Bottom Line
Using miles and rewards allowed us to book a weekend trip for $1,140 less than if we paid for everything out of pocket. In total that’s 74% off the retail cost of the trip! This is going to be a really fun weekend. We’ll get to hang out in a cool college town which Annie loves, see our two schools play each other in basketball and see family in Phoenix. Sounds like a pretty great trip to me!
Trip Report Index
- Introduction and Planning
- Using Points and Miles to get to Tucson
- Tucson Marriott University Park
- Illinois vs Arizona Basketball Game
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