Caribbean on Points: A Week in Curaçao
How We Used Points and Status to Spend Just $18 Out of Pocket on a Six-Night Caribbean Trip
Total Points Used: ~242,700 pts Cash Out of Pocket: $18 Destination: Willemstad, CW
The Setup: Turning a Conference Trip Into a Caribbean Getaway
There are bucket-list trips, and then there are trips you almost talk yourself out of because they seem too complicated to book on points. Curaçao was both. The island sits outside the main hurricane belt, has crystal-clear water that rivals anything in the Caribbean, and gets dramatically fewer tourists than Aruba or Bonaire. It also has exactly zero nonstop flights from our preferred airport, which meant creative routing was the whole game.
My wife had a bucket list goal I had never heard of before she mentioned it: visiting all three ABC Islands — Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao. We had already been to Aruba and loved it, so when she brought up Curaçao I did not need much convincing. It also helped that her work conference happened to be in Miami, which made the routing straightforward. There are no nonstop options from Salt Lake City to Curaçao, but from Miami the connection is simple. So we built the trip around her conference schedule.
I flew down a day before her conference ended, which gave me a free afternoon in Miami to do a walking food tour on my own. P2 met me at the airport the next morning and we flew to Curaçao together from there. We spent six nights on the island total, and here is exactly how we did it, what it cost in points and cash, and what I would do differently.
The Flight to Miami: Flying Blue on Delta
I flew Delta from SLC to MIA using 16,500 Flying Blue points plus $15.12 in taxes and fees. Flying Blue is Air France-KLM’s loyalty program, and it frequently prices Delta domestic routes at rates that are much better than what Delta’s own SkyMiles program would charge. If you are not already transferring Amex or Capital One points into Flying Blue, you are leaving real value on the table. I took a late-night redeye and was pleasantly surprised to be upgraded to first class — probably a function of the late departure time and light loads, but I will take it either way.
Pro Tip: Flying Blue regularly runs flash promotions with 25 to 50 percent off select routes. Set a Google alert for “Flying Blue promo awards” and you will catch them before they sell out.
The Hotel: One Night in Miami on Points
I booked one night at the Hyatt House Miami Airport using 12,000 World of Hyatt points, with no cash out of pocket and no resort fee. Since my wife was staying at her conference hotel, I did not want to deal with the logistics of trying to sleep in a room she may or may not be using. The Hyatt was the right call. I was able to check in early with no hassle, got a few hours of sleep after landing, and then took a short Uber to my afternoon tour.
The Tour: A Solo Afternoon in Little Havana
That afternoon I did the Little Havana Food and Walking Tour solo, booked through the Chase Travel Portal using 4,667 Chase Ultimate Rewards points. The tour wound through Domino Park, a working cigar factory, the Cubaocho Museum, Party Cake Bakery, and El Pub Restaurant where I ate enough to call it a full meal. Small groups, a knowledgeable guide, and a genuinely fun afternoon. I would much rather spend a solo afternoon doing something like this than eating alone at a restaurant nearby. On the tour I got to chatting with a really nice family, and when they found out I was from Utah they asked whether I personally knew anyone from the TV show Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. I did not, but it made for a memorable conversation.
Pro Tip: The Chase Sapphire Reserve used to give 1.5x on activity bookings through the travel portal, making 10,000 points worth $150 in value. That is no longer the case — Chase has since reduced the rate on activities to 1x. Always check the current portal terms before booking, as the math changes depending on what rate is in effect.
The Flight to Curaçao: Alaska Mileage Plan on American Airlines
The next morning P2 and I met at the airport and flew American Airlines to Curaçao in business class for just 15,000 Alaska Mileage Plan miles each. This is one of the best-kept secrets in the points world. Alaska is a Bilt transfer partner and prices American Airlines international business class awards at rates that American’s own AAdvantage program often cannot match. Terminal N at MIA is compact and easy to navigate, and the flight puts you on the island mid-afternoon with the whole evening ahead.
Pro Tip: If you hold Bilt points, Alaska is a transfer partner — move points there and search AA availability before assuming you need AAdvantage miles. The savings can be significant.
The Hotels: Two Hyatt Properties, Very Different Experiences
We split our Curaçao nights between two Hyatt properties, and that split turned out to be one of the best decisions of the whole trip. I am a Hyatt Globalist, the top tier of World of Hyatt, and the status made a real difference at both properties.
Our first night on the island was at the Sunscape Curaçao Resort, Spa and Casino, a Category B property in the Hyatt award chart. The standard rate is 20,000 points per night, which is what I paid. I booked this night purely to check the Sunscape brand off the World of Hyatt Brand Explorer list. Globalist status got us a room upgrade, and the view from our room was genuinely the highlight of the stay. The food was good but not great — solidly all-inclusive, but nothing that separated it from the dozens of similar resorts in Mexico and the Caribbean. The vibe was casual and family-friendly, which is exactly what it is meant to be.
We then moved to Zoëtry Curaçao Resort and Spa, where we stayed for three nights at 25,000 points per night as a Category C property — 75,000 points total. That is only 5,000 more points per night than the Sunscape, and the difference in quality is striking. Globalist perks here included a suite upgrade, which at a boutique property of 72 luxury suites is a meaningful bump. The food was noticeably better and the whole experience was a step up in every dimension. Late checkout on departure day gave us a full morning at the resort before heading to the airport. The Zoëstry is located about ten minutes from the airport and fifteen minutes from the colorful Dutch colonial architecture of Willemstad’s city center.
Guests at the Zoëstry also have full access to the adjacent Dreams Curaçao property, including the adults-only infinity pool section called Il Mare. A golf cart and driver were available anytime we wanted to move between the two resorts, which made it easy to explore both properties over three days without ever feeling stuck in one place.
Pro Tip: Curaçao gives Hyatt loyalists a rare chance to hit two brands on one trip, accelerating Brand Explorer progress. If you are Globalist, the suite upgrade at Zoëstry and late checkout make the extra 5,000 points per night an easy call.
The Activities: Two That Are Worth Booking in Advance
We booked two activities through Chase Travel, both on points, both worth every cent.
The Aquafari Tour departs from Boka Sami beach. The concept is simple: you ride an underwater sea scooter through coral reefs guided by a professional diver, with no diving experience required. The briefing runs about 30 minutes and the actual underwater time is 90 minutes. I was skeptical going in and completely sold coming out. The coral formations off Curaçao are in genuinely good health compared to much of the Caribbean, and getting down to reef level on a scooter rather than snorkeling from the surface puts you in a completely different relationship with the water. We paid $318 for two adults, covered with 21,200 Chase points at the portal rate.
The Curaçao ATV Tour West Adventure was a completely different kind of afternoon.
The half-day tour runs three to six hours and departs from the football stadium of Vesta. You cross the San Pedro plains, explore a hidden cave, and end with a swim at Daai Booi beach before returning to the start. It is dusty, bumpy, and exhilarating in all the right ways. Priced at $270 for two adults and covered with 18,000 Chase points. The guides were well-trained, the safety briefing was thorough, and the route shows you a side of the island that most resort guests never see.
The Car: Rent It, Seriously
We picked up an Alamo rental at the airport when we landed and dropped it off the morning of our departure flight. The total was $302.81 for the week, covered almost entirely by a Capital One $300 travel credit. Having a car on Curaçao makes a real difference. The beaches on the west end, the Aquafari departure point, and the ATV tour starting location are all spread out in ways that would make taxis expensive and inconvenient. Alamo’s pickup desk is right at the airport, and the island drives on the right side of the road, same as the US.
The Return: Getting Home Through Atlanta
We flew Delta home on 48,000 SkyMiles each, routing through Atlanta with just under a three-hour layover before connecting to Salt Lake City. My Delta Platinum Medallion status got us both upgraded to Comfort Plus, which on a late-night connection home is worth more than it sounds. The Delta SkyClub access that comes with Platinum made the Atlanta layover easy.
Pro Tip: Delta SkyMiles are notoriously variable in value, but 48,000 miles for a Caribbean routing home with a Comfort Plus upgrade on a Medallion account is a solid use. Always price out Delta flights in Flying Blue or Virgin Atlantic first — you may find a better rate on the same metal. You can do this manually or use a points aggregator like seats.aero to search quickly.
The Full Breakdown
Here is what this trip actually cost:
• SLC → MIA (Delta, Flying Blue): 16,500 pts + $15.12
• Hyatt House Miami Airport, 1 night: 12,000 pts
• Little Havana Food Tour (Chase Portal): 4,667 pts
• MIA → CUR (Alaska Mileage Plan, AA business class): 15,000 pts each
• Sunscape Curaçao, 1 night, Category B: 20,000 pts
• Zoëstry Curaçao, 3 nights, Category C: 75,000 pts
• Aquafari Tour (Chase Portal): 21,200 pts
• ATV West Adventure (Chase Portal): 18,000 pts
• Alamo Car Rental (Capital One credit): $300 credit + $2.81
• CUR → ATL → SLC (Delta SkyMiles, Comfort+): 48,000 pts each
Total: approximately 242,700 points and $18 cash out of pocket
Why This Trip Is Worth Planning
A trip like this does not happen by accident. It happens because you keep a diversified portfolio: Flying Blue for Delta domestic routes, Alaska Mileage Plan for American Airlines international business class, World of Hyatt for hotels, Chase Ultimate Rewards for portal bookings, and Capital One miles for car rental credits. Layer in Hyatt Globalist status for suite upgrades and late checkout, and Delta Platinum Medallion for complimentary Comfort Plus upgrades on the way home, and the whole thing starts to feel less like a vacation and more like a masterclass in using what you have earned.
Curaçao is specifically well-suited to this kind of redemption strategy. It has Hyatt properties at two different quality tiers, excellent activities that price out well on the Chase portal, and car rental costs low enough that a single travel credit covers the whole week. The island itself is the reward: clean water, vibrant architecture in Willemstad, and a pace that feels nothing like the overcrowded Caribbean experiences you get at the more heavily marketed destinations.
We spent just $18 in cash out of pocket across the entire trip for two people, not counting the car rental covered by the travel credit. The experiences we got in return — five nights at two all-inclusive Hyatt properties, an underwater scooter tour, a half-day ATV adventure through the island interior, a solo food tour through Little Havana, and first class and business class seats on every flight — would have cost several thousand dollars paid in cash.
Curaçao rewards the people who do the homework. Start building your points balances across your favorite transfer partners, and put this island on the calendar. You will not regret it.
