A Hawaii vacation is on most people’s bucket list. Maui is one of the more expensive islands to visit but in my opinion, is the best of the Hawaiian Islands. Being from California, it is quite easy to visit Maui using points as a part of a Hawaii itinerary. For this trip, we opted to spend 4 days and 3 nights in Maui.
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Maui Hotel
The first order of business when visiting Maui using points is to find a hotel. Hotel-wise, Maui hotels are super expensive. I had some Marriott points stashed from when I previously opened the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Card. My sign-up bonus was 150,000 points after spending $3000 in 3 months. I also earned other points from various Marriott stays throughout the year.
After looking at the various Marriott properties, I decided on the AC Hotel by Marriott Maui Wailea. I ended up with this option as it cost fewer points than some of the other properties, and it did not have any resort fees, unlike the hotels along the Kaanapali coast. I also liked that it was located in the center of Maui.
I was able to book this property for 53,000 points a night for a King Balcony room, the most basic of the rooms. Upon arrival, we got upgraded to an Ocean View room. In total, this cost us 159,000 Marriott Points. It would have been over $2000 for the three nights had we paid cash.
How to Get Marriott Points
The first way to get Marriott points for getting to Maui on points is by opening a Marriott Credit Card. There are three different cards you can open, but I recommend the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Card to start off with. You will receive 3 free nights (for hotels up to 50,000 points/night) after spending $3000 in 3 months. It has a $95 annual fee and gets you Marriott Silver Elite Status.
Teacher Tip: Remember that you MUST pay off your credit cards each month in order to earn points. Do not open credit cards if you are not going to be financially responsible.
Next, you can get Marriott Points by using that credit card for all of your expenses. Depending on the category, you can earn 2 to 6 times the points. For example, you earn 3 times the points for dining out and grocery store purchases.
You can also earn points by signing up for Eat Around Town by Marriott Bonvoy. This gives you even more points for dining at certain restaurants. You can stack this with the points you earn from the credit card.
Another way to earn a lot of Marriott points is to stay at Marriott Properties when you travel. With each stay, you will earn 6 times the points by using your credit card. You will also earn points in general for your stay.
If you have an additional person in your family, you can also open another Marriott Card for bonus points. In total, it took me a few months to save the 159,000 points I needed.
Maui Airfare
The next expense to figure out was airfare. There are quite a few airfare options to get to Maui using points. Flights from Los Angeles to Maui typically cost about $200 and up during non-peak season (and at least $300 during summertime). I had a stash of points saved up from other credit cards such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve, the Venture X, and Southwest, so I had plenty of options to choose from for airlines.
However, prior to finalizing the airfare, Southwest had a new offer! If you opened a new Southwest credit card, you got a 35,000 point sign-on bonus plus a companion pass once you met the $5000 minimum spend in 3 months.
The Southwest Companion Pass is always a great deal as your companion flies for free (you just pay taxes). Therefore, this made our airfare decision super easy and we opted to take advantage of this deal for this Maui trip.
I redeemed about 16,000 Southwest points for one ticket and then paid $11.20 per ticket, round trip for taxes and fees. The second ticket also just cost $11.20 for taxes and fees. Had we bought the tickets using cash, it would have cost about $200/person. This is one of the best values when heading to Maui using points.
Other popular airlines you could have chosen from include all the main US Airlines: United, American, Delta, Hawaiian, etc. Most of these you can transfer points from the Chase Sapphire Reserve, the Venture X, or other designated airline cards. However, I personally feel the Southwest companion pass plus points was the best value.
Additional Maui Costs
No matter what, you will have to spend some money when traveling to Maui using points as there are some things points won’t cover. This includes things like transportation, food, and optional activities.
Transportation
We opted to get a rental car for the time we were in Maui in order to fully explore the island. We paid $155 ($39/day) for our rental car through Hertz thanks to my husband’s corporate rate. We put this expense on the Chase Sapphire Reserve to earn points for a future trip and have the rental car coverage insurance.
Food
Food on Maui is pricey compared to many other places. You can save some money by buying food at the grocery store. However, since we were only there for 4 days, we opted to enjoy most of our meals out. We went out to several nice meals so we easily spent around $400+ during our trip to Maui.
Activities
Activities on Maui can also add up depending on what you would like to do. Since we saved so much on airfare, we opted to splurge on a $170 snorkel tour to the Molokini Crater from the Pacific Whale Foundation. They are a non-profit organization that helps protect and research whales and offer a ton of awesome snorkel tours.
Haleakala National Park is another must-see place on Maui. Entrance to the park costs $30/car or free if you have an America the Beautiful Pass. It costs an additional $1 if you want a sunrise reservation.
Many other activities on Maui are free (like the Road to Hana) or are under $10. No matter what, you can find many activities to fit your budget in Maui.
Other Maui Activities
- Snorkel Tour
- Eco-Friendly Snorkel
- Kayak and Snorkel
- Road to Hana Tour
- Sailing Adventure
- Zipline Adventure
Shaka Guide
Shaka Guide is a GPS self-guided audio tour that you can download to your phone. Currently, they have one for each of the Hawaiian islands. They provide great background information about the area. The best part is you do not need the internet to use them. Click below for the Shaka Guide for each island.
Total Costs for Maui Using Points
- Hotel: 159,000 Marriott Points
- Airfare: 16,000 Southwest Points plus $22.40 total or $11.20/person
- Transportation: $155 total or $77.50/person
- Food: $400 total or $200/person
- Activities: $371 total or $185.50/person
- Total Cost: $948.40 total or $472.20/person
Final Thoughts on Visiting Maui Using Points
If I could have done one thing differently, I would have made this a 5 night vacation so I can utilize Marriott’s book 4 nights on points, get the 5th night free promotion. This would have allowed for more time to fully explore Maui and get more value out of the Marriott points.
Nevertheless, it is worth planning a vacation to Maui using points to save some money. If you have more time, plan to explore the other islands such as Oahu, the Big Island, and Kauai during a two week Hawaii trip or Hawaiian road trip.
Want to Book Other Vacations Using Points?
Check out these places if you want to learn about how to book luxury places for almost free.
