I have a smaller immediate family, but that for sure isn’t the case for a lot of people. We often get asked about tips when traveling with families of 5 or more. Obviously, I don’t have a ton of experience in this area, but we have heard many tricks from others that do it, so I wanted to share some of those tips.
Stays
One thing to consider is the hotel where you are staying. In the Hyatt brand, a couple great choices for larger families include Hyatt Place or Hyatt House hotels. Often, these hotels can fit more people due to being able to book suites with more beds, or even booking a standard double queen room with a pull-out couch. Both of these brands typically also offer a free breakfast, which can really help cut down costs for families with several kids.
Another option for larger families to consider is booking two rooms. This may mean that the adults will need to split up, but often times if you contact the hotel, they can get you adjoining rooms. We did this in Omaha this past summer. My daughter and I traveled with friends, so there ended up being 3 moms and 5 girls. We were able to get all 8 of us in 2 adjoining rooms which was really convenient.
If you are family that likes more space, a vacation rental through AirBnB, VRBO, or Vacasa might be a good option. These are harder to book with points and miles, but if you have a Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card or Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, you can book the stay, then use any miles earned to help cover the purchase. You simply redeem the miles as a statement credit on your account. Both of these cards earn you 2X miles on every purchase and have good sign up bonuses that can really help you offset the cost!
*One other tip with these cards- The miles earned transfer to Wyndham. You can actually use your Wyndham points to book some Vacasa rentals. It just takes a phone call to get you booked.
Flights
When you have a lot of family members, trying to rack up points for everyone to fly can seem overwhelming. This is where the Southwest Companion Pass can come in very handy! And, if you have a spouse/partner, you can even work to obtain 2 companion passes for your family! We talk a lot about companion passes with Southwest, but a companion pass essentially allows you to have someone fly with you for just the cost of taxes and fees. The only cost for your “companion” is usually just $11.20 round trip. The pass is good for as many flights as you would like to take for the duration of the pass! If this is something that is intriguing to you, be sure to check out our FREE Guide regarding the companion pass.
There are plenty of options out there for larger families. While it may not be as easy as booking a single hotel room, it for sure can be done!
