From the first day of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gwen and I agreed that we would not move our wedding date regardless of what restrictions were in place. By the time spring of 2021 came around, it felt like rules and restrictions were changing on a daily basis in every city around the world. This ended up causing us to completely change the venue and city of our wedding and made our planned honeymoon trip to the Côte d'Azur a complete toss up.
We wanted to ensure we would at least be able to take some sort of trip after our wedding in case France didn't work out, so I set off to look for potential 3-4 day destinations. I began searching for Luxury resorts in the Caribbean and came across the Park Hyatt St. Kitts. At only 30,000 Hyatt points per night, this seemed like an excellent choice for our first honeymoon, especially considering rates were nearly $700 per night even with all of the COVID restrictions including not being able to leave the resort. As an added bonus, I was able to use some Qantas points that I had transferred from Citi from a trip that was canceled in 2020.
Speaking of restrictions, in order to stay at this hotel we had to:
Provide proof of vaccination to the St. Kitts government and receive back approval to enter the country
Wait for over an hour upon arrival in St. Kitts to go through health screening
Pre-book taxis to and from the airport
Stay on the resort property (only a handful of resorts in the country were even allowed to be open)
Take a PCR test on-site on our third day
Itinerary (Per Person)
American Airlines Economy ORD-MIA-SKB: 40,600 Citi Points (transferred to Qantas) +$75 (roundtrip)
4 nights at Park Hyatt St. Kitts Christophe Harbour: 120,000 Hyatt Points
Park Hyatt St. Kitts Christophe Harbour - 2021
American Airlines Economy
Redemption: 40,600 Citi Thank You Points (transferred to Qantas) + $75 (roundtrip)
I avoid travel on American as much as possible because nearly every time I have flown them, I have had an issue ranging from delayed and canceled flights to items being taken out of my bag. This trip was no exception.
Having a hub in Miami unfortunately means American has the most routes to the Caribbean, and with many normal routes canceled due to COVID, American was our only choice. While the flight down to St. Kitts was smooth, on our return we hit weather getting in to Miami and were re-routed to Tampa. After refueling, our crew timed out, so we had to wait for another crew to arrive. We did make it to Miami that night, but too late for any connetions to Chicago, so we had to get a hotel in Miami for the night.
One positive was that I had 24,000 points stuck in my Qantas account from a trip that we had planned in 2020 which was canceled, so this trip was an opportunity for me to use those points which might have otherwise just expired.
Park Hyatt St. Kitts Christophe Harbour
Park Hyatt St. Kitts Christophe Harbour - 2021
Redemption: 120,000 Hyatt Points (4 nights)
The Park Hyatt St. Kitts Christophe Harbour is a picturesque beach resort, however at the time we visited it was clear the hotel was in need of some repairs and cleanup. You can read my full review here.
I booked this hotel before peak and off-peak pricing which normally would be favorable, however during this same time period, this hotel would actually be primarily off-peak meaning the same room would only cost 25,000 points per night rather than the 30,000 I paid. However, at 2.3 cents per point I still feel like I got a solid redemption value.
I usually use Hyatt points faster than I earn them, so one of my favorite uses of Chase points is topping off my Hyatt account for hotel stays just like this.
Trip Booking Summary
40,600 Citi Points
120,000 Hyatt Points
$75
In terms of value per point, this trip wasn't the best value possible, but still solid. Most importantly, we were able to completely relax for 4 days after changing and replanning our wedding venue and city 2 months before the date.