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Points Trip Booking - Ski Weekend in Utah

I used to take an annual weeklong ski trip with a group of friends, but since getting older it's now several years between ski trips. The first time I visited Utah was with this group when we skied Park City in 2015, just after the merger with Canyons. In the past 10 years, the skiing landscape in the US has changed dramatically with consolidation of resorts and skyrocketing prices at the most popular resorts. In December 2024, the Salt Lake Tribune reported a study that Park City and the nearby Deer Valley were the 3rd and 2nd most expensive ski trips in the country after only Aspen Colorado. Fortunately, there are a handful of points hotels in the area so if you book early enough, this can drastically reduce the overall cost of the trip.


Just a few months before our trip, the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley opened as part of the East Village Expansion. It's the first hotel in the expansion to open so there's not much there yet but as a Hyatt loyalist, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to check out this hotel especially as it's only a category 6 hotel. Coupled with a suite upgrade, we were able to stay in one of the Grand Suites which was probably the biggest hotel room I've ever stayed in.



Itinerary (Per Person)


Main Street - Park City, Utah 2025



Delta Economy ORD-SLC

Redemption: 15,000 Chase Points (transferred to Flying Blue with 20% bonus) + $19 (one-way)

Cash Price: $442 (2.8 cents/point)


We didn't book too far in advance, so by the time we were looking at flights roundtrip tickets were well over $800. I rarely fly Delta as Chicago isn't a hub, but Salt Lake City is. Delta is part of SkyTeam along with Air France and KLM and through their shared rewards program, Flying Blue, there was a Delta flight from Chicago to Salt Lake city available for 18,000 Flying Blue miles. Even if you don't fly Air France or KLM, all of the major credit card currencies are transferrable to Flying Blue, often with a bonus. At the time I booked, there was a 20% bonus through Chase, meaning I was able to get this flight for 15,000 Citi points.



Grand Hyatt Deer Valley

Redemption: 58,000 Hyatt Points + 1 Free Night + 1 Suite Upgrade Award (3 nights)

Cash Price: $7,647 (4.4 cents/point)

Grand Hyatt Deer Valley - Park City 2025


The Grand Hyatt Deer Valley opened in late 2024 with 387 rooms including 55 residences as part of Deer Valley's East Village expansion. It's the first building on this side of the mountain and there's still a lot of construction, but If you are skiing Deer Valley, you can't beat the location as there's a lift just across the street. Since I was skiing at Park City, it was a 15 minute drive to get there without traffic but one morning when I got a slightly late start it took an hour.


The hotel is beautiful and as a category 6 hotel, rooms are 29,000 points per night on peak dates. With cash prices over $1,000 this represents an incredible value especially as you can forego the $40/day resort charge and $50/day valet (the only parking option) on award bookings. I was also able to utilize a suite upgrade award to one of the Grand suites which was retailing for nearly $2,500/night.


You can read my full review here, but my thoughts on this hotel were that it was an incredible points redemption hotel, but I would not be happy if I was paying the full cash price.



United Economy SLC-ORD

Redemption: 40,000 United Miles + $6 (one-way)

Cash Price: $519 (1.3 cents/point)

United is my regular airline so when I can't find any better points redemptions, I book a flight with United Miles as I can cancel it for free at any time if a better redemption opens up. Traveling back home from Park City on a Sunday in winter meant prices were incredibly high and I couldn't find any better redemptions. It pains me to pay 40,000 miles for a domestic economy flight as you can get international flights for less than that, but at the cash price of $519 it was still a slightly above average redemption rate for United Miles.



Trip Booking Summary

  • 15,000 Chase Points

  • 58,000 Hyatt Points

  • 40,000 United Miles

  • 1 Hyatt Free Night (Category 1-7) Cert

  • 1 Hyatt Suite Upgrade

  • $25


For a domestic weekend trip, this cost quite a few points but considering the cash rates was a very good redemption value. Staying in the Grand Suite at the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley was incredible and if they can resolve their staffing shortage, this will be an excellent hotel that I expect to increase in cost in the coming years.

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© 2025 by Garrett Falcone

GarryontheGo

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