Thanksgiving in Cape San Blas

Introduction

This Thanksgiving, my parents, sister and I road-tripped from Ohio to Cape San Blas in Florida, staying in a beach house for the week. My family doesn’t do points and miles in the same way that I do and booked a VRBO in cash.

While this wasn’t a points and miles trip, there are some interesting lessons to learn from booking the hotels my family chose.

Drive South

You can drive from Ohio to Cape San Blas in a single day, but it’s going to take at least 14 hours. My family has Hilton loyalists, and so we decided to break the drive up, stopping for the night at Hampton Inns in both directions.

Points prices were lousy, but I had Hilton gift cards, credit cards with Hilton credits, and promotions available from Hilton and through shopping portals.

I prepaid $124 at the advance rate but received $81 in value from points and rebates making my effective rate more like $43.

My hilton card rebated me:

• $60 from a quarterly Hilton credit.
  Valued around $30 since the card has an annual fee.

I earned a total of 6,146 Hilton points from several sources valued at $30.

• 1,060 base earnings.
• 848 from 80% Gold bonus.
• 250 welcome award.
• 2,500 Hilton “Power Up Promotion”
• 1,488 from credit card.

The Capital One Shopping portal rebated me:

• $23.85 in gift card credit.
  Valued around $21.

Does your head hurt looking at this? I know mine does. Fortunately, a little price optimization headache is nothing a town full of Boll Weevils can’t fix.

Boll Weevils of Enterprise, AL

On our second day, we stopped for a break in Enterprise, Alabama, known, some might say infamous for, its numerous Boll Weevil statues. In the early 20th century, the insect had come up from Mexico and was ravaging the cotton crop across the south. When the weevils came to Enterprise, it forced the town to diversify into other crops, namely peanuts. The result was a period of relative prosperity for the county for which its citizens pay hommage to the ravenous and destructive insect.

Florida

Cape San Blas

We started coming to Cape San Blas after it was rated one of the most dog-friendly beaches in the United States. This was the second or third time we’d stayed in the same house, and it did not disappoint.

Another Thanksgiving tradition is that we tend to cook a lot of meals at home, often having an international themed Thanksgiving dinner. My sister made one of my favorite meals, a fried Mortadella recipe known to be Anthony Bourdain’s favorite sandwich.

Wakulla Springs

Wakulla Springs is a state park 2-hours from Cape San Blas. It’s a bit of a drive, but can be worth it for the boat ride which always includes lots of birds and alligators and sometimes includes lots of manatees. The freshwater spring has a consistent temperature year round, and there’s a human swimming hole near the docks not far from where alligators hang out.

St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge

St. Mark’s is pretty close to Wakulla Springs, so if you’re driving out for one, you might as well visit the other. There is a lighthouse museum and we’ve seen lots of birds and a few alligators there in the past.

Santa Claus

Apalachicola has a very popular, annual tradition in which Santa visits the town, arriving by shrimp boat.

Drive Home

On the way back to Ohio, we stopped at a newer Hampton Inn near Chattanooga, Tennessee.

• Total: $143.32 ($75 GC)
• Gold Elite 80% Bonus + 978
• 2024 Power up Promotion + 2,500
• Myway Preferences Bonus Option Hampton + 250
• Base Points + 1,222
• C1 Shopping: $24.44

This time, I chose the flexible rate of $143 so that I could use my gift cards. I received about $89 net worth of credits and rebates making the effective rate $54.

I saved money by using Hilton gift cards.

• $75 in gift cards from previous quarterly Hilton credit card credits.
  Valued around $35 since the card has an annual fee.

I earned a total of 6,666 Hilton points from several sources valued at $32.

• 1,222 base earnings.
• 978 from 80% Gold bonus.
• 250 welcome award.
• 2,500 Hilton “Power Up Promotion”
• 1,716 from credit card.

The Capital One Shopping portal rebated me:

• $24.44 in gift card credit.
  Valued around $22.

On the gift cards, these can be notoriously difficult to use, with many front desk staff not knowing how to process them and often refusing to honor them. However, the process was pretty easy in Ooltewah. It actually resulted in the full $143 charge going to the credit card, all earning 12x points, followed by a $75 credit. I do think I ended up paying a slightly higher rate than I needed to by not prepaying.

Ramsey’s Diner in Lexington

Chasing southern cooking, we stopped at Ramsey’s Diner in Kentucky on the drive back to Ohio. Great meals at a great value and we loved the jalapeño vinegar.

Summary

The trip was great, but I find the Hampton Inn pricing fascinating in that it illustrates how much easier paying with points and miles can be.

Whenever I start to explain points and miles to the uninitiated, they often struggle with the perceived complexity, and it can be complex. However, once you find a few redemptions that work, it becomes very, very simple.

If I’d been traveling solo, I would have booked a Hyatt for 3,500-8,000 points.

• No crazy gift cards the hotel may not accept.
• No higher rate to use a gift card.
• No shopping portal that may or may not pay out months later.
• No figuring out the best credit card.
• No inflated prices to justify points earnings.
• No taxes.

In contrast, I had to worry about ALL of that just to get a competitive cash rate with Hilton. The points transaction is much simpler and far more honest.