How We Went on a 5 Day All Inclusive Free Mexico Vacation

(Almost) Free Mexico Vacation!

White sand beaches, unlimited food and drink, picture perfect pools and perfectly manicured landscapes. The appeals of an all inclusive vacation are many.  When faced with the price however, the appeal can quickly fade.  If an all inclusive vacation is right in your wheelhouse, read on to see how we were able to take a $3,150 5 day all inclusive vacation to Cancun, Mexico for only $50 each!

Sit back and relax!

Now, for Kim and I, all inclusive vacations are not usually our thing.  We like to explore the local restaurants and find the most adventurous activities.  We find that staying at all inclusive places steers you toward staying on the resort. Often, you can miss many of the unique and interesting aspects of whatever place you’re in.  That being said, sometimes you just want to relax or party or both. Not having to worry about food, booze or really anything can be a huge plus.  All inclusive places are great for this.






While all inclusive aren’t usually our style, for this vacation, we were invited on a joint bachelor/bachelorette party at the Iberostar Hotel in Cancun Mexico.  A quick check of prices for the dates in February 2017 showed $2,151 for Kim and I to stay.  Throw in flights, and this was looking like an expensive endeavor.  Thankfully, we were able to leverage the bonuses from several credit cards to make it happen.

Booking the Hotel

To book the Iberostar Cancun, we used Chase Ultimate Rewards points redeemed at 1.5 cents per point for being a Chase Sapphire Reserve Card holder.  The total points needed for the entire trip was 143,424.

Great, but how did we get all those Chase Ultimate Rewards Points?

I acquired these points through the initial bonuses for opening the Chase Sapphire Preferred card (80,000 pt bonus when I opened the card) and the Chase Sapphire Reserve card (100,000 pt bonus at the time I opened).  Chase recently changed the rules for bonuses from the Sapphire family of cards. Each person can only receive the bonus from one card in the Sapphire family every two years.  Currently, both cards are offering 50,000 point sign up bonuses.

If you are looking to acquire Chase Ultimate Rewards points quickly, I would recommend opening the Chase Ink Business Preferred card (currently an 80,000 point bonus) as well as the Chase Sapphire Reserve card (currently 50,000 bonus).  The Chase Ink Business card gives you the largest signup bonus of the Chase cards (as of the writing of this post) and the Sapphire Reserve will give the maximum redemption power for your Chase points (1.5 cents per point.  For a full breakdown of these cards and their bonuses (as well as several other cards great for getting free travel) see this post.

Total amount saved on hotel by using points: $2,151.36

Southwest Companion Pass = Free Travel

Kim and I have a Southwest Companion Pass, which we think is the best tool for maximizing points and dollars when it comes to travel.

The Companion Pass allows for an additional traveler to book for only the cost of taxes any time the primary flier books a flight.  To get the Southwest Companion Pass, you must fly 100 one way Southwest flights or amass 110,000 Southwest points in a calendar year.  Normally, this would take a lot of flying.  Using the credit card bonuses from multiple Southwest credit cards, you can obtain the companion pass very quickly.

Currently, the Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus, Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier, and Southwest Rapid Rewards Business Premier cards all are offering 60,000 sign up point bonuses.  By opening two of these cards you can receive 120,000 Southwest points and quickly earn the Companion Pass.  For a detailed breakdown of all of these cards see this post.  For a step by step guide to getting the Companion Pass fast (and how to get it for 2 years) see this post.

Booking the flights

For this trip, we were able to book a flight from Dallas to Cancun for 30,346 Southwest points and $50 in taxes.

Using the Companion Pass, we were then able to add an additional passenger for just the taxes (another $50).  These flights were going for over $500 each!  By using points and the Companion Pass we saved $900.

Total amount saved: $2,150 (all inclusive hotel) + $900 (flights) = $3,050

Total amount spent: $50 + $50 (both for flight taxes) = $100

Extra Bonuses

We were able to utilize Global Entry/ TSA pre-check to get through lines quickly.  This is especially helpful when returning to the US.  Global Entry is normally $100, however one of the perks of the Chase Sapphire Reserve card is Global Entry credit once every 4 years.

Another perk of the Chase Sapphire Reserve card is access to Priority Pass airport lounges.  Cancun has two lounges that we were able to use waiting for our departure flight to the US.  If you’ve never experienced airport lounges they’ll change your travel world.  Free booze/drinks, food, and comfortable seats with plenty of outlets to charge all your gear.






The Trip

As I mentioned before, we’re not huge fans of all inclusive places.  That being said, the group we were with really made this trip.

The resort was really nice, however later we learned that Iberostar was accused of serving tainted alcohol (not cool Iberostar).  Multiple pools, bars, restaurants and activities were available.

The grounds were well kept, clean and had several of these large critters running around!

Standard for Mexico, the beaches were stunning.  We were able to get some acrobatics in on the perfect beach backdrop!

Recap

Want to take a (almost) free all inclusive Mexico vacation?

1. Stockpile Chase Ultimate Rewards points using sign up bonuses from the Chase Ink Business Card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card
2. Maximize redemption power by having the Chase Sapphire Reserve (1.5 cents per point) to redeem points for all inclusive resort for two.
3. Use two of the three Southwest Rapid Rewards Cards to qualify/earn the Southwest Companion Pass (just make sure you read this post before you do)
4. Use Southwest points earned to book a free flight and then add your companion for only taxes!
5. Bonus: Use the Sapphire Reserve’s Global Entry credit to sign up for Global Entry and skip lines. Also, use this card for access to airport lounges on your trip.
6. Relax on amazing beaches and make your friends jealous.  Then tell them you did it for free.

Like this post?  Check out our other adventures here!