How We Took Our Family of Five to Southern California for $60
Back at the beginning of August, our family of five — my husband, our three boys (12, 9, and 4), and me — spent five nights in Oceanside, California, staying right on the beach at The Seabird Resort. We flew Southwest from home, connected through Nashville, and flew back the same way.
The trip was everything we needed: a mix of relaxing beach days and a couple of adventures. But the best part? The hotel and flights were free, thanks to a travel hacking strategy I learned earlier this year. The only thing we paid for was about $60 in taxes and fees on the flights.
Here’s what we did and how we made it happen.
The Trip
We chose Oceanside as our base and stayed at a Hyatt property called The Seabird Resort. It’s right on the beach, and the location made it easy to go from room to sand in minutes. The resort provides chairs, umbrellas, towels, and sand toys for guests, which meant we didn’t have to drag anything down ourselves. That alone felt like a luxury with three kids.
Day 1 – Beach Day
Our first day was all about settling in and enjoying the beach. The boys spent hours boogie boarding and building sandcastles. No schedules, no rushing — just sitting in the sun and unbeknownst to us at the time – getting pretty sunburnt. 😬
Day 2 – Legoland
We dedicated one full day to Legoland. The boys were in heaven, and we covered everything from the rides to the LEGO models around the park. Each of them had a favorite — our youngest loved the Duplo area, while the older two went for the coasters.
Day 3 – La Jolla
We drove about an hour south to La Jolla to explore the cliffs, ocean views, and tide pools. The tide pools were a highlight — the boys spotted crabs and tiny fish. We also walked along the coastline and watched sea lions sunbathing on the rocks.
Day 4 – Another Beach Day
After two busy days, we stayed close to the resort. The boys were back in the water boogie boarding, and we spent time walking along the shoreline and collecting shells.
How We Paid Almost Nothing for the Trip
The short version: I learned about travel hacking, opened the right credit cards, earned the bonuses, and used the points for this trip.
Learning the Strategy
I came across The Travel Mom Squad blog and started listening to their podcast. They break down exactly how families can use credit card welcome bonuses to earn free travel. I spent a few weeks learning the basics and figuring out what would work for us.
The Cards We Opened
To cover this trip, my husband and I opened:
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2 Chase Sapphire Preferred cards (one each)
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3 Southwest credit cards (one for me, two for him)
The Chase Sapphire Preferred points can be transferred to Hyatt. The Southwest cards earned us enough Rapid Rewards points to book our flights.
Booking the Hotel
The Seabird Resort is a Category 6 Hyatt property, which costs 25,000 points per night. We used our combined Chase points to book all five nights — no cash cost at all.
Booking the Flights
With our Southwest points, we booked all five roundtrip flights. The only out-of-pocket expense was the required taxes and fees: about $60 total.
Why This Worked
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We opened cards in both of our names to double the bonuses, and referred each other when possible (referral bonuses are 10,000-20,000 points).
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We put regular spending (groceries, gas, bills) on the cards to meet minimum spends without buying things we didn’t need and paid them off each week to ensure we never carry a balance.
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Chase points are flexible and transfer to Hyatt, which is a high-value use. Southwest points stretch far for domestic flights, especially for families.
Final Thoughts
This trip would have cost us thousands if we’d paid cash. Instead, learning how to use points and miles made it possible for us to go without worrying about the price tag.
Travel hacking isn’t complicated once you understand the basics. It just takes some planning and a clear goal. For us, that goal was a family beach trip — and now we’re already thinking about where our next set of points will take us.
Enjoy the photos from our trip!
