Imagine a five-night luxury escape to the tropical paradise that is Fiji. Picture yourself staying at the 5-star Marriott Resort. You’ll indulge in mouthwatering all-you-can-eat buffet breakfasts, lounge by the pool, and marvel at tropical fish swimming right in front of your room. Sip Piña Coladas at an infinity pool overlooking the ocean, surf some of the world's best waves and enjoy peace of mind knowing that top-notch nannies are taking excellent care of your kids while you relax — all for less than $2,000 USD. Intrigued? Let me explain how we pulled it off and how you can too!

My wife, daughter, and I returned from a relaxing vacation to the tropical islands of Fiji. We spent five nights in the most beautiful resort I have ever seen. The best thing about it, though, is our room was free! - Most rooms at this resort go for more than $1300 FJD per night, saving us at least $5k in travel costs. We had to pay for food and airport transfers, but this simple travel hack ultimately saved us more than 72% on the most luxurious holiday of our lives.

In this article, I want to break down every expense so you can understand exactly how we did this so affordably, so you can too!

All currency is USD unless otherwise specified. As many payments were made in NZD, the following exchange rate is used… 1 NZD = 0.62 USD.

Cost & Saving Summary

Accommodation: $0 (Listed price: $3,812.36 USD)
Flights: $915.48 USD (Listed Price: $1,544.90 USD)
Travel Insurance: $0 (Listed price: $122.76 USD)
Lounge Access: $0 (Listed Price: $46.50 USD x 2)
Food & Drinks: $676.38 USD
Airport Transportation: $111.60 USD
Extra Activities (surf trip): $93.00 USD

Total Listed Price = $6,437.50 USD

Our Cost = $1,797.46 USD

Total Saved = $4,640.04 USD

Percent Saved = 72.15%

Now, let me break down each of these in detail:

Accommodation

To get $3,812.36 USD worth of accommodation for free, we used 202,000 Marriott Points to pay for the room instead of cash. We booked through the Marriott website.
To acquire the 202,000 Marriott Points, we transferred them from our American Express account.
To earn 202,000 Amex points, Hannah signed up for a new Amex Platinum credit card and received a 200,000-point bonus. The remaining 2,000 points were accrued through a month or so of spending on that card.

Important Note: The Amex credit card cost us a $595 fee. It’s their most expensive card, and you could argue that the points are not “free”. However, the card comes with many other benefits that have already recouped the cost of that fee. For example, we had a free night in a nice hotel during a friend’s wedding ($350 value) and we get $300 dining credit each year. Plus we get cash back on groceries, petrol, and other purchases.

Let me walk through that one more time to avoid any confusion.

First, American Express (Amex) had a promotion where if you signed up for their Platinum card, you would receive a 200,000-point bonus. Hannah applied, was approved, and received the card. A few months later, she had amassed approximately 240,000 points in her Amex account by funneling as much spending as possible through that card.

Second, on the Marriott website, you can book rooms at their resorts using Marriott points. Hannah searched and found the best deal was a 5-night stay for 175,000 points.

While exploring the resort options, we decided to upgrade to a nicer room. This upgrade cost an additional 27,000 points, bringing the total to 202,000 points. To be fair, any room at this resort would have been fantastic.

We had 0 Marriott points in our account but still had 240,000 Amex points. Through the Amex portal, you can easily transfer points to your Marriott account at a 1:1 rate. We initiated the transfer, which took about one day to process.

Once we received the confirmation email stating that our Amex points had been successfully converted into Marriott points, we proceeded to book the accommodation.

For more tips like this, including how to get up to 50% off Airbnb’s around the world, be sure to watch the Accommodation Module inside Travel Mastery. Learn More

Flights

We booked the flights separately because a deal appeared for the flight to Fiji. We seized that opportunity and waited to book the return flight later.

Although we could have saved more on flights, we chose to pay full price for my ticket to earn Air New Zealand status points. If you use Airpoints Dollars to fly, you are not eligible to earn status points (the same applies to many airlines). We value the perks of lounges and luggage benefits that come with the Gold level, so we're willing to pay for my flights to maintain that status.

Hannah's flights were covered using Air New Zealand points (Airpoints), requiring only airport tax payment. Our daughter Flora is under two years old, so her flights are free except for a small fee.

NZ to Fiji: $578.08 USD
We paid: $325.46 USD + 409 Airpoints

Fiji to NZ: $967.82 USD
We paid: $590.91 USD + 607 Airpoints

Total Listed Price = $1,545.90 USD
Our Cost = $916.37 USD + 1016 Airpoints

Total Saved: $629.43 USD ($1,016.81 NZD)
Percentage Saved: 40.72%

There are many ways to earn points. We acquired these Air NZ points by spending on our Westpac World Credit Card. At the time of writing this, we have approximately 850 Airpoints Dollars remaining and continue to accrue a few hundred more each month. - For additional insights into point accumulation, please watch our Points Module inside Travel Mastery.

Travel Insurance

We currently hold two credit cards that offer complimentary travel insurance. However, it's crucial to read the fine print. One requirement is that the airfare must be paid in full using the credit card in question. Before making any decisions, I called the insurance company to confirm that our Amex insurance would apply, given that we used points to pay for Hannah's ticket. They confirmed in that using points did not affect our cover. If you're considering using points to book flights, always double-check the insurance terms to ensure you're covered. - For more, please watch our Insurance lesson in Travel Mastery.

*Chubb was the company Amex used for their Insurance in New Zealand. They quoted $198NZD we paid $0.*

Extras & Notes

Lounge Access

It's no secret that airports can be expensive. Fortunately, we have methods to gain access to multiple private airport lounges at no cost. We opted for the Strata Lounge in Auckland Airport, which was free entry thanks to our Priority Pass membership, given to us free through Amex. This lounge normally has a $75 NZD entry fee. On return, we visited the Koru Lounge by Air New Zealand, which usually costs $694 p/a (+ a $255 joining fee) for an individual membership. However, my loyalty status with Air New Zealand meant we were able to access this for free. - For more details on how to get free lounge access, please watch our "Lounge Access Lesson" in Travel Mastery.

*I saw this on entry: $75 per person. You shouldn’t need to pay to enter these lounges.*

Food & Drinks

Okay, I'll be the first to admit we didn't hold back in this department! While many travelers opt for all-inclusive packages or at least, have breakfast included, mostly because they book through a travel agent and get a package deal. Using points to book our accommodation meant we weren’t able to opt for any food packages. We certainly could have saved some money by choosing à la carte breakfast options instead of the buffet or by sticking to beers rather than indulging in fancy cocktails. Though we didn’t care to cut costs here and decided to go all out and really live it up!

Special Invitation

One night, we were pleasantly surprised to receive an invitation to a cocktail hour scheduled for Friday night. One of the benefits of having the credit card I previously mentioned is that you are instantly upgraded to Gold status with Marriott. This turned out to be a fantastic opportunity to meet fellow travelers and saved us approximately $40-$60 on drinks. - These small perks make a big difference! For more insights, you can check out Travel Mastery.

Surfing

For the surfing enthusiasts among you, Cloudbreak—one of the world's premier surf breaks—is just a short 10-15 minute boat ride away. Additionally, there are five other excellent surf spots within reach. So, whether Cloudbreak is too daunting or the wind conditions aren't ideal, you're likely to find some great waves elsewhere.

Most resorts have their own boats for this purpose, and while it can be a bit pricey, it's worth every penny. I used Momi Surf as it was conveniently located near our resort. You can find more information on their website: Momi Surf.

The cost was $200 FJD, but I later discovered that the price drops to $120 FJD per person if you go with two or more people. Since I had the boat to myself, it allowed me to ask the driver to tour all the breaks before I made my choice, adding a unique touch to the experience that I might not have had with others on board.

If you want to save as much money as possible, I am sure you will find other surfers in the resort. Just talk to people the day before or go to the dock at 7:30 the day before you want to go, as some people will be heading out multiple days.

Kids Club/Nanny Service

With Flora not even two years old, Hannah and I initially didn't plan on utilizing any nanny services. However, upon our arrival at the resort, a kind local woman from the kids club immediately engaged Flora, showing her fish, giving her a necklace, and starting a coloring activity while we enjoyed our welcome drinks and checked in. Flora, usually shy, loved it! Illy was so great with kids that she had Flora smiling within minutes.

Kids Club - For children above four years old, there's a kids club with set times for fun activities led by locals. This service is included in the resort price.

Nanny Service - For children under 4, a one-on-one nanny is required if you want to take advantage of the kids club. The cost was a mere $15 FJD per hour. Feeling that Flora (and we) would benefit, we took the plunge on the last two days and left her for a few hours. We even spotted her out and about, having the time of her life, which allowed us to fully enjoy our time at the adults-only infinity pool overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Price: $15 FJD per hour (4h = Approx $26.40 USD) - I chose to pay a little extra, as the money goes directly to the person caring for your child.

Summary

Overall, this was the most relaxing and rejuvenating holiday I have had in years. While it was only five nights, it was more than enough time to do everything we wanted. We spent days in and out of the pool and on the beach, got a good tan, surfed incredible waves, ate more delicious food than I needed to, and let Flora have many new, exciting and interesting experiences.

We escaped the dreaded winter and took a $6,437.00 ($10,380.65 NZD) luxury Fiji vacation for just $1,797.00 (2,899.77 NZD) - 72.15% off the price. We will easily be able to do this again next year - And now you can too!

How to Fly First-Class for Economy-Class Prices.

If you enjoyed this, here’s more! In this video you’ll learn how my buddy Jubril Agoro regularly gets business and first class seats while only paying for economy. Not only that, you’ll learn how to save up to 50% on your next Airbnb stay.

Plus many more travel tips in this free video 👇

Learn More about Travel Mastery here >> https://travelmastery.com/

How We Saved 72% on a 5-night Luxury Family Vacation in Tropical Fiji