New York, New York
The Big Apple consistently ranks at the top for the most expensive city to visit (and live!). And yet, its appeal has yet to cease. Every year, millions of tourists pour into the city, experiencing all that the Empire City has to offer. On average, the nightly rate of a hotel in NYC is between $200-$300. Adding plane tickets to that, it is very difficult to visit NYC and have a good time without breaking the bank.
This past winter, my girlfriend brought up the idea of visiting NYC since she’s only briefly stopped by once. Fortunately, we happened to visit New York City during its off-season, which is right after New Year’s Eve. Plane tickets were inexpensive, and I discovered great hotel redemptions. All in all, we each spent about $600 for plane tickets and the 5 nights of hotel in NYC.
Trip Detail
We were quite flexible about the dates when we started planning the trip. Flights around early January were all reasonably priced, costing about $400 round trip from SFO (my girlfriend flew from the Midwest, so ticket prices were even cheaper). So before I locked in my flights, I first did a preliminary round of hotel searches.
There were two main sites that I looked at:
- Amex travel portal: at the time of booking (Dec 2022) I still had the annual $200 Fine Hotels & Resorts (FHR) credit from my Amex Platinum card.
- IHG: I opened the IHG premier credit card in early 2022 and got the 175k1 sign-on bonus. The card also gives Platinum Elite status (2nd highest status in IHG reward program). One extremely undervalued benefit of IHG is that you get the 4th night free if you book 3 nights with points.
Here are some options that did not work for us:
- Hyatt was not an option because I was short on Chase/Hyatt points.
- Airbnb is under strict regulations in New York City.
Hotel
It didn’t take long until I struck gold. Hotel Indigo Lower East Side had an extremely competitive rate at 66k IHG points for 3 nights, plus one extra night for free. A common redemption rate for one night at a good IHG brand is about 50k-80k.
The cpp value for hotel points is very different from credit card points. Typically, hotel points are worth between 0.5 – 0.8 cpp. NerdWallet values IHG points at 0.8 cpp2. This is why it is strongly not recommended to convert your credit card points into hotel points, with the exception of Hyatt3.
Not only was the rate very attractive, the hotel is also at a prime location. My previous visits to NYC were largely in Midtown and Chelsea, and I’ve always wanted to explore the Lower East Side and Chinatown areas. The hotel is right next to the famous Katz’s Delicatessen and within walking distance from many other great restaurants and bars including Double Chicken Please and NY staple Russ & Daughters.
Because my FHR credit was expiring, I wanted to book an extra night with it. After playing around with the dates, it made the most sense to stay in a FHR hotel on the last day because of the guaranteed late check-out (4 pm). Out of the many good options (Reddit has some very good recs & reviews on FHR hotels), I selected The Beekman in the financial district.
Flight
Now that the hotels were largely determined, I came back to buy my flight. I decided to take a red-eye flight on Thursday night since I can work remotely on Friday in our NYC office, and leaving Thursday was the cheapest. I almost always prefer flying red-eye to the East Coast, so it feels like I haven’t wasted a day traveling. For the return trip, I picked a flight that departed in the evening since I could leverage the late checkout and enjoy the Amex Centurion lounge at JFK airport. Both JFK and LGA have great Centurion lounges, and LGA even has a Sapphire lounge now.
Expense breakdown
| Expense Items | Estimated Cost | Actual Cost |
| Flight: SFO <-> JFK (1ppl) | $400 | $368.37 |
| Hotel Indigo x 4 (2ppl) | $200 * 4 + fee = $950 | 66k IHG pts + $165 (amenity fee) |
| The Beekman x 1 (2ppl) | $500 | $321 (after FHR credit) |
| Total (per person) | ~$1125 | $611.37 + 33k IHG pts |
IHG redemption
Overall the cash rates in early January were very reasonable, and I would have been satisfied paying everything by cash. The redemption for Hotel Indigo was exceptional because typically IHG points are worth very little (~0.5 cents per point), and the cpp value here is about 1.2. Hotel Indigo Lower East Side does charge a rather large amenity fee per night, at about $35/night. If you plan to stay multiple nights in an IHG hotel, be sure to leverage the 4th-night free promotion on reward nights. Since I have Platinum Elite status from the IHG Premier credit card, the staff surprised us with an upgrade to a room with a terrace.
Fine Hotels & Resorts (FHR) Explained
FHR is one of the coolest benefits of AMEX Platinum. While it might be difficult to use in certain circumstances, we benefited a lot from this perk during this trip. The benefits came in two folds:
- $200 statement credit when booking an FHR hotel on the AMEX travel portal. This is an annual credit provided by AMEX Platinum.
- Hotel-specific FHR benefits. Although it can vary slightly by hotel, the benefits usually include: guaranteed late checkout, ~$100 experience/dining credit, free breakfast for 2, and complimentary room upgrades when available.
The Beekman follows the standard. The hotel provided us with a 4 pm late checkout, a $100 dining credit, a $60 breakfast credit, and a free upgrade to a Studio Suite. We were very impressed by our stay at The Beekman. The room was luxurious and comfortable. The hotel restaurant was okay for dinner (cocktails were amazing) and really good for breakfast.
Conclusion
Despite being one of the most expensive cities to travel to, New York does offer a lot of award travel opportunities. Some final thoughts:
- Visit during off-peak season – Visiting New York City in January is perfect for an end-of-winter break trip. Things will be cheaper, and the city will not be as crowded with tourists.
- Leverage FHR benefits – Dining credits, free breakfast, and late checkout all provide additional value. Sometimes you can even be surprised with a free room upgrade.
- Check out IHG Premier – IHG Premier is a great example of a keeper card, as it provides Platinum Elite status and a free night certificate every year. In addition, the 4th night free on stays booked with points is a great way to save extra