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Bora Bora is one of the most beautiful places we’ve ever been. However, it can be extremely expensive to visit, especially as a family. We were able to save thousands of dollars on our Bora Bora family vacation thanks to traveling with points earned from our favorite travel reward credit cards. We used hotel points to stay for free at the Conrad Bora Bora Nui, one of the best Bora Bora hotels, for a week. Our Hilton Diamond status, which we earned through a premium Hilton credit card, saved us thousands more in free breakfast and suite upgrades! Here’s how we did it and how you can too.
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Staying at the Conrad Bora Bora Nui with Hilton points
The Conrad Bora Bora Nui is a Hilton property, so we used Hilton Honors points to stay there for free. Hilton uses dynamic pricing for their award stays, so point stays can be astronomically high depending on the date and what’s left in their award inventory. Point redemptions can range from 80K points to over 300K points per night for a standard room. *Update- standard redemptions at this resort now begin at 120K Hilton points per night. We have been finding the most award availability at the standard redemption rate either a year in advance or at the last minute, typically a few weeks out.
We planned ahead and booked our vacation almost a year in advance to lock in the best award rates. We had to check frequently to find award availability at 80K points per night. This allowed us to secure 6 nights at this property’s lowest redemption rate, which is 80,000 points per night for a standard room. Hilton elite members also receive a 5th night free when booking 5 consecutive award nights, so we only needed 400,000 points for 6 nights. The rate for a standard room during peak season would have cost about $1,500 per night after taxes and fees if we hadn’t used points.
We earned our Hilton points through credit card welcome bonuses. The Hilton Honors American Express Surpass®️Card (check current offer here) is a great option to earn a generous welcome bonus as well as the Hilton Honors American Express Card and The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card. If you have a small business, you can open both a personal card and a business card to earn even more points for your stay in paradise. If you are traveling with a spouse or friend, you can both open cards and double your points.
If you’re interested in a premium travel credit card, we highly recommend the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card (find my personal referral link here with current offer), which I have and absolutely love.**All information about Hilton Honors Aspire Credit Card has been collected independently by World Travel Adventurers. Hilton Honors Aspire Credit Card is not currently available through World Travel Adventurers affiliate network.
This card comes with an annual free weekend night at any Hilton property for a standard redemption, so you could use your free night at the Conrad Bora Bora Nui as long as you are able to find the standard redemption rate. It also includes automatic Hilton Diamond status which will get you free breakfast at Hilton properties. The card also offers an annual $250 Hilton resort credit that you could use toward food at the Conrad Bora Bora Nui, an annual $250 airline incidental fee credit, and Priority Pass Select membership which allows airport lounge access for you and 2 guests per visit. This card is ideal to have in your wallet for a trip to the Conrad Bora Bora Nui for all the perks it offers.
Free Suite Upgrade thanks to Hilton Diamond Status
Conrad Bora Bora Nui Garden Villa
As Hyatt Diamond members, we received a complimentary upgrade to a Garden Villa on our first night. You can read our Garden Villa review to see what to expect in that room category. We received an additional upgrade to the King Beach Pool Villa once it opened up after our first night. Check out our review of the King Beach Pool Villa to see how it compares. It was perfect for our family with a private pool on the beach.
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We’ve heard of Hyatt Diamond members getting upgraded to overwater villas at check-in when availability allowed for it, but we did not want an overwater villa. Our son was only five years old at the time and not a strong swimmer, so for our peace of mind we wanted to stay on land.
Conrad Bora Bora Overwater Villas
The rate for the Garden Villa would have been $1,095.60 per night, but we paid nothing with points. The Beach Pool Villa would have cost $1792.87 per night, but again we paid only points. Hilton doesn’t charge resort fees on award stays, which can be quite expensive at 5-star resorts, so staying with points is definitely the way to go. We saved a total of $10,059.95 on our 6 nights of luxury Bora Bora accommodation.
Free Breakfast at Conrad Bora Bora Nui
Thanks to our Hilton Diamond status earned through my Hilton Aspire credit card we received complimentary breakfast daily, which saved us considerably more as a family of four. **All information about Hilton Honors Aspire Credit Card has been collected independently by World Travel Adventurers. Hilton Honors Aspire Credit Card is not currently available through World Travel Adventurers affiliate network.
The breakfast buffet at the Conrad Bora Bora Nui is extensive and costly at $48 per person. We saved $1,152 on breakfast for our family of four over the course of our stay. Hilton Gold members also receive complimentary breakfast, so it really pays to have elite status at this resort where food costs are extremely high. You can earn automatic Hilton Gold status with The Platinum Card®️ from American Express, one of our favorite premium travel credit cards. Learn more about the AMEX Platinum card here.
Breakfast buffet at Conrad Bora Bora Nui
Total Savings at Conrad Bora Bora Nui
To conclude, a family vacation to Bora Bora doesn’t have to cost a fortune thanks to traveling with points and miles. When you know how to maximize the value of points, you can stay in one of the best Bora Bora hotels for free. In summary, we saved $10,059.95 on accommodation plus $1,152 on breakfast, amounting to a total of $11,211.95 saved for 6 nights at the Conrad Bora Bora Nui.
To save even more, you can use airline miles to fly to French Polynesia. We didn’t use miles to get to Bora Bora since we found a really good deal on flights. But if you want to fly to Papeete on miles, you could fly United Airlines from San Francisco, Air France from Los Angeles, Air Tahiti Nui from Los Angeles, Hawaiian Airlines from Honolulu. You could also book French Bee from San Francisco using fixed-value points in a travel portal.
*Editorial Disclosure: The editorial content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuers. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
