There’s nothing like standing at the edge of one of the world’s most breathtaking wonders — Niagara Falls. Mist in your face, kids wide-eyed, and the best part? — Not a worry about what it cost to get there!

Our family of six made this amazing but quick and last-minute trip happen using points and miles —covering flights, hotel, and even the big all-inclusive excursion (Maid of the Mist, Cave of the Winds, and more). We only paid for food and souvenirs!

Here’s how we did it—and how you can, too.

How we got there:

With our big family, we flew Southwest, utilizing our companion passes for our two oldest kids. These were flights from Nashville (BNA) to Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF) for around 24k points/each round-trip, so 96k points total plus $11.20/ea/pp in taxes, so $67.00 total round-trip for everyone.

If you’d like more information on attaining the Companion Pass, check out this post.

We had a layover each way, the first in Chicago Midway for around 2 hours, then in Baltimore on the way home for about an hour. This was enough time to grab a bite to eat. Both of these airports were not crowded at all which we enjoyed.

Ironically, food has become our biggest expense on our vacations now!

Next is hotel.

We used IHG points to stay two nights at Holiday Inn Niagara Falls Park Entry. This property was right in the park’s backyard, which was perfect to walk to with kids. It’s about a 15 minute walk.

We paid 56k points/night here, which is a bit higher than what we usually are comfortable, however the location couldn’t be beat, so we went with it! When we arrived, I asked if we could be upgraded to a King Bedroom Suite, however, there was no availability because of the busy weekend. So, we had our original 2 Queen Bedroom I had booked through the app. However, since we hold Platinum Elite status from holding the Premier personal IHG card, we avoided the regular parking fee of 19.95/day.

This property does not come with free breakfast, but 2 kids 12 and under eat free with each adult entree, so that’s a plus! It has an indoor pool, and, again, its location is right by a lot of restaurants, so it was easy to find a place to eat for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

We arrived Thursday afternoon and checked out Saturday morning to make our journey back home. This was a quick trip but well worth it! Especially when you spend $0 on lodging.

*Maid of the Mist on New York side; Hornblower on Canadanian side.*

Excursion:

Booking excursions on the portal is pretty easy. We’ve booked quite a few so far using Ultimate Rewards points, and we haven’t had an issue. I highly recommend checking out the portal even if you’re not going to book anything soon. It helps to get the feel of it.

*Be aware when you book through the portal, there are some that are NON-REFUNDABLE. I don’t like to book those, just in case.*

Anyway, we booked this excursion a few weeks out, and it was 12,600 points/pp, so 63,355 points total for the All-Inclusive Niagara Falls Guided Tour. This was through Niagara Tour Company, and you could also find this on Viator. We did not have to purchase a ticket for our youngest because she was 4. You only need tickets for ages 5+. A tour guide isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but we actually preferred being led around since it was our first time.

Our tour guide, Mark, was great and left us alone to venture the park ourselves after leading us where to go.

This would have cost us almost $800.

If you ask anyone what you should do in Niagara, you’ll usually hear Maid of the Mist and Cave of the Winds — and that’s exactly what we would tell people! Our kids really enjoyed Maid of the Mist. Be prepared to be shuffled very quickly by the workers there; we almost felt rushed, and the ride was about 25-30 minutes.

You come right up to the falls, so you do get sprayed, but our clothes stayed dry due to the ponchos we were provided before boarding. We all just wore comfortable strapped sandals, and that worked for us.

After the Maid of the Mist, we walked around the park, got some ice cream, then made the trek to Goat Island where the Cave of the Winds excursion is. It’s not an actual cave, however you do walk through a tunnel to get to the stairs that lead you up to Hurricane Deck, located directly by the Bridal Falls. This was our favorite part of the trip! If you go, you have to go on the Hurricane Deck. My older girls loved it, but by this time it was around 3:30, and my younger two were ready to go.

Be prepared to pack snacks for the day if you do the tour and can’t leave. They sell them at a concession, but they are expensive! We’re talking $5 for a half-filled bag of Doritos or bottled water expensive. Also, there are hardly any water fountains around the park; unless I just didn’t notice them.

Rental Car:

We booked our car with Avis through the Chase travel portal for 25,114 Ultimate Rewards points. Because we need a bigger vehicle, we use more points when it’s all 6 of us together. This would have cost over $300 if we paid cash. We were given a very nice and clean vehicle (VW Telluride), and check-in was fast.

I really didn’t want to use points for a car if we didn’t have to, but it was either rent a car and have that flexibility, or rely on a bus schedule that would have made a 30 minute car ride into a 2hr + travel day. And with 4 kids? No, thank you!

We rack up UR points through our Sapphire Preferred + Ink cards welcome offers.

*Niagara Falls State Park overlooking Horseshoe Falls*

Part of the reason we wanted to come to Niagara Falls for 4th of July weekend was to see fireworks over the falls. The tour guide picked us up from our hotel to head back to the park, and if we knew before going, we would have just walked. It was very crowded, so it was hard to see the fireworks in total capacity. Though, they were mediocre with no grand finale, which was disappointing. Afterwards, the traffic was terrible, though all of our kids slept through it! I advise if you are staying near the park to either walk or take an uber there early enough to get front and center, then plan on walking back to your hotel afterwards.

In Summary:

We would definitely recommend this trip either for a couple or a family. This place is great for adults and kids alike.

Here’s what we spent on everything:

Airfare: Southwest points + two Southwest Companion Passes: 96k points total + $67.00 for taxes/fees round-trip total for 6 people. (24k points/pp round-trip)

Hotel: 113k IHG points

Excursion: 63,355 points booked through the Chase travel portal.

Car Rental: 25,114 points booked through the Chase travel portal.

Original Price we would have paid for this trip: $4,461

What we paid after using points: $67.00

4th of July in Niagara Falls (NY) on Points

How You Can Earn the Southwest Companion Pass with Only 3 Cards

🛑You had a Credit Card Denial..Now What?