Alaska has been on our family’s travel list for years.

But instead of taking a cruise, we decided to plan a DIY Alaska road trip, flying into Anchorage and exploring Seward and Valdez on our own.

Trips like this can feel intimidating to plan.

Flights to Alaska are expensive.
Rental cars can be extremely expensive in summer.
Hotels and cabins book up early.

So I approached this trip the same way I approach most of our family travel:

Use points and miles to cover the biggest costs first.

In this post I’ll walk you through exactly how we’re booking this Alaska trip using points, including:

• the flights we booked
• hotel options in Anchorage
• how we’re handling vacation rentals
• our rental car strategy
• the cards I would open today to earn the points for a trip like this

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Our Alaska Trip Plan

Here’s the general structure of our trip.

Fly into Anchorage
Drive south to Seward
Explore the Kenai Peninsula
Continue to Valdez
Return to Anchorage to fly home

This route allows us to experience:

• glaciers
• coastal scenery
• wildlife
• small Alaska towns

without needing to take a cruise.

If you want to see the full itinerary, read my guide here:

Alaska Road Trip Itinerary: Coming Soon!

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Flights: Kansas City to Anchorage Using Miles

Flights are usually the most expensive part of an Alaska trip.

From Kansas City, summer flights to Anchorage often cost $700–$1,200 per person.

Instead of paying cash, we booked our flights using airline miles.

Our flights:

Kansas City → Anchorage

Cost:

60,000 miles total for our family of four + $22 in taxes

That averages to 15,000 miles per person, which is an excellent redemption for a long flight.

I booked these flights using American Airlines miles.

Most of our American miles came from opening Citi American Airlines credit cards over time and earning the welcome bonuses.

If you want to understand how this works, I explain the process here:

[How to Book Flights with American Airlines Miles]

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Return Flight: Anchorage to Kansas City

We used the same strategy to find our return flights.

Route:

Anchorage → Seattle → Kansas City

Cost:

15,000 miles per person

Total for our family:

60,000 miles + $22 in taxes

The process I used to find these flights was:

Google Flights → see what routes exist
FlightConnections → confirm airline routes
Seats.aero → find flights bookable with miles

Once you understand this workflow, booking flights with points becomes much easier.

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Anchorage Hotel Options Using Points

Even if you plan to leave Anchorage quickly, many travelers stay one night in Anchorage when arriving in Alaska.

Anchorage actually has three Hyatt hotels that can be booked with points.

Hyatt House Anchorage

Typical award price: around 9,000 points per night

Hyatt House hotels are great for families because they often include:

• larger rooms
• kitchenettes
• complimentary breakfast

The Wildbirch Hotel

Typical award price: around 12,000 points per night

This newer property is part of the JdV by Hyatt collection and offers a more boutique-style stay.

Hyatt Place Anchorage Midtown

Typical award price: around 12,000 points per night

Hyatt Place properties typically include:

• large rooms
• sofa beds
• complimentary breakfast

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Why We’re Mostly Staying in Vacation Rentals

For most of our Alaska trip we decided to stay in vacation rentals instead of hotels.

Alaska has incredible cabins and small homes available in places like:

• Seward
• Valdez
• towns across the Kenai Peninsula

Vacation rentals work well for families because they provide:

• more space
• kitchens
• multiple bedrooms

To offset the cost of vacation rentals, I often use flexible travel points that can be redeemed as statement credits toward travel purchases.

That means you can book the rental first and then apply points toward the purchase.

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Rental Car Strategy

Rental cars in Alaska can be surprisingly expensive during the summer.

Instead of using a traditional rental company, we decided to try Turo for the first time.

Our rental:

Small Sedan
June 26 – July 3

Cost:

$820 total

Mileage included:

1,600 miles

Mileage limits are important to check when booking rental cars in Alaska because driving distances can add up quickly.

Some travel cards also include travel credits that can help offset purchases like rental cars or vacation rentals.

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Here Are the Exact Cards I’d Open for an Alaska Trip (In This Order)

If I were starting from scratch and wanted to earn the points for a trip like this Alaska road trip, these are the three cards I would open first and why.

Each one helps cover a different part of the trip:

Flights
Vacation rentals
Rental cars

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1. Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard®

This would be the first card I would open, a business card.

Those miles can go a long way toward flights to Alaska.

For example, our flights from Kansas City to Anchorage cost 15,000 miles per person, which meant 60,000 miles covered flights for our family of four.

A welcome bonus like this can often cover most or all of those flights.

Another thing I like about this card is that the $99 annual fee is waived for the first 12 months, which makes it easier to try the strategy without paying a fee the first year.

If flights are the biggest cost of your Alaska trip, earning airline miles first is usually the best place to start.

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2. Citi Strata Elite℠ Card

The second card I would open is the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card.

These points are flexible and can be used in several ways.

For a trip like Alaska, they can be useful for covering expenses such as:

• vacation rentals
• rental cars
• smaller travel purchases
• hotels that aren’t part of major chains

Points from cards like this can often be redeemed toward travel purchases or used through travel booking portals.

That flexibility becomes especially useful in Alaska where many lodging options are cabins, small lodges, or vacation rentals instead of chain hotels.

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3. Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

The third card I would open is the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, which currently offers up to $1,000 toward travel once you meet the spending requirement.

What makes the Venture card particularly useful for trips like Alaska is its travel purchase eraser feature.

Here’s how it works:

Book your travel normally (vacation rentals, rental cars, flights, etc.)

Pay with your Venture card

Log into your Capital One account

Apply your miles to erase that travel purchase

Miles are typically worth about 1 cent per mile toward travel purchases.

So if you booked a $500 cabin in Seward, you could apply 50,000 miles to cover that cost.

This flexibility makes the Venture card especially helpful when you’re booking:

• cabins
• Airbnbs
• smaller lodges
• rental cars

All things that are common on Alaska road trips.

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Why This Card Combination Works for Alaska

This three-card strategy works well because each card helps cover a different part of the trip.

American Airlines miles → flights to Alaska

Flexible Citi points → travel expenses and flexibility

Capital One miles → vacation rentals and rental cars

Instead of trying to earn one type of point for everything, this approach focuses on reducing the biggest expenses first.

Flights
Lodging
Transportation

Once those major costs are covered or reduced with points, trips like Alaska become much more realistic for families.

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Why Points and Miles Work So Well for Alaska Trips

Trips to Alaska can feel expensive at first.

Flights are expensive.
Hotels fill up quickly.
Rental cars spike in summer.

But once you start using points strategically, you can cover the largest costs.

Flights covered with miles
Hotels covered with points
Flexible travel points offsetting vacation rentals and rental cars

That’s how we approach most of our family travel.

Instead of trying to reduce every expense, we focus on covering the biggest costs first.

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Want Help Choosing the Right Card?

If you’re planning a trip like Alaska and want to start earning the points needed for flights, hotels, or vacation rentals, I keep an updated list of the travel cards I currently recommend here:

Best Offers Page

This page shows the cards that can help you earn the miles and points needed to make trips like this possible.