Traveling as a family of four on two teacher salaries means every dollar has to work hard. That’s exactly why we use points and miles to cover hotels, flights, and rental cars, so our real money goes toward the experiences. Our trip to Austin, Texas, was one of our best examples of this strategy in action, and the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort was the centerpiece.

Here’s exactly how we made it happen.

Flights

We flew roundtrip from Kansas City (MCI) to Austin on Southwest using our Southwest Companion Passes and points. All four of us flew for just under $45 total. The cash price for those same seats would have been around $1,500. If you want to know how to earn Companion Passes year after year, I have a full breakdown in this post.

Rental Car

I booked our rental car through Chase Travel using points. I used 9,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points for a midsize car for three nights, and the remaining cost was just a few dollars out of pocket. My card also covers rental car insurance, so I skip the counter upsell every single time. Here is my complete guide on booking rental cars for much, much less!

The Hotel

This is where the magic really happened. We transferred Chase Ultimate Rewards to Hyatt and booked the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort at 25,000 points per night. The cash price for our room? $2,200. We never would have booked this resort paying cash. That is the whole point.

Lost Pines is a 405-acre resort situated along the Lower Colorado River in Bastrop, about 20 minutes from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. It feels completely removed from the city, tucked into the Texas Hill Country with trails, wildlife, and wide open space in every direction. But Austin day trips are easy, and we did both, full resort days and afternoons in the city.

The Resort Fee Situation (This Is Important)

Most resorts charge a daily resort fee on top of your room rate, even when you book with points. At Lost Pines, that fee is $50 per night. When we booked with points, the resort fee was fully waived. That is not always the case at every property, so it is worth confirming before you book. For us, it meant every single included activity at this resort was genuinely free for our family of four for three nights.

That adds up fast when you see what is actually included.

What’s Included at Lost Pines (And What We Actually Used)

This resort earns its family reputation. With one kid in elementary school and one heading into middle school, we needed activities that worked across both ages. Lost Pines handled it without us having to think too hard.

Here is everything we used that came with our stay.

The pool complex is legitimately one of the best resort pools I have seen for families. There is a lazy river, a waterslide, a zero-entry section for younger kids, hot tubs, and a separate adults-only area when you need a moment of quiet. We spent the majority of our resort time here and never felt crowded. Old Buck’s Place is right poolside and serves sandwiches, pizza, and cold drinks so you never have to leave.

Complimentary bikes are available for the whole family with multiple sizes and helmets included. We rode along scenic paths that trace the Lower Colorado River and it was a highlight for everyone, including the middle schooler who usually rolls his eyes at family activities. The paths are easy and beautiful and you can go at your own pace.

Nightly s’mores by the resort fire pits were a simple thing that became everyone’s favorite part of the day. The kids looked forward to it every single evening. Low key, zero cost, and somehow one of the most talked-about memories from the whole trip.

The resort barn is a must if you are traveling with younger kids or honestly any kid who has never stood next to a longhorn. Our family got to meet mini donkeys, longhorns, and llamas. It sounds like a small thing and it absolutely was not. The kids were delighted.

Bingo ran in the evenings and we played one night as a family. It was genuinely fun and the kind of low-effort activity that is easy to underestimate. Yard games are scattered around the property and available whenever you want them. My daughter made a bracelet in one of the kids activity classes. My son went straight for the driving range. There was truly something for both of them without us having to coordinate it.

The hiking trails on the property are well-marked and accessible for all fitness levels. We walked a stretch along the river one morning before breakfast and it was the kind of quiet that you just do not get when you are staying in the middle of a city.

Pickleball and tennis courts round out the options. We played a match one evening before dinner and had the courts mostly to ourselves.

One more thing worth knowing about: Camp Hyatt is a seasonal kids camp available for children ages 4 through 12. It is not always open, so check the resort website for availability during your specific dates. If it is running during your stay, it is a great option for a few hours of kids-only programming while the adults decompress.

Where We Ate at the Resort

My Hyatt Globalist status covered our breakfast each morning at Heartwood House. The pancakes are enormous and the menu leans into Texas classics done right. It is the kind of breakfast that sets you up for a full day outdoors. Heartwood House is warm and comfortable, not stuffy at all, and it quickly became our family’s morning gathering spot.

Important note: you do not need Globalist status to book this hotel with points or to have the resort fee waived. Anyone with a Chase Sapphire card and access to Hyatt as a transfer partner can make this exact booking. The Globalist breakfast was a bonus perk on top of an already incredible redemption.

We grabbed poolside lunch at Old Buck’s Place most afternoons. It is quick, casual, and exactly what you want when you are wet and hungry and not planning to leave the pool area.

Maverick’s Roadhouse is the resort’s more casual dinner option and worth knowing about. Think chicken-fried steak, pork belly sandwiches, local craft beer, and bourbon flights. Sit in a booth or claim a spot by the covered porch fire pit. It is both refined and a little rough around the edges, in the best Texas way.

Stories Ranch Kitchen is the elevated dinner experience on site, overlooking the resort with dishes like Texas Wagyu strip steak and South Texas antelope tenderloin. We did not eat here this trip but it is on the list for next time, possibly for a date night if you are traveling with grandparents who can watch the kids.

Bat Watching on the Colorado River

The single best experience of the whole trip was kayaking at dusk to Congress Avenue Bridge to watch the bats emerge. Every summer, almost two million Mexican free-tailed bats live under that bridge, and at dusk they all leave at once to head out and feed. Kayaking into downtown Austin just as the sun drops and watching that happen directly overhead is something I genuinely still think about. It sounds a little odd when you describe it and it turns out to be one of the most spectacular things you can do in this city. Kids of any age can do this and will absolutely love it.

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Book This Before You Go

The Downtown Sunset Kayak with the Bats tour sells out fast in summer. This is not one of those experiences where you can decide the day of. Book your spot in advance and thank yourself later.

Book the Downtown Sunset Kayak with 1.5 Million Bats here

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The Texas Military Forces Museum at Camp Mabry

We stumbled into this one and it became one of our son’s favorite parts of the entire trip. The Texas Military Forces Museum is located on Camp Mabry, an active military installation in Austin, and admission is completely free.

The museum covers Texas military history from 1823 through the present day. Inside you will find full-scale exhibits, uniforms, weapons, personal artifacts, battle dioramas, and interactive displays. Outside, tanks, artillery pieces, armored vehicles, helicopters, and jet fighters are spread across the grounds, and some of them are maintained in running condition. The scope of the collection is genuinely impressive. Plan on at least two to three hours if your kids are into it, because there is a lot to take in.

What makes Camp Mabry truly special are the living history events. The museum hosts full battle reenactments throughout the year. Battleground 1863 is an annual Civil War reenactment focused on weapons, equipment, and tactics from both sides of the conflict. The Living History Weekend features a full-scale WWII battle reenactment with over 100 reenactors, tanks running on the field, artillery, machine guns, and period encampments representing American, German, British, and Russian forces. Close Assault runs on Memorial Day and Veterans Day weekends and focuses on the 36th Infantry Division in WWII. We happened to catch a reenactment weekend and my son could have stayed until they shut the gates.

All adults 18 and older need to show a valid photo ID at the gate since Camp Mabry is an active base. Check the full event calendar before your trip at texasmilitaryforcesmuseum.org. If you can time your visit around a reenactment weekend it is absolutely worth planning for. Even without a reenactment, the museum and outdoor grounds alone are worth the stop.

Where to Eat in Austin With Kids

Austin’s food scene is built for families. It leans casual, outdoor, and loud in the best possible way. There are very few places in this city where kids feel out of place, and the food quality is high across the board.

Magnolia Cafe is a classic Austin brunch spot that has been around since 1984 and has earned every bit of its reputation. The menu is extensive, the portions are generous, and it is the kind of place where no one rushes you out. I had the Eggscape, which is eggs over a bed of black beans and veggies with all the right toppings, and it was exactly what a great diner breakfast should be. Kids have plenty of options and the vibe is relaxed and welcoming.

Black’s BBQ is one of the most respected BBQ institutions in the entire state of Texas. You order at the counter, grab a tray, load it up with brisket, sausage, and ribs, and find yourself a spot. The sides are excellent and the brisket speaks for itself. It is casual, unpretentious, and the kind of meal that reminds you why Texas BBQ has its own category. Kids are completely at home here.

Punch Bowl Social is both dinner and an activity rolled into one stop. Duckpin bowling uses a much smaller ball than regular bowling and is genuinely harder than it looks, which made every frame hilarious for our whole family. The food is solid, the atmosphere is loud and fun, and it works for every age in the group. Book your lane in advance, especially on weekends, because it fills up.

For next time on our list: Meanwhile Brewing in South Austin, a massive brewery with a dedicated kids play area and several food trucks on site including Distant Relatives, a James Beard Award-nominated BBQ truck that multiple Austin locals told us is not to be missed. And Home Slice Pizza on South Congress for New York-style pizza by the slice, a great patio, and the fun detail that they hand kids a ball of dough to play with while they wait.

Free and Cheap Things to Do Near Lost Pines

Barton Springs Pool is a spring-fed public swimming hole inside Zilker Park that has been an Austin institution for over a century. The water stays around 68 degrees year-round, which is refreshing in the summer heat and a little bracing in April, which is when we visited. We showed up on a warm afternoon and it was packed, which tells you everything about how beloved this spot is. The entry fee is low and it is one of those only-in-Austin experiences worth attempting even if the water makes you gasp. Go early to beat the crowds and snag a good spot on the grass.

The Lady Bird Lake Hike-and-Bike Trail is a 10-mile trail system that loops around Lady Bird Lake in the heart of the city. It is flat, well-maintained, and free. Families walk it, run it, and bike it, and the views of downtown Austin from the water’s edge are genuinely lovely. It connects to several parks and green spaces and makes for a great low-key morning before you dive into the rest of the city.

Book People on South Congress is one of the best independent bookstores in the country and worth at least an hour of your time. Two floors, over 200,000 titles, and a staff that clearly loves books. Every interest is represented across both floors, from travel and history to kids chapters and graphic novels. We spent a solid hour wandering and everyone in the family found something. I grabbed a couple of new travel books. It is the kind of place that makes you remember why physical bookstores matter. It is right on South Congress so you can pair it with lunch or dinner nearby.

The Cards That Made This Trip Possible

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business Credit Card
Ink Business Cash Card

If you are ready to start using points and miles for your own family travel, I would love it if you used my affiliate links to apply. It costs you nothing and supports all the free content I create. Thank you.