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If you are looking for a city vacation, San Diego is the place. With seventy miles of beaches and plenty of family attractions, you won’t be disappointed. From the world-famous San Diego Zoo to LEGOLAND California, families have tons of sites to entertain the kids. Adults might prefer Balboa Park or the Gaslamp Quarter. Average temperatures hover around 70 degrees year-round.

All four major brands make this list of best points hotels in San Diego. From family favorites to luxury properties, all travelers will find a hotel on this list. There’s even a handful of properties to use free night awards at.

In this Post:
Park Hyatt Aviara Resort, Golf Club & Spa
Hyatt Regency Mission Bay Spa and Marina
Alila Marea Beach Resort Encinitas
Andaz San Diego
Manchester Grand San Diego
Hyatt Regency La Jolla at Aventine
The Seabird Resort
Mission Pacific Hotel
San Diego Marriott Del Mar
Hotel Indigo San Diego Del Mar
Bonus: The Westin San Diego Downtown
Bonus: Hotel del Coronado, Curio Collection by Hilton
How to Earn These Points

Best Points Hotels in San Diego

Park Hyatt Aviara Resort, Golf Club & Spa

Kids will love this first hotel. The Park Hyatt Aviara Resort has a mini waterpark on site. Rooms can have views of the coast, pool or nearby foothills. In addition, the rooms are spacious. The standard points room includes a sleeper sofa. The hotel is located about 30 minutes north of San Diego in Carlsbad, California. If your main goal is relaxing on-site or LEGOLAND, this is the perfect hotel. 

The Park Hyatt is a category 6 property. If you are a Globalist, you might consider using one of your Category 1-7 free night awards here. Hyatt uses an off-peak and peak pricing at all hotels. Most nights are the standard rates with peak pricing around holidays and summer months. Off-peak nights are typically found in November and December.

Hyatt Regency Mission Bay Spa and Marina

Located about 15 minutes north of the San Diego Airport, the Hyatt Regency Mission Bay Spa and Marina is another family favorite. The hotel has on-site pools, waterslides, and several dining options. During the right time of year, you can watch whales from your balcony.  Rooms are bright and modern throughout the 428-room hotel.

The Hyatt Regency Mission Bay is a Category 3 Hyatt hotel. If you have a Category 1-4 free night award, you might consider using it here. Especially if cash prices are high. Winter months are mostly standard pricing. The bulk of peak pricing is found during summer.

Alila Marea Beach Resort Encinitas

After some hiccups in the beginning (the hotel opened in 2021), the Alila Marea Beach Resort Encinitas is one of the most luxury properties on this list. The hotel is located about 30 minutes north of San Diego in Encinitas, California. Rooms have a view of the coastline or the garden. Most rooms have a balcony or patio.

This is another fantastic property to use any Category 1-7 free night awards. Most points nights throughout the year are the standard rate with off-peak/peak nights sprinkled in. The bulk of off-peak nights are found in the November or December months.

Andaz San Diego

A more central San Diego hotel is the Andaz San Diego. The hotel is within walking distance to the Balboa Theatre, Gaslamp Quarter and East Village.  Amenities include welcome beverage and complimentary minibar. Rooms are classic with bright colors. Those that like the travel with their pets will enjoy the hotel. They provide a bed, bowls and treats for your pet.

This is a fantastic hotel to use your Category 1-4 free night awards. There are tons of opportunities to find off-peak nights throughout the year.

Manchester Grand San Diego

The Manchester Grand San Diego is another fan favorite from Hyatt. This waterfront hotel has over 1,600 rooms. Luckily, 76 of those are suites. Less competition for Globalists hoping for an upgrade. Eight dining outlets can be found on-site. Those with electric vehicles will be able to charge onsite. If you have any status with Hyatt, expect to be taken well care of here. The hotel itself is centrally located between downtown and the Gaslamp Quarter. The USS Midway Museum only half a mile away.

If you have a Category 1-4 free night award, The Manchester Grand is another property to use the FNA. Award nights for FNA and points are plentiful even last minute typically.

Related: Best Use of Points and Miles to Bali, Indonesia

Hyatt Regency La Jolla at Aventine

Located near the University of California at San Diego and Torrey Pines, the Hyatt Regency La Jolla at Aventine is in a great location for exploring Greater San Diego. On-site you can enjoy a junior Olympic-sized pool, tennis courts and fire pits. There is also an electric vehicle charging station. Rooms are modern with inspiration from the California coast. Off-site, beaches and posh shopping are a short car ride away.

While this is a category 3 Hyatt property, I wouldn’t recommend using your free night awards here. This is the lowest category hotel on this best points hotel in San Diego list.

The Seabird Resort

This next hotel is one I’ll be checking out the next time I’m in the San Diego area. The Seabird Resort is located in Oceanside, California. While this is 40 miles north of San Diego, you’ll pleasantly happy with the area. If exploring San Diego is your goal, I would recommend one of the more centrally located hotels. The Seabird is located near the water. If there wasn’t a parking lot in its way, this would be a beachfront hotel.

Cash prices are typically high for this property. Points nights will vary depending on off-peak or peak pricing.

Mission Pacific Hotel

Next door to The Seabird is the Mission Pacific Hotel. The Seabird does block the view of the ocean for some rooms. The hotel has a rooftop pool. This is a great place to catch sunsets year-round. Rooms have Southern California vibes with amazing artwork.

Points are a great value here since cash prices are usually high.

San Diego Marriott Del Mar

The first Marriott hotel on this list is the San Diego Marriott Del Mar. The hotel is a short drive from Torrey Pines State Beach, Torrey Pines State Reserve and the Torrey Pines Golf Course. Del Mar, California is located about twenty-two minutes north of San Diego. This is another hotel I wouldn’t recommend if exploring San Diego.

If you can find points nights 35,000 or lower, you can use one of your free night certificates here. Once Marriott implements the points top off, you’ll be able to use your FNC for peak nights.

Hotel Indigo San Diego Del Mar

This next hotel is located near the Torrey Pines State Beach. It’s also our first IHG brand hotel. The Hotel Indigo San Diego Del Mar gives off beachy vibes throughout the property. Some rooms have direct pool access while others have ocean views.

IHG uses dynamically priced hotel. One night might be 20,000 points, but the next night might be 50,000 points. This makes it a bit more difficult to get good value. Not impossible though. You’ll need to run a points valuation to ensure good value.

Related: Best Points Hotels in Miami

Normally I cap these lists at 10 hotel that get great value. There are a ton of hotels that get good value in San Diego. With this post, I wanted to share two more hotels. One Marriott and one Hilton.

Bonus: The Westin San Diego Downtown

The Westin San Diego Downtown is located near the Manchester Grand San Diego. The hotel is near tons of shops, restaurants and tourist sites. This upscale hotel is a great spot to rest your head after a long day.

This is another Marriott you can use free night certificates at.

Bonus: Hotel del Coronado, Curio Collection by Hilton

The only Hilton on this list is the Hotel del Coronado, Curio Collection by Hilton. This historic hotel dates back to 1888. This Victorian style hotel is located right on the beach or Coronado Island. With that expect to be charged a $50 “mandatory fee”. While it does include yoga, meditation, several streaming apps and discount tickets to USS Midway and the San Diego Zoo, it also includes a $15 Historical Preservation Fund charge.

Like IHG, Hilton awards are dynamically priced.

How to Earn These Points

Hyatt points are very easy to earn. Since World of Hyatt is a Chase transfer partner, all Ultimate Rewards earning cards can help you earn World of Hyatt points. The Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Chase Freedom Unlimited are excellent cards to help beef up your points total. In addition, there are two cobranded Hyatt cards: Chase World of Hyatt Business Credit Card and the personal Chase World of Hyatt Credit Card.

While Marriott is a Chase transfer partner, I wouldn’t recommend transferring without a points valuation. If you can get more than 1.5 points per cent, then transferring is a smart move. Those are few and far between. It’s better to grab the personal and cobranded cards from Chase and American Express. The Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless and Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card are two cards that typically have the highest welcome offers.

Hilton Honors points are fairly easy to earn. While you can transfer from American Express, that’s generally a poor use of points. I would really only recommend it if needing a few points to top off an award. Luckily, Hilton has several cobranded cards. Several of those come with Hilton status. Thats a key need for getting Hilton Fifth Night Free.

IHG partners with Chase for their cobranded cards. Both are the best options for getting IHG points. But you can transfer in from Ultimate Rewards if needed. But like Marriott, you need to ensure you’re getting good value.

Best Points Hotels in San Diego Bottom Line

There are tons of points hotels from all four major brands. Because San Diego is spread out, focus your hotel search on areas near where you are planning to visit. If you are looking for relaxation, the hotels north of San Diego are better options. The downtown hotels are better options if playing tourist.

Have you stayed at any hotels on this list? Let me know your experience in the comments below.

These opinions in this article are the author’s not those of a 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.