Use your miles to book a last-minute holiday getaway

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It's hard to believe, but the holidays are rapidly approaching. Most travelers already have their flights booked for this incredibly busy time of year. But if you don't, your frequent flyer miles may come in handy.

Of course, finding travel opportunities at this late date can be a challenge. But tools like Points Path make it significantly easier to grab those remaining points and miles deals — especially if your destination and dates are a bit flexible.

So if you're looking for a last-minute getaway to see family or embark on a much-needed holiday vacation, don't throw in the towel yet. Here are four real-life examples for using your travel rewards over the next few weeks.

Grand Cayman is one of my favorite Caribbean islands, offering the opportunity to swim with stingrays and sea turtles. The island is also incredibly easy to explore by car, taxi or public transportation, and features some great restaurants.

While you might assume that jetting off to the Caribbean is unobtainable at this late date, we were able to find some fabulous flights over the holiday. For just 15,000 miles roundtrip, you can fly from Charlotte to Grand Cayman on American Airlines by using your Alaska miles, thanks to Alaska and American both being part of the OneWorld airline alliance.

If you were to book this itinerary directly with American AAdvantage, the same exact flight would cost 24,000 miles roundtrip. And without frequent flyer miles, you'd pay $745 in cash, making this an excellent usage of your travel rewards.

What about a hotel? Not to worry — there are still rooms available at The Westin Grand Cayman Seven Mile Beach Resort & Spa using your Marriott Bonvoy points.

A ski trip doesn't get any easier than being able to fly straight into Vail (known as Eagle County Regional Airport) and avoiding the 2-hour drive from Denver. While flights are sparse — and typically quite expensive — we were able to find some great deals for those looking to take some turns down the mountain over the holidays.

(In fact, this is where my own family is heading this month, and Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are one of my favorite times to be on the mountain.)

Currently, you can book a flight on American Airlines for 34,000 miles roundtrip — a flight that would otherwise cost over $1,000 per person. But, you'll notice that you can also fly Frontier Airlines for just $162 roundtrip.

So you might want to just pay for this one, but if you'd prefer to save your miles and spend the cash, make sure to take into consideration all the extra fees with Frontier.

Another option is to spend the Christmas holiday at home, then head to one of the most iconic places in the world for New Years Eve. Yes, New York City is a pricey destination, but one of the best ways to offset the cost of your trip is to use frequent flyer miles. Fortunately, with many airlines flying to the New York area, there's bound to be a flight that works for you.

For example, we found quite a few options from Fort Myers, Florida. While Delta and JetBlue have the best options at a reasonable 21,000 miles roundtrip, if you'd prefer to save your miles for a future time, United is offering the best cash price at $234.

Finally, if you're looking to get into the holiday spirit, there's nothing better than the Christmas markets in Europe. And one of the best is in Nuremberg, Germany. Just an hour train ride from Munich, you can explore the city and the markets in one single vacation.

A last-minute roundtrip itinerary to Munich is over $2,000 per person, but you can redeem 114,000 United miles for the same nonstop flights to and from Chicago. Now, that's definitely a lot more miles than you'd spend if you had booked further in advance. But it's still a great value compared to the current cash price, and a fun way to embrace the holidays.

While you might think that you're too busy wrapping presents and attending holiday parties to dig into the weeds for a last-minute flight, Points Path can make the process much less painful. So don't let a holiday getaway slip away because you don't have time.

If you're interested in any of the above flights, here are the links to them in Google Flights. Remember that both cash and mileage airfares change over time. The prices in this story were accurate at the time it was written, but you may see different pricing if you search later down the line.

• Charlotte to Grand Cayman for $745 or 15,000 Alaska Airlines miles
• Dallas to Vail for $1,013 or 34,000 American miles
• Fort Myers, Florida to New York for $234 or 21,500 Delta miles or 21,400 JetBlue points
• Chicago to Munich for $2,345 or 114,000 United miles

And if none of these trips fit your needs, try a few searches of your own. With a little bit of work, you can find plenty of options to use your frequent flyer miles to enjoy a holiday getaway.