How MaxMyPoint saved my last-minute trip to Hawaii

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Planning a 10-day trip to Hawaii less than a month before departure isn't something I typically recommend. But with nearly two weeks off for school break and no plans yet, I was up for the challenge.

Between coordinating flights, juggling inter-island connections, and trying to piece together a fully award-based itinerary, I expected some friction. What I didn’t expect was that securing a few nights in Maui would be the one thing standing between me and a fully confirmed trip.

I had my heart set on staying at the Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort (a Hyatt property). But my travel dates fell during a peak window, and every time I checked Hyatt’s award calendar, I saw the same frustrating result: no availability on points — and there was no way I was paying $1,500 per night. I refreshed repeatedly over several days, hoping something would open. Nothing did.

That’s when I decided to set up an alert with a travel tool I've used in the past: MaxMyPoint. Up until that point, I've only used the free version, but with time ticking, I paid for an annual membership to hopefully lock in those free nights. I was even willing to book just a few nights and switch to another hotel for the others as well.

If you're not familiar with MaxMyPoint, it's a hotel award search tool that helps you check real-time award availability across major hotel programs. Instead of hopping between hotel websites and refreshing award calendars nonstop, you can run searches across major hotel programs in one place.

The free version of the tool allows you to look up availability, which is helpful enough, but the real power comes from its alert system — a feature that monitors availability for you and notifies you the moment something opens up.

With the free version, you can set up one alert, which for some might be enough to get started. But if you’re monitoring multiple hotels or date ranges, the paid plan opens up far more flexibility. At the time of writing, the Gold plan costs $39.99 per year and the Platinum plan costs $67.99 per year, with the Platinum offering more alerts and quick notifications among other features.

For someone planning a trip as last-minute as mine, that alert feature became a much-needed lifeline.

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My initial search on MaxMyPoint simply confirmed what I already knew: No rooms with two queen beds were available at the Andaz Maui for my dates.

But instead of closing the tab and resigning myself to checking again later, I decided to set up a few different alerts. It took less than two minutes. I selected the hotel, chose my dates, added my alert type, and clicked “create.” And since I also have some suite upgrades I'm looking to burn, the option to be notified if a suite popped up was an added bonus.

That was it. No complicated settings or monitoring needed.

Fortunately, four days later, I received an email with the subject line I’d been hoping for: "Your Hotel Alert Update." Right away, I logged into my Hyatt account, confirmed the room was in fact available, and booked the room immediately with no time to lose.

Just like that, the final piece of the puzzle was booked, and my Hawaii itinerary was complete.

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During peak travel dates, award availability can disappear in no time. I could have stayed glued to my phone or iPad and continuously checked, but that's not realistic.

Instead, MaxMyPoint caught the opening for me the moment the desired room appeared, giving me a chance I otherwise might have missed.

Hotel programs don’t always release nights consistently, and availability can shift without warning. Rooms sometimes open because someone cancels, the hotel adjusts inventory, or the minimum nights required changes.

MaxMyPoint automates the part of the process that typically requires far too much time and attention — and removes the frustration of repeatedly seeing “sold out.”

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