Duluth MN on Points

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Minnesota’s North Shore on Lake Superior is a beautiful retreat and it’s possible to visit Duluth Minnesota using credit card points! Learn our favorite things to do, where to stay and what to eat!

Duluth Minnesota on Credit Card Points

Grab our tips and tricks for the best trip to Duluth Minnesota! If you are planning a family vacation we will share our recommended must-sees plus how to do this for less using credit card points.

Our trip was a total of three nights, but we have been here before and it’s a quick road trip for us in Minnesota. There is so much to do here and along the north shore that if this is the only time you will be visiting I’d recommend 4-5 nights.

How to get to Duluth Minnesota

Like I said previously, we road tripped here as we are located in Minnesota and it’s about a 4 hour drive. Another option is flying into Duluth which had connecting flights through Delta and Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport.

Where to Stay in Duluth, Minnesota on Credit Card Points

We absolutely love splurging on our hotels and staying in Canal Park which is right where the Aerial Lift Bridge is. This area is the highlight of Duluth!

If you are looking to stay along the North Shore there a ton of great resorts and locally owned options. Remember that Capital One Miles are a great way to reimburse yourself for an travel expense, which is perfect for these options! Many places are bookable in the Capital One Travel portal and this is perfect for using the $300 annual travel credit from the Capital One Venture X Card.

Lift Bridge Lodge Duluth MN

Lift Bridge Lodge

Our favorite hotel is the Lift Bridge Lodge, Ascend Hotel Collection which is ran by Choice Hotels. We love it because it looks directly out to Lake Superior along the boardwalk and also is the closest hotel to the Aerial Lift Bridge. It has a great continental breakfast with sitting indoors or outdoors on the their patio overlooking the lake. We also love it because it has suites as their standard room, which means a pull out sofa bed along with two queen beds. This is such a bonus for those of us with over 4 people in our family!

The only issue with booking on points is that they only open up award bookings three months in advance with Choice Hotels, so if you are looking to plan ahead and secure a room on points it’s a little nerve wracking because Duluth gets busy in the peak summer months.

The best flexible points card to earn Choice Points on is Citi Strata Premier℠ Card. By having this premium Citi ThankYou Card you can transfer the points to Choice on a 1:2 transfer which means if you transfer 1,000 Citi ThankYou Points you will get 2,000 Choice Privileges Points in your account. If you have a basic Citi ThankYou Card they will transfer 1,000 points to 1,500 Choice Priveleges Points.

With rooms starting at 45,000 Choice Priveleges Points per night with one sign up bonus you could stay for 3 nights FREE! This would make an excellent weekend getaway if you are close to the area or flying in.

Hampton Inn Duluth Canal Park

Another great option in Canal Park is the Hampton Inn. It is a down a bit further from the Aerial Lift Bridge, but it overlooks the lake too. Hampton Inn is part of the Hilton Brand and a great property. A bonus is that you can book this property far in advance to lock in your stay!

Two Queen Beds with a Cityview start at 60,000 points per night, but if you have an American Express Card with points the transfer is 1:2 so 1,000 Amex points turns into 2,000 Hilton points. If you hit a transfer bonus which happens every once in a while you can save even more!

We recommend starting with a American Express® Gold Card if you do not have a American Express card yet. There are rules about the order in which you open American Express cards. One sign up bonus is typically 75,000 Membership Rewards Points which would get you 2.5 nights at this Hampton Inn.

Another option is opening up a American Express® Hilton Honors Aspire* which has a sign up bonus of 150,000 points and is often elevated.

*All information about the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card has been collected independently by Plan Pack and Go. Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card is no longer available through Plan Pack and Go.

Marriot Hotel Options in Duluth Minnesota

There are a lot of great Marriot hotel options in Duluth, but they are not in the prime location of Canal Park, but you might be able to get more bang for your points if you are open to staying away from here. We’ve also stayed down in Canal Park for 1-2 nights then moved to a Marriott property for the rest of our stay!

We recommend looking into the Marriott branded credit cards for these options. A lot of times you can find a sign up bonus on one of them for a 5 Free Night Awards! The nights are up to 50,000 points and you can top them off with an additional 10,000 Marriott Points if you need. These nights usually expire in a year after you earn them, so always have a plan on how to use them!

What to do in Duluth, Minnesota

There’s not a shortage of things to do in beautiful Duluth, Minnesota! Here are a few of our favorite things to do while staying here.

Things to Do Along the North Shore

We highly recommend taking a day or two and driving along the North Shore to experience the beauty of Lake Superior. There are so many things to see and do! Take the Hwy 61 Scenic Route to get the best views.

This is only the beginning of all the amazing, fun things to do along the North Shore. We highly recommend checking out the North Shore Visitor Website to plan your stay.

Where to Eat in Duluth, MN

We love experiencing local favorites when we travel and here is the top list that we visit when we travel to Duluth!

The Wrap Up

Our family loves visiting Duluth and the North Shore for a family vacation and can’t wait to go back there. We are so glad we can utilize credit card points to make this fun family vacation a reality over and over again!

To start your credit card points journey we recommend signing up for the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card to make both of these redemptions possible! A great article on our 3 Card Beginner Strategy will help you get started after that.

For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.

Opinions  expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any 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.

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