Primary pick
Chase Sapphire Preferred
Chase Ultimate
- Welcome bonus
- 75,000 pts
- Annual fee
- $95
after $5,000 spend in 3 months
California, USA · Family trip points
Best credit card for a family trip to San Diego
Underrated family destination — beach + zoo + Legoland. Hyatt Regency Mission Bay sits on a private beach and books at Cat 5.
Advertiser disclosure: PointsCraft may earn a commission when you apply for cards through links on this site. We only feature cards we believe are useful, and editorial decisions are made independently. See our methodology for how we evaluate cards.
The honest math (family of 4, 5 nights)
200,000
points total · cash equivalent $2,850 · 1.43¢ per point realized
Flights
100,000 pts
Southwest Rapid Rewards · 25,000/traveler RT
Hotel
100,000 pts
World of Hyatt · Hyatt Regency Mission Bay Spa & Marina (Cat 5)
The two cards to earn for this trip
Hyatt Regency Mission Bay is a high-value Cat 5 family stay (private beach, pool complex). Sapphire Preferred fuels it via Hyatt transfers; the World of Hyatt card stacks direct Hyatt earning plus a Cat 1-4 free-night cert that works at any San Diego Hyatt Place.
Apply for Chase Sapphire Preferred
Pair with it
World of Hyatt Credit Card
World of Hyatt
- Annual fee
- $95
FAQ
How many points does a family of 4 actually need for San Diego?
200,000 points total covers a family of 4 with 5 hotel nights at saver / off-peak pricing — 100,000 for flights (Southwest Rapid Rewards at 25,000/traveler round-trip) and 100,000 for the hotel (World of Hyatt at 20,000/night). Cash equivalent ≈ $2,850, which works out to about 1.43¢ per point.
Why these two cards specifically?
Hyatt Regency Mission Bay is a high-value Cat 5 family stay (private beach, pool complex). Sapphire Preferred fuels it via Hyatt transfers; the World of Hyatt card stacks direct Hyatt earning plus a Cat 1-4 free-night cert that works at any San Diego Hyatt Place.
What if I already have one of these cards?
If you already have one, look at whether you've actually earned that card's welcome bonus and the second-card pick still makes sense on its own. If both are already in your wallet, run the San Diego math in the Family Trip Calculator with your actual scenario — you may already be close to the point total without a new application.
Should I apply for both at once?
Generally no — space applications 60–90 days apart so each welcome bonus has a clean spend window and neither pulls double-counts against Chase's 5/24. The Family Trip Calculator's earning math assumes one welcome bonus at a time.