How to plan a road trip for under $500

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Happy road-tripping Wednesday, friends!

We are officially in the “dog days of summer,” the hottest, muggiest, sweatiest part of the summer.

You know, those days when it’s so hot outside that the AC gets cranked to the max inside, so now you need a sweatshirt while indoors.

But as soon as you go outside, you’re sweating to death, so suddenly you need to layer your clothes in July. 🤦‍♀️

So, let’s venture somewhere else and daydream about the only thing better than cooler weather... free travel.

Here’s where we’re headed this week:

• Route Report: National Park Road Trip on a Budget

• Check-In: A Transfer Bonus and Hotel Credit Stack

• Roadside Assist: Discounted Car Rentals Trick

• Pit Stop Poll: Driving the Points Home

Let’s get to it!

Route Report: National Park Road Trip on a Budget

Road trips are often exalted as the cheaper way to travel... until all of a sudden, they aren’t.

Because in a points and miles world, where you can get award flights and hotel nights, road trips suddenly seem expensive.

So, this week, I wanted to show you how points can make your road trip considerably cheaper... in fact, I want to do it for less than $500.

The offer that makes it possible

Enter our favorite travel card: the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.

It’s currently rocking a limited time offer of 100,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 in the first three months after account opening. 

And thanks to its refresh earlier this year, it’s now what I would personally consider the #1 card for road trippers.

So, let’s head to the airport and see why this card tops my list.

Getting there: wheels up

We’re headed to the most visited national park in the United States, the one and only Great Smoky Mountains National Park, in Tennessee.

If you don’t live in or near “The Volunteer State,” this route requires a flight.

Thankfully, Knoxville is served by all the major U.S. domestic airlines, meaning you have options.

Southwest has made some major changes this year, but they’re still my choice for highly discounted award flights.

Take this flight from Dallas (DAL) to Knoxville (TYS) for just 7,000 points – 10,000 points if you want to pick your seat at booking – that price is hard to beat.

Grab your road trip buddy and book round-trip flights for just 28,000 – 40,000 points for two and just $22.40 in taxes and fees.

Once you land in Knoxville, it’s time to pick up the rental car – we'll get to how to save money on that down below.

Boots on the ground

After grabbing the car, we’re headed towards the town of Gatlinburg, one of the gateways into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park -- just over an hour from the Knoxville airport.

Gatlinburg is the quintessential mountain town with miles of hiking trails at your front door.

Plus, it’s got a walkable downtown area with dining options and attractions for the whole family – including an aerial tram and the longest footbridge in the country.

You could also opt to stay just fifteen minutes away in Pigeon Forge for proximity to Dollywood, amusement parks, and water parks.

There’s also the Titanic Museum Attraction. It’s only, ya know...hundreds of miles from an actual ocean... but you can see actual artifacts from the real Titanic, get a real-life feel for how cold the water would’ve been, and explore interactive exhibits.

But the most budget-friendly approach to this trip is the Great Smoky Mountains National Park itself, one of the biggest national parks to not charge an admission fee. You just need to pay the price of a parking tag ($5 a day or $15 weekly).

And Great Smoky Mountains National Park is one of the most drivable national parks, with well over 350 miles of roadways – a prime road-tripping destination.

Here are some key spots to hit:

• Newfound Gap Road (US-441): connects the Tennessee half of the park with North Carolina. It can technically be driven straight through in about an hour, but with scenic overlooks, hiking trailheads, and the option to detour to Clingman’s Dome – the highest point in TN — I'd suggest budgeting a few hours for this 33-mile one-way route.

• Cades Cove Loop: an exceptionally popular 11-mile route that offers wildlife sightings and mountain vistas, though its popularity can often lead to some congestion (and hours added) to the drive.

• Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail: a 5.5-mile auto-touring loop that takes drivers past trailheads leading to waterfalls and lush forest landscapes – perfect for spotting black bears.

• Grotto Falls: the only waterfall you can walk behind in The Smokies. Or plan a trip to other popular swimming holes like The Sinks (beware: strong currents that can be deadly) or Midnight Hole for a quieter dip.

• Laurel Falls: one of the most popular sites in the park, though the trail to the fall has been closed since January 2025 for rehabilitation and should open later this year, so plan accordingly.

Whether you’re driving or hiking, Great Smoky Mountains National Park has something for everyone – and adds minimal expenses to your road trip.

Check-In: A Transfer Bonus and Hotel Credit Stack

After the Southwest award flights, you’d have about 77,000 Ultimate Rewards points left to use on this trip.

Transfer bonuses are a great way to stretch those points even further, and currently Ultimate Rewards is offering a 100% transfer bonus to IHG through the end of July. 

So, looking at these IHG properties in Gatlinburg priced at 24,000 – 27,000 points a night, with the transfer bonus, they would cost just 12,000 – 13,500 points a night.

Or this new property in Pigeon Forge that’s available for just 12,000 points a night — with the transfer bonus, that would be just 6,000 points a night.

At that rate, 3 nights would run just 18,000 points, which is a deal that’s hard to beat.

Sometimes, though, IHG will show award night availability for some nights of the week but not others – thankfully, there’s a quick fix for that.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card also comes with a $100 hotel credit that can be used in the Chase Travel^SM portal.

This same hotel is available for just $93 a night in the travel portal, so this could be an easy opportunity to get another free night out of this card while rounding out the nights you need for your trip.

With our 105,000 Ultimate Rewards (UR) points (our 100,000 point welcome offer + the minimum 5,000 points we’d earn after hitting the 5,000 minimum spend) we still have 59,000 UR points left. 

From here you have a few options:

• Option #1: Add more nights in Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg

• Option #2: Book two nights at Under Canvas Great Smoky Mountains: this nice glamping property is just 10 miles away, and you could book it for 16,500 Ultimate Rewards points (22,000 UR points a night if you’re using the Sapphire Preferred, since your UR points transfer to Hyatt at a 4:3 ratio). Don’t forget about the Under Canvas promo we talked about two weeks ago, which could earn you 15% points back on this booking.

• Option #3: Head a few hours west to Nashville for a couple nights 🤠: Hyatt has multiple properties to choose from with starting award rates ranging from 15,000 – 20,000 points a night.

Bottom Line

The beauty of transferable points is that you have options and aren’t locked into a specific hotel loyalty program. You can instead use the program that most benefits you for the trip you’re looking to book and/or take advantage of different transfer bonuses or promos.

Roadside Assist: Discounted Car Rentals Trick

Now, earlier I mentioned how to save on rental cars – a feat that can be difficult for sure.

Using points on rental cars is usually either not a great use of your hard-earned points or just difficult to navigate.

If you happen to have the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, paying with the card can be the most straightforward way to save on rentals, since it would trigger the $300 annual travel credit (if you haven’t used it yet – also note that you wouldn’t earn points on this purchase since it’s being covered by the travel credit).

But if we take credit cards out of the picture, there is one other hero that comes into play... the one and only Costco Travel.

Because the best points and miles trips are usually a combo of cash and points bookings.

If you have a Costco membership, you have access to Costco Travel. They offer deep discounts on travel, including rental cars.

You can look at rates without having a membership but will need one to book.

I found this mid-sized SUV for less than $380 for a week, with pickup and drop-off in Knoxville, keeping us under our $500 budget.

And it includes unlimited mileage and an additional driver for no extra cost, perks that would typically cost extra when renting at the counter at the airport. 

And if you pay for your rental car with the Preferred, you’ll be covered by the card’s primary rental car insurance – meaning you can waive that expense at the counter and save even more money. 

Picking up and dropping off at Knoxville airport helps us keep costs down, but does add extra drive time to our trip.

Break up the extra driving with stops at Ozone Falls, a natural area with a 110-foot waterfall — and filming location for the 2016 Jungle Book remake — or Cumberland Mountain State Park, both a minimal detour off I-40.

Wrapping it all up

By earning the limited-time elevated welcome offer on our favorite travel card, you could redeem those points for a weeklong road trip, including flights to get there.

And while you’re paying cash for the rental car, you can save by using the rental car insurance that comes with your card — and renting through Costco Travel. 

Totaling it up, we spent:

• 28,000 points on round-trip flights for two

• 18,000 points for 3 nights in Pigeon Forge

• $100 travel credit (additional night in Pigeon Forge)

• 20,000 - 45,000 points for additional hotel nights (optional)

• $22.40 award flight taxes and fees

• $15 for a parking pass to the park

• $379.05 for a week-long rental car

In fact, our total came out to just $417.40 for our flights, rental car, accommodations, and sightseeing in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. 

Add in expenses for gas and EV charging, along with dining — which this card earns 3x points on — and it’s clear that the Sapphire Preferred was practically designed with road trippers in mind.

Pit Stop Poll: Driving the Points Home

Points and miles can make a road trip budget go a lot further — quite literally — opening up more roads to travel and sights to see.

Til next week, y’all!

Katie Begnoche
Writer, Daily Drop
29.7604° N , 95.3698° W

With contributions from Sam Anthony.

Opinions expressed here are 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.