Allianz Stadium (Twickenham) has become another stop on my rugby travel calendar, following earlier trips to international fixtures around the world.
I’m a bit of a rugby fan. Earlier this summer I spent a Saturday at Twickenham for Wales vs the Barbarians, one of those fixtures that’s simply enjoyable regardless of who you support. The Barbarians have always attracted players and fans from all over the rugby world, making for an atmosphere that’s quite different from a typical international.
Rugby weekends often start long before kickoff. Twickenham station was already filling as supporters arrived for Wales vs the Barbarians.
September brings a very different proposition. South Africa vs New Zealand hardly needs much introduction, and staging one of rugby’s great rivalries in Baltimore is enough of a novelty to justify a long weekend around it. These matches have become a useful way of growing the game in the U.S., while remaining full internationals that both sides genuinely want to win.
Supporters arriving at Allianz Stadium (Twickenham) for Wales facing the Barbarians, one of rugby’s most distinctive fixtures.
When I published my guide to accommodation for Springboks vs All Blacks in Baltimore, most of it was still theoretical. I’d compared hotels, looked at award prices and cash rates, and decided where I thought I’d stay if I made the trip.The theory lasted exactly one day.
The following day I booked the Holiday Inn Express Baltimore at the Stadiums using a 40,000-point IHG free night certificate. In the original article I’d written:
If you want the shortest “get me home after the match” path, this is the spirit of the weekend.
Looking back, I still think it was the right call. The certificate was due to expire not long after the match, and although it cost slightly more than the 38,000-point redemption I’d originally compared, the economics still worked. At a cash rate of around $225, redeeming a 40K certificate still produced well over my 0.5¢ per point valuation.
Holiday Inn Express properties aren’t glamorous, but they’re often exactly what event weekends call for: practical locations and a comfortable night’s sleep. (Image from another Holiday Inn Express stay.)
With the Saturday night settled, I didn’t touch the trip again for months. Since then the rest of the trip has come together one booking at a time, each driven by a different opportunity.
The Washington DC Decision
The next piece wasn’t driven by rugby at all. I had an American Express Fine Hotels + Resorts credit that I had decided I’d like to put to work on this trip. Rather than spending another night in Baltimore, I booked the Park Hyatt Washington DC for Thursday.
On paper it’s an expensive hotel for a single night, in a different category to the stadium-convenience hotel for Saturday night. In practice the annual FHR credit, breakfast, property credit and Hyatt points earning change the equation enough that it became the obvious place to start the weekend.
Blue Duck Tavern is a destination restaurant in its own right, so both the $100 F&B credit for dinner, and the free breakfast will be enjoyed in a venue I’m interested in experiencing.
The Marriott Opportunity
With DC as the starting point, I needed somewhere for Friday night.
I ended up booking the Moxy Washington DC Downtown. Once again, the decision wasn’t just about room rate. Earlier this year I’d spent about $240 at the Moxy Wynwood in Miami, leaving me short of completing an Amex Offer that paid a $150 statement credit after $375 of Marriott spend.
My earlier stay at Moxy Miami Wynwood completed most of the spending needed for an Amex Offer, making the later Washington DC booking far more attractive.
Prepaying the ~$165 Moxy in Washington DC pushed me over the threshold a week or so before the Amex offer would expire. A few days later the $150 credit posted. That transformed what looked like a regular one-night stay into one of the cheapest nights of the trip.
One More Opportunity
While Blue Duck Tavern covers my hotel dining, The Dabney has been on my radar for some time. It’s one of DC’s most highly regarded restaurants and conveniently within walking distance of the Moxy. If reservations cooperate, it should also provide a good opportunity to use both my Q3 Amex Platinum and 2H Gold Resy dining credits.
One reason the Moxy worked so well was its location. The Dabney is about a nine-minute walk away, making it easy to combine the stay with one of DC’s best restaurants.
The Flights
One decision still hasn’t been made. At the time of writing, American Airlines has been showing return awards from Washington DC to London for 21,000 AAdvantage miles plus $5.60 per person. Cash fares have also appeared around the $299 mark without checked baggage.
There’s no urgency yet. Unlike expiring hotel credits or free night certificates, flights are the one part of the weekend where waiting may produce a better outcome.
Looking Back
The Holiday Inn Express stayed exactly where it was from the beginning. Everything else formed around it. As is often the case, the result isn’t a weekend optimized around one loyalty program. It’s a trip assembled from opportunities, across our broader portfolio of hotel and credit card programs, that happened to appear at different times:
Decision | Why it won |
|---|---|
Holiday Inn Express Baltimore Stadium | 40K IHG free night certificate and the shortest walk after the match |
Park Hyatt Washington DC | Expiring FHR credit plus breakfast and property credit |
Moxy Washington DC Downtown | Completed a Marriott Amex Offer worth $150 |
Return flight | Still open while award space develops |
I’ll revisit all of this after the trip to see whether the theory held up in practice. For now, the planning itself has been an interesting reminder that the “best” itinerary often isn’t designed in a single sitting. It’s assembled over time, as different opportunities present themselves. That’s often how my best trips come together.