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Tonight Joanna and I will be flying out of London Heathrow for 11 nights on a trip that Joanna knows very little about. She has no idea where were flying to or if we’re visiting one location or more but she does know that we’ll be going somewhere warm – a girl needs to know what to pack! I did something similar for Joanna last year as a “thank you” for putting up with the hours I work and the numerous trips I take throughout the year…but this year I think I’ve done better.
Last year Joanna and I flew from London to Las Vegas in British Airways First Class, stayed at Aria in Las Vegas, flew Virgin America’s First Class to San Francisco, stayed at the Grand Hyatt just north of Union Square before we flew back to London in British Airway’s A380 First Class cabin.
As fun as all that was, that trip was booked almost entirely with cash as I took advantage of some amazing First Class fares between the UK and the US and the “fourth night free” benefit that comes with my Citi Prestige credit card….this year things are different.
Last year Joanna flew in BA First Class for her mystery trip – will this years carrier(s) be better?
This year any flights we take have been booked with miles and any hotel we stay at will have been paid for with points….so this is as genuine a “miles & points trip” as you can get.
Sure, there have been surcharges to pay along the way so this isn’t a cashless itinerary by any means….but I’m still quite please with what I have managed to put together.
Right now this blog is going out before the trip starts so I can’t share any details just yet (believe it or not Joanna occasionally reads what I write!)…but I’ll be using Instagram to post updates of what we’re doing and, as reality dictates that Joanna has to be told what we’re doing (e.g. when we check in), I’ll update the blog too.
What I Can Tell You
Different people see travel in different ways but, as I believe my trip starts from the moment I set foot in an airport, the nature of the lounge(s) we visit and the nature of the airline(s) we fly play as big a part in my planning as the choice of destination and the choice of accommodation at our destination. That will be very apparent as Joanna finds out what this trip entails (at least I hope it will be!)
As much as would have liked to take Joanna to Sydney this isn’t where we’re flying 🙂
I’ll be writing a full “introduction” to this trip in due course where, like in my recent “Tokyo Trip – Introduction” post, I’ll be breaking down how many miles and points I used, how much cash I had to part with and how I went about planning and booking any flights or hotel stays.
The idea behind a post like that is to show what’s possible when using miles & points and to show that, if you put a little bit of thought and effort into your plans and have just a little bit of flexibility with your travel dates, you can book some really fun trips.
When I publish the introduction to this trip you’ll see that I didn’t use a colossal number of miles & points and I didn’t have all that much flexibility in the dates we could fly….so it’s not like I had a big advantage over others who may with to replicate the itinerary. This really is a trip that a lot of TFM readers should be able to put together.
One interesting aspect that will come out of the trip report (well…I think it’s interesting!) is that I deliberately chose not to book a particular hotel despite the rather large amount of hype that surrounds it (at least in certain quarters). I love taking Joanna to fantastic places on miles & points and I love to be able to have us stay at hotels/resorts that most would agree are amazing (like the InterContinental Bora Bora at which we stayed last year)…but I also don’t believe in being wasteful with points.
The InterContinental Bora Bora Thalasso Spa
I do a lot of research into the various places I choose to book so just because a few people think a property is amazing is no guarantee that I will agree with them and book. My miles and points balances are healthy but not large enough to allow me to be wasteful…and with quite a few trips coming up over the next 12 months (with Joanna and mini-Joanna) I’m very aware of the need to be sensible without being scrooge-like 🙂
Overall I’m pretty happy with the bookings I’ve made for this trip as I’m pretty sure Joanna will have a fantastic time. But, At the same time, I haven’t gone overboard and been wasteful for no good reason so we’re still well set to use yet more miles and points when mini-Joanna is traveling with us later in the year.
Once the full details of this trip are out I’ll be interested to hear what you guys think – let me know!
UPDATE: Joanna now knows that we’re  flying to Tokyo, a destination that has been at the top of her “must visit” list for quite a while 🙂
I hate to throw cold water on your trip, but you realize that travel insurance will not cover a pregnant person for any obstetrical problems out of country. Pleae be careful and be prepared to pony up a lot of cash if your wife has problems although I hope that all goes well.
Mini-joanna is a teenager 🙂