My mom turned 80 years old yesterday. My sister, who also lives in another state from my mom, organized a card shower so that my mom could receive snail mail greetings from her old friends from various stages of her life. I made sure that my family sent her a gift she would enjoy that would arrive on her actual birthday. I was happy that my mom would have a memorable milestone birthday.
Then about two weeks ago, I realized that my mom’s only family who lives in the same city would be out-of-town on her actual birthday. She wouldn’t have anyone there to celebrate with her. And I wasn’t ok with my mom being alone on her 80th birthday.
I hadn’t planned on flying to Denver to see my mom this month because my kids and I are going to see her in about 2 months. My kids just finished spring break, and it wasn’t the best time for me to travel. Plus, I didn’t realize in advance that she would be alone for the big day.
Sometimes, I’ve gotten cheap flights to Denver without much notice. However, to make this work with my husband’s work schedule, I had to fly out on the night before my mom’s birthday and fly back the night of her birthday. I had no flexibility. And, that means tickets were expensive. Due to another personal situation, this wasn’t the best time for us to be shelling out cash for an expensive last-minute ticket.
I hemmed and hawed and what to do. My husband insisted I should go. How often does a parent turn 80? Once. And how many more birthdays are guaranteed? None.
Piecing Together My Flight to Denver
Flights to Denver were pricey because it’s prime ski season and spring break for much of the Denver metro area. Cash prices were $450-$500+ for the times and dates I needed. That was painful to see, considering I’ve gotten flights for around $100 round-trip in the past.
But I figured if I could fly my family to Hawaii, twice, and somehow get us all to Australia and NZ using miles and points, then surely I could piece together one flight to Denver.
For the flight to Denver, Southwest was my cheapest option. I had a $50 Southwest gift card I received as a gift. I used the gift card and charged the remainder to my Capital One Venture Rewards card (see Hot Deals). The reward points on my card will just cover the rest of my ticket, so I can erase the cost from my credit card statement.
For the return flight to Dallas, United was the cheapest option. I was able to book the flight through the Chase travel portal and pay for it using points from my husband’s CSR card.
Obviously, it helped that I just needed to scrape up enough points to cover one person’s ticket instead of tickets for my entire family.
Using Miles and Points When It Matters the Most
I debated about whether to even mention this miles and points redemption on the blog. A last-minute ticket to Denver is not glamorous like a trip to the Maldives or Bora Bora. There’s nothing fancy about the coach seats or the incredible lodging waiting for me there (yes, I spent the night in the old folks home!).
But this is real life. I have many more years (hopefully!) ahead of me when I can travel with my entire family to see the world. Realistically, I know I won’t have many more years with my mom. And she is worth the trip.
Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
This article is a prime example of why your website has become my favorite! Real life experiences, not every flight in 1st class and to some far away luxury expensive place. I quite enjoyed the story, thank you for posting it!
I may have some entertaining stories to tell from an upcoming trip. I am taking my 84 year old mom to Playa del Carmen and Cancun. I am fairly new to the game, and it has helped me enjoy a trip to the Caribbean for the last 3 winters. I can tell mom would love to have gone with my husband and myself on these trips. I have been thinking I better plan a trip with her soon or it will be too late. She has several health issues, and gets out of breath quickly, so I thought an all-inclusive would be best to minimize her walking. We plan to just relax by the beach or pool. I am planning one snorkel trip and she will go along to enjoy the boat ride while I snorkel. I booked the trip using Wyndham points, Citi Thank you points, and Southwest points. It should be quite the adventure!
Which reminds me, I wanted to ask if you have ever bought any health insurance for your parents for travel. I have tried to find something and at age 84 about all I can find is medical evacuation & return of remains. I checked squaremouth and insure my trip and various sites. I have not found many choices.
Thank you again for the wonderful real life stories!
@Clyn6 How wonderful that you are taking your mom on a trip to Mexico! I hope it goes well, and I’d love to hear your tips and stories. My travel agent found a trip insurance plan for my mom here: https://www.travelinsured.com/ It was more expensive than the rest of us, but we thought it was necessary.
Thank you very much! I will check that out now. : ) I am thinking my stories might be closer to a “I love Lucy movie”, might be some good laughs, but we shall see. She keeps saying she is worried she will ruin my vacation. And my reply to her is the only thing that would ruin it is if she falls down and get seriously injured. I am hoping we will get some good memories from the trip. : )
“I debated about whether to even mention this miles and points redemption on the blog. A last-minute ticket to Denver is not glamorous like a trip to the Maldives or Bora Bora.”
That you were able to take a last minute trip on a flight that costs 5X more than it normally does, during a season in life where money may be tight, to visit a parent in her later years thanks to your ingenuity with CC points, is in itself glamorous. I’m glad you were able to pull this off.
Side note… I’ve never heard of a card shower before… that’s a very thoughtful idea!
@projectx I highly recommend a card shower for an elderly parent’s birthday. My mom loves getting mail and mostly receives bills and junk mail, so these cards were a real treat.
Best use of miles in my opinion! Happy Birthday to your Mom!
Thanks, Michelle!