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As Nancy said in her recent post, the pandemic has caused a domino effect on most folks’ travel plans. Many of us are stuck with vouchers and miles that are burning a hole in the proverbial pockets. We still don’t know when it will be safe to travel again, but the clues are emerging.
I stand by my earlier prediction that things should start going back to normal by late summer. Well, the new normal, that is. Now I’m not talking about international travel. That’s very much up in the air. But I do believe that domestic travel should start recovering in a few months.
Dreaming of Hawaii
That’s why I was seriously tempted to book a family trip to Hawaii at the end of July, right before the kids are set to go back to school. Obviously, I would be careful not to make any non-refundable reservations. At the moment, Hawaii requires a 14-day quarantine for visitors. I don’t have any inside info, but my guess is that it will be lifted at the end of May or June, assuming things are heading in the right direction.
I have been wanting to take my family to Hawaii for a long time, and things just never lined up. Partially, it’s due to long distance from Florida, plus the fact that I’m often busy planning trips to Europe in order to visit my family. My husband and I have been to Hawaii twice pre-kids, and loved it. That’s why I couldn’t resist adding a stopover in Oahu on my ill-fated plan to visit Japan.
I figured if the virus comes back in the fall (and it most likely will), summer will provide a short window of opportunity.
Health concerns
I’m a relatively healthy person. I did have a serious case of pneumonia as a child, which caused some scarring on my lungs. But my understanding is that it’s pretty minor. I don’t have asthma or any other breathing concerns, and I don’t get sick often.
My husband is a different story. He was diagnosed with diabetes recently and has a high cholesterol. In addition, he has an autoimmune disorder. He is literally tired all the time. I always thought it’s a coincidence, but he tends to get sick on many of our trips. In short, if he caught this virus, he could die. For realz.
All of this makes me leery of planning any long-haul flights until there is at least an established treatment in the pipeline. I do believe it will happen relatively soon. Of course, the best way not to die from the virus is not to catch it in the first place. And going through crowded airports and being stuck on the plane for hours certainly doesn’t help.
Also, I have serious concerns about the accuracy of tests in Florida. My brother-in-law got sick recently. Since he works in healthcare, we were quite worried. He had dry cough, fever, and the doctors noticed “crushed glass” pattern in his lungs via CT scan (indicative of Covid-19). Guess what? The test came back negative.
A similar thing happened to my cousin-in-law. She has been very sick with classic symptoms of the virus for several weeks now, yet the test was negative. The doctor said it’s most likely Covid-19, and that many of these tests give a false negative result. According to her, around 30% of tests are defective.
Sure, these are anecdotal stories, and perhaps my relatives don’t have the virus after all. Still, unless I can trust that testing in US is 99% accurate and distributed on a mass-scale, I’m not comfortable with travel that requires an airplane.
So, my plan for now is to do short local trips close to our house. If the situation in Florida improves, I will probably redeem points on stays in local Hyatt and Hilton resorts. I’m sure my kids will approve. Local travel is the name of the game for the foreseeable future.
Hawaii can wait. The earliest I plan to step on an airplane (with my husband) is April of 2021. I’m hoping to see cherry blossoms in DC at last.
Europe and Japan in 2021?
I’m an optimist by nature, and am willing to gamble on the fact that things will improve by summer of 2021. It may not happen, but that’s the nature of the game. Plus, I’m eager to use up some mileage currencies before the respective airlines potentially go bankrupt. Obviously, I will pull the plug if things deteriorate again.
I have 100k Cathay Pacific miles that I’m eager to put to good use. If everything goes right, I will turn them into 4 one-way economy tickets on American Airlines for a flight from Orlando to Amsterdam. It will include a connection in Philadelphia, but the price via Asia Miles should still be 27k miles per person. I would have to call Asia Miles center because there is no way to do it online. I’ll just need to transfer 8k MR points first in order to top up the account.
Speaking of, I’ve just upgraded my Amex Everyday card to Everyday Preferred. There was an offer to upgrade and get 25k MR points after spending $2k in 3 months. Done! Amex Everyday Preferred is an excellent keeper card IMO. You can earn 4.5 MR points on groceries, 3 points on gas, and 1.5 points on everything else, as long as you make 30 purchases during each billing period. There is an annual fee of $95, but this is one card I will most likely renew. My personal referral link if you choose to apply.
Anyway, that’s my plan for June of 2021. The goal is to meet my Belarus family in Zakopane, Poland and spend a week together. I will probably use Avianca miles for flight from Frankfurt to Orlando. I’m quite eager to get rid of Avianca miles stash, a bi-product of canceling my in-laws’ tickets to Japan.
I don’t feel bad hoarding AA or United miles because I seriously doubt the airlines will be allowed to fail by US government. It’s a different story with currencies like Lifemiles and Asia Miles. I don’t have a lot of confidence that they will be around in a year or two. That’s why I would like to burn them first before touching other, more valuable/stable currencies.
As far as Japan goes, I’m tempted to give it a go in November of 2021, during Thanksgiving holidays. It would be a relatively short trip, though I would be willing to take the kids out of school for a few days. At first, I figured the end of November in Japan would be too cold. But the more I did research, the more I discovered that it’s a nice time of the year in the region. Apparently, the leaves change, and unlike summertime, it’s possible to see mount Fuji. Now I actually want to go in November. If someone has been to Japan during that time, please chime in.
I will probably burn AA miles and Avios for flights to/from Japan, and fill in the gaps with Alaska and Delta miles for domestic flights. It’s possible my in-laws will join us, so I would need to cover 6 tickets.
Bottom line
Like many of you, I’m eager to go somewhere exotic and faraway. Soon! Costa Rica and Hawaii are currently calling my name. But as a responsible adult, I have to recognize that it’s not all about me. There is also my husband, whose health is unfortunately deteriorating, especially for someone who he is only 40 years old. Hopefully, with some medications we can get things under control. In the meantime, I simply can’t take any unnecessary risks with this new virus.
But there is always next year and many new places to explore.
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Author: Leana
Leana is the founder of Miles For Family. She enjoys beach vacations and visiting her family in Europe. Originally from Belarus, Leana resides in central Florida with her husband and two children.
Lol, it seems when they hand out keyboards to bloggers and commentators – they accept brains and logic as payment.
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I’m flying in the US, now, today… every single week. Flying state to state, visiting cities and towns and parks all over.
It’s amazing, some of my favorite travel in my life (will cross 100+ countries visited next year). It’s quiet, peaceful and wonderful.
I’m heading international again in June, then July, then August through June 2021.
Will airlines cancel some things? Probably. Who cares, I’m flexible and go with the flow.
I can’t believe the groupthink present here, it’s just… I’m in awe of what the masses decided to do to themselves. It’s… unprecedented.
Anyway, no, some of us are traveling right NOW. And it’s amaaazzzzing.
Anyone who isn’t traveling right now has probably left their brain in baggage claim.
I’m getting ready for the “Big take off”. The last few months at work to gather cash and finalize plans and then I’m out there for a minimum of 1 year. I’m sorry to hear Leana’s story but it is a curse for some, blessing for others. Traveling this year will be epic. The only dent is the 800k AA miles I lost due to shutdown.
@AlwaysFlying Sorry you lost such a huge stash of AA miles! I hope you will have an epic adventure this year. Things should settle down in a few months, just in time for your big takeoff.
@George I understand where you are coming from, I really do. So, I hope what I’m about to say doesn’t come across as preachy.
There are a couple of issues with your line of thinking. First, most states currently have “stay at home” order. As law abiding citizen, I feel it’s my duty to comply with government mandates to an extent possible. Since I don’t have to travel, this isn’t a burden per se. Now, if I had a sick relative in another state, it would be a different story. But then it would be considered essential travel.
Imagine if everyone felt the way you do? Many small communities wouldn’t stand a chance. There is a reason Hawaii has implemented 14-day quarantine for visitors. Kauai, for example, has 7 ventilators on the entire island. Even a small influx of virus-stricken tourists would stress the local community’s medical Resources beyond belief.
I realize it’s not one-size-fits-all kind of thing, and many government’s decisions simply don’t make sense. For example, in Florida, all state parks are currently closed, including our favorite beach in Gasparilla island. It got maybe 10 people on a weekend, and it was quite easy to stay away from others. Nevertheless, I understand why it had to be a blanket policy for the whole state. I don’t like it, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles.
In addition, since it’s a new virus, there is zero resistance to it at the moment. Sure, most get over it, but many don’t. I don’t think it’s an overreaction to try to be careful. Just look at NYC! When things settle down (as I’m sure they will), I won’t fault anyone for traveling again. This isn’t just about our desires as individuals, though. Part of the reason I vaccinate my kids is so others are protected. I respect anti-vaxxers’ right not to, but I don’t agree with it.
Obviously, it’s your life, and I hope you stay healthy.
@George, I’m fascinated by the fact that you’re posting these same screeds on every single Boarding Area blog. You do realize that Miles for Family is a blog for travel with families, right? Families who might be leery about exposing their children to a deadly pathogen? It’s great that you’re “flexible and go with the flow,” but perhaps tailor your message to your audience, rather than simply spouting off about how you’re the only one left with access to true knowledge and everyone else has “has probably left their brain in baggage claim.”
Actually while I have you, here’s a question: what exactly are you doing on all this travel? I suppose if you’re an avid solo hiker, this could be a dream come true. But I and most people travel to visit museums, meet locals, see shows, eat out, enjoy attractions, etc. If you’re not an avid solo hiker … and it’s just that your idea of a dream trip is a town devoid of people … I mean, that’s totally fine. It’s a free country. But as you post comment after comment on every available Boarding Area blog, I’d urge you to acknowledge that your travel habits and patterns are exceptionally unusual.
In other words, it’s not that we’re all delusional, or uninformed, or unintelligent. It’s that unlike yourself, we believe epidemiology is a real thing, and we don’t want to see millions die unnecessarily.
He’s a troll folks. It’s better when we don’t feed them.
I guess you’re right. Mostly I was troubled by the fact that his posts are all over the place. Leana’s response was so gracious that I felt compelled to post something a little sterner. I’ll ignore him from here on out though.
(Someone on another blog noted that his travel patterns are so incomprehensible—visiting multiple random small towns per week?—that he may also be a Russian plant. Sigh. Welcome to 2020.)
@Eric Appreciate you saying my response was gracious! Not something I hear too often on the blog, as some commenters have pushed my buttons on occasion. 🙂 Online world is a crazy place, for sure. Doesn’t pay to take anything personally.
I’m not leaving the country until this is settled. Either through a vaccine, or maybe it’s more widespread and less deadly than we thought, or there’s effective treatments, etc. Don’t get me wrong, the US botched its response big time; this isn’t a country pride issue. What I don’t want to have happen is be forced to quarantine for 14 days arriving in another country, or coming back, or have a hard time trying to get home.
I’m considering a Colorado trip later this summer and that’s assuming staying at hotels doesn’t create an elevated risk. But I’m not comfortable with flying yet and that would require a 1,300 mile drive. I doubt I’ll be willing to do that. So for now… maybe a couple local camping trips? Man, I’m getting desperate.
@Projectx I know what you mean by desperately wanting to go somewhere! Who knows, maybe your trip to Colorado will work out after all. If it wasn’t for my husband’s health issues, we would probably be going to Hawaii. Or at least hoping to go.
I have a feeling the virus is far more widespread than we all realize. That’s good and bad. Good because the true mortality rate is probably much lower that officially reported, likely less than 1%. But it’s also bad because nowhere is truly safe. I certainly am not willing to roll the dice with no approved treatments at the moment.
I wanted to maybe book something for later in the year, but now they are saying it could come back with a vengeance in the fall. Everything is uncertain. 🙁.
@Jennifer Nobody really knows at this point, though my money is on this virus being with us for the foreseeable future. Sadly. I hope I’m wrong.
Perhaps book a trip where everything is refundable or can be cancelled at a low cost? Avios, Southwest and most hotel points are great for that.
From everything I’ve read, the first 3 weeks of November seem to be the ideal time to visit Japan. Tokyo is at the same latitude as Oklahoma City. Crowds should be lighter than in the spring, as well.
@Michael That’s what I’m hoping for, though I know weather can be unpredictable. Fingers crossed, there is a vaccine on the market by then.
The referral link to a card that requires 30 purchases per cycle seems ridiculous at a time we are being asked to go out as infrequently as possible. I use to buy lunch etc many days. Now I have one transaction a week. That’s…not thirty a month. Hopefully no one is getting coffee every day!
@Emily I agree, the requirement to make 30 purchases per month is a nuisance. However, in my opinion, it’s hardly a dealbreaker. I actually plan to buy a bunch of $1-2 Amazon gift cards online, so no need to go out. I absolutely believe it’s a great product, though certainly not for everyone.
@Emily P.S. I meant reloading my Amazon account, not physical gift cards.
I think only short local trips are the only possibility, and even that is iffy. There’s just no way we can ease up until there’s a vaccine, imo. I’m sorry to hear your husband is high-risk. That makes it harder.
Personally, I’m not getting on a plane again until after I’ve had my shot and the necessary time has elapsed. And I’m probably not going anywhere locally, either. It’s just not worth it — getting myself/family sick and the possibility of spreading it to others.
Kacie, I hear you! I would only consider going anywhere locally when the virus is officially contained. Obviously, official and “real life” are two different things, but I figure you can never eliminate the risk 100%. I will also avoid South Florida, which is a hotspot in the state. We don’t normally vacation in Miami area anyway, so that’s an easy one.
I am very concerned about my husband, and not just due to virus situation. He is way too young to have all these health issues. But it is what it is. It could always be worse, and at least there are medications that can help. He was joking that he is like an old guy, having to take five pills each day.