As soon as 2024 was upon us, Nancy didn’t waste any time sharing her miles and points-subsidized plans for the year. She is definitely the more organized half of Miles for Family team!
Me? My motto in life is “I’ll get to it when I get to it.” You don’t want to look in my closets at home (though no skeletons, I promise). Anyway, since January is almost over, I figured this is one post I need to get out of the way. Let’s get to it, shall we?
Our big summer trip to Europe
Our main goal is to meet my family, but as these things usually go, I ended up adding a few detours. For the most part they make logical sense, as we are spending a few nights in Belgium after our flight from New York to Brussels. Then at the end of the trip we will be staying three days in London. Since we have to fly from London to Tampa anyway, the additional cost won’t be horrendous. Plus, my son specifically asked me to visit London.
As far as hotels go, I hope to use my Choice points on two rooms in Comfort Inn Victoria as soon as the hotel is bookable. Unfortunately, Choice program only lets you redeem points 100 days before your stay. It’s a huge downside, for sure, but it is what it is. London hotels are expensive, and I would absolutely prefer to use my existing stash of points instead of cash.
As of right now, we are still not sure if we will end up meeting my family in Zakopane, Poland. It depends on whether all of my relatives can secure a Polish Visa. So far, we got two out of five taken care of, but we still have a few months left to explore various options. If all goes well, we will be spending a week in beautiful mountain town of Zakopane. I reserved two apartments on Booking.com and I’m hoping to get a boatload of Lufthansa miles as a result. It’s not a game changer, but the miles cost me nothing (deal is now dead).
My sister on the lake near Zakopane
I’m actually really hoping this plan works out, as I don’t feel comfortable asking my family to fly Belavia planes (with cannibalized parts) to Turkey. That’s our Plan B.
Trip to Peru with my husband
I’m really looking forward to this one. See all the details on how I booked award flights in this post When it comes to hotels, I actually ended up paying cash by booking on Expedia. I still have Gold status from a canceled credit card, and the rates on that website were considerably lower compared to other travel sites. In my case it made no sense to use points.
That being said, I’m waiting to see what Hyatt partnership with Mr and Mrs Smith platform will bring in a few months. There are some properties in Peru that look pretty good. The big question is what they will end up costing via Hyatt points.
Trip to Michigan with a detour to see the solar eclipse in Canada
On April 8th 2024 a total solar eclipse will cross North America, passing over Mexico, United States, and Canada. My SIL recently got married and moved to Michigan, and we were planning to visit her at some point anyway. So, why not kill two birds with one stone, right? We will have to take the kids out of school for two days but… I don’t care. My husband and I may not be alive for the next solar eclipse.
I used my existing stash of Southwest points for a flight from Tampa to Detroit. I also transferred some Capital One points to Virgin Red program in order to book a nonstop Delta flight from Detroit to Tampa. Fortunately, I did it before the devaluation, so we paid 8,500 points per person, a much better deal compared to Delta program itself.
My SIL is letting us borrow her SUV, so there won’t be any car rental expenses. My MIL did rent a small house on a lake for three nights and insisted that she pays for it herself, since I’m covering her flights, airport parking and gas.
Disney World plans
Last time we went to Disney, we spent a fortune. I was hoping it was our last trip there, but nope. My husband wanted to go back to Star Wars section, and the kids were also begging for it. Long story short, I bought a 3-day Florida resident special for $215+tax per person. It’s not a bad deal compared to normal price, but if you multiply it x4, we are talking close to a grand before we even step foot in the parks.
But as they say, you can’t put a price on memories. Or can you?
Anyway, the tickets are bought and there is no going back. I used IHG points and certificates on a three-night stay in Staybridge Suites in Kissimmee. I also burned four Hyatt certificates on a two-night stay in Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress resort (see my review). We will probably use up our third Disney day while staying there.
Beach getaways in Florida
I have a couple of stays booked using Wyndham points via Vacasa partnership. It’s cheap and cheerful, my kind of redemption. I go in with low expectations when it comes to Vacasa rentals, but we usually end up having fun.
Sometimes we even get a beautiful view
For $69 per night (the cost of annual fee on the old Wyndham card) it would be obnoxious to complain.
A free-ish Caribbean cruise on Carnival
This was not something I originally planned to do, but an opportunity presented itself and I’ve decided to take advantage of it. My kids have been on several Carnival cruises when they were little, but they don’t remember them. It’s not my favorite cruise line, but the price was low enough that I just couldn’t say No.
I didn’t use any points, and we plan to drive our own van since we live in Florida. It’s a surprise for kids, and I can’t wait to see their faces when they spot the cruise ship.
Final thoughts
This may sound crazy, but my original plan for 2024 was to travel less. Way less. Don’t get me wrong, I love it, maybe a little too much. But the truth is, all these “free” trips end up costing my family a lot of money in the end. But those are my plans, and I’m sticking to them. Go big or stay home.
Readers, please share your miles and points plans for 2024!
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.
@Boonie Totally agree! I always try to use the word “free” in quotes for that reason. In fact, I’m not even convinced that miles and points hobby is saving us money in the end. We just end up traveling more while staying at properties we normally would not be able to afford. But I enjoy travel and creating memories with my family. So it’s worth it to me. But everyone should look at their own priorities.
You definitely have to think about the spending money because you have to eat and possibly shop plus pay for other things. Something to consider when taking that “free” trip. If you budget for it than at least your prepared.
@Christian Thanks for sharing your plans! Always appreciate your insights.
I hope to visit Bali someday. It looks like a place I would absolutely love. Plus, it has some amazing (and affordable via points) hotels via Hyatt program.
As far as Hilton goes, I actually happen to like it a lot. The problem is, there isn’t any meaningful way to accumulate the points once you take advantage of all the sign-up bonuses. That’s the case with us, we’ve had them all by now. And buying points at half a penny is rarely worth it. However, my husband and I were recently approved for Surpass offer with no lifetime language. So, I’m hoping to redeem my stash on a Hilton resort in Florida for a stay in 2025. That’s why I have not mentioned it here since I’m focusing on 2024 only. I do think Aspire card is still a pretty good deal despite the increase in fee. We may end up converting our Surpass cards to Aspire if I come up with a good plan for renewal certificates. But I’ll have to crunch the numbers to see if the juice is worth the squeeze. Those annual fees add up, and I have other hotel certs I need to utilize as well. Plus, we’ve had several unexpected bills recently and it’s hard to justify over $1k in fees for two Aspire cards, even when factoring in all the associated perks. For someone with more wiggle room in the budget is does seem like a solid value proposition.
@Preeti Thanks for stopping by! Those are really cool plans. It’s funny, as a kid growing up in Soviet Union train travel was something I kind of dreaded. One exception was going to see my grandfather in Russia and taking a fancy train via Leningrad ((now St. Petersburg). I remember seeing fresh flowers in each compartment.
Travel by train really is special and something I’ve been wanting my kids to experience here in US. But the opportunity just hasn’t presented itself, and it would require allotting more time. But hopefully one day!
As far as Carnival cruises go, I hope your wife considers it. Honestly, my experience has been mostly positive. We have seen drunk people on short Carnival cruises, but I don’t let this sort of thing spoil my trip. I just ignore and go about my business. Taking a longer Carnival cruise should reduce your chances of seeing unsavory behavior. And if she ends up hating it, at least you haven’t invested a ton of money.
We are visiting Albuquerque/Santa Fe in New Mexico for the spring break. Then to India via Oman – for a few nights at the Alila Jabal Akhdar and returning back via Helsinki. I haven’t yet booked any other trips but wanted to to plan an overnight train journey for my son to experience train travel on Amtrak to Glacier National Park for the summer (every train journey was such a memorable experience in my childhood in India) . And maybe a similar “free” Carnival Cruise or the Caribbean in Nov/Dec if I can convince my other half :). It’s always enjoyable to read your and Nancy’s blogs.
Seems like you’ve got things well set to go. While I’m happy to read about your plans and exploits I don’t pay fervent attention but offhand I don’t recall you going with Hilton much. Too much bandwidth being consumed by other channels, just not your thing, or haven’t gotten around to it yet? Or you did and I just missed it.
For myself, I have a long trip with my wife to Bali, Siem Reap, and Chiang Mai coming up soon, the we visit England for the first time in late spring so we can see the places we’ve watched on Endeavor and Midsommer Murders, then I go solo to scout Malta and Istanbul. That reminds me, I need to reach out to your suggested guide when it’s a bit closer to the dates. We end up in Europe for Christmas with much of the family, visiting Krakow and Mainz. It should be quite a year.
Glad you enjoyed!
Thanks for sharing this beautiful post 🙏