I’m a firm believer in “The early bird catches the worm”, and this definitely applies to miles and points travel. While some people are still debating on trips to take this year or even this month, I’ve already booked flights and lodging for next summer. Because everything is fully refundable and I didn’t have to transfer any flexible points, there was zero risk in booking ahead this early.
Destination: Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee
Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge/Great Smoky Mountains National Park has been on my wish list for years, but we haven’t carved out the time for this trip yet. With two of my kids now in college and our schedules all over the place, I wanted to plan a domestic trip that would be easy for all of us to join or drop out of as needed.
There is a lot do in the area, including Dollywood theme park, dinner theatre shows, Anakeesta, museums and waterfall hikes.
Flights: I found nonstop flights from DFW to Knoxville on American Airlines for as low as 9500 miles in economy each way. However, those same flights were only 7500 miles through partner Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards. I had Alaska miles from my Bank of America Alaska Atmos Rewards Summit card, so I booked round-trip flights for my 3 “kids” for a total of 45,000 miles.
For my husband and me, I splurged on first-class seats that were 15,000 Alaska miles each way. I did this because my husband had a 25k Global Companion Award promo code we could use. So each round-trip ticket cost 30,000 miles, but we could deduct 25,000 miles for the second person. In total, we booked two round-trip first-class award tickets for 35,000 miles.
Total round-trip price for 3 economy seats and 2 first-class seats: 80,000 miles + $56 in award taxes.
Lodging: Hotel rooms are no longer a fit for my family when all 5 of us are traveling together. Plus, I wanted to stay in a mountain cabin a bit outside of town. I found so many choices on Airbnb.com and vrbo.com. After looking through many good choices, I booked a log cabin on a cash rate with my husband’s Chase Sapphire Reserve card, which earns 3X points on vacation rentals. I had to pay a deposit, but the rental is refundable up until a few weeks before our trip.
Are you planning next summer’s trips yet?
Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
I’ve always wanted to go to TN and OK Hopefully one day
@fitt2ravels Yes! I’ve been to Memphis (work trip) and Knoxville (family visit) but haven’t really explored the Great Smoky Mountains.
Gatlinburg can a bit of a tourist trap, but there is a lot of fun things to do in the area that get overlooked. Dollywood like you said… yeah it’s popular but it’s also a can’t miss.
Don’t miss the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail. Tons of cool stuff to see along this route! Just be sure to arrive before 7:00am to avoid the backup of traffic.
And if you’re into adventure, white water rafting on the Pigeon river is just a 40 minute drive away.
Have fun!
@projectx Thanks for the tips!
If you have any questions or need help on anything I’ve lived in the area for about 30 years now. Glad to help.
@Christian Thank you! I will probably take you up on that.