In December, my dear aunt (mother's youngest sister) is celebrating her 50th wedding anniversary. My DA is the only surviving sibling on my mother's side. If my mother were alive, she would be 92... my DA is a mere 79. DA lives in El Salvador, and although I frequently talk to her by phone, I rarely get to see her. DH and I decided we could not pass up this wonderful event, but when I researched the tickets, the "cheapest" were $1,590 per person for the dates we have to travel. Ouch!! Although we have a travel budget for 2008-09, this trip was not included. So, my mission has been to figure out the best way to plan this trip frugally.
This is where my credit card mileage plan definitely pays off. When shopping with "miles," I always request coach tickets because they cost less. Unfortunately, coach tickets were not available and I was told December is the worst time of year to travel to Central America from our neck of the words. Nonetheless, I had enough miles to secure two business class tickets (same as first class since the plane has only two sections). The total transaction cost for both tickets: $154, including taxes and a booking fee, and of course the miles.
When I use miles to pay for tickets, I try to wait until it results in a substantial savings. For example, going to Idaho costs about $225 for a ticket or 20,000 miles, whereas airfare to El Salvador is at least $1,590 or 35,000 miles (coach). It's definitely a "no-brainer" to use the miles for the really big savings.
A caveat about using a credit card that gives rewards such as miles: use this strategy ONLY if you are able to pay off your balance monthly like I do. Otherwise, you are carrying debt and paying interest, two things that diminish the benefit of any type of "rewards."
Whoopee! I Saved $3,000!
September 19th, 2008 at 06:02 am
September 19th, 2008 at 01:31 pm 1221827497
September 19th, 2008 at 04:51 pm 1221839497
El Salvador is very affordable. We are staying with relatives, but one night at the Hilton or Intercontinental would be around $150 a night, including breakfast. ES is a beautiful country and small enough you can get anywhere in it in a day.
September 22nd, 2008 at 04:23 pm 1222096983
I tend to use the cash back cards though since using miles has been a pain, they expire, cost to transfer, etc. But I've been known to open a CC with a $50 yearly fee just to get the 25000 mile sign on bonus.