A vice characteristic of mine is that I am an extremely impulsive person. It’s not uncommon for me to just go out and do things on a whim “just because”. In fact, my “about” section on Facebook pretty much describes me to a T. And we all know that if it’s Facebook official – it’s real, right? Right.
To justify a bit, I haven’t been on an airplane since June, and I have this incurable disease called the travel itch, so hear me out. It’s not helping that summer is winding down, so I guess I’m subconsciously thinking of ways to preserve it. Did I mention that sun, sand, and palm trees are some of my favorite things to daydream about year round? It doesn’t do a travel-addict any good when airlines sometimes make it too easy to redeem miles for award flights… oh boy, spontaneity got to the best of me…
I had a nice stack of BA Avios tantalizing me from the generous Nordstrom promotion back in February, and with round-trip flights from NY to Miami costing only 15,000 Avios + $5 in taxes in fees, it was pretty hard to resist. I gave into temptation.
Tiffany and I decided to book an impulsive cruise, leaving from Miami in less than 2 weeks. Total out-of-pocket costs? $241.80 – cruise, flights, and taxes included. I have not been on a cruise since 2008, and cruising to me is not really anything extravagant, but it’s still exciting to look forward to meeting new people and eating non-stop. That alone sounds like the perfect excuse for a little getaway!
The Game Plan:
- LGA – MIA on American Airlines – 7,500 Avios and $2.50
- 4 Night Bahamas Cruise from Miami – $139 ($236.80 with taxes)
- MIA – LGA on American Airlines – 7,500 Avios and $2.50
To sum it up, I was being silly and booked a cruise for no reason what-so-ever. Yup, in the middle of hurricane season…
But I have faith that the weather will hold up!
Have you ever been impulsive with your miles? I know you have… let’s hear the confessions!
P.S. – There’s currently a 40% transfer bonus from American Express Membership Rewards (which you can earn from AmEx cards such as the American Express® Gold Card and The Platinum Card® from American Express) to British Airways Avios going on from now until September 27. That should be enough of an incentive to tempt you to be impulsive with your BA Avios too!
Looking for a moment notice to jump from San Fan to Kathmandu for a few days. Just accepted a contract that will take me to Senegal, Madagascar, Tanzania Bangladesh, Thailand, Indonesia, memasia, Australia for a month trip. Details to be arranged but got to make he mont of opportunities.
So jealous! I’ve been looking for a last minute getaway from Boston for this weekend but can’t find anything for cheap miles, or even cheap $$! Flights are all around so expensive! BTW, I grew up in Mahwah, right around the corner from Ramapo College!
Today I booked a trip to Roatan, Honduras with my Citi TY points. I leave in 10 days……better start figuring things out.
I booked as last minute trip to Bali using my AA miles for Biz class on Cathay. Made the decision last week and within a few days was on the plane. And guess who I ran into here both on Cathay biz from HKG to DPS and the Bali Hyatt? Your Dad! LOL. I recognized Marie from the pic he uploaded of her on your blog the other day (when he missed the flight to HKG)….surreal!
Anyway, loving my last minute trip so far :)
Stacey
Hi, Pot, I’m Kettle! Writing this from Montreal, where I spent my kids camp money on three plane tickets during the US air flash sales three weeks ago! Using Marriott Rewards and Starpoints for the hotels.
@Levy: WOW That sounds like an amazing month of travel – I’m super jealous!! Enjoy!!
@Rebecca: Aw! Hope something comes your way soon… there was a $87 RT flight from NY to FLL that I saw yesterday – only problem that it was on spirit airlines.. eeek. @ thats so cool about Mahwah! So pretty up there =)
@emmy Awesome!! I bet you’ll have a blast. Spontaneous trips are the best.
@stacey: NO friggen way!! Such a small world!! How funny that you ran into them. I hear Bali is beautiful! I wish I was there with you guys to enjoy the party! If you run into my parents again, tell them to buy you and your friends a drink on me (im serious)! Enjoy!!
@The Deal Mommy: Haha! How is Montreal??? I can’t wait to hear about it – thinking of doing a weekend there in a few weeks – BA Avios again!!
Lol, this kind of reminds me of my self….on Saturday I decided that if i could find availability to leave from PHL-MIA for Labor day weekend, I would. Turns out i’ll be there this fri-mon. I transferred some points to be turned into the rapid reward dinosaur credits. so i used one of those and my friend had an expiring one that he gave to me. Just one last vaca before summer is over, that way I didnt have to wait too long until Oct when i got to san diego.
Just came back from a trip to ARN (Stockholm), TLL(Tallin), and HEL(Helsinki) for 8 days. Transatlantic in 1st on Lufthansa, LH business in Europe, (loved the First Class terminal in FRA, (Frankfurt)). Booked the trip on a Wednesday, left on Sunday. Used hotel points for all 8 nights. It was the best spontaneous/last minute trip ever.