Miami and Back For a Hair Appointment

I love point and miles because of the ability to have fun with them on a whim. I have done tons of crazy things thanks to points and miles in the past (booked a cruise, traded my car for points, helped my friend leave the country, went to Tokyo for the first time with less than 24 hour’s notice, just to name a few), but this next story might take the cake.

First off, I admit that is is crazy, but at the same time it is fun, and it satisfies my need to be spontaneous. I’m sharing my story here because I know others can appreciate the power of points and miles… lets’ s also not forget the fact that it’s hard for some of my “normal friends” to understand (because some people just don’t get it).

Thank goodness for points, miles, and status, because never in a billion years would I actually do something this out of character (it’s not out of character for me to travel spontaneously, I’m specifically referring to the getting-my-hair-done component).

You see, I am not really a “girly-girl”. I color my hair at home due to laziness, and I visit the hair salon maybe 2-3 times a year, and that’s usually after someone tells me my roots are down to my ears, or when my ends are super frazzled to the point where I can’t stand even looking at them. I’m also usually boring when it comes to styling it.

I have this one girlfriend who is so the opposite of me. She is all about nice hair 24/7, full face of makeup, and glammed-up nails. She sometimes gets on my case, reminding me that looking good is chicken soup for the soul (which I agree with her, to an extent). So I started following “idol” hairstylists and makeup artists on my Instagram feed to perhaps inspire me.

I admired the work of one stylist in particular, @alenm. He’s a respected stylist who works primarily out of Beverly Hills, but sometimes works remotely in Miami and New York one weekend a year. I started saving screen-captures of the pictures he posted so that I had some ideas in mind for the next time I treated myself at a salon.

I saw he was coming to Miami soon, but I let it slide over my head.

Ok, I lied. I thought about it. I thought about how much I loved the sun and sand. And how easy it was to book award flights from NY-MIA for just 15,000 Avios round trip.

At first, I tried to justify a family weekend away, but Alen was only in town during the week. Then I left it to chance. At the very last minute (about a week ago), I sent him an email asking if he had any appointments available. He did. Just one. And it just so happened that there was award space for the return and back. The stars aligned…

So now I can officially say that  going to Miami and back on the same day for a hair appointment is the craziest thing I did with my points and miles.

I also didn’t mind hanging poolside at one of my favorite South Beach hotels.

But hey, you only live once, right?

And I like my hair.

What’s the craziest thing you’ve done with points and miles? Do you also get a rush when traveling spontaneously?