Questions and Answers

Hi Lucky,

First off, LOVE your blog! Thank you for all you do!!

I’m still a bit of a newbie, so I apologize if this question has been asked before, but…are there any tips you would be able to share for booking economy award travel around the Holidays?

Specifically, I’m trying to get to PWM from TPA on 12/23-12/27, and I’ve tried looking everywhere I can think of, and about the “best” deal I’ve found is 67,768 Southwest points. Everywhere else, I’m looking at roughly 100K points (either AmEx or Chase Ultimate Rewards).

I have roughly 100K AmEx MR points, and 75K Chase Ultimate Rewards points, but I’d prefer not to have to blow through all of them, just for a short Christmas trip.

I guess, if you could help with my situation specifically, that would be great, but I’d love to gain more insight into your process of booking rewards travel during high season.

Thanks VERY much in advance!

Best,

Robin

Awards during holidays are always tough. I doubt there are any saver level awards and standard awards are almost never worth. Paid tickets are probably a better idea here. Do you have any cash back cards like the Citi Double Cash, Barclays Arrival, Capital One, etc where you can redeem their points towards travel expenses?

If you’re flexible, you could also look at flying into Boston or Manchester. Not sure if that opens up options for you. Good luck!

I would second [USER=1436]@rickyw[/USER]’s suggestion. Look at BOS, MHT and maybe even PVD to see what might open up. Otherwise the Arrival+ is a great suggestion since you can use it to book the tickets later and then have 120 days to gather and redeem points against the ticket.