I’ve been on a booking frenzy and hit upon a nice 5 day summer trip for Katy and I using miles and points. We are flying SAV to DFW to Calgary, Canada and ultimately Banff National Park and Lake Louise.
We again used American Airlines miles at 25K round-trip each and a total of $128 taxes and fees. The hotel stays are at the Fairmont properties we got with our Fairmont credit card approvals. We are using Katy’s two free nights at the Banff Springs property and my two nights at the Lake Louise property. We have been upgraded at both properties based on the upgrades we were given with the card approvals. We also each got credits for meals and free internet. Some of the documents say the upgrades expire after one year but others have no expiration date. The rooms were upgraded at time of reservation and as we are going prior to peak season, I think we will keep the upgrades. Our last night will be spent in Calgary as we have a 7 AM flight back to Dallas then on to Savannah. We’ll need to pick up a rental car as well but the costs versus the scenery seems like a great trade off and a chance to see another new spot at prices we can afford. IIRC the Fairmont card had a $75 application fee.
We considered Maui for the Fairmont stays, but I’m so fond of Kauai it is hard for me to switch islands and try a new property in Hawaii. Koloa and the Hyatt are becoming kind of a second home. We enjoyed the Southampton Fairmont on Bermuda, but not enough to pass up the chance to see Banff and Lake Louise.
Our vacations are becoming shorter in duration and Katy is on this kick to see stuff close to home so we’ll be exploring more of the Northern Hemisphere. We still have plenty to see and the wanderlust is not going away with age. As long as we can spend our retirement seeing the world and the prices stay so reasonable with all the tricks we have learned, why not.
I can’t wait to see what Katybug comes up with next.
