One of my favorite projects of the year is figuring out what my travel plans are going to be for the year. This allows me to make sure I have all of my points and miles in place so that I can have the best trip possible at the cheapest prices possible.
I’m excited to go over the trips that I have planned. Only two are fully booked, but I have a pretty good idea of where else I’ll be going this year. It’s my hope that I can provide some trip reviews while I’m doing these. Let’s hope I can hit them all!
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The Trips I’m Taking
Maldives, Rome, & Vienna
This is a big trip that I’m using all of my COVID points generated on. We’ll be flying Qatar Airways from DC to Male and staying at the Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa. We’ll then fly to Rome on Etihad, where we’ll stay at the Palm Suites (booked with Hyatt points via their partnership with Small Luxury Hotels of the World). Finally, we’ll fly Austrian home with an overnight in Vienna, where we’ll stay at the Park Hyatt Vienna.
I’ve been wanting to visit the Maldives and Rome for close to a decade, so I’m glad I finally get to go to both. It should be a fun, relaxing time! Hoping to do a bunch of reviews, so those might pop-up more quickly than the usual Tuesday/Thursday cadence. I’m excited!
Staycation in Washington, D.C.
Just after we get back from our big trip, I’ll head into DC to stay one night at the Thompson DC (which I hope to do a hotel review of). I’ll stay over on the Friday night before heading to Frequent Traveler University, as well as the Washington DC Travel & Adventure Show, in Downtown DC on that Saturday. Should be a good time learning more about points & miles with like-minded individuals!
London & possibly another European city
My trips to London for business travel have decreased to maybe only once a year at this point. I have been around long enough to have several friends in London who I wish to see, as well as one of my best friends, Nick, who lives only an hour train ride outside the city.
I’ll fly to London for a few days using British Airways Avios, and then Nick and I may fly to another place to hang out, or we may just train around the UK (we’ve discussed going to see Hadrian’s Wall). We shall see how this comes together.
Las Vegas, NV
My sister and I got tickets for a music festival in October. Should be a fun time.
I’ll use my Capital One Venture X travel credit for the airfare. Still trying to figure out the hotel situation (I didn’t realize that redeeming points in Vegas was so difficult!).
Memphis, TN
My wife and I will be running the St. Jude Marathon in December. We’ll raise some money, see friends, run the race, and celebrate my wife’s birthday all in one weekend!
I haven’t looked into airline tickets yet, but I have already booked a stay at the Caption by Hyatt Beale Street. We stayed here last year for the marathon, and we loved it!
Trips to See Family
My family has grown and changed over the past few years. We’ll get some weekends in with them (both sides of the family). They will be fun.
Possible Other Trips
While I already have these trips basically planned, I would like to plan at least one more trip. It’s really just figuring out when these trips may or may not occur.
Miami, FL
My wife and I love going to Miami, FL. We have gone 3 times, and we fall more in love with the city every time. We had to cancel our Labor Day trip this past year due to a hurricane, but we might try and head back this year.
The problem? We don’t know when we could go that isn’t hurricane season or the end of year holidays. We’ll see what happens.
Wilmington, NC
My cousin already lives here, and my aunt and uncle are moving there. My wife and I love Wrightsville Beach, as we went there right after we got engaged. It’s a special place to us, and it would be great to revisit there and see family.
This is low on the priority list this year, as my aunt and uncle won’t move there until July, and, similar to Miami, it makes it difficult to know when we actually could go.
Little Rock, AR to Dallas, TX corridor
The primary impetus for this trip would be to see college buddies at my 10-year school reunion, visit the Texas State Fair, and meet kids of friends that have been born since the beginning of the COVID era (which I have wrongly put off).
I always enjoyed homecoming at my university, so it would be nice to return to where I started my journey in academia. I’ll then drive down to Dallas to go to the State Fair and eat some good food, as well as to meet the kids of my best friends from college. COVID, career change, and moving across the country put meeting these kids on hold, so it’s finally time to get back and see them. I’m waiting to see if I may have work travel that needs to be scheduled before I put these plans into stone.
I could always just do a weekend trip just to Dallas (where the kids live) if need be. As a bonus, I would get to check out the Capital One Lounge DFW, where I can ride a Peloton while overlooking the runway, which would be fantastic.
Conclusion
This is the list of trips that I plan on taking this year. I’m excited for a year of seeing friends and family, as well as getting some fun times in seeing parts of the world with my wife.
What are your big travel plans for this year? What are you most looking forward to?
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