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Kirsten
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How we got free flights for our family of 4 for our Summer 2014 Vacation:
Our first vacation of Summer 2014 was a long and busy one, and it included 5 airplane flights (6 if you include the one that was a layover). The only possible way we could have made this happen (because no, we are not rich) is by using frequent flyer miles. I have written a lot about how we accumulate miles. The fun part for me is actually using them!
I wrote a detailed post about how we used our points for these flights a while back, and you can read about it here. Now that the trip is over, and was very successful, I will give a quick synopsis of what we did. My other post has more specific information.
Flight #1:
Philadelphia (PHL) to Oakland (OAK) via Denver (DEN) on Southwest
Within the past year, Chase bank was offering a 50,ooo mile bonus on 4 different Southwest branded credit cards (2 were personal cards, 2 were business cards). My husband and I each got 2 of these cards and were able to get 100,000 miles each just from the sign-up bonuses. We then each earned an extra 10,000 points through various means (spending on the cards, shopping portal bonuses, etc), and ended up with 2 Southwest Companion Passes.
Was is a Southwest Companion Pass?
This is one of my favorite perks in the travel miles & points game. Basically, if you earn a Southwest Companion Pass (see here for more info on how), you can bring a designated companion with you for free (plus taxes/fees). You can do this whether you pay with money or with points for your flights.
So my husband and I could each designate one of the kids as our companion, and we could get 4 tickets for the price (in points, for us) of 2.
One of the nice things about Southwest is that the amount of points you need is based on the cost of the ticket. If there are Wanna Get Away fares available (these are usually a great deal), then the price in points is generally low.
Flight #2
Oakland (OAK) to Big Island, Hawaii (Kona – KOA) on Alaskan Airlines
The Kona airport is so Hawaiian – outdoors and a laid back vibe
We used our Avios for this flight, and everything went very smoothly. They did change the flight times after I had booked, but that seems to happen to us quite a bit because we tend to book flights for our big trips right as they become available (usually 330 days in advance, except for Southwest). Because it was a partner airline, we could not check in online & had to get our boarding passes at the airport. This was not an issue for us, but did cause some anxiety for my in laws because they had some customer service issues (British Airways was saying it was Alaskan’s problem, and vice versa). It all worked out in the end though.
Flight #3
Kona (Big Island) to Lihue (Kauai) via Honolulu (HNL) on Hawaiian Airlines
This flight was so easy, it was quicker than my commute to work. We had to stop at HNL but didn’t change planes. You can read about how we used miles to get the tickets in the other post.
Flight #4
Lihue (LIH) to Seattle (SEA) on Alaskan Airlines
Same as the flight above. We really liked flying Alaskan. The planes were clean and newer. The crew was super friendly.
Flight #5
Seattle (SEA) to Philadelphia (PHL) on USAirways
We used United miles to book on USAirways, which was a direct flight from Seattle to home. I don’t usually care about first class, but that was what was available at the time of booking. It was OK. Not the really nice first class experience that you hear about. The kids felt really special though. I need to make sure they don’t get used to that.
The other 4 flights
In the other post, you can also see that my in laws joined us for the Kauai portion of the trip. They were also able to get their flights for free (plus taxes/fees) using the same methods. They flew to/from Philadelphia to/from Oakland and San Jose on Southwest (without a Companion Pass, but only one credit card sign-up bonus). Then they flew to/from Lihue using British Airways Avios on Alaskan like we did. They hadn’t gotten the credit cards and miles as far in advance as we did, so their dates and times (and airports) were not quite as flexible as ours were. We booked their flights about 8 months in advance. They were able to spend some time in California (San Francisco and Napa) before and after the Hawaii portion of the trip, so it all worked out really well for them as well.
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