Before I begin- let me say THANK YOU to those of you that attended and THANK YOU THANK YOU to Rich, Sam, Shawn, Joe, and Haley for knocking it out of the park with their talks at FT4RL 4 in Orlando this weekend. I’ll be sharing their presentations (edited) over the next few days. In the meantime, check out Dan (THANK YOU) from Points with a Crew’s recaps and the Saverocity Observation Deck podcast.
I have a ton of takeaways, but here’s what’s top of mind:
- It’s (still) about the travel and (still) about your family. Miles and points are a tool but traveling more with your family is the point of it all. Grab the kleenex before you watch Shawn’s video.
- If you want something, pay for it. Sam was so ahead of the curve with the BYOE status program and reminded us that it’s a lot easier to just book a suite or first class ticket when you really want it than to “qualify” and pray for an upgrade. Since I’m still on the fence about re-qualifying for Hyatt Diamond it was a welcome change of paradigm.
- I need some 2525 in my life. Sorry to speak in code, but I gotta hold something back for guests only! Rich blew my mind with his math tricks.
- Every time I think I’m a Disney World Expert, Haley proves me wrong. Wow. Just wow.
- Pajama points trump everything. When you’re pressed for time, points at home are worth much more than endless trips to Wal-Mart. Joe’s words of wisdom included “My family priorities dictate my travel priorities. My travel priorities dictate my budget priorities.”. Truth.
Twitter Party next Tuesday!
I thought it would be fun to get together next Tuesday May 3 at 8PM EST to share our fave tips and tricks from Family Travel for Real Life. Our sponsor Parksavers gave out some awesome magic band bling for FT4RL guests. I just so happen to have an extra set to give away at the party! To participate, just follow #FT4RL. A great primer on Twitter parties is on Traveling Mom if you’re new to the concept.
FT4RL 5 is November 5 in Dallas!
Tickets are now available! Be there!
Confirmed speakers:
Kenny from Miles4More on Getting Back to Nature on Miles and Points
Check out Kenny and Trevor’s FT4RL 3 presentation from #3 and Kenny’s drop the mic presentation from #2.
I’m still recruiting for speakers. If you have an engaging story to tell about family travel, let me know! You do NOT have to be a blogger, but should be a parent. I’m also considering (thanks Michael for the idea) a session of mini-sessions so if you have expertise in something that is worthy of sharing but not to fill an hour let me know, too.
The Deal Mommy is a proud member of the Saverocity network.
I had a great, great time last weekend. I’ve gotta say that one thing I learned and/or was reminded of that just might impact my family travel is that a weekend trip to somewhere nice and warm can be pretty easy. The location of the hotel so close to the airport really simplified things.
As far as the next location goes, all of the ideas you’ve thrown out there are just about equal for me. It’s more about how the weekend ends up working for our family schedule. As long as it’s either a <6hr drive or a nonstop flight (<3hrs) away (on a route serviced by southwest 🙂 ), it's pretty well equal to me. Here's hoping I can make it to the next one.
Thanks, Jamie. I agree that a weekend away can do a lot.
I’m a mom, a traveler, and I’ve been following your blog for about a year. Would you guys ever consider doing a FT4RL on the West Coast? Lots of cheap ways to get here with either low cost carriers or Southwest… 🙂
Hi Laura, I’ve thought about it, it is just more challenging to know that enough people will come.
Somewhere around the NYC area would be lovely =) Or somewhere close to NYC like Jersey/Philly.
I second NYC or the vicinity. I have five friends who would love to attend but kid schedules don’t make it easy for mom’s to go that far for the weekend.
NYC would be great, but is cost prohibitive.
Boston, Philly, DC would all be convenient. For something a little different, if in the summer you could do Portland ME or Burlington, VT or something like that. A little less convenient and less traffic to those airports.
Like I said on twitter, I’d prefer to have an excuse to see a new city but since I’m in PHL if you need help coordinating something here I’d be happy to help. Besides Center City, King of Prussia has alot of hotel options but is poorly served by public transportation. Cat 2 Hyatt Place and Hyatt house, 30k Double tree and a Sheraton. The airport doesn’t have a Hyatt, but the Doubletree is a good value and there are 3 spg properties Cat 2-3. Airport is only a 15 min train ride to Center City, and the train goes right to the terminals.
Hi Arielle,
I priced King of Prussia and even it hit the outer limit of my budget.
I would like to remind you that Charlotte is easy to get to, centrally located (for the east coast, anyway), and affordable.
Plus the Hyatt is within walking distance of my house.
I’ll throw Atlanta out there as well.
Charlotte is a good suggestion and if in the financial district (uptown?), a lot of restaurants in walking distance.
I like Charlotte and may consider it for the next one.
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I’m also hoping for NYC area. Anything near Newark that is affordable?
Hi Kadence,
I’ll try for next time, but I’m not confident considering I had trouble in PHL. Hope you can make it to Dallas!
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