Bee in my bonnet

[dreamshark]

Here's an idea for getting there. Airline credit cards are offering crazy intro offers these days - often you can get enough bonus points for signing up to pay for your first trip.

Or you could get a general travel card like Barclay's Arrival Card and use the 40,000 intro points for $400 towards any ticket on any airline. Actually, that's probably a better idea, since you have specific dates in mind.

[mindehankins]

Points from my Venture card are paying for this, so I've got this covered on that aspect. Might be an idea that'll help someone else, though....

[nikkiki]

Thanks dreamshark, that's definitely interesting to me. I've never had a miles reward card before - how do I figure out how many miles it would take to buy an airline ticket to STT?

[dreamshark]

Thanks dreamshark, that's definitely interesting to me. I've never had a miles reward card before - how do I figure out how many miles it would take to buy an airline ticket to STT?

Depends on the airline and time of year. You have to go to each airline website and look for their award chart. Here's an example that interests me. Right now, Citi is offering an American Airlines card with a 50,000 mile signup bonus! That is enough for two RT fares to STT at the cheapest award level, off-peak (Sep-Nov).

BE AWARE: This type of card requires very good credit to qualify and the ability/discipline to pay off your balance in full every month. The interest rates on these things are ridiculously high, so you don't want to even think about running a balance. And you need to plan far enough ahead to complete the "minimum spend" on the card to earn the introductory bonus (typically $1,000 - $3,000 in the first 3 months). So this approach is not for everybody.

A less complicated approach is to do what Minde did - get a general rewards card that gives you cash back or points that can be traded for airline miles, and simply use it for all your household expenses until you have built up a lot of points. There is a ton of information online about how to find the best travel cards.

[brenda]

When I first visited this forum many years ago, the theme was that you "must" rent a vehicle. Well, after many trips, I don't feel that I must for the whole time anyway if staying in town. I am now comfortable with doing an affordable for me trip! Go Minde! Whatever works for you to get to spend time in paradise!

[nikkiki]

Thanks, dreamshark. I'm disciplined enough to make this work for me - I'm going to give it a try!