As each year ends, I think it is important to reflect on what has happened in the last year. As I make decisions on how to acquire and use miles in 2014, I wanted to see what value I had received from my miles in the last year.
- I started out in January with a trip to the BPM Festival in Playa del Carmen Mexico in business class for 18000 British Airways Avios and $70.
- That same month I had the unfortunate need for some last minute tickets to attend a funeral in North Carolina. Instead of paying $370, I used 15,000 Avios and only $5!
- At the end of January I attended for the first time Intifest in Lima, Peru in Business Class for 50,000 Avios and $65.
- In April I used another 18,000 Avios and $72 each to send a friend and I to Cancun, Mexico for a long weekend.
- In May I went back to Detroit for the Detroit Electronic Music Festival using 12780 Southwest points and $20 for two tickets using my companion pass so my friend flew for free!
- In June, I had one of my most memorable experiences ever when I splurged on 100,000 United miles and $134 each to give my Dad an unforgettable Christmas present of a business class trip to Brussels, Ireland, Scotland, London and Frankfurt. I also used 18,000 Avios for four one way tickets on that trip which saved me a bundle over the cash price.
- In August, I attended Burning Man for the second time using 5,900 Southwest points and $5. I used the free one way feature on my United Europe ticket to fly out there in first class!
- In September, I splurged again with a first class ticket on Lufthansa for 135,000 United Miles and $118 to the closing parties in Ibiza.
- In October, I used 40,000 Avios and $125 for two tickets to Panama for a long weekend and my first time in Panama
- In October, I also went to Austin to visit a friend for the first time for 11,600 Southwest points and $5.
- Finally in both November and December I was able to fly home to Nashville for the holidays for only 9000 miles and $5 per trip!
Looking back and writing it all down has helped me remember why I am so obsessed about points and has me looking forward to my travel in 2014!
If you are ready to get started, why not try the Chase Sapphire Preferred card? With the Ultimate Rewards points it has, you can transfer them to all of the airlines I used to fly this year!
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