My greatest rewards failure…
Those of us that love participating in the points and miles game gain great satisfaction by scoring fabulous deals at ridiculously low prices (or miles). For example, one of my greatest deals to date was scoring flights from Maui, HI, to Oakland, CA, on Southwest Airlines, for 1,950 points per person. Say WHAT? Seriously, we flew from Maui, Hawaii, to Oakland, California for less than $49 per person!!
Apparently, this deal lasted for only about two hours, but our family of six was super blessed! And in actuality, we didn’t spend $49 per person. Instead, we only paid taxes, of $5.60 per person. That’s the power of points (and Southwest Companion Passes)! To read more about the Companion Pass, check out this post.
Now, onto what this post is really about – my ultimate rewards failure!!! Ughhh. I’ve been watching flights to Australia for, I don’t know, forever. It’s a long way away, and for points and miles enthusiasts, it’s an EPIC destination. It’s one of those places where, if you can pull it off, you’ve “made it”, especially with a family as big as ours. It takes LOTS of points to get there, no matter what route you choose.
An opportunity of a lifetime
My son and I traveled there five years ago, when he was named the first American Visionary Wildlife Award recipient by the Australia Zoo. This was an absolute dream come true, and a real honor, as he has loved Steve Irwin since I can remember. It was such a blessing to get to see his beautiful zoo and meet his gorgeous family. They are doing such important work. If you are interested, and able, go here to support their great efforts.
Anyway, back to Australia. Our greatest incentive to return are several family friends that live on the Sunshine Coast. It’s amazing when you meet people that make a forever impact on your lives. The story of meeting life-long friends from the other side of the world is definitely for another post though.
The Oldest Airline on Record
So, Qantas Airlines turns 100 years old this year. For weeks, I have been receiving teaser emails announcing a birthday surprise. And as a points blogger, it is my responsibility to keep up with such things, right? On the weekend of November 16th, Qantas announced that they would sell one hundred $100 tickets to Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane, Australia, when purchased as a roundtrip.
Here was the schedule:
- Monday, November 18th: Los Angeles to Sydney
- Tuesday, November 19th: San Francisco to Brisbane
- Wednesday, November 20th: Dallas to Sydney
- Thursday, November 21st: Chicago to Brisbane
And guess who scored six (out of literally 10) per flight? Yep, it was ME!! Flights for six people, from Dallas/Ft. Worth to Sydney, Australia, for $1,200 TOTAL (before taxes). And what did I do?
I let them go…
You see, my husband made me promise that when we flew to Australia that we would have lie-flat seating, or at least business class seats, where you have plenty of room to move around, recline and enjoy the flight. Seventeen straight hours in economy didn’t seem at all appealing to him. And I kind of agree. When we flew there years ago, we were able to catch a flight out of Los Angeles, arriving in Sydney in only 13 hours. Four more hours just seemed too difficult. Looking back, I probably made a huge mistake, as I’m sure that rarely has a family of six flown to Australia for $1,200.
Thinking about it now, I could have tried to upgrade a few tickets to business or first class, and still come out way ahead. When you literally have a split second to make a decision though, and your heart is pounding and your mind is racing, you have to go with your gut. I could, and probably always will, second-guess my decision, but if you know me, even a little bit, you know that I choose to focus on the positive. You win some, you lose some. For me, this was a huge loss, but we will move forward, searching for the next great deal in travel. Do you have a travel rewards failure? Feel free to share in the comments.
Also, if you have questions regarding points, miles, or credit cards, feel free to reach out to me at erin@letsgettothepoint.com.