Family Travel

It started with an idea to use the time off we might take with our baby’s arrival to go on a vacation with her when she was 3 months instead of using the time right away to lay on the couch and learn how to be a parent to a person who has 4 needs (eat, poop, sleep and be snuggled). First, let me say that laying on the couch and learning how to be a parent to your tiny person is totally acceptable, and very desirable. If you have yet to experience this moment in life, let me just tell you that though it is one of the most amazing times in life, the sleep deprivation you will experience is probably unlike anything you’ve ever experienced. So, that’s why most people thought we were crazy. Well, we weren’t going to the beaches in Hawaii or a posh resort with a spa…we were traveling backpacker style in Germany and Italy.

This is when I say that traveling with an infant is more fun than traveling without one. How so you say? How could feeding every 2 hours thru the night be better than sleeping in? How could changing stinky diapers on park benches be better than a quiet picnic with some fresh cheese and a baguette. How could viewing the Sistine Chapel in complete awe and silence be better than having to shush a child and worry if you’ll get kicked out due to the no noise signs? Well, let’s just say that everybody loves babies. It’s kind of like those sitcom episodes where the single male character realizes the draw of a woman when they have a baby with them…a baby as a chick magnet. Well, babies are a magnet, of any variety of people, not just chicks. So, taking our 3 month old with us led to a richer experience, with more local interactions, and even being allowed to do things that might not have been allowed, had I not had a baby. It’s amazing what people will let you do when they realize they are about to accost a woman breastfeeding her child. (Not that we did anything illegal or terrible, just sat in some beautiful places without having to pay for a meal) We even had a small quiet chat in the Sistine Chapel, which is taboo, with the guardsmen there (About the baby of course).

Were we tired? Sure. But we would have been tired back at home. We would have been changing diapers in front of the TV instead of in front of a German castle…where would you rather change diapers?

Now, international travel is expensive. I am travel savvy, and we travel fairly inexpensively, with a very tight budget. But, should international airfare be a bit much (as it has been for our family for the last 5 years) there are plenty of places to enjoy stateside. With our second baby we wanted the same kind of travel experience (it was very bonding – and a heck of a lot of fun), but we couldn’t quite afford the international trip, so we picked Boston instead. We aimed for a walking destination, and should we have had a little more cash (I believe this trip was sub $1500), we probably would have opted for an Atlantic train hopping trip.

I encourage everyone to explore their world, especially if you have children. There is a popular belief that you should wait to visit Disneyland or Disney World with your children when they can remember it (as was my belief before I had children, I actually think I ridiculed the stroller toting families on my first trip to Disney World – for shame!) but I say, “JUST GO!” Go, go, go. Whatever you have the money for, do it. Don’t have money? Plan it, and then save for it. Have a tiny little bit of money? Then take a camping trip. Have enough for Disney World at the Animal Kingdom Lodge (or the Pop or the 32 dollar Hotwire special)? Then take that 18 month old and show them a good time! Who cares if they don’t remember Mickey, for sure YOU’LL never forget their face the first time they walked down Main Street, or when they saw Goofy in the parade.

Travel with kids isn’t hard, it’s not scary, and it’s not unsafe. It takes good planning, and creativity. The easiest time to travel is with a young infant, one who has no schedule yet…they sleep when they want, eat when they want, so you can strap them in a baby carrier and do what you want till it’s time to take them out to feed and change, then back into the carrier and you’re good to go for a while again. After that time, you need to have a good travel itinerary that anticipates age appropriate activities of your child/children, frequent potty breaks, nap-times, and a load of laundry. Packing well, but conservatively is your friend. Not only have airline baggage fees gotten a little out of hand, but the most stressful part of a families plane travel is usually the time getting from the car park to the correct gate. A quick fold stroller, and no more roller carry-on than hands that can drag them (i.e. – if your 3 year old can’t haul their suitcase for a mile through the Minneapolis  airport, then you make room for their stuff in your own bag).

Family travel. There are a lot of memories to be made. Go make some.

Have a question? Ask away, I’d love to help you get somewhere.

I want to get to Greece, and I want to get there for free…

Ok. First, let’s discuss what “free” means. It can mean something different for everyone. Couponers for example post their “free” deals, and it often includes 9 of the same coupon (purchased from 9 different papers) and an out of pocket expense (which yields cash back for a return visit to the store). Was it free? Not exactly. Was it inexpensive? Sure. And the next tube of toothpaste bought at that store WILL be free.

Let’s talk about free travel. Does it exist? Not exactly. Can it be inexpensive? By all means! First, let’s explain some methods people use to snag “free” flights.

Some people use the method of overbooked flights to try and ensure a bump where the airline will offer up free travel vouchers. This method means you need to pay for a flight. You can get bumped on an award flight as well, but the point is – you have some sort of out of pocket cost to start with (dollars or miles) Then you do the wash rinse repeat action with your travel vouchers, meaning that the travel vouchers are used to book another fare on an overbooked flight which you plan to get bumped from. This method is not fool-proof, and it’s hard to travel this way with companions. You also have to know how to assess which flights will be overbooked. There are some tools such as this one. But you also will need to know how to evaluate the information provided. (More on that at a later time)

Another way to score a “free” flight is with companion fares. These often require the purchase of full -fare ticket. Full- fare means non-discounted…which is not the way most people purchase their fares. Companion fares can be had with certain airlines credit cards, which come with a fee, so take a good look at the rules of the companion ticket rules before you decide if this route is to your benefit. 

One airline to note for their companion fare is Alaska Airlines. It’s a $99 companion fare that is good on all published fares. The companion gets a seat in that fare class AND they earn miles for their flight. The best value is in booking a first class ticket when available – though this may or may not be of benefit to you.

One of the more reliable ways to get “free” airfare is to use frequent flier miles. Typically most individuals think of frequent flier programs as hopeless. The amount of flights (and money paid for such flights) to get just one domestic ticket seems unattainable - or perhaps not worth the hassle, as many people fly only once a year and not always on the same airline. But there are ways to boost mileage without flying. Credit card offers can give bonuses of 10’s of thousands of miles. Shopping online thru portals will also yield miles, and some programs have mileage earning promos throughout the year on flights, miles bought, transfers, etc.

So, what is “free” travel? For me, free travel is travel I accomplish that I would not have been able to otherwise. Scenario: A credit card bonus yields enough points to fly 2 of us to Orlando, making up the difference that we had lacking in our vacation fund. 69 dollars for the credit card annual fee – 10 dollars per ticket in taxes and fees – total cost of “free” travel =  $45 for a round-trip flight. Not free, but inexpensive enough to get our family out the door and on an adventure. (I will talk more on the value and maximization of miles at a later time)

Now, how do we get to Greece for free? As we’ve learned, there is no completely free way to do this. But, we can try to do it inexpensively. In this particular scenario, it’s tricky because there is no accrued mileage, and the planned departure is about 3 ½ months away. After analyzing all the credit card offers and reward redemption's for all the mileage plans, I determined that the best option was to try for the Chase Sapphire or Chase Ink card. These cards offer Ultimate Rewards Points, and can be transferred between accounts quickly. These points can be used in a variety of ways, but in this scenario, they would be used towards the purchase of a ticket to Athens. With 2 cards and all the points transferred to one account, the cost of a round-trip to Athens should be decreased from 1800 to 600 dollars as the points can be used as cash towards the purchase of travel. (Just a note – this is not the best value for these points – but free travel isn’t always about the best value, it’s about getting where you want to go for less $$)

Without a current mileage plan, and very limited time to accrue the miles/points, this was the best route. But what if we aren’t approved the cards instantly? (This happens, but you may call for credit reconsideration which often results in approval – but this can take some time, especially if you wait for your letter of denial) And, what if it really takes a full 8 weeks to receive the points after required spending? (Always read your fine print before you apply for credit cards – they usually say points will post 6-8 weeks after fulfilling the requirements – in this case it was 3,000 dollars in purchases) This could potentially put the points we need in our account just weeks before departure.

In the end, there just wasn’t enough time to prep a mileage account with the miles/points needed. The miles and points game is not something that happens overnight, accrual happens over time, and travel sometimes needs to be planned far in advance to get the flights you desire. There was potential in this situation to be able to decrease the amount out of pocket, but it would add stress as one would need to play the waiting game until the points posted – and this had potential to fail in yielding savings from the current fare. Better in my opinion to seek the best airfare with the best itinerary, and start accrual of miles/points for the next trip to be “free”.

So, up next I'll be talking about how to search for the best airfare.