Not Your Average Gal

Copywriter. Content Creator. Constant Sassypants.

Travel

Adios, Bitchachos! My First All-Inclusive Experience Begins.

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I’m leaving on a jet plane for Cancun this weekend. My first time in Mexico. My first time at an all-inclusive.

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(Not my first rodeo with beergaritas.)

My Type-A planner mind isn’t quite sure what to do. I haven’t felt it necessary to look up the best restaurants or bars because, well, I’ve got that in unlimited quantities at our hotel. Olé! I briefly looked at excursions but we are truly only there for 4 days and 3 nights. I’m okay with every moment not being planned for the sake…the sake of…relaxing?

WTF is happening to me?!

Quick someone give me a To Do list before I lose my mind.

I am adequately prepared with obnoxious beach apparel though that can only be described as…Floridian. Basically, imagine the colors pink, peach, coral, yellow, aqua and lime green all throw up on maxi dresses and flowy tops.

maxidress

Boom, nailed it. Living in Florida for nearly 4 years has paid off! (I really did buy this dress. Cute, right?)

Debating on bringing my laptop to catch up on some blog posts and post pictures. I’m sure the hubster will be thrilled with that idea. <side eye>

I guess that’s really it? I’m not sure what to expect, so I don’t have many expectations, which I suppose is the best way to go on trips. If the food sucks I won’t be very aware because I haven’t been to an all-inclusive before. Plus, I’m sure soggy cheetos will taste good to me after a few frozen piña coladas. What? Stop judging. The resort is right on the beach and each room is a suite with an ocean view, so if I somehow manage to complain about that, you have full permission to slap my ass. You’re required to enjoy it though. It’s a good bum.

Adios, bitchachos!

Have you ever been to an all-inclusive? Where and how did you like it?

Total Costs: Travel to Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong

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The biggest costs to any trip are usually airfare and hotels. I’m here to show you how those can be cut significantly, so you can easily take a quick round the world trip like I did recently to Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong.

I wrote about the miles and points associated with flying and staying in hotels here:

Airfare: How I Flew in Business Class to Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong for Under $100
Hotels: How I Stayed in Fancy Hotels for 10 Nights for Under $400

Flights:

FLL-ATL-LAX: Delta Economy – $179
LAX – SYD: Virgin Australia Business Class – 80,000 Delta Miles + $37.10 tax
SYD-AKL: Air New Zealand Economy $324
AKL – HKG: Cathay Pacific Business Class – 30,000 American Miles + $20.90
HKG – JFK: Asiana Airlines Business Class – 80,000 United Miles + $41.60
JFK-FLL: Delta First Class $397

Total: $999.60

Hotels:

Park Hyatt Sydney: 3 nights – 2 free-night certificates + 30,000 Ultimate Rewards points
New Zealand AirBnb: 2 nights – $127/each
Intercontinental Hong Kong: 3 nights - 120,000 IHG points (plus $240 for my upgrade)

Total: $367.00

FINAL COST: $1,366.60

Now, obviously there are costs associated with food and fun purchases like snazzy scarves you hastily buy because it was 60 degrees in Hong Kong and you are a full-blooded Floridian now so you were freezing.

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I digress… But since those costs are very particular to each person, I didn’t include them here.

If I desperately wanted to save more dolla dolla bills, I could have forgone the room upgrade, and perhaps planned a bit better and bought my ticket to New Zealand sooner. We paid a lot for that one-way ticket, but weren’t exactly proactive about finding flights in time.

Also, my flight from JFK-FLL was in paid first class because it was only $40 more than economy and I knew after a 15 hour flight from Hong Kong, I’d appreciate it. All of those costs could have been cut, but since I saved so much money in other areas, I was okay with spending it. That’s what’s so great about travel hacking!

The bulk of costs for any vacation are getting there and staying somewhere, I hope you took something from this to see that taking a major trip is a very real possibility if you plan it well and use miles and points.

2016 Travel Plans

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February: Cancun, Mexico

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Yup, you read that right. I’m finally letting go of the planning reigns and doing an all-inclusive resort for the very first time. We’re using points to fly and stay there. Duh. (Less one night paid in cash, so I can earn some points). A couple of our pals were planning on going to Cancun and asked us if we wanted to go. They were looking at the Hyatt Zilaria, which is an adults-only Resort.

You only have to say, “adults-only,” once for me to say, “MARGARITA!” I mean, I love your kids, I swear. Just not when they are playing Marco Polo for the umpteenth time.

 

March, April or May: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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The hubster has to take an exam in Philadelphia in order to graduate medical school. Much to his personality, he hasn’t planned when he’s taking it yet. Much to my personality, I want to know dates so I can see if I’m able to tag along. Go ahead, hubster. Take your exam. I’ll be over here high-fiving Ben Franklin and ringing The Liberty Bell.

We’ll see. Schedules have to permit.

Fun fact: I used to live in near Philly as a youngster.

 

June: Southeast Asia

Help us take more smiling pics like this! Railay Beach, Thailand

Remember that trip we had to cancel? (I hope putting in on here doesn’t jinx it.) We’re going to try to do it again this year, but probably revamp the itinerary a bit. Even after I had to cancel, I felt we probably would have been too rushed on that trip and that notion sat with me for a while. Enough to make me rethink what we’d do with 2 weeks this time around.

I’m still debating about which countries to visit…stay tuned. Our flights there and back have been booked, using points of course!

 

July – beyond: No clue

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The hubster will officially be a doctor after May. I can’t believe it. I mean, I can, he’s fucking smart. But it’s been one long, tough road. I’ve supported this guy as he busted his ass to go back to school, just so he could get into med school and then, you know, go through the rigors that happen in med school.

So, after this summer, there may not be much traveling going on except maybe to visit each other when he starts his emergency medicine residency. More on that later.

So, those are my travel plans. What do you think? Share yours!

Hotels: How I Stayed in Fancy Hotels for 10 Nights for Under $400

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I should have spent over $4,500 to stay in the hotels I fell asleep in during a wine-induced haze. But I spent less than $400. How? Take a looksie.

This is a series of Trip Reports where I'll breakdown the costs associated with airfare and hotels and how I pay for a significant portion of it with miles and points, like I did recently to Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong.

Airfare: How I Flew In Business Class To Australia, New Zealand And Hong Kong For Under $100

So how did I stay in some fancy schmancy hotels for less 8% of what they cost?

What it cost:

Park Hyatt Sydney:
4 nights – 2 free-night certificates + 60,000 Ultimate Rewards points = FREE
Waiheke Island, New Zealand AirBnb:
2 nights = $127/per person
Rydges Auckland hotel:
1 night – AMEX Membership Rewards = FREE
Intercontinental Hong Kong:
3 nights - 150,000 IHG points + I upgraded at check-in and paid $80/night =$240
Total: $367

Brush up on The Basics of Earning Miles and Points, so you know how travel hacking works. Obviously, I spent some time sleeping overnight on planes during this 2 week vacation, but that wasn’t a problem because I flew in business class like a boss. (Did that sound as badass as I wanted it to? Good.)

What it should have cost:

Sydney Park Hyatt City Harbour View Room
Just a normal view from my balcony…

 

Sydney Park Hyatt: Park King (upgraded to City Harbour King due to my Hyatt Platinum status)

I used my 2 free night certificates I received after meeting the minimum spend on my Hyatt credit card. Plus, I transferred Ultimate Rewards Points to Hyatt for the remainder of the stay. Currently, this my most favorite hotel redemption so far. It was a spectacular hotel.

$941 AUD/night x 4 nights = $2,648.91 USD

 

Waiheke Island AirBnb
I was okay waking up here everyday.

 

Waiheke Island, New Zealand AirBnb: You know, a house.

This is sort of a no-brainer. $381 split between 3 wine-loving gals = bundles of New Zealand fun.

$381 USD

 

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Rydges Auckland hotel: Standard Double Room

My friend used her American Express Membership Rewards points to stay in this hotel overnight before we took off on separate paths for the remainder of our vacations. Plus, it was one of the few hotel rooms that had 2 double beds. Bizarre, right?

$264 NZD/night x 1 night = $173.68 USD

 

Intercontinental Hong Kong Harbour View Room
Harbour View Room of the stunning Hong Kong skyline. Light show every night!

 

Intercontinental Hong Kong: Harbour View Room

I used my IHG points that I accumulated through meeting the minimum spend on my Chase IHG credit card, as well as earning bonus points for being a Spire Elite (one of the statuses in their hotel program). In the end, I don’t regret paying cash to upgrade to a Harbour View room, but truth be told, I should have pushed the front desk staff more to get it for free. Even though I’m a Spire Elite (the highest status), I was just too nervous to come across as pushy. Oh well, lesson learned. In the end I only paid $240 for room that should have cost me over $1400. I’d call that a win!

$3,700 HKD/night x 3 nights = $1,430.37 USD
Total: $4,633.96

 

You can read more about my favorite credit cards to use  and decide for yourself which programs make the most sense for you. For this 2 week vacation, I’d say I did pretty dang good for the hotels.

If I were backpacking through Southeast Asia, using my points probably wouldn’t make as much sense since rooms cost $15.

It’s all in how you want to work your points for your needs. Sometimes people feel an obligation to stay at the best hotel for the best points redemption value and sure, that’s great and all, but in the end it’s what you need at that time and if it wasn’t the very best value, so what? You still got a great deal most likely!

In an upcoming post I’ll share the travel costs I paid out of pocket and the grand total associated with that. You’ll probably be surprised.

Airfare: How I Flew in Business Class to Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong for Under $100

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The biggest costs to any trip are usually airfare and hotels. So how in the world did I fly three 10+ hours flights, all in business class for under $100? Let me show you.

This is the first part in a series of Trip Reports where I’ll breakdown the costs associated with airfare and hotels and how I pay for a significant portion of it with miles and points, like I did recently to Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong.

So how did I fly in glorious business/first class for under $100?

Here’s how:

LAX – SYD: Virgin Australia Business Class – 80,000 Delta Miles + $37.10 tax
AKL – HKG: Cathay Pacific Business Class – 30,000 American Miles + $20.90 tax
HKG – JFK: Asiana Airlines Business Class – 80,000 United Miles + $41.60 tax
Total: $99.60

I’m sure you’ve read up on The Basics of Earning Miles and Points, so you’re well versed in travel hacking, right? Obviously, staying at hotels and flying will earn you hotel and airline miles, but for those of us who aren’t jetsetting 24/7 just for funzies, travel hacking works.

I used Delta Skymiles that I’ve earned by flying with them for years, as well as miles earned on my Platinum Delta America Express to book a Virgin Australia business class ticket. Virgin Australia is a partner of Delta and easily bookable online on Delta.com.

Business Class in Virgin Australia...with, you know, a bar.
Business Class in Virgin Australia…with, you know, a bar.

 

I used American miles that I earned simply by meeting the minimum spend with the Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select card and AAdvantage Aviator card (formerly theThe US Airways Premier World MasterCard). Cathay Pacific is a OneWorld partner and was booked through American Airlines.

Note the headline on The Wall Street Journal...what shadow? From my stretched legs on Cathay Pacific?
Note the headline on The Wall Street Journal…what shadow? From my stretched legs on Cathay Pacific?

 

I used United miles that I earned through both my United MileagePlus Explorer card and my Chase Sapphire credit card to book on Asiana Airlines, which is a Star Alliance partner. You can easily transfer your Chase Ultimate Rewards points to United miles and book from there.

It was my own little apartment.
It was my own little apartment on Asiana.

 

As I mentioned previously, I utilized a great company to help me find my Cathay Pacific and Asiana Airlines flights. There was a $200 fee associated with it that I felt was well worth it, since I was flying around the holidays and Australia/New Zealand are notoriously hard award ticket routes. I could have booked all of these flights, meaning there wasn’t some special pricing I got by knowing a hidden website or password. I just didn’t know where to look and that’s where PointsPros helped me out. I highly recommend them and may post about my experience in the future.

Additionally, I also had to get to LAX, fly between SYD and AUK, as well as, you know, get home to FLL, so there were tickets that I paid for out of pocket that I will lay out for you in the final total of costs for a 2 week trip. Hint: All total, including hotels, was under $1500.

Do I have your attention now?

*maniacally raises eyebrows*

Still think travel is too expensive for you? Nah. With minimum effort and a lot of organization, you can easily travel in business class on three 10+ hour flights, for under $100.

Stay tuned to see how little I spent on hotels for this trip.

Top Posts of 2015 & How I Did with my Goals

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NYAG_2015It was an interesting year on Not Your Average Gal with a total rebrand (formerly Caroline Made This), more posts about travel hacking and a fun mix of what you guys liked to read.

Take a look at the Top Posts of 2015.

  1. How to: Valentine’s Day Wreath
  2. A Reminder for all Teachers
  3. Canceling our Trip to Southeast Asia & How Things Will Get Better
  4. Why I Flew to Atlanta Yesterday Morning (and was Home Before Noon)
  5. You seem so happy.
  6. Welcome to Not Your Average Gal!
  7. 2015 Changed Me
  8. What is Travel Hacking?
  9. Changes are Happening in my Life and on This Site
  10. Short-Term Health Goals Before our Trip

Recap of 2015 Goals

Now, how did I do with the goals I set back last January? Pretty darn well. Sort of…

I’ll keep chugging along to hold myself more accountable this year. Big things are planned, plus I have a big announcement coming in the next few weeks regarding my fitness and upcoming races.

Blog

  • Join a blog network and start expanding readers. Readership is way up! No blog network.
  • Gain more followers on Twitter and Facebook. Check and check.
  • Choose one medium for all my social networks, that can push blog posts to all of them. Check. Plus, I’m focusing more on what works. Facebook is my best network.
  • Include more videos. Big fail. I have some up my sleeve from this most recent trip.
  • Write more about “travel hacking.” Check and check and check.
  • Gain more freelance writing work. Woot! Check.
  • Feature sponsored posts, guest writers and perhaps open up advertisements. Guest writer: Check Still leery of advertisements. It could change. This year, I’m focusing more on writing about what I love and seeing where that goes, as opposed to focusing on what sponsors may like. Writing a post last year about something I loved actually worked out for this year…more on that soon. :D

Life

  • Travel somewhere new in July. July got switched to December.
  • Read a damn book. 4, in fact! Woohoo!
  • Give up TV for one month. Check.
  • Learn more Spanish. Fail. Big time. Aside from the fun terms my coworkers have taught me.

Health

  • Lose 15 pounds. I lost exactly half of that, 7.5 pounds.
  • Incorporate more lifting in my workouts. Check.
  • Allow myself to buy pre-packaged meals. Check.
  • Run 2 half-marathons. I only ran one. But I’ll cut myself some slack considering this past fall, when I would have run the second one, was somewhat of a shit show. BIG announcement coming about races this year though.
  • Get up each morning at 6am. Check.
  • Eat less meat. Somewhat of a check? Meh.
  • Letting go of guilt. Check!

I think I did pretty darn tootin’ okay. What do you think? Do you have any goals for 2016 you’d like to accomplish?