Planning for Hawaii in 2025 & Recruiting for the Million Mile Challenge ✨
When to go, flight & hotel rewards we love, and our full Maui travel guide!
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✨ Million Mile Challenge ✨
In the past year we’ve helped many friends and family members earn the miles they need for dream vacations. This year we’re taking it a step further and are opening our calendar to help readers like you.
There’s no cost, but you’ll need to commit 30 mins every few months to a call and some time for homework beforehand to get organized...
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Winter Wanderlust
While it’s been a mild winter in the Northeast, a few snow days and heavy winds were all the reminder we needed that our favorite winters are those punctuated by time in warmer climates. Our mountain-loving friends may shout blasphemy, but we never got into in skiing or snowboarding and prefer our mountains with a side of sun, shorts and hiking boots.
For the past few winters we’ve found solace in Miami, specifically Coconut Grove, but decided to skip our annual pilgrimage since we already have a trip planned for a wedding there this summer. In hindsight, we love it so much that we should have gone twice. Especially after reviewing photos from last winter, and the incredible Marriott deal we managed last year. We shared a full points breakdown in this post from last February:
Maui 2019
In 2019 a flight deal arrived in my inbox for roundtrip economy flights from Newark to Maui for $180. Somehow the flight only had one connection in Honolulu on arrival and flew direct on the way home. While that flight (especially in economy) isn’t for the faint of heart, the deal was too good to pass up. Especially considering we each had almost half the flight cost in United travel bank credits.
Within a few weeks we were fully booked and en route to what would be remembered as our favorite island vacation to date. The trip included:
Amazing food, especially the sushi and macadamia nut pancakes
Endless beaches and 10/10 sunsets
Renting a Jeep Wrangler to see the entire island
Sea turtles, goats, and our highlight of whale watching
Hawaii 2025
Having enjoyed Maui so much, we’re planning to go back next January or February and given the 330 Day Rule, now is the time to prepare for those flights if we’re planning to book them with miles.
This time around, we’re specifically looking for business class via Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles program, which can quote as low as 12,500 miles each way. Economy is only 7,500 miles each way, meaning despite 6 years passing by, the flights can essentially be the same price as when we booked in 2019 with the added flexibility of a miles booking. While these flights aren’t easy to find, especially from the east coast, it’s amazing to see how affordable a dream vacation like Hawaii can actually be.
Hotel wise, we generally stick with Hyatt and Marriott properties and have detailed our favorites on the formal guide linked below. While we’ll still compare availability once we’re close to securing flights, we’re also planning to use our new favorite hotel availability tool: Rooms.aero to help find a place to stay. Beyond that, we've been excited to checkout Vacasa (home rentals) since they provide another venue to redeem Wyndham Rewards.
Lastly, we greatly benefitted from the Hertz President’s Circle membership to secure the free upgrade to the Jeep Wrangler and great service after determining that our first Wrangler’s soft top roof had a small leak in it.
Full details or our trip and recommendations our on the All Ways Away Guide to Maui.
Deals & Offers
Hotels
Best Western is offering 5,000 BWR Bonus Points a maximum of (10) times for stays booked today and tomorrow (February 4) between now and May 5, 2024. Register and review full terms here.
Hyatt is offering a corporate status match trial, enter your company here to see if you’re eligible.
Hyatt is also offering 1,000 bonus Etihad Guest miles in addition to the World of Hyatt points you get for qualifying stays at participating Hyatt hotels and resorts. Register here by February 29 for qualifying stays between now and March 30, 2024.
IHG is offering 40,000 points every 4 nights at Iberostar Beachfront Resorts from February 20 to May 20, 2024. Register here.
Marriott is offering 1,000 bonus points and 1 bonus Elite Night Credit on each eligible paid night with no earning limits. Register here, then earn from February 13 through April 29, 2024. Registration ends April 15, 2024.
Transit
Amtrak is offering a free roundtrip ticket for July 1 to August 31, 2024 after three paid roundtrip tickets are purchased and used between now and February 29, 2024. Register here.
Looking for more offers?
Many of the offers shared in the last newsletter are still valid here.
❤️ Armand
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