Final Planning In Place for our Transatlantic Journey

Months ago I posted that we purchased transatlantic cruise tickets as an action towards our interest in doing some sort of international extended vacation. I haven’t posted much since, but there has been plenty of activity so I wanted to summarize the rest of the trip.

Given we were satisfied with the 14day cruise as the major component of our trip, we basically just tacked on a couple days in Madrid and Panama to explore a bit and get us the best deals on the flights. We signed up for 2 British Airways credit cards to take advantage of their 100,000 airline mile promotion on each card. In the end we were able to arrange for our flights using the miles on just 1 card and plan to save the miles on the other card for a future opportunity.

Major Travel Components

USD Exp

Other Credit or Expense

Cruise tickets, taxes + fees

$ 819

$200 OBSC included

BA Chase Card annual fee

$ 95

 

BA Chase Card annual fee (2nd card)

$ 95

 

2 1-way flights from NC to Madrid using BA miles

$ 430

60k BA miles plus taxes,fees

2 1-way flights from Madrid to Palma using BA miles

$ 56

9k BA miles plus taxes,fees

2 1-way flights from Panama to NC using BA miles

$ 120

34k BA miles plus taxes,fees

Palma hotel for 1 night on Orbitz

$ 77

Used 'orbtiz5' code to get 5% off

Madrid hotel for 2 nights

None

60k Hilton HHonors Points

Wyndam Garden hotel in Panama City for 2 nights

None

30.5k United Miles

Total

$ 1,692

 



We have really been able to leverage the recent credit card promotion and our existing frequent flyer points to minimize our initial out of pocket expenses for the trip. I’m hoping we can carry that forward once our journey is underway.

Related in Cruise Vacation:

Householding Accounts for Airline Miles (Feb 24, 2013) My family is considering a couple potential international travel opportunities this year and it will be the first time the full family (2 parents + 2 kids) would be traveling. I am an airline mile feind and one early concern...

Marriott Hotels Summer Promotion Get 1 Free Night After 2 Stays (Jul 09, 2012) While on my recent last minute business trip I did what I could to take advantage of hotel chain promotions to maximize rewards. Here are a couple summer promotions that caught my eye:Marriott Hotels, Earn 1 Free Night at any...

More Savings on our Transatlantic Cruise (Dec 19, 2011) I usually find it valuable after a big expense like our recent transatlantic cruise to reflect on the value of our expenses and if there are areas where we might be able to do slightly better the next time. A...

Comments (2)


Wow 2million, sounds like a great and fun trip! You deserve it. Let us know how it goes.

as a financial planner I am very impressed how frugal you are planning to meet your goals. well done! If you ever make it to Australia, we should create an event for you to talk about your experiences live

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A personal finance weblog of my journey to reach my goal of $2 million + the value of my primary residence.
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