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I've been saving up my MR points to use towards a trip to NYC with my DH this December. I've spent a considerable amount of time researching flights and hotels, comparing offers on Amex's travel portal vs. booking separately. I finally settled on JetBlue and a hotel that we've stayed at in the past, where we've always had a satisfactory experience.
The MR to JetBlue conversion ratio is not very good currently, though, less than 1-to-1. So, I booked the flight through Amex and used their pay with points feature. I booked the hotel seperately through hotels.com since I have an account and rewards points through them.
I didn't run too much through my Amex for the first few months, as I wanted to break it in gently. I started using it as my primary card earlier this year. So, I had fewer points to use then I would have if I had used my card more aggressively at the start. But I'm ok with that. All in all, I cashed in on over 16,000 points, and so at a 1-1 conversion, that took over $160 off the price of the airfare.
All in all, I'm very happy with the way my bookings worked out and it felt great to finally cash in my points.
Congrats Tinu and a much deserved trip!
Personally I can think of better ways of spending a vacation than freezing my tookus off in the always wet, sometimes not-even-snow of NYC, but hey, more power to ya .
Looking forward to using my points for a free flight/hotel!!
@Revelate wrote:Congrats Tinu and a much deserved trip!
Personally I can think of better ways of spending a vacation than freezing my tookus off in the always wet, sometimes not-even-snow of NYC, but hey, more power to ya .
All depends upon your interests, I suppose. My DH and are are basically geeks, and as such we love hanging out in museums. We're looking forward to the Museum of Natural History, the Hayden Planetarium and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. All nice, warm, indoor activities. I do want to take in some of the outdoor scenery, though, since it's the holiday season -- Rockefeller Center comes to mind.
We have been up in the summer in the past, though, and have had some memorable experiences together. This morning my DH as wondering out loud if there would be any performances by Shakespeare in the Park; I had to remind him -- not in the winter!!! LOL!!! I'm keeping an eye on the Lincoln Center calendar, instead.
While I am a big NYC fan it wasn't even on the radar when we made our January vacation plans. The best deal I found was to convert to Hilton Honors at 1.5 to 1. I was able to convert 50,000 MR points to 75,000 HHonor points. Combined with the points already in my Hilton account I was able to book a week in the caribbean. The conversion on the MR points worked out to about 1.6 cents each.
Tinu, congrats on the bookings.
I actually semi-like NYC (it's so close to me) in the winter for Rockerfeller plaza and the Christmas shopping (5% cashback on Xmas shopping!).
Quick tip about the MET. I've been there dozens of times, and just in case you don't know, the admission fee is NOT $25. It's a "donation".
So if you want to charge $5 tickets for two on your AMEX to see the MET, it's possible.
Follow my financial journey: http://www.frugalrican.com
Congrats. Loved the first time I used my points and flew for free. The GF also loved it last November when points allowed us to fly to MIA for free (which allowed us to go on a vacation which if we had to pay for airfare probably would not have gone on). They are a wonderful thing and why I would take points over cash back anyday.
The points with Amex are great... we are accumulating points. We redeemed points for an Ihome system for the house. we are saving the rest of our points for conversion to full MR points. Love using and abusing the Zync
@FrugalRican wrote:Tinu, congrats on the bookings.
I actually semi-like NYC (it's so close to me) in the winter for Rockerfeller plaza and the Christmas shopping (5% cashback on Xmas shopping!).
Quick tip about the MET. I've been there dozens of times, and just in case you don't know, the admission fee is NOT $25. It's a "donation".
So if you want to charge $5 tickets for two on your AMEX to see the MET, it's possible.
Oh, yes, thank you for the tip, but I'm very well aware of the donation policy. I'm actually a transplanted native, and I visited the Met many, many times while I was growing up. While I no longer have any family left in the city, going back to visit still feels like "coming home" to me. And my DH was born and raised in SW Florida, where we currently live, so he looks forward to going as it's a complete change of venue for him. Although for different reasons, we're both very excited.
I am SO thrilled for you!!! Congratulations!
I LOVE NYC, and I think that's a GREAT way to use your first MR points.