Redeeming Frequent Flyer Miles

I have the travel bug... Don't take me wrong: I ALWAYS have the travel bug but usually, at this time of year, I feel it stronger than perhaps other times. And the stronger I feel it, the farther I want to go!

We live in the Adirondack Park, in New York's State North Country. As you can well imagine, winter here means winter: cold, blustery winds, feet (not inches!) of beautiful snow, and sometimes, weeks of temperatures below zero. The below zero temperatures are hopefully behind us as we experienced a few weeks of those in late January and early February.

So here we are, in the middle of winter, snow falling (I could not get out of our driveway this morning because it had not been plowed! Luckily, my co-worker came to the rescue...) and all I can think of is getting away.

The problem our family has this year is that my husband has not been able to find gainful employment since July 2006. You can well imagine what this means: a lean and mean budget that does not allow much room for travel.

But I am the Queen of Cheap Travel and if someone can find a solution to our dilema, it should be me! So I got to think: how can our family go to Europe without costing us an arm and a leg and more importantly, without incurring debt - that's rule #1.

Here is what I am thinking about: We have enough frequent flyer miles to get three tickets to Europe. Typically, airfare is the most expensive part of the trip so we have that covered. Then, I thought: instead of renting a house in the country, why not rent an apartment in a city. Doing so means we will not have to rent a car and therefore, cut on expenses. Then it hit me: my cousin's aunt, has an apartment in Paris that she sometimes rents out. Perhaps we could rent it from her at a friendly price? So I e-mailed my cousin and am waiting to see if this is a possibility. If it is, then we're getting closer to our goal, depending on the rental price, of course.

I will keep you posted on what the status is on the apartment in a future posting.

In the meanwhile, I got on American Airline's website to see when I could travel. Utilizing frequent flyer miles can be maddening as dates can be blocked out or, if they are already utilized by other frequent flyers, they become unavailable. When traveling with frequent flyer miles, it is best to be flexible - and luckily, we are!

I found days that we can use our frequent flyer miles on and that fit into my work schedule. All I am waiting on is if we can rent my cousin's aunt apartment or not. If not, then I can check online what is available and at what price. If we can make it work, then we will probably be on our way to Paris. If not, then I will start planning a camping trip this summer, closer to home.

The best part about planning travel is the possibilities. Sure, I would prefer to spend a couple of weeks in Paris but on the other hand, taking the pop-up trailer to the east coast and Canadian Maritimes could be a very nice alternative.