Oh I like seeing how everyone is using their miles and where they are going. I'll play along with where we are going this year and how we are making it happen:
In February we are going to London for the weekend to see a show. We are flying in first class using American Airline miles, accumulated from cc bonus sign ups and AA shopping portal bonuses. The AA credit card also gives you 10% of the miles you redeem back each year up to 10,000 miles. DH and I each have the card so that's 20K miles every year. The Barclay Arrival card also has a periodic offer for 15K miles for meeting $500 spending each month for 3 months so we do take advantage of that. We are staying at a Radisson Blu for free using their Club Carlson points from the hotel branded credit card that gives you 40,000 points every anniversary year so we keep that one.
March: Flying to Hawaii in first using a combination of AA miles, Citi Thank You points (Prestige and Premier sign up bonus). Staying at Aulani for 10 days on our DVC points, then at
Disneyland' Grand California for 4 days on our DVC points.
June/July: Scotland: Flying in business using British Airways Avios, combination of cc sign up bonus and 50% bonus transfer of Amex MR points to Avios. Staying in a combination of B&B with CSR credit and one night in a Holiday Inn using IHG points from the postcard contest last year.
July: San Francisco weekend to see Hamilton. Flying AA in first with AA gift cards that have been purchased over the last few years to use up the airline credit on various cards like the Citi Prestige and Amex Platinum cards. Still haven't decided where we are staying but won't be paying for it. Likley an IHG, Hilton, SPG or Marriott property on points.
August: Italy with
Adventures by Disney. Flying British Airways in first with credit card bonus points and companion pass which we earned via MS and went through 4 BB shutdowns. Paying the
ABD portion with discounted Disney gift cards and Disney gift cards that were purchased at 5x UR points and sometimes stacking the two. They get loaded onto the DVA and we pay through there for the additional 2% back in Disney gift cards.
November: Iceland for Thanksgiving week. We used the UR points earned from the CSR sign up bonus to purchase tickets via the UR travel portal on Delta in first. Still mulling over accommodations. We are currently booked at a Hilton in Reykjavik for the week but are likely to change it. Other options are Radisson Blu, SPG design hotel property or may travel hack Air BNB with discounted gift cards. Another possibility would be paying for one of the more expensive properties with UR or MR points or taking a shot at a few cash back cards and using the sign up bonus.
So that is our 2017 year in travel hacking.