Originally Posted by
jgodbey
I really, really want to take my wife on an awesome vacation to Hawaii for our 2 year anniversary in February.
(we couldn't really afford anything for year 1, and honeymoon was kind of a bust as well :-\ )
My wife cannot get any CC's because she just became a greencard holder and doesn't have a credit history in the US. We're starting her off with Student CC to build credit.
- I have 2 other crappy CC's that carry a balance and do nothing else for me
- My FICO TU score is 710 (as of 8/1/12)
- My FICO Equifax score is 670 (as of 8/1/12)
- I'm concerned about the difference in scores
- I've been paying down CC debt significantly over the past 2-3 months
[B]I'm not "married" to this plan at all, I just want to take my wife to Hawaii for 10 days for very cheap! And this is all I could think of.
TL;DR - I'm a travel hacking noobie who really wants to take his wife on our first amazing trip. I already have some Delta SkyMiles. Please help!
So I sympathize: we couldn't afford a honeymoon and our first few anniversaries were within driving distance, so I really applaud your travel hacking approach. But a few questions:
1) Are you sure she'd agree that Hawaii is the best use of 130k miles? Or, would she prefer a different destination?
2) If you're carrying balances on other cards, will it mean you'll be stressed about other costs while in Hawaii? Would she/you rather go in a year when you can perhaps afford to splurge on a helicopter tour, or hop between the islands, buy a special souvenir, etc?
Is she the type that enjoys planning trips? Would she love spending two or three nights in a very upscale hotel (on points of course!) nearby for anniversary two, with the present being "let's plan a trip together anywhere for next year using miles and points?"
It's just food for thought - Hawaii is spectacular, and can be done relatively inexpensively if you rent a house or condo surprisingly. But if you're staying at a hotel, you want to be able to enjoy the pool and not be worried about the cost of ordering a drink or food, or skip things that you really want to do (whale watches, etc).