Hi all,
Thanks for having me on your forum!
Our family love to travel and recently wiped out our million miles we'd saved by going on a great holiday. Now we have another one coming up and are looking for how best to book it, under kind of odd places/circumstances.
Let me give you some information...
We renew our vows every 5 years in an international location, taking our kids with us to see and experience cultures of different countries. 2020 is our 20th anniversary, so we're planning a great trip. What we'd LIKE to do, if we can afford it (!) is the following:
1. Cusco - to see Machu Picchu (maybe 2 days needed?)
2. Easter Island - to see the Moai (maybe overnight due to infrequent flights?)
3. Sydney - (maybe 3 days, just enough to see some stuff)
4. Cairns (happy to drive the 1000+ miles to Carins if it is pretty enough to do so - plus we'd get to stop at Steve Irwin's zoo if we drive, but also happy to fly if it's not worth it to drive) (maybe 2 days, to do a Great Barrier Reef day)
5. Auckland (a week - renewing our vows at Hobbiton, plus want to see the country a bit)
6. Anywhere worth stopping on the way back that wouldn't add cost
Here's what we have available to us:
Me: 150,000 miles on American
Husband: 50,000 miles on American
Me: $3,160 in AA flight vouchers, will expire in March 2020
I know we have to wait until about 335 days before travel to book the flights, so I'm asking nice and early as we're hoping to be there late June / early July in 2020. I do know it is winter over there, but we have to work around our kids' school holidays, darn it. Hopefully the weather wouldn't be horrid during that window! It makes me wonder if I can use my flight vouchers - are they valid for a year from issue to booking date, or a year from issue to travel date?
So...how do we get there with 2 adults, and 2 teenagers for the most affordable way? If you have recommendations on upgrades too, let me know - I'm used to flying first class but when you take the whole family, often that isn't the right way to go to keep prices down
Thanks!
Rachel