As some of you may know, I had originally booked a trip to Bermuda for 2021. Point-based flights in BA First were readily available at the time, and at a cash price of around €18,000.00 for 2 people (osewood had very good offers at the time with around €1000 per night in the Harbor View Suite and even a good daily credit (mine was even $200). Unfortunately, Bermuda didn't let us in because of Covid (or with totally stupid restrictions, not sure anymore).
New attempt in 2022, this time I booked the new St. Regis. But Bermuda initially stuck with its test regime of PCR before departure, testing upon arrival, after 4 days and so on. You were then allowed to wear an armband for this. No thanks. Also reviews of St. Regis were not good and Rosewood no longer available). The whole testing thing was then waived two weeks before the planned departure, but by then I had already looked for an alternative.
By chance, I then found another award flight for 2024, these things are now very rare. However, a return flight was only available after four days, which is quite tight and decadent. In the end, I decided to spend six nights in Bermuda and then, after I had found a return flight from Washington Dulles (BA-F points flights are now also rare from the US and Business is not really my thing), three nights in Philadelphia and four nights in Washington.
The flight from BDA to the US was expensive, as point flights were not available, I booked an AA flight to Philadelphia, at €1800 for 2 people, it was truly no bargain. Unfortunately, the flight was canceled, but I was offered a connecting flight in Charlotte at no extra charge. With a regular charge of €5000 (no typing error!!!), it wasn't a bad deal, but an eight-hour journey and arrival in Philadelphia around 11 p.m. actually requires compensation for pain and suffering. So no thanks, at this point the third cancellation was pending. In the end, however, I decided on a United flight to Newark, which at €1500 for two was almost a bargain (OK, sarcasm alert) and in the ever-popular Boeing 737-Max. As a result, even the rental car from EWR was cheaper than from Philadelphia, where the largest car available was either a BMW 3 Series or a Chrysler 300. In Newark, however, a BMW 5 Series was available.
So in the end the trip was on and after Hurricane Ernesto had briefly jeopardized the matter again, it actually and really started at the beginning of September!