Hollah

Looks like there isn't a star alliance lounge in cancun from what I can see

Bohemian1

Um, as 24left said how about the beach?

The iten linked by canadiancow had plenty of time for that.

Hollah

Fair, I'm a pasty Irish-Canadian that burns and gets heatstroke every time I go to Mexico haha, Would have to be super careful!

24left

@Hollah

If that's the only item you focused on, you really need to let your imagination explore the possibilities.

canadiancow

There was a PP lounge convenient for UA gates last time I was there, but you can turn this into a weekend trip if you want and actually make a vacation out of it.

Hollah

I am definitely looking at this as just getting it over with as cheap and easy as possible this time unfortunately, I am moving soon and am buying my first home so I have a lot of stress (and work trips that I've accounted mileage for) before the end of the year! Hopefully if I am short next year I can plan some fun around it!

jethro288

Thanks for the suggestion. Not sure if I could justify $1,700 for difference between E75 and SE. Will keep looking!

WaytoomuchEurope

It's your money and my opinion, so take it with a big ol' rock of salt, but I would say it is justified.

Having said that, I have no idea what you would expect your travel for next year to be.

I qualified for the first time last fall and the difference, for me, is enormous. So much so that this year I am going to do a huge MR just so I can have a banked year of SE.

Adam Smith

The PP lounge was horrendously overcrowded with a long wait list when I was there earlier this year. I talked to someone who visits frequently and he said it was pretty frequently like that, especially in the afternoons, although perhaps if the MR is soon, you'll avoid the peak time.

To each his own, but have you given much thought to what you value from the Altitude program? I think a lot of us would tell you $1,700 is a small price to pay. Consider:

• How many Aeroplan miles do you have? Have trouble redeeming them, especially for J? It's much easier with SE IKK.
• YQ waiver on international reward tickets: depending on your redemption patterns, this could easily be worth $1,700 in real dollars. Or make your reward travel much more convenient by letting you avoid the hassle of finding convoluted YQ-free routes.
• Do you use your eUps? Much easier to do so as SE due to the longer window.
• The concierge service can be tremendously valuable, especially if you frequently travel to places prone to IRROPs. LGA concierge access has bailed me out at LGA a number of times, preventing me from getting stuck in NYC or YYZ and allowing me to get back to YYC. BRU concierge saved me and my wife from likely missing our flight due to ridiculous immigration line a couple months back.

Perhaps you've already thought about these things and it's still not worth $1,700 to you, and that's fine. But if you haven't, take some time to analyze it before writing it off.

Also, don't think that $1,700 is necessarily the best you can do. That was for an itinerary in J, which is definitely more comfortable, and can also save a bit of time thanks to CoS bonus. But if you're willing to fly in Y, it may be possible to cut the price further. Also, I certainly didn't do an exhaustive search of all dates. If you're truly flexible for both November and December, there are a ton of permutations that could be searched, and you get what you pay for when you ask for free advice

If you narrow it down a bit more on your dates, flying Y vs J, etc, I'm sure people might give you some more ideas, but to some extent, what we're doing here is offering guidance to help you narrow your own search. TPE tends to be cheap and upgraded fairly easily on AC. Northern South America is often decent bang for the buck in J. And so on. But "cheapest possible, anywhere, any time during 2 months", that's asking a lot.

yyznomad

I usually eat muffins. Sometimes McMuffins if I'm feeling YOLO.

All seriousness aside, if it is literally a true non-functional MR, then I'll just pick one thing to do in the city and do that, and then go back to the airport with just enough time to spare.

yyznomad

@jethro288

Then give us a number, because your initial post did not provide one.
If you have subjectively said $1,700 won't do it (where for some others, it would be a no-brainer), then you can please give us a number.

jethro288

Thanks for your help with this and my apologies for not providing a number. Don't laugh, but I was looking at $1,000-$1,200 maximum.

Adam Smith

What about the other questions - are you willing to fly in Y? Are there any particular dates that you would like to use? And presumably if that's your budget, you're looking to just turn around and get right back on a plane rather than hanging out at a destination a day or two?

The first two years I made SE, I did it with year-end trips to BOS. I had decided I would do an MR somewhere, but I wanted to get some value for the money beyond the status, so I met up with a close friend, we went to a Patriots game, and made a nice weekend of it. Cost me more money overall, but I also enjoyed hanging out with my buddy, football, etc.

Would something like that make more sense for you? It's not going to reduce the cost, but maybe it would feel like a better return on investment.

marchelli

+1

Having done both quick turns and MR vacations, the MR vacations are worth the investment.

jethro288

No problems traveling in Y and also no issues with mini vacation. I was thinking early December dates since they may be cheapest. An example I was looking at (although the flight times were not great and overnight layover - e.g. 5 hours overnight in Montreal) was YYZ to SJO? (Costa Rica). I have not worked out mileage but cost was around $850 on AC metal - Comfort Class.