Cannae

I'm not the best with using miles... looking to travel 09/30 - 10/7 to a beach destination without hurricane risk. Have 150+ MR, 50k Delta, 100k BA... any suggestions would be appreciated!

redtop43

1) Speaking as former chief actuary of a hurricane insurer... I will say that if you really want to avoid hurricane risk, you pretty much have to go to California or abroad. The Jersey shore is relatively low-risk, and if you want to stay further south, the Jacksonville, FL area is lower-risk than the rest of the state. But no area on the East or Gulf cost is completely risk-free, and the prime hurricane season is roughly August 1 - October 1.

2) Speaking as a flyertalker, it would help a lot if you posted where you are going from, and what exactly you are hoping to get.

With regard to hotels, you will get much better deals on Priceline than you will using points. There are a lot of smaller, independent hotels in beach areas, but most of them are not especially nice and not places you'd want to go for a honeymoon. Check out http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/onlin...ng-primer.html.

As for air travel, BA is good for American Airlines awards that are short distances and not connecting flights. So probably good to go to Miami. The main Membership Rewards partners that are probably of interst are Delta and JetBlue. It's not really possible to be more helpful without knowing where you are flying from, and whether you are looking to fly coach or first.

civico

Depending on where you live, BA could be a great value for you. If you live near a hub (Chicago, New York, Dallas, Los Angeles) you could find some really cheap flights. So I guess the first question is: Where would you be flying out of?

Second question would be: Do you want to stay domestic? Would somewhere in the Caribbean be ok? Would you be willing to go even further abroad (say Thailand or Bali)?

Once we know some of that stuff, people can easily help you piece together a great itinerary.

mamslambam

Have you thought about Hawaii? Depending on where you're located, you could transfer you MR points to Hawaiian airlines. It would eat through a lot of your points, but you should be able to make it to Hawaii.

billpreston

As redtop said, BA miles (avios) have the most value for short flights. You have to spend for each segment of the route. If you fly economy it is <10K per person each way on AA or partners (e.g., LAN) from Miami or Dallas to the Caribbean and South America. Some possibilities with fewer hurricanes are Panama and Guayaquil. AA has a pretty good route map that might help: http://www.aa.com/i18n/aboutUs/where...false&from=Nav

Another option would be the Azores off of Portugal, but be prepared to pay fuel surcharges and taxes if using BA avios to fly to Lisbon.

jgallag

Hi Cannae,

I agree with the others. It depends on where you are coming from. I would go with the ABC islands, Aruba, ... These are usually out of tornado alley.

Costa Rica is pretty safe. Manuel Antonio, for example.

84fiero

Concur wirth the ABC islands, they're out of the "hurricane belt" so the risk is fairly low, though of course not zero. If you want no risk of hurricane you'd need to shoot for CA, HI, overseas, something like that.

But depends on your mileage situation and starting location, too

wise2u

I would say Hawaii, but it is my favorite beach destination.
The ABC islands are also a good choice...Aruba, Barbados, and Curacao in case you didnt know...it has been over 50 years since a hurricane hit Barbados.

Max M

Isn't the "B" of the "ABC Islands" Bonaire, not Barbados?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABC_isl...er_Antilles%29

tru2logan

BA avios miles are great to Hawaii if you are on the left coast 12.5k EW on AA or AS metal.

jcmitchell21

I went to Curacao in mid-october for my honeymoon. It claimed to be during the rainy season. It was partly cloudy the first morning and nothing but blue skies and low 90's the rest of the week. I chose it specifically for the low risk of hurricanes. Not very crowded and many nice small beaches. Wife always brings it up when vacation talks begin. Booked 3 weeks before the trip through Cheapcaribbean.com. 7 nights at the emerald marriott including air from atlanta for 2 was $1600.

BA miles would be great if transiting from eastern US and even better from the southeast. If from west coast, AA miles would be better.

AlohaDaveKennedy

Hawaii. Get a SunTrust checking account and debit card if you need to bulk Delta.

Cannae

Thanks everyone for the suggestions! Would be from NYC area... going to Hawaii in July (on new direct HA flight). Would like to do business class and international destination. Seems like ABC Islands, maybe Portugal, or Central America are best destinations. Hard to find the flights though....

maewest

I can tell you from personal experience direct flights to Curacao from the NYC area are only once a week, I believe on Saturdays and out of Newark if you fly United. Fall is a great time to visit, as the island is much less populated with tourists. Hyatt opened a new property maybe 2 years ago which is gorgeous if you have any points with them to burn.