Law student, I want to propose to my g/f in Paris by Dec 31. Help?
 

Hi, first and foremost you guys are incredible, this is an amazing website. So so much to take in.

Background: I am a second year law student in the Midwest. I have about a 740 credit score with a couple of basic credit cards; a university credit union Visa with $0/$4000 and a Freedom by Chase $0/$1500. I'm also an authorized user on a few of my Dad's cards. Spend about $2000/m and currently avg about 6 RTs per a year. I have a Delta Skymiles account with almost 15000 miles in it.

After discovering this website I was wondering if you guys think it's possible to rack enough flyer miles to take my girlfriend of 3 years to Paris to propose to her? Depart city would be either DTW or Chicago, but NYC is an option as well -- i.e. the airline possibilities are endless. I'd like to do this before Dec 31 2012.

Viable? Advice?

Thank you, Gideon

So long as you can qualify for the cards, the Citi/AA personal and business offers might be your best bet. Current offers here (check the whole thread, the best current offers are spread through the thread, not necessarily summarized in post #1): Citi/AA.

That would get you 100K miles. Your spending patterns indicate you could get the mileage in two to three months, so you'd probably have the miles in hand by no later than May 1. So long as you don't mind flying in coach, you can fly AA nonstop from Chicago to Paris. Fly in the fall, and you should be able to snag two RT coach fares at the offseason rate of 40K each. Be flexible about your dates, and the availability should be there before 12/31.

You might even be able to qualify for a hotel credit card before your trip that would allow you to defray some of your hotel expenses. Or, given that you already have the Chase Freedom, perhaps the Chase Sapphire Preferred would be good.

Good luck!

Thank you for the response. What made you recommend the Citi/AA above all of the other CC as well as airline options?

Prenup.

jk :D

Easily doable. Citi AA's are a good option bc you can get two at one time.

In addition to the link above, you should look at this post: Guide to applying for multiple Citi/AA credit cards. The links in the remainder of this thread no longer work, but the principles behind applying for multiple cards set forth in this post still work for the current offers. Follow the instructions explicitly, and you should qualify for two cards on the same day.

The Citi AA is a terrific deal and if you do the steps correctly, you will likely get both of the cards without any problems. That being said, I would actually wait for a better offer to arise from a different card.

Also, don't worry. I'm a law student in a school in the midwest too and I was able to book a RTW using miles earned through credit cards just this past December

Sorry, didn't see your post asking why I recommend Citi/AA before I posted about the second thread you should read. Three reasons: first, you can get two cards to get 100K miles; second, there are nonstop flights available to get you from ORD to CDG (Delta and United also do this and Delta does out of DTW, thus, reducing your travel time); third, AA has an offseason rate of 40K RT with reasonable availability.

Um, not so much. Keeping in mind that there is a spending requirement to be met, two seats required (booking two award seats may require more advance planning than one), a relatively popular destination, and a stated deadline, I wouldn't wait too long. A better offer might indeed come along, although the 2011 standard of 75-100K offers appears to have receded to 50K offers, but award seat availability might not be so good. In addition, we never know when Citi will decide it's worth their while to stop the "two browser" trick from working.

Having been through law school myself, in private practice for years, and now an administrative law judge, I've learned the wisdom of "a bird in the hand."

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If the OP does indeed get the Citi/AA cards, he should keep in mind that for the same 20,000 miles that AA charges for an off-peak MileSAAver Coach award CDG-JFK or CDG-ORD, one can get CDG-JFK/ORD (stopover) - Hawaii/Caribbean/Alaska/etc. This essentially adds a free, one-way from the North American gateway to another North American destination. (The stopover at the gateway can last weeks or months, as long as all travel on the award is completed within one year of award-ticket issuance.)

I proposed 18 months ago on the Eiffel Tower, then returned 6 months ago for the honeymoon. Each trip we also drove for a week in a different part of France. Can't go wrong with Paris in my experience.

Few things, first you will need 100K miles for coach and 200K miles for Buisness. I think the first response was pretty good because you need to get the tickets ASAP. Remember you can always cancel them if you get better later. If you can get the 100K AA miles quickly and book something up, then maybe go for the Chase Hyatt for each of you to get the 2 free nights each at the Vendrome.

I've been to Paris many times and prefer September over all other months myself. other Paris tips: Museum pass, Metro pass, Metro iPhone app. Don't get hung up on the Louvre, make sure to visit the Musee D'Orsay, and take the nighttime boat tour of the Seine.

Be nice to see the GF get her own CC and share the load....you will have more fees than air....nice to feed he pigeons on the Eiffel Tower by the food courts...great view...

what cabin?

ask dad to help w/spend by getting him a card on your mi cc....

You guys continue to impress me. A dozen quick responses all filled with good information.

I thought about getting her on board and "sharing the load" but I kind of wanted the trip to Paris to be a surprise. With that said, no doubt in my mind she would be more than willing to sign up for whatever card I recommend, and it would be much easier to obtain this goal if she was apart of the process. But.. I can't help but think of her retelling the proposal story with, "It all started when my crafty boyfriend decided to obsess over airline miles.." Cheapens the romance of the journey (to non flyertalk members).

My first thought was economy, but the first few responses make economy seem like light work. Maybe I should raise my goal to business/first class for both of us?

If business/first for both would take a bit more time that could be a factor in delaying the proposal past Dec 31, but probably not much later than say Spring 2013. She's not a brat though, so she'd never gripe about a trip to Paris in any class. But, if I want to make the proposal special, business/first would certainly start the trip off right.

A stopover in Hawaii would be amazing, but certainly starts adding up the $$$/time. My initial thought was to do "weekend" in New York with dinner our first (and unbeknownst to her, only) night at a very memorable French restaurant, e.g. Daniel, Per Se. Sometime after the dinner make a comment about I wonder what REAL French food tastes like.. and present her with the two tickets to Paris? That type of surprise may require far too many obstacles, but I could still employ the same stopover tactic your post illustrates even if she knows we're ultimately going to Paris.

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No, I don't think you understand.

You don't get a stopover in Hawaii. You get a stopover at your North American gateway (ORD or JFK) on your way back from CDG. Then, months later, you can fly to Hawaii from your stopover city on a separate trip (perhaps your honeymoon, depending on how long your engagement lasts).

If you want to start your trip to CDG in ORD or DTW, you can fly ORD/DTW-NYC (stopover) - CDG also for 20,000 miles per person.

Tougher to do, but possible. More likely than not, your GF will have to join in to make this work as 2 Business/First MileSAAver fares will run 100K each. Assuming for the moment you're the usual age of a law student (20s), I'd opt for keeping this a surprise and doing it all yourself with coach tickets. When I was in my 20s, the excitement of any trip offset the discomfort I felt flying in coach. Furthermore, I like the romantic element of surprise this approach involves.

The only possible way I could see getting two business-class tickets without your GF's help: get the two personal cards immediately, meet the spend, then get a Citi/AA business card as set forth in the earlier post I cited, and meet that spend. The three cards together should get you 165K AA miles, including the 2 points per dollar earnings rate. Then get an Amex SPG (current signup bonus 25K but twice in the last two years 30K has been offered), which will allow conversion at a 1:1.25 ratio to AA, when done in blocks of 20K points. You'd get at least 25K more AA miles that way.

You'd still be short 10K miles. But, beginning immediately, you can earn miles in AAdvantage even without flying. Do some occasional dining and shopping in the AA Shopping Mall. The AAdvantage Dining program, AAdvantage Dining, will help you earn as much as 5 miles per dollar spent at restaurants/bars (with occasional bonuses higher than that). I earned 25K miles in this program last year. You have to dine at restaurants in the program to earn points, the only downside. Good thing, there's a 1000-mile bonus for new members.

The Shopping Mall gives you a few more options. There was an incident last year involving a mistake offer made by Verizon that ticked a lot of people off; however, I've generally had good experiences with it. All sorts of ways to earn miles. You like to read the NY Times on Sunday? Subscribe: https://www.aadvantageeshopping.com/...e=false&page=5. 1761 miles. Valentine's Day is coming up, and one of the retail categories with the highest earning rate is florists. Right now, most are offering 9-10 miles/dollar, but around major holidays, including Valentine's Day, the earnings rate generally jumps to 25 miles/$. There's another 1000-1500 miles for buying flowers that you'd probably buy anyway (and for some later purchases of flowers that you might not, but hey, you want to increase the chances she'll accept your proposal, right?).

The danger of this approach is that you're unlikely to accumulate enough miles before August 1. If you remain flexible on travel dates, however, you can still probably put together a trip. Just don't expect to travel at Christmas or New Year's.

I'd add, by the way, that if you go the business class route, you might be able to put together a similar strategy with other airlines as some of their business class awards during the offseason might be comparable, and all of these airline programs have similar shopping malls and dining programs. None of the other programs, however, has a similar avenue to massive miles through credit card apps such as the Citi/AA route. If your GF participates, however, you should be able to put together something with Chase's Sapphire Preferred and United cards.

Can you charge tuition to your credit card? That will up your spending.

Not to be a negative Nancy but does your GF have a valid passport? I totally understand the value of a surprise but one of my friends forgot about this aspect and his surprise trip to Venice had to be delayed because his GF couldn't get a passport in time. If your GF does have one, it might not be that hard for you to surreptitiously obtain her passport and bring it with you to NY.

As far as credit cards, you should probably stick with economy for your airfare as you have not also secured hotel accommodations. IMO the hotel will be more memorable than the flight. Business award for you and a paid ticket for her might be a better option if you're willing to splurge for that.

Assuming that can get the 2 AA cards, you might also consider applying for a Sapphire Preferred at the same time if you can handle the spend requirements. After 3 months, you could also go for the Hyatt card. Using the UR points, you could get some extra nights at the Vendome but, as always, you may need to book early which is not realistic at this point. Another "memorable" use would be to spend 2 nights in a standard room and spend some extra for 2 nights in a suite. I'm not sure how long you intend on staying in Paris but this is 1 idea. (Note: UR points transfer at a 1:1 rate to Hyatt)

I'm not sure what your overall budget would be for this itinerary so my recommendations reflect that. If you would be willing to spend $2,000 over what would be required to book this trip as outlined, we'd have even more suggestions. It just depends on your situation.

I really don't think coach is that big of a deal, but I have never been in a plane for longer than 4 hours, and the flight to Paris is 7-9 (depending on our depart city). If coach is moderately easy to obtain perhaps the rest of my energy would be better suited acquiring perks to use towards a hotel in Paris? Coach flight + better hotel Vs. Business/first flight + average hotel

Oh, did I mention the g/f has approx 50,000 Delta/Amex miles? Not sure if those are worth much, or applicable in any fashion to this proposal.

Can't thank you all enough. Easily the best forum with the most helpful members I've ever come across.

It might be a detail but be aware that there hasn't a firework for NYE in Paris for a few years and it's unlikely to change.
And I would rather travel in Y and have a better hotel in Paris than fly J and have a sh*tty, anyway expensive, hotel in Paris.

She does, but I'm still thinking a surprise trip to Paris may involve too many issues. I guess I'll make the final decision in 6 or so months, but at this point it seems pretty daunting with a high potential for drama. It will be both of our first times there, so surprise or not, the trip will be exciting.

It seems to me that nothing would be lost by encouraging your g/f to apply for the Citi/AA credit cards when you do the same. If you end up with enough mileage to obtain both tickets with your miles, fine; if you come up short, each of you should be in a position to obtain one ticket.

The advantage to AA is that AA, unlike Delta and United/Continental, currently requires 40,000 miles for a USA-Europe RT during the off-season; the other require 60,000 all year, as AA does during the high season. (These policies, of course, are subject to change.)

I would:
Keep it simple
Fly coach

If you can afford it, consider
http://www.vacationinparis.com/apts/id_180.htm
or something like it as a place to stay. Fancy hotels are great but this is more Parisian.

Longer flights put a strain on anybody. I'm in my 50s. I've given up on flying across the ocean in coach, especially for red eye flights. My sister, who is slightly younger than me, can take some medications and stay unconscious through an entire 8-hour flight. After accompanying her to Dublin in 2010 and watching her sleep all night long in a coach seat, I learned I just can't go that way anymore.

My last few TATL flights have been in BA's Club World business class. I nap but generally don't sleep long because of the aircraft engine noise. Nevertheless, even without sleeping all night long, I've found myself refreshed enough to make my first day as productive as when I made my first flight to Europe in 1998. I think it has something to do with being able to relax while lying down instead of making an effort to stay upright in a coach seat. My days in coach are over for TATLs.

I'd consider taking coach, staying in an OK hotel (check the "Travel&Dining: Destination >> The World" forum for France here at FT to find reasonable hotel recommendations that won't break the bank), and splurging on dining. Dining in Paris is a highlight but generally extremely expensive. Plus, you might have some money left in the budget to buy something memorable to commemorate your engagement.

Dude you are proposing in Paris, don't get cheap with miles. Book Biz Class and you and your GF will not miss the cattle class.

I don't see how getting Citi AA visa/amex CC's for you and her will give away a surprise trip to Paris. If you manage the AAdvantage accounts how would she she know about the two 50k mile bonus offers?

Also DL 50k is a good start. It takes 100k in Business class to CDG on Delta. So it is the same mileage cost as AA but the AA double dip makes AA more accessible.

Focused on the flight alone, of course you are correct. But there are a tremendous number of people in this world who travel in the "cattle class" who still manage to have fantastic trips.

I guess you're encouraging the OP to apply for two credit cards in his GF's name without her knowledge? Or at least to hide the benefit that she would earn with her credit if she applies?

Not really a great way to impress on your future wife that you're an honest guy. For the sake of getting off on the right foot, better to let her know that you want the two of you to apply for these cards with a fantastic mileage benefit so that you can take a trip to Paris. Then, leave the proposal as the surprise rather than the trip.

Female here. I'd go with coach and a nicer hotel in Paris if I had to choose. You'll spend a lot more time in the hotel than on the flights. On the way over, you'll either be asleep or too excited to sleep and the cramped coach seats won't matter. On the way back, maybe. (One strategy might be to book coach out and business back.)

Paris hotels are outrageously expensive. It might be a whole lot cheaper to buy airline tickets and use hotel points to mitigate the pain of Paris hotels.

1. I fly in cattle class exclusively. But if I was surprising m GF with a proposal in Paris I would spring for Biz class.

At least Biz on the return leg as outbound in Biz might tip her off to your plans. Unless she is like my GF and just doesn't understand or care enough to know how miles work.

2. I am saying he should tell her about these great cards that earn airline miles that would be able to get them free flights. That they would be awesome to have.

Why does he need to tell her about the 50k signup bonus offers? If he would manage her AAdvantage account, I am not saying he would manage her Citi accounts, it would be easy to get the 100k miles.

I don't think that is shady and I doubt she would get mad after she realizes he got them free flights to Paris. The only reason he didn't tell her about the bonus miles is because he wanted it to be an authentically special surprise just for her. He knows he is in law school and doesn't have the time to break away and do everything they might like to do together but this was something he could control. He wanted it to be something they both would cherish for the rest of their lives and that their grandkids could hear about how grandpa surprised grandma with a trip and proposal in Paris.

Just what I think. Obviously the OP morals will guide him to do right by the woman he loves. I think the topic of this post is quality and I do not want to hijack the thread.

I hope you can earn that trip! If you need help figuring out how to book or earn the trip, I would be more than willing to lend a hand for OP great idea.

Great ideas and great advice! You may also want to participate more on flyertalk so you can post on coupon connection if needed when you get closer to actually booking your flights / and hotels.( For example once you apply for the credit cards, come back and offer your experience and what you have learned to help someone else. ) Good luck! I think you are on the right track.
PS. I vote for business for first.....:D

You have to remember that if she gets the credit cards, she'll have to meet the minimum spend on both the cards. She might be able to do that, but are you going to be paying attention to make sure she puts enough spend on one card and then switches to the other? If you do that, I think you end up looking really obsessed with mileage (which hopefully is true), but probably gets her suspicious.

I'd say do everything you can to keep it a surprise. I love your idea of eating at a French restaurant in NY and then surprising her with tickets to Paris. I'd stick with coach (unless you know she really can't handle flying that way) and then splurge on the hotel/dining (and get the credit cards mentioned by others).

Good luck!

Great thinking. You can decide even a few days before whether to tell her or not. Or, tell her you're going to Quebec.

While I agree with lwildernorva that my days of flying coach TATL are over, I would say don't bother with trying for business on this trip. It will be special enough! And, I second the advice to consider an apartment (especially on Ile St. Louis). Try getting a reservation at Frenchie's- very reasonable but great restaurant.

This kind of got lost in the mix here, but I wanted to bring it up since it's a fantastic idea (two fantastic ideas, actually) which would let you do most of what you wanted.

A pseudo itinerary could look like this:
ORD/DTW -> NYC (stop) -> CDG
CDG -> ORD/DTW (stop) -> HNL/LIH

Since stopovers can be 24+ hours, you could get your dinner in NYC and then surprise her with the second half of the outbound. (Some creativity may be necessary to "hide" the NYC-CDG seg of the itinerary from her but totally worth it IMO. Though you would be saying "I wonder how the French food is in Paris? Why don't we find out RIGHT NOW!") Then, on the way back, count your home base as a "stopover" for weeks, months, whatever, then continue - on the same award! - to Hawaii. You'd then only need to pay for the fare back from Hawaii, perhaps with miles you've accumulated in the meantime.

If you can meet the spend on the two AA cards somewhat easily, I'd also take up the advice provided elsewhere on this thread and look into gaining Hyatt points, either through the Hyatt card or one of the transfer partner cards like the Sapphire Preferred. There are several other threads in MilesBuzz! that will be helpful with this.

Best of luck and early congratulations!

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"CDG -> ORD/DTW (stop) -> HNL/LIH"

CDG-ORD (stop) - Hawaii would work, but CDG-DTW (stop) - Hawaii would not. The free stopover can only be at the North American "gateway." Since neither AA nor its partners offers a direct flight from Europe to DTW, DTW cannot be a gateway.

Don't ignore all these great values but don't get crazy about them either. You and your GF still have lives to live. If the best you do is nonstop ORD-CDG, good for you. If you can tack on a stop in NYC on the way out and/or the first half of a trip later, great. Nice options to know about, but if they don't fit your life now, no sweat. Just don't forget about them later. The best thing about the techniques you learn here is just how far you can stretch the considerable money you should earn as a lawyer into luxurious travel later.

to get to Paris over New Years, you're going to have to book the tickets in the next few months, late Feb by the latest, I would imagine. Delta probbaly won't have any low level availability, ever, for those dates. Just get the Citi cards, get the flight in coach class and be there for new years. If you can delay, go for business class, but I would say coach + new years is better than March + business class.

Try to get the paris vendome also via chase. amazing hotel and definetly worth the extra hits on your credit report.

Gf and I went to paris this past September using AA miles we obtained through the two 75k offer. We went economy and flight was a nightmare cause we couldn't sleep at all, ended up being up for almost 36 straight hours, when we got to the hotel, we crashed for like 6 hours. However, I would do it again if we had to because Paris was amazing. We also stayed at the Hyatt Madeleine using the Hyatt two free nights, the Vendome wasn't available. I agree with staying at a nicer hotel cause you'll be there for much longer than your 8 hour flight in economy. Even though my post isn't convincing to do economy, I would spring for the surprise and go for the two citi cards, get the economy tix and either the Hyatt card or the Sapphire card for your hotel nights, or both, thats 4 nights at the vendome

Good luck with everything OP! I am like you and just discovered all the value on this website! Keep us posted and I am sure you can hit your goal!

Isn't it like a 7-8 hours flight to Paris? Why didn't you sleep for 36 hours? Also, what type of people are sitting in economy on a flight to Paris? I assume it's not the same level of potential characters on say a random Southwest economy domestic flight, no? Seat and amenities aside, I find one of the biggest gambles in economy is the type of people that you might have to sit next to.