pjs91015

You have enough points to fly to Bangkok on Thai in F. It is an amazing experience and when you get to the airport they pick you up in a buggy. There are great marriotts in Bangkok as well.

Just do not do what I did....I had a seat in F and my GF was in C...you may not get the answer you want.

Greg P.

I thought I would post an update for anyone who may have been following this thread.

I'm happy to say that my proposal trip was a success! I am now happily engaged.

I ended up using my US DM miles to fly us both to Montreal for a very romantic weekend. I can attest that Montreal is a beautiful city for such a trip if you're ever so inclined and YUL seems to generally have good availability for award travel.

We ended up staying at the Marriott Springhill Suites in Old Montreal, which is possibly the best located hotel in the entire city of Montreal. I highly recommend it. Step right out the door, turn left and you are on Rue St. Paul. Beautiful! Nice hotel too. Better than your typical American Springhill.

Thanks for everyone's help on this! It was the greatest weekend ever!

So, now that we are engaged...

My next question is where should we go for a honeymoon trip? (using US DM miles and Marriott points, of course!) I'm thinking April of 2014, but could flex on this somewhat in either direction if the right availability came up. I still have a nearly 500K miles left.

We are open to going pretty much anywhere, with the exception of Thailand. I took my ex-wife there, so it would be kinda weird if you know what I mean.

The only other restriction is we are probably limited to seven days or less in total (busy schedules and all).

Any suggestions?

BoeingBoy

Where would your bride-to-be absolutely love to go? And while 7 days isn't a lot of time, a stopover for a day or two adds a second destination. With that many miles the world is your and her oyster...

Jim

kudzu

^^

Agree. From here on out, her wish is your command

pdpgps

Congrats dude! Depends on what kind of getaway you want for your honeymoon right? Like a peaceful/totally off the grid kind of getaway? Or a touristy see the world type of honeymoon?

Jetsfan

Okay I'll start. Kauai. There is a USA non-stop from Phoenix.

youvesaiditall

I'd add the Virgin Islands (as they are easy to get to from the east coast--and I assume you want to spend your 7 days on the ground rather than in the air).

The Marriott Frenchman's Reef is a damn nice property on STT. I have had very little trouble booking reward travel from the US to STT in both F and Y cabins. From there you could ferry over to the beaches of St. John or do a day trip to any of the other islands.

Congrats! ^ ^

Greg P.

Thanks for the ideas! Good advice on asking my bride to be what she prefers.

As it turns out, we both have a love of travel and are very open to any suggestions. We've been having a great time discussing potential locations.

The suggestion for Frenchman's Reef is a good one! we both like that. Looks like there is some award availability in F to STT, though not that good for weekend travel.

Hawaii sounds good. We've also talked about Budapest, Prague, Costa Rica, Belize, and Italy, but I have to say that we are slightly leaning toward something tropical and relaxing with scuba diving too. Not that we couldn't be swayed for something exotic.

I should add that we are open to having the actual wedding on-location as well, assuming it was convenient and legal.

BoeingBoy

One thing to keep in mind is that there's a good chance you'll have at least reciprocal award ticket privileges on AA, which adds a number of Caribbean/Latin American/nothern S American destinations. I'd take a look at their route map and mileage chart to get the complete picture of what will most likely be available to you.

Jim

photojojo

Took every single word right out of my mouth. I'll have to dig up my records but I can tell you what rooms you'd want to stay in with the best rooms, but then again IIRC there are several threads on the Marriott forum for this property.

TProphet

In case anyone else reads this thread seeking ideas...

Paris? Go for your honeymoon in Paris. If you want to propose, I suggest a beautiful place rather than a romantic place.

Have a zest for adventure? Pop the question on a zip line platform at Monteverde, Costa Rica. Not only is it really beautiful, she'll never expect it and it won't seem out of place to have a camera because you can film using a GoPro. It's a great time of year to visit Antarctica, why not ask her on The Ice? After all, there are plenty of little waddling people around wearing tuxedos who could curiously observe. And of course nothing beats popping the question in the middle of a near-death experience; South Africa is a great place to go on safari and pop the question in a jeep just as an angry elephant menaces you.

OK, maybe you're not the adventurous sort. Kyoto in Japan is absolutely gorgeous in the winter, particularly after a fresh morning snow. Most people wouldn't think of Seattle in the winter as a particularly inviting city, but there is just something about the Space Needle that will make her say "yes." Or if you prefer a sunny destination, consider New Zealand. The Blue Pools are peaceful, usually deserted, and a place she will always remember.

A lot of these places work really well for a honeymoon too. Antarctica tops my list. Paris is wonderful but the great thing about Paris is that anytime you visit, it's a second honeymoon.

Good luck, and remember that getting married comes with a lifetime tax and financial obligation. It's definitely not for me, but I wish you a lifetime of happiness.

Greg P.

A great thread with some great ideas!

My bride-to-be and I are having a blast talking about all of the possibilities for a honeymoon.

I have to say that right now, we are leaning strongly towards Frenchmen's Reef in St. Thomas, but also thinking maybe St. Kitts. A wildcard is Rio de Janeiro. Has anyone gone there? Not sure what the best flights would be.

Someone suggested Shanghai too. Might have to look at that.

Antarctica would be very cool (literally), but which airlines fly there?

Also, I've not been following all of the merger details that closely, but I'm assuming the following would be true:

1. Flights booked using US DM reward miles on US metal will be fully honored before or after the merger.

2. Flights booked using US DM reward miles on Star Alliance carriers will be fully honored even after US splits from *A as long as they were booked beforehand.

3. At some point, new possibilities of flights on AA and oneworld alliance partners will become available.

Does that sound about right?

youvesaiditall

It is my understanding that all of your assumptions here are correct.

TProphet

You can fly to Antarctica on LAN Argentina or Aerolineas Argentinas. You don't actually fly to Antarctica, you fly to Ushuaia, Argentina and then take a cruise from there. Friends have gone with Quark Expeditions and they were fine; I went with G Adventures last year and they were also excellent. If you are *really* adventurous you can just fly to Ushuaia (with plenty of US dollars in cash, credit cards are effectively useless in Argentina) and buy a last minute discounted cruise in town for discounts of 50% or more. However, no guarantees!

Shanghai? I lived in Beijing for 3 years (just moved away in February) and would recommend that you see both. Both cities have their own personality. The Great Wall is near Beijing though, and you can't visit China without seeing that. If you want more advice on visiting Beijing and China in general, just let me know. Do consider some of the more far-flung destinations where Air China could take you; Guizhou is rarely visited by foreigners but is one of the most incredible places you'll ever see. Yunnan is also very beautiful, and the food is incredible. And if you love pandas, don't miss Chengdu!

zeddy218

If you're still thinking of tropical, I'd suggest looking at Dominica, St. Lucia or Bequia. St. Lucia is most likely the easiest to get to, but I love the fact that the other islands are less traveled. Having been married in Bequia 15 years ago, I can say it was quite an experience. If you look into this option, there are a couple of things to keep in mind -- at the time we needed to be somewhere in SVG for 3 days prior to the wedding to establish residency (I would imagine that has not changed). We didn't know that until we had booked tickets (non-refundable, so there was a hefty change fee).

Congrats and best wishes!