For 2020, I plan on traveling a little more than I did in 2019. I started a new job in the middle of the year and that affected how much I could travel in 2019. I intentionally didn’t take any vacation over Christmas in order to have more days in the New Year. So far I have an idea of 5 trips that I am going to take in 2020.
Paris (February)
This is the trip that I’m taking for my mom’s and my birthday. The trip is already booked. I’ll be flying to Paris via La Compagnie and staying at the Hotel du Louvre. La Compagnie doesn’t depart from Chicago so I have positioning flight to Liberty that leaves the night before.
Seattle (Memorial Day Weekend)
This is a trip I take annually to visit friends I made when I used to live there. From an airline and hotel perspective this trip is pretty boring. I’ll probably end up flying Alaska or American and staying at Sheraton or Hyatt House.
Baltimore (June)
This is a trip I have planned for the beginning of June. I’m attending my uncle’s wedding. Again this will also be a pretty boring trip. I’ll fly American and stay at either a Hyatt or Marriott branded hotel near where the wedding is taking place
Some destination via Qatar airways (March – September)
This is where things get interesting. If you couldn’t tell Qatar Airways is my favorite airline. Usually around the end of January/beginning of February Qatar Airways has a sale where you can find round trip business class tickets for around $2000. The destinations are usually places in Africa and Asia. If the sale does happen, I’m hoping to take another trip to Zanzibar or maybe Bangkok.
I will use the American Express International Airline Program to book this trip. This is a perk of having the American Express Platinum card (I have the Charles Schwab version). When I book via this program, I can get a significant discount on premium economy, business class and first class flights. Last time I used this benefit I got a $200 discount on an already discounted business class ticket to Thailand. (I should probably write a post about this)
Thanksgiving/Christmas Trip (November– December )
This is probably the biggest mystery for me right now. I don’t actually know what my family will be doing for the holidays. If my parents don’t travel, I’ll will attempt to book a trip to Australia or New Zealand using miles. I’ve been saying that I wanted to visit for the past 3 years and I need to check that off of my bucket list.
What are your travel plans for 2020? Feel free to comment if you’re going anywhere interesting.