Late last year, I summarized my year as it relates to travel. Now I’m looking ahead to the new year, and the travel related goals.
How did I do on my travel goals for 2019?
Snippet from my travel goals for 2019:
One thing I’d like to do is fly Qatar Airways in a premium cabin. They have a very highly regarded business class, so I’d like to try that. With threats to leave Oneworld, I figure I better get something booked while I still can. Ideally I can grab one of their frequent sales and credit to my American Advantage account. Alternatively, maybe an award ticket would work.
I spent a lot of time away from home traveling alone for business in 2018. Given the nature of my job, that is likely to continue. Hopefully I can be more efficient in those trips and be home more. Better yet, have even more fun trips with family this year.
Unfortunately, no luck flying Qatar yet, so I’ll roll this one over into 2020. From the US, award space seems very difficult to find, and the sales aren’t as prevalent as in the past, but this seems like that is the best way to try premium classes on Qatar. On my trip home from Nepal, I was trying to make a Qatar routing work, but not only did it cost a lot more, the timing was not ideal, so I went with Cathay Pacific. At least I was able to earn a bunch of miles and EQDs for my AA requalification.
My travel was slightly less in 2019 vs 2018, and I was home more, so that was a positive. In addition, I was able to have some good family travel in 2019. Nothing long haul, but we enjoyed our time at the all-inclusive Hyatt Ziva in Jamaica.
My travels have changed…
Despite many years of mostly business travel, I still enjoy the variety my job provides. It is ever more difficult to be away from home and my wife and daughter, and I have noticed how my travels have changed, both for work and leisure. I strive to be more efficient when I travel. I no longer take inconvenient routings for more miles, rather just the quickest way to/from work. When traveling with family we take nonstops whenever possible, just for simplicity.
For 2020, somewhat atypically, I have a bunch of travel booked in advance. Thus far, most of it is for personal trips. I’m sure lots of work travel will fill in as the year goes on. These plans include several domestic flights to visit family, and in each case we are flying nonstop from Milwaukee. There are also 2 trips to Europe booked, which I’m looking forward since 2019 didn’t touch the continent or have any trans-Atlantic flights. These trips aren’t exotic by any means, with flights on American and British Airways, and include award travel and paid flights. When space is available, especially a low cash prices, or web specials, one needs to take advantage. As of now, for the four long haul flights we have booked, two are in business class, one in premium economy, and one in economy.
This year will also be the first time we take a cruise. One of the aforementioned trips is an Alaskan cruise with extended family. I’ve done SCUBA diving in Australia aboard for a few days on a liveaboard, and we stayed at an all-inclusive in Jamaica. I’ve asked for and received feedback about cruises from friends who have experienced it. I’ll say that I’m cautiously looking forward to it. Not my first choice of a vacation, but hoping for the best, and Alaska is beautiful, so I’ll be glad to return, and this time see a new area.
What about you, what are your travel goals for the new year (and decade)? Any advice for a first time on a cruise?
