Advance Planning

30% and I are air-miles collectors, or rather the credit cards we use allow air-miles to be taken as an alternative to in-store discounts. With the increasingly wide availability of card payments points we simply make the majority of our purchases via a credit card and then settle the account at the end of each month. This approach allows us to rack up as many air-miles as possible at no cost other than a little discipline around payment method and account settlement.

Today we reaped the rewards as we booked 3 flights out to LasVegas in August. We don't plan to spend much time at all in Vegas, it is simply a reasonable entry and exit point for a road trip through some of the Western States. There are always plenty of hotels and hire cars available and fight availability is good via the air-miles site. We plan to head North from LasVegas towards Yellowstone but at the moment that's the sum total of our planning. Some of my colleagues have suggested that the Grand Tetons are a "must" if visiting Yellowstone so the route is likely to take in that National Park.

We have been out West a couple of time before and I absolutely adore the Western States I have visited; California, Arizona, Utah and Colorado. I even enjoyed the desert landscapes of Nevada so am really looking forward to the next trip.

We didn't quite have enough air-miles to get three free trips but the discount was excellent and we have three flights for the price of one and plenty of air-miles left over to book the hire car.

Roll on August.