This is the debrief for the Trip Report: That Champagne Lifestyle which evolved from a mileage run to London, to frustration at not getting in on the British sale quick enough, to despair from dealing with British customer service, to…champagne.
What started out as random trip planning turned into a focused mission for finding the best price, the best itinerary, and the best way to end the summer of 2016. Here’s what I’ve booked so far:
The a380 from Los Angeles to Nice via LHR
The Grand Hyatt Nice
The Park Hyatt Milan
The Pretty a380
In between now and basically a year from now I’ll figure out how long I’m staying in each and where I’ll go in between. A stop in St. Tropez is necessary and probably another in Monte Carlo because it’s St. Tropez and Monte Carlo.
My philosophy for booking trips has developed. The overarching theme is to Shut Up & Book! when it comes to points purchases but there are rules for not being wasteful (Buyer’s Remorse: A Case for Hoarding Points). A different strategy applies for mistake fares (Making Mistakes in Booking Mistake Fares) and now this one for mega sales. Overall, what is a great deal, good deal, or lousy deal is subjective. So long as you are satisfied with the derived value, you can call it whatever you want.
The lesson learned from planning this trip is to not settle for a great deal simply because it is a better deal than what is normally available. Since I was going to spend $800 on the flight, I had to make it count. That is why I swapped Lisbon for Nice. Though I still want to go to Portugal, nothing says summer like a cliché time in the South of France.
And now this:
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