2009 Travel Plans?

[wandering gnome Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wandering gnome]

Texas

Lynn,

Could you let us know about the San Antonio condo after you visit? What exchange company do you use for your exchanges?

[flexible Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close flexible]

The rewards pkgs aren't ending but on 1/15 the program is changing, in short, cost (in points) for pretty much all the pkgs is going up but there are no blackout dates. If you are going to try to beat the deadline (Midnight tonite) I would suggest you do it online as the hold times today for a phone reservation I would bet will be extremely long.

I am on Hotels - Vacation and hotel information from Marriott Hotels - Official Site

Finally found some pages detailing the changes effective January 15. I'm lost trying to figure out and compare the NEW program to the OLD.

We used points for 3 Marriott hotels over 7 days in Ireland in April. At that time I had plenty of American, USAir and Mexicana points so I didn't see a need to get the '7 day package with hotel nights & airline points' at that time.

Right now I have nights booked for
April 22-26- Galway, Ireland

April 26 - May 2 - Paris - 7 nights in April 2009 but it is an alternative backup and I really don't have enough time between April 22 (Dublin) - May 2 (Nice, France) to spend in Paris unless I shortchange Ireland and Pau (Pyrenees area) in Southern France.

June 6-8 Edinburgh, Scotland

We have two Marriott Rewards cards thus a Marriott account number for my husband and myself.

I will try calling Marriott on SKYPE but for now I can't figure out if it is a better deal to book before the change.

I was told you can choose a 7 day air mile/night package and change the hotel locations but I think there were some restrictions.

The other thing about Marriott credit cards is the annual 34A certificates for one free night stay. It appears the first year is Category 1-4, the renewal is Category 1-5. I was told they had to be used in six months of receipt after card renewal. I was able to use one last February in Sydney for a date past the six months because it was booked before the six months. Then I was told the hotel stay has to be within the six months.

Any comments/advice would be appreciated.

[Vanessa Member Find all posts View Profile Close Vanessa]

We had such a great time at Christmas Mountain Village over the holidays that we decided to do it again this year. I just received confirmation for a 2 bedroom cabin. We are very happy!!!

[LynnW Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close LynnW]

Lynn,

Could you let us know about the San Antonio condo after you visit? What exchange company do you use for your exchanges?

Will let you know about the condo in San Antonio which was booked through DAE. I believe they only have access to 1 unit in the complex and it is not a timeshare resort. The other 2 weeks in Texas were booked with RCI Points. I also have used SFX. I had 2 weeks booked at Camelback with RCI Points and found a third week with Platinum Interchange. This was my first exchange with them.

Lynn

[wandering gnome Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wandering gnome]

Lynn,

Thanks. I have deposited a week with Platinum Interchange and use them to make an exchange this year.

[JWC Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close JWC]

Utah Trip

I am now planning a 2 week driving trip from Southern California to Utah right after Memorial Day. A friend of ours in the SF Bay area sends us the bi-monthly magazine "American Lifestyle" every 2 months. The most recent edition has a very in depth article about touring scenic Highway 12 in Utah. It is a 122 mile loop from Torrey UT through Boulder UT, Escalante and ends at Bryce Canyon park.

We are going to drive up 395 to Ridgecrest CA and then cross through Death Valley to Las Vegas and then up I-15 to I-70 and then drive down to Torrey. We will then follow Highway 12 with some side trips to 89 and then south to Kanab and then across to I-15 at St. George's and then down I-15 to home. This will be a very leisurely trip spending several nights along the way. We will finish up by spending 4 nights in Las Vegas at The Paris on the way back.

After reading the article and looking at the stunning pictures of the red rocks and other scenery, I then did a lot of research on the Internet. Highway 12 is the only All American scenic byway in Utah and offers just spectacular scenery. We have been through Utah many times but have never taken the time to stop and look around.

Below are a couple good links to Utah's Highway 12:

http://www.utah.com/byways/highway_12.htm

http://www.so-utah.com/hwy12/homepage.html

If anybody has any suggestions or info, feel free to offer them.

[RESORT2ME Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close RESORT2ME]

John,

If you are going so far and haven’t already, you may wish to run 24 as well as 12. Check Capital Reef NP, off 24 at Fruita and Canyonland and Arches NPs, off I-70.

The last of Sep 2006, we crossed Death Valley from Yosmite to Vegas. Did Havasu, Sedona, G Canyon and Lk Powell on the way to Zion. Just a bit east from Cedar City (I-15) is Cedar Breaks National Memorial. The 1st of Oct we went that way, up into a pretty snow (coats) on our way to Bryce then ran 12 and 24 on our trip toward I-70 and Denver.

[JWC Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close JWC]

John,

If you are going so far and haven’t already, you may wish to run 24 as well as 12. Check Capital Reef NP, off 24 at Fruita and Canyonland and Arches NPs, off I-70.

The last of Sep 2006, we crossed Death Valley from Yosmite to Vegas. Did Havasu, Sedona, G Canyon and Lk Powell on the way to Zion. Just a bit east from Cedar City (I-15) is Cedar Breaks National Memorial. The 1st of Oct we went that way, up into a pretty snow (coats) on our way to Bryce then ran 12 and 24 on our trip toward I-70 and Denver.

Though I didn't include it in my first post, Capital Reef NP is definitely included. We will be taking our time and intend to see as much as possible. We have done the Grand Canyon, Sedona and all of Arizona where I used to live.

[bezerk Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close bezerk]

Jan..Puerto Vallarta
Feb..Puerto Vallarta
March Nuevo Vallarta
May Acapulco first time & Ixtapa return
July Nuevo Vallarta & Puerto Vallarta
Sept. pending Mazatlan
OCT> NOV >DEC...pending due to just found out going to be abuelita ( Grandmother) so it will be probably trip to states.....

hmm....I already have some 2010 trips planned as well but this new news may change some of my plans....oh my!!!

[mas Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close mas]

We spent the week at the Royal Palms in Orlando. The temps were in the low to mid 80's the first half of the week but today's highs are expected to be in the low to mid 60's but plenty of sun.

They say timing is everything--we drove to Florida from MPLS last week (Thursday - Sunday) with stops in Indianapolis and Atlanta. We were very lucky that we weren't on the road a few days later! When we went through Louisville and Nashville it was sunny and temps were in the 50's and 60's. A couple of days later would have meant snow and ice storms .

Heading to Beach Place in Fort Lauderdale tomorrow for a week followed by a week in Key West and then I'll head home with a detour stop in Galveston, TX for a few days to do some volunteer work (Hurricane Ike recovery effort). By the time I get back, March will be less then a week away and winter's cold grip will hopefully be on the wane back in the hinterlands!