About a month back, Nick and I were looking at our calendars for 2017.  There are a few things that we’re doing differently next year in terms of travels because of various events.  We usually travel over Labor Day in September to use the holiday and less vacation time off of work, but because we have a previous commitment over the holiday next year, we had to look at our travel schedules to move some stuff around.  We’re really trying next year to do more US travel to places we’ve wanted to go for a long time and we’re thinking next Fall to stay closer to home instead of doing a big International trip like we do in November usually.  So long story short, we decided it was a good year to use the 4th of July as a holiday to travel on.  We usually stay home that time of year since we don’t love traveling in peak season, however since our travel schedule is changing a bit next year we figured we’d try it.

And because we’ll have less international travel later in the year, we decided to jump at the chance to see a part of the world we’ve always wanted to: Provence!  I’ve always really wanted to see the lavender in bloom in the South of France during the Summer but because we usually don’t travel that time of year, it was always hard to accomplish.  But this new schedule turned out perfect for the time frame and so next July, we’ll be heading to Paris and Provence for 5 days to enjoy all that the French Summer has to offer.

The one thing I hate about traveling in peak season are the prices.  Everything is usually double what we normally pay to travel in the off season so we reached into our mileage accounts to try to cut cost and I seriously can’t believe how much we’re saving on this trip!  On the way there, we booked Norwegian Air flights from LAX to London Gatwick for a total of $877 for both of us, one way.  The amazing thing is, this is literally our only major expense for the whole trip.  Then we booked flights from London to Provence on our Chase Sapphire points with no fee.  We’re staying all the nights there on free hotels.com nights or Marriott points that I’ve been accruing.  And finally, we’re flying home from Paris to Portland, via San Francisco, on Air France for only 32,500 Alaska Air miles and $94! 

So in short, for travel to Paris and Provence in July, our airfare and hotels are literally coming to a total of less than $1,000 for 2 people!  Just to give you an idea, round trip flights paid in total were going for $1,500+ per person.  Just another reason, miles and points are truly the way to go to travel, especially in peak season!  So if you’re looking to travel, I highly recommend the Alaska Air visa to help you build points and they have amazing opportunities with airline partners like Air France too!