Country Counting

I’m Terry and I love to travel.

Here’s an easy way to get a free airline ticket to Europe and back

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If you love getting free airline tickets like I do, you gotta’ take advantage of this deal.

Sign up for the new Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card, spend $4000 in the first three months and you qualify for 100,000 miles! That’s enough to get you a roundtrip ticket to Europe and back in business class. Check out the details on one of my favorite sites: www.thepointsguy.com.

And while you’re at it, get another card for your spouse/partner and you’ll score an easy 200,000 points. I usually put my points in United, but there are a number of other airlines to which you can transfer points.

The card costs $450 per year, but you will get $300 in credit, once you spend on hotels or any other travel. That makes the card cost just $150. This is one of those once-in-a-lifetime deals, so don’t miss it. The most I’ve ever gotten on a credit card deal is 60,000 miles, so be sure to nab this one.

To Cairo and back for under $400

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I needed a cheap ticket to Cairo. Kelly found a great deal on Delta from Atlanta to Cairo and has never been to Egypt, so decided now was the time. Her fight left at 4:30 am and I told her I was too much of a princess to get up at that hour.

If I could find a cheap ticket, I would go with her. So my search began. Before long, I found business class flights on United for 250,000 miles. OK, I had the mileage, so I booked the flight.

In the middle of the night, I realized I could re-book the flight and have a layover in Istanbul and another in Dublin and spend an extra week on my way home from Egypt.

I had come down with kidney stones a year ago when Kelly and I were in Istanbul and missed my day of shopping at the Grand Bazaar. This was my chance to get back to the Bazaar and find those earrings for my friend, Lora.

I’d never been to Northern Ireland, so why not hop up there from Dublin and get that country. And while I was so close, I could check off Isle of Man and fly down to London to spend some time with my college friend, Diane, who lives there.

How to do all this on the cheap? After studying the United flight schedule, I realized I could fly home from Dublin direct to Orlando on Aer Lingus, a United partner. The flight showed availability in business class. All I needed to do was get from Cairo to Istanbul and from Istanbul to Dublin or Belfast.

With a few internet searches, I found the flights I needed and decided the most economical way to make the trip was to pay for Cairo to Istanbul and Istanbul to Belfast. Both flights were under four hours and both could be had fairly cheaply in economy class. That would give me a business class flight for the long haul from Dublin to Orlando.

I got on the phone with United. You can make a change in a booking within 24 hours, but you can’t do it online. You must speak with an agent.

After two very long conversations with an agent and then a supervisor, I was ready to pin down the details. Then we were disconnected. Errr. I had to call back, do the detestable wait on hold and explain everything again to another agent, who couldn’t figure out how to do what I wanted and another supervisor – only to be disconnected for the second time. Ok, calm down, don’t let United get the best of me. On the third call, I asked for a supervisor immediately and explained how I had been disconnected twice. She took my phone number, I explained what I wanted and she promised to call me back after figuring out how to do what I wanted.

In the end, I re-booked the first flight, got business class from Orlando to Cairo and Dublin to Orlando for only 100,000 miles. I paid less than $387 for two flights – Cairo to Istanbul and Istanbul to Belfast.

Granted, it took a bit of time. But I love using my airline miles to get a bargain and I felt pretty good about this one. I get to spend a week with Kelly in Egypt (and Beirut – we’re doing a one-day dash to Lebanon), pick up my missed time in Istanbul and get two new countries! I’d call that a successful day of booking!

 

 

 

 

What’s it like to fly on a super cheap airline

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My niece, Kelly, called a few months ago and told me she found a super cheap flight to Cartagena, Columbia.

Since I’d never been to Columbia, I said yes, let’s go.

She found a flight for $300 out of Atlanta through Ft. Lauderdale on Spirit (compared to $600+ on other airlines). I’ve flown on Southwest and Ryanair, but never Spirit – an airline that bills itself as the “ultra-low cost airline.”

So how was the flight? Some pros and cons.

For the pros:

  • Cost was half the cost of more traditional airlines.
  • We flew out of Ft. Lauderdale, which was a pleasant change from the crowds of Miami International Airport.
  • The seats don’t recline

    The seats are pretty basic--what I call four hour seats, no more.
    The seats are pretty basic–what I call four hour seats, no more.

The cons included:

  • Lots of waiting in line, because of fewer staff at check-in desks
  • You’ll pay for checking a bag and getting food on the plane – much like most airlines these days. But you’ll also pay for selecting a seat.
  • The seats are so thin that you really can’t get too comfortable.
  • You can’t find Spirit on big travel websites like Expedia or Orbitz so it is a little more challenging to compare prices and schedules.
  • The airplane’s interior is plastered with advertising posters and you’ll be subjected to pitches to sign up for Spirit’s credit card
  • Customer service is non-existent. If you research Spirit online, you’ll find a horrifying list of complaints, delays and poor service.
  • The seats don’t recline

Some tips:

  • If you have a relatively short flight – say less than four hours – you’ll be fine in the seats.
  • Don’t spring for extra cost for the “big front seats.” They are wider, but don’t give you any extra service or amenities.
  • Check-in online before your flight. If you have to print a boarding pass at the airport, you will be charged extra.

Bottom line: if you don’t care about service, delays or comfort – you’ll be hunky-dorey. But if you are on a tight schedule and enjoy a comfortable seat and courteous service, pay a little extra and go for another airline.

Will I fly on Spirit again? If Kelly finds another bargain to a place I haven’t visited – most likely!

What’s it like to go fishing in Alaska?

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I don’t have a good record in the fishing department. I’ve never liked it. Hate the heat of fishing in Florida and have had several near-divorce moments on fishing boats with my husband. I even spent the day horizontal on a fishing charter that the president of the company I worked for decided would be a great place for a board meeting. It wasn’t.

But all that has changed. I love fishing in Alaska.

It’s taken a while. My husband first went to Alaska fishing with a buddy after they bought a fishing trip at a charity auction. They caught lots of fish, but when I heard about the accommodations, I wasn’t signing up for the next trip. Dormitory rooms with shared bathrooms and food that was, at best, marginal. A couple more trips followed and the reports back were no better.

I finally decided I would like to see Alaska – but on my terms. So my darling husband, Ken, began the search for lodges that would be – shall we say – a step up.

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Niece Kelly and Husband Ken pose in front of Rainbow River Lodge in Alaska.

Lucky for both of us, he found Rainbow River Lodge, a small fish camp, impeccably run by a former fishing guide and located just outside of Iliamna, Alaska (about an hour’s plane ride east of Anchorage).

Here, fishing takes on a whole new life. The lodge holds at most 12 people at a time. Everyone has a private cabin with a private bathroom. Each cabin has a refrigerator, instant hot water (that’s a necessity when you come back from a cold day of fishing) and plenty of space to hang the abundant gear and clothing you need for fishing in Alaska.

Food is prepared by an experienced chef and includes a variety of hot dishes for breakfast, sandwiches and homemade cookies or brownies for lunch and a four-course gourmet dinner, complete with appetizers, soup or salad, entrée and homemade dessert.

But, what about the fishing? Oh, yes, the fishing.

Well, that’s top-notch as well. As I’ve told many a friend. What’s not to like? You have a bevy of gorgeous young experienced fishing guides who gently teach you the ways of the rod. They bait your hook, throw your line and net the fish you catch. They bring you lunch, refill your drinks, offer you a chair and even build a fire if you might be temporarily grounded from your fly out due to bad weather.

Every evening, Chad, the owner of the camp, discusses the next day’s activities with you. He finds out what kind of fishing you like, suggests an itinerary and your guide checks in to see if you have any special requests for lunch. The next day you fly out via float plane to your selected location.

Rainbow River cabins are private and comfortable.
Rainbow River cabins are private and comfortable.
Floating down the Copper River is a great way to spend the day -- complete with fly fishing if you like.
Floating down the Copper River is a great way to spend the day — complete with fly fishing if you like.
You'll fly out to remote rivers and lakes for fishing from Rainbow River Lodge.
You’ll fly out to remote rivers and lakes for fishing from Rainbow River Lodge.
What fun to catch a huge king salmon!
What fun to catch a huge king salmon!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can fly fish in a nearby stream or river, do a float trip down a river complete with gorgeous waterfalls or fly to a nearby lake or river to fish for Salmon – again, depending upon the time of year you are there and what fish are “running.” Fly fisher-people can catch rainbow trout, arctic char, Sockeye salmon, Coho Salmon or grayling.

The weather is generally cool to cold, although we had two warm sunny days of 70-degree weather on our most recent trip.

When you’re tired of fishing, there’s plenty more to do

Fly to Katmai National Park to see the bears as they feed on salmon in a gorgeous waterfall – if you happen to be there at the right time in the summer.

Visit agate beach, a short boat-ride from Rainbow River Lodge, where you can collect handfuls of beautiful agate stones.

Dick's cabin is a a fascinating relic, complete with a copy of the daily diary he kept.
Dick’s cabin is a a fascinating relic, complete with a copy of the daily diary he kept.

Fly to Dick Proenneke’s cabin on Twin Lake. Dick is the famous Alaska pioneer who built a wilderness cabin here in the late 1960s. He lived in this remote location and photographed and wrote about his time living here for 20+ years.

Getting there /logistics

We generally fly to Alaska via Seattle to avoid the direct red-eye flights. Alaska Air is a great airline and you can fly out of Tampa or Orlando to Seattle and then onward to Anchorage. We usually stay several nights in Seattle on the way out and a night coming home so we can get the early morning flight, putting us into Tampa or Orlando early evening.

The view is spectacular as you fly through the mountains from Anchorage to Iliamna.
The view is spectacular as you fly through the mountains from Anchorage to Iliamna.

From Anchorage we fly on Clark Air, a small charter service that flies into Iliamna. There, we are picked up by the Rainbow River crew, drive 10 minutes to a lake and load onto float planes for the 15 to 20-minute flight to Rainbow River Lodge, only accessible by float plane.

We like to stay two nights in Anchorage, since we return to Anchorage at 7-8 pm Friday night from the camp. Saturday morning — if we’ve been lucky enough to catch fish – we arrange for UPS or FedEx to ship our fish home to us. Be sure your hotel has a freezer to store your fish overnight.