This weekend (2 nights) I was scheduled to visit Houston,TX! I was headed there to visit a cousin of mine whom just graduated from Jackson State University. He decided to move to Houston as it has been described as a city on the rise for several years now. I did not make the trip because there was a Winter storm this weekend. If you read my Blog, you now I was just In a winter storm in Charleston, SC 2 weeks ago. I am NOT about that life again. With that said, I will show you guys the “planned” vacation. As always, my goal while traveling was to enjoy a luxury vacation, without spending the money typically needed to do so. Here is how I did it!
Once again, I have racked up so many airline points through my Chase Southwest Credit Card https://creditcards.chase.com/southwest that essentially anywhere I travel, is free. The round-trip flight from Chicago, IL to Houston, TX cost me only 3,756 Southwest rewards points and $11.20. Also, I have a companion pass for Southwest. One of my guys could have flown with me (round trip) for $11.20. That’s 2 people round trip for $22.40! Don’t forget on Southwest 2 bags fly free!
I was going to be doing a lot a driving and sightseeing in Houston so I had reserved car through Hertz. I have the Platinum AMEX so I have a complimentary Hertz Gold Plus membership. With this I get discounted rentals as well as a 4-hour grace period return window! I rented a Suburban for just $123 for the 2 days (and extra 4 hours).
I wasn’t able to find a great hotel deal through the Hilton App in order to use my rewards points from my AMEX Hilton Honors card. However, I did find a great express deal on priceline.com. I was able to get a 4-star hotel from in the Houston Galleria Area for $53 a night! Came out to $134 with taxes and other fees. Still a great deal! The room rate for this room is typically $199
I’m sure I would’ve had some other expenses here and there (Houston “Clubs”). But other than that, this would have been an affordable trip for me! And we would have definitely Ball’d on a budget.
TheBlackPointsGuy Expenses:
Flights for 2- $22.40 w/tax
Hotel- $134 w/tax
Transportation-$123 w/tax
TheTypicalGuy Expenses:
Flights for 2- $750-$1000 depending on dates
Hotel- $199 a night, roughly $400 wo/tax
Transportation- $99 per day roughly $200 wo/tax