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2 out of the last 3 weekends I was over 5000 miles away from home. And I loved it.
It may seem crazy to fly halfway around the world for the weekend, but it could be just what you need. Time and money are the two biggest reasons people don’t travel, and since you’re reading Monkey Miles – you know you don’t need tons of money to take dream trips. Time, this is what trips most people up, and what you may need to reconsider. You don’t need 2 or 3 weeks to refresh your attitude, recharge your batteries, and feel unbelievably adventurous. You just need a weekend.
In 10 years will you say, “Man, I wish I didn’t fly to Tokyo that one time for the weekend.”
Absolutely Not. Life is about living. Why are you building up a huge stash of points if you aren’t going to use them for Baller experiences?
I just went to Tokyo for 2 nights.
We went to the Tsukiji fish market, hit up Robot Restaurant, ran through Shibuya cross walk, selfied at Takeshita street, ate at one of the best and most famous sushi restaurants in the world, toasted at the Park Hyatt Tokyo like Scarlett and Bill, and even had time to hit up the Imperial Palace. We didn’t need a week, just 2 nights.
Destination weddings are the perfect excuse.
Have you been invited to a wedding in a far off location and debated whether it was possible to go? Just do it. Weddings are amazing. You’ll see friends, toast champagne, and celebrate two people making life long commitments. Two years in a row I’ve flown to London, for the weekend, for a wedding, and absolutely loved it.
You’ll barely get jetlagged.
Your adrenaline is pumping, and you’re just so excited to be there that you don’t actually adjust to the new timezone. You’re just pedal to the metal. You’ll arrive back in town exhausted, sleep like a champ, and wake up the next day as if you never left. Then you’ll grab your phone, figure out where the hell you are, check your photos, and laugh uncontrollably. You did it.
Trust me. I’ve been to London, then LA, then Indiana, back to LA, then Tokyo, and back to LA all in about 14 days. While your head may be spinning, your body never really knows the difference. Ok..maybe a little bit, but it’s worth it.
Use your points to fly business or first. It’ll make the flights and lounges part of the experience.
You’re doing this for the experience. So make every single part of the trip something to remember. You won’t feel guilty about dropping a grip of points on just a few days if your vacation starts and ends at your front door.
You aren’t getting any younger. Stop living vicariously.
Feel alive. Take your eyes off the rear view mirror and hit the gas. I promise, defying convention will inspire your day to day. Oh, make sure you take some Insta worthy pics. You can follow me @zacharyburrabel and Miles @monkey_miles
AND VIDEO THAT #WEEKENDWARRIOR TRIP!!!!!
Need help making your weekend trip come to fruition? Email us about our Award Booking service: miles@monkeymiles.com
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.