Quite a few important life events happened in January, and as a result, my January travel was unusual.
I got married in the Caribbean followed by a quick layover on the west coast before exploring Hawaii for our honeymoon.
The travel in February has been extensive due to work, so I’m really looking forward to March so I can regroup.
With that said, below are all of the places I travelled last month and a recap of each spot.
January Travel List
Nassau
After staying in DC the first two weeks of the year, we flew to the Bahamas for our wedding.
We had an amazing time hosting everyone, and the weather turned out to be perfect nearly every day.
The Grand Hyatt Bar Mar is where we had our wedding and I can’t recommend this place enough. It literally has everything you could possibly need in a resort.
Be on the lookout for a future post with a review of the resort and Nassau.
To sum up, starting off my January travel with our friends and family to celebrate our wedding was incredible!
Los Angeles
The second place on the January travel list was our quick 24-hour stay in LA.
We did this because we were unable to make our connection to Hawaii, so I booked a flight that allowed us to stay in LA for the night.
I saved ~$550 using 25,000 Korean Air miles transferred from my Chase Sapphire Reserve card to book this trip. This is a perfect example of the power of points and miles.
I booked the Marriott Marina del Rey that couldn’t have been in a better location. The proximity to Venice Beach, Abbot Kinney, and Santa Monica was perfect, however, the rooms were outdated.
In short, 1 day in LA is clearly not enough time but we were able to get a nice feel for the Venice area.
Kauai
Prior to flying to Kauai, we went to the LAX Delta Sky Club and I highly recommend checking it out. What a great way to relax before your flight!
The flight to Kauai isn’t too bad at roughly 5.5 hours, although I’d recommend booking business class if you can.
We took 7 full days to explore the island of Kauai and we absolutely crushed it in the Jeep that I rented! Renting a Jeep is a must because it allowed us to easily see all parts of the island.
Credit Cards to Use
Transferable credit card points are the name of the game because they provide maximum flexibility. For personal credit cards, the Amex Platinum and Chase Sapphire Reserve are ideal to use for flights. The Platinum has a higher earn rate and lounge benefits. The Reserve offers better travel protection.
If you prefer business credit cards for flights, the Amex Business Platinum and the Chase Ink Business Preferred are great. Use the Platinum for the earn rate and lounge benefits. The Preferred is best for earning Chase points.
If you have recommendations for any of these places, please let me know in the comments or by sending me an email on my contact page.
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