[Scottie]

You have to take a private transfer between resorts, but one tip I found was to book a private tour/excursion that will pick you and your luggage up at one resort and drop you off at the next at the end of the tour.

In some cases, it doesn’t cost much more than booking just a transfer.

My brother did a private snorkeling tour with Bora Bora – Moana Adventure Tours for this but I know several companies will do this.

[Scottie]

Amazing.

I just signed up!

[Scottie]

Most of the perks of Silver status come with the AmEx Delta Gold card, which is only $95 Annual Fee.

So it probably isn’t worth trying to earn Silver Medallion Status.

That being said, 650 MQM is almost nothing, so, while I wouldn’t do a miles run specifically to hit status, I might use this as an excuse to take a cheap weekend trip somewhere before the end of the year.

[Scottie]

I can confirm it works with cheap Southwest fares too.!

I think I did LA to Vegas—make sure you search for Wanna Get Away Plus and it’s basically a gift card…transferable flight credit)

[Scottie]

The Caesar’s properties are closer to the center strip generally.

If this is your first time in Vegas, the closer you are to the middle of the Strip the better.

I would look at Linq, Horseshoe, or Harrah’s at a similar price point to Excalibur.

[Scottie]

Unfortunately, no.

You gotta stay the nights!

[Scottie]

Turkish Miles and Smiles.

I got round trip business class to Europe for 63k points.

[Scottie]

Best to check their website or call Comfort Inn or the hotel directly and ask if they charge resort fees.

Usually the website will show it.

[Scottie]

I did this with a trip from ICN to HNL.

Hawaiian Airlines support is in the Philippines and here in Hawaii, their call center has a reputation for being not great so YMMV.

[Scottie]

Also, consider the price of a high-speed train may be the same as a flight.

We went down from Madrid to Granada, and then onto Sevilla on train.

But from Sevilla to Madrid, we bought a flight because it was about the same price as the train coming back, but faster.

This was 7 to 10 days in advance in June 2022.

[Scottie]

I would purchase travel insurance for Aruba, or really anywhere for that matter.

Coverage depends on the plan you purchase.

There are usually several tiers from which to choose, with the lowest offering the least coverage and the highest offering the most.

Ensure the policy has components that are important to you: good medical, trip interruption/delay, and things like that.

*Choose a plan with primary medical.

Primary coverage will pay first, before any other medical insurance.

Secondary coverage will pay only after your primary medical insurance has paid the claim and that benefit has maxed.

Your travel insurance should be the first payer.

**Make sure the medical coverage is primary- not secondary.

#2: Look for higher daily limits than the typical $150/day for trip delay/trip interruption.

Anyone who experienced an unplanned hotel stay with meals, etc. can tell you $150 a day is inadequate.

#3: NEVER buy the insurance offered by the airlines at check out.

This is typically overpriced and under-delivered; many are sadly surprised to learn too late.

All it is, is overpriced a la carte trip interruption.

If the flight gets canceled you don’t lose your money but have 12 months to reapply it.

Federal requirements stipulate they must reimburse you if they have operational issues.

These policies are attractive to inexperienced fliers who might not have the capacity to buy a hotel room and wait — or have impossible restrictions on the date of travel because of weather.

Reality: this money is profit (+100 million) from ppl who think they’re “saving” with a cheap policy. Your money goes much further with an actual travel insurance policy, which covers this and much more.

Be sure your policy does not require you to return home between trips in order to have the next one covered.

Read the fine print.

Coverage does not reset after each trip.

So if something happens and you use 75% of the available coverage, your next trip within the annual plan year would only have 25% of the maximum coverage remaining.

GeoBlue, Trawick International (Safe Travels Annual Executive), Seven Corners (Wander Frequent Traveler Plus) Travel Guard, IMG, and Allianz (All Trips Premier) are worth looking at.