SoapZone Community Message Board

Ok, so last year I turned 50. I wanted to go on a trip with Mr. Kris but it just didn't work out, partly because my birthday was the Tuesday after Thanksgiving and it was just kind of a bad time. We'd have had to take more time off, find someone to watch Jack, etc. So this year, my 51st birthday is on Thanksgiving Day. I'm off, Jack is off, John can take off, and I would really like to go back to London.

Yes, I know I've already been to London four times. Yes, I know there are a bunch of other places in Europe I could visit. But I love London SO MUCH. SO SO SO MUCH. And there are a bunch of things I haven't done there, and things we didn't get to take Jack to last time. He and I want to do the Warner Bros studio tour, the London Zoo, and Christmas at Kew Gardens; there's a winter wonderland at Hyde Park, we didn't take him to the Tower of London or the British Museum. Plus a few other places. Maybe even finally make it to Hampton Court Palace!

Anyway. I'm working on logistics. Of course I waited too long so airfare is running around $2400 for all three of us (for basic economy, carry on only). The dilemma is if I should get our lodgings through American Airlines vacations, booking.com, or another third place (that has some bargaining to do for it, I'll explain).

First option:

AA Vacations. The airfare includes luggage, so we could have a checked bag. If I bought that airfare on its own, it's around $3k. There's a hotel through them I can book - it's actually the place Mr. Kris and I stayed on our honeymoon. It's a 1br apartment with a full sized bed and a sofa bed. Plus a kitchen. It's in a good location, in Kensington. Close to two different Tube stations. Altogether it's just under $5k. But - I can use some of my miles to pay for it. I've been saving up miles from my AA credit card for years and barely ever use them. I got the card in 2005 and used miles for a trip to (guess where) London and last year I used them to go see my mom for her 75th birthday. Every time I want to try and use them, they either need too many miles or the taxes are astronomical (if I wanted to use my miles for this trip, I could - but it would be like 85k miles and I'd have to pay nearly $1k in taxes. what's the point?) So I can take $1k off the trip using miles.

Pros: I get a checked bag and I know I like the building. Even though I'm using miles I think the price is decent.

Cons: You can only select "one bedroom" and not pick out the exact apartment you want. They're all individually owned so some have different layouts, etc. Some have tubs, others just walk in showers. Some have Nespresso machines (I love mine, lol). It's also just a 1 br instead of 2.

Option 2:

Get the airfare and place separate. I found an apartment I really like in the same place for around $2100. It would be less than AA vacations, but also wouldn't include checked luggage and I couldn't use points, so it would be around $500 more than the price using points. And if I wanted luggage it would cost more than AA vacations, but I doubt I'd have all of us get luggage and only have one of us with that fare.

Pros: Able to pick the exact apartment I want.

Cons: Can't use miles.

Option 3:

Here's the wild horse, lol. So I found a PERFECT place. PERFECT. It was through the same rental company I used on our honeymoon. They advertised a place as "starting at £1395 per week". Well that is apparently only the price for one random week in January. Because when I contacted the company about this unit, they quoted me back £2050 per week. In USD, it's $1800 vs $2650. Plus a security deposit and a $90 booking fee. Quite a difference. This place, though - it's just south of Victoria station. Ground floor. Two bedrooms, decent sized kitchen, bathtub. Walking distance to the Pimlico Tube or to Victoria station. Furniture looks a little stuffy but still nice. I basically had given up on it, but I posted about it on another forum (travel related) and this guy sent me a private message with instructions on how to negotiate for a better rate. And then at the end asked if it was a particular apartment rental place, and he pegged it right on. Even gave me his email and said "tell the guy you're dealing with you're my friend and want the same discount I got (which was around 65% of what they were asking).

Pros: I'd have the place I really liked.

Cons: Even if I was able to get them to agree to the discount, it's still on the pricier side. But a great place to stay.

Any thoughts? I think I've talked myself into one of the options but I'm just not sure. And I talked with Mr. Kris about going, asked if he even really wanted to go, and his response was "well YOU want to go and it's your birthday". And also said he thought we should be saving more for a house, but we have a decent chunk saved now and this won't touch that. Plus we both just got raises at work, fairly decent ones and he should be getting another one due to his position getting upgraded.

:D