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I love planning and taking complex trips using points and miles to fly in international business class and stay at luxury hotels for a fraction of the retail cost, but sometimes all I want is a relatively close destination for a quick and inexpensive trip.

My wife and I attended Oktoberfest in Munich for the first time in 2017 and had an absolute blast. The food, the beer, the music and the overall atmosphere made it clear that this wouldn’t be my last visit. As my father, who is responsible for my German heritage, approached retirement, I started to put together a plan to return with him next time.

My wife and I attend our first Oktoberfest in Munich in 2017.

Uzbekistan popped up on my radar as a possible destination a couple of years ago. The country has been at the crossroads of civilizations for millennia and is deeply infused with the most fascinating history of the Silk Road. Its ancient cities, famous hospitality and delicious food all had the makings of an unforgettable and affordable trip. 

Uzbekistan is a long way from home, so my goal was to find business class award space. I traveled with my friends, and we booked mostly local hotels, with the exception of the Hyatt Regency Tashkent.

When Europe began opening up to U.S. travelers earlier this spring and summer, I started thinking about a trip for my birthday in August.

With its Giza pyramids, Sahara Desert and the Nile River, Egypt is known for many things and therefore is a popular travel destination. I must admit that this African country had been on my bucket list for an embarrassingly long amount of time, and I’m happy to share that I finally checked it off the list.

Egypt opened borders in July to travelers who can provide a negative PCR test for COVID-19. A visa is also required for U.S. citizens.

I must admit, I’ve been to many countries throughout the world, but I’ve only been to Florida once in my life. So between the latest COVID-related travel restrictions that include testing before you can fly back to the U.S., and my need to escape the cold grey Midwest winter, I’ve decided that now is a good time to explore South Florida’s Gulf Coast. I was attracted by the wide, white sand beaches, mild February temperatures and opportunity to book some  very attractive properties with points.

My last trip was February 2020. My wife and I returned home from an awesome week-long stay at Scrub Island Resort in the British Virgin Islands not knowing that it would be our last trip for a long time. We had tons of trips all over the world planned for 2020 that we would slowly begin cancelling one-by-one: 3 weeks in South Africa, a trip to Chile and Argentina, a few trips to Europe, and tons of domestic trips as well.

Like many of you, we’ve been pretty cooped up for the last year or so.

We typically go over international premium cabin redemptions in our Anatomy of an Award posts. They're great inspiration and good teaching tools for when you're planning big trips.

While I'm sure we'd all love to be flying around the world in a flat bed all the time, that's not the reality most live in.

A few months ago I booked Iberia Business Class from São Paulo to Madrid with 42,500 Avios because of the great mileage price tag and the lack of fuel surcharges departing from Brazil where fuel surcharges are illegal. This left a hole in my itinerary between Buenos Aires and São Paulo.

Here’s an index to give my whole travel experience from Argentina to Spain some cohesion.

I am planning a trip to Europe that begins in Madrid, departing South America when it starts to grow cold down here and warm up in your hemisphere. I recently booked a British Airways Avios award to get myself there from São Paulo, Brazil flying Iberia Business Class on an A330.
Looking at My Options
A flight from South America to Europe is a long one. If I could help it, I decided I wanted a Business Class flight.