Well, that pay-off was fast. I earned my Southwest Airlines Companion Pass on February 2nd, you can read about that here. And while I haven’t even received the physical card, we put the Companion Pass to quick work. Liz had an old Southwest Award Ticket (before SWA began using points), good for a free round-trip ticket as long as there was availability on the flight. Given the high demand for Mardi Gras, I didn’t think we had a shot at using it this past weekend; however, upon doing a quick search on Thursday, it looked like we could jump on an 8am flight, land in New Orleans by 12:30pm – giving us enough time to hit both Tucks and Endymion Parades – and jump back on an 11am flight on Sunday to get back to Cleveland. Of course, with the Companion Pass, Liz’s 1 round-trip award voucher was easily turned into two award vouchers. Total Cost for Flights: $20 for 9/11 Security Fees.
While I was initially reminded why I’ve enjoyed being a United Premier member for the past 2.5 years upon arriving at the airport…
…these little guys did help start the trip off on the right foot:
We didn’t have a hotel until we had an hour layover in Nashville and began trying to find the best deal. Unfortunately there is no United Lounge at BNA, so I used a free one-hour of Boingo Hotspot service that I received for taking a 2-question survey last month:
It is Mardi Gras, and hotels were expensive! We could have used 10,000 Starpoints for the W Hotel, but I would prefer to use the Cash + Points option, which I find to be a far better value. At the end of they day, we both Named-Our-Own-Price on Priceline and wound up at the Hyatt Regency for $200. It was a great hotel and our Platinum Status from holding the Chase Hyatt Visa card granted us free internet.
View from the Hyatt
We watched Tucks from a grandstand that some friends had access to, had a quick dinner at John Besh’s Domenica restaurant (the best pizza in New Orleans), watched Endymion from the famed St. Charles Avenue, then trekked it to a balcony party on Bourbon Street to throw beads down to the crowd. The open-bar and all-you-can-eat spread of Nawlins food hit the spot. The 60-70 degree weather allowed me to don the flip flops for the entire trip as well as enjoy my first cigar of the past 6 weeks.
Noah’s Ark Float in the Endymion Parade
Bourbon Street from atop during Mardi Gras Weekend
Of course a trip to Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop for a nightcap and 1:30am Beignets from Cafe Du Monde was in order to close out the night.
I’m impressed that Southwest has Wifi – which allowed me to listen to the Michigan Basketball game on the way down and take care of some needed work on the way home. Now I just need to find out how to become an A-List Member to avoid those $8 Wifi Charges, any ideas?
Overall, it was a great trip – New Orleans still feels very much like home.
Southwest has had some amazing deals lately ($49 one-way airfares for flights within 500 miles and $69 for flights within 1000 miles). Given that you can always cancel the flights and either have the points go back into your account or have the funds be credited to your account to be used later, Liz and I have already started booking flights just in case we feel like going somewhere when the weekend arrives. That $98 round-trip fare can hit up DC, NYC and Chicago – for both of us. We’ll be in touch if we are coming to a city near you! I think I could get used to this.
Leave A Reply