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Travel from Wisconsin: Local vs Hub Flights

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A large number of my Vegas trips are between October through March.  The last couple years I have averaged 4-5 of my trips per year during this time frame. Whenever you are trying to decide what flight options you should take, you have to consider how you want to travel from Wisconsin.

Other articles we think you may find useful talking about travel to and from Wisconsin are Road Trip tips and Why we Travel.

Travel From Wisconsin: Flight Hubs vs. Local

With the snow already starting to fly during the fall and winter, I have found I prefer to fly out of a hub vs locally. The local flights around here in central Wisconsin connect you to a regional flight hub. These centers are in Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Detroit or Chicago.  From one of those main airport centers you then have to catch another flight anyway.

I have found when considering how to travel from Wisconsin I prefer to drive to Milwaukee or Minneapolis and fly from there.  Many people have questioned why I would want to drive in the snow during these attempts.  My usual response is “I prefer to gamble when I get to Vegas, not if my flight will make my connecting flight to get to Vegas.” 

With flying out of a hub, I find that there are more options if my flight is delayed or canceled.  Delta seems to have a non-stop trip to Vegas every couple hours from Minneapolis; United has the same in Chicago and Southwest out of Milwaukee. 

Delays

Where I have found my most significant delays are from the small airports.  Most of my canceled flights are the puddle jumpers from the regional hubs back to Mosinee or Appleton.  There are fewer flights, sometimes only 1-2 a day per carrier to these small airports.  I have had a flight canceled for work where they decided to bus us to Chicago.

By that time the connecting flight was long gone leaving me to wait on standby to try to get to my training classes.  I have also been stuck overnight due to some of these flights being canceled and rescheduled for the next morning. These are not good experiences for those of us who need to travel from Wisconsin.

These experiences are why I prefer to drive to the hub location the night before. This way I have the flexibility and no worries if I am going to make the flight due to traffic.  It also reduces the stress on the connecting flight issues if the plane needs to be ‘de-iced.’  When trying to travel on the cheap, even with the increased number of flights at the hubs, you have the best ability at finding a great deal.  

And the biggest tip for flying in the winter when you travel from Wisconsin?  Do not watch Die Hard 2 before flying out.  Yes, I did make that mistake back on my first ever flight back in Junior High during the Winter.

Will Refundable Flights Save you Money or Stress?

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One of the reasons I like Southwest Airlines the most is their refundable flight policy.  I have had incidents where I have booked for the incorrect weekend and was able to switch flight dates within minutes. Southwest allows you to cancel or change your fare within 24 hours of booking for a refund.

Additionally, if you need to you can cancel your flight up to the departure time you will get a credit. Your Southwest credit is then good for a full year towards a new flight. If you used your Southwest points to book your flight and need to change flights your points are refunded to you. This is just one of the many reasons we love to fly Southwest.

Other airlines I would have paid change fees which would negate any gains I had with using points.  Another benefit is when the flash sales come up, you can at times rebook parts of your flight for the cheaper costs and get the points or cash refund. 

The biggest key to getting the best deals on travel is booking so far in advance.

Refundable Flights

The biggest key to getting the best deals on travel is booking so far in advance.  When you use the flexibility of booking in advance by booking nine months out, that is a lot of time for other things in life to pop up.  It also isn’t just things that change for you in your life. Sometimes you may need to change your flights due to an airline or hotel changing. Right now Marriott workers are on strike at certain areas throughout the country. 

There are current reports of hotels in Hawaii in Waikiki Beach that have no assistance for their bags, no housekeeping or no restaurants available.  When traveling to a dream location in Hawaii, you don’t want to worry about this. The last thing I would want to worry about is if my garbage is still sitting in my room for five days straight and not having towels. 

Having the refundable options would allow you to shift to a different hotel.
This is one of the reasons I prefer to book right through the airlines and hotel companies. Instead of the ‘search engine’ sights such as hotels.com or expedia.com you can usually get better deals. Plus, the refund policies are harder to find at times on different stays and flights through those big companies. 

Will Refundable Flights Save you Money or Stress? #flight #savemoney #delta #southwest #airline

Conclusion

Always look at all your options, and I have seen most hotels will match prices that are located on those sites if there is a big difference.  I recently have found over the last several years that there has not been a significant cost difference between these locations.

Disney World Park Tickets

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One of the most expensive parts of a Disney vacation is the Disney World park tickets.  Disney also over the last several years have moved to peak and off-peak pricing.

Disney World Park Tickets

The new pricing will cause the cost of your Disney world park tickets to fluctuate $20 per ticket, per day possibly.  This money difference will add up real quick when you take into consideration the number of days at the park and the size of your family.  This has added the additional planning part of looking at the cost of tickets, along with flight and hotel costs when trying to do Disney on a budget.

Purchase from Online Sources

There are websites such as Undercover Tourist and Mousesavers that you can get discounts getting tickets through them.  These two sites have been around for several years and were very helpful when we first started to plan trips to Orlando.

Target

The other way we have found to reduce the cost of our Disney World park tickets is Target.  With using the Target Red Card, we get 5% off Disney gift cards.  We can then purchase the tickets right from Disney as part of our hotel package with these cards.
Within the last year, they also have direct gift cards where you can purchase 2-3 day park ticket packages for Disneyland right from the gift card section.  I am hoping they will release these for Disney World also.

Other Money Savings Considerations

One of the other Disney expenses that you have to consider is your hotel costs. Disney World Hotels is an article that was written previously to help you with these costs. We love staying on Disney properties when we visit, but you could use off-site deals to help you as well.
Disney World: Cheap Airfare is hard to find. However, it is not impossible. Take advantage of all the offers you can find to make your Disney adventures amazing!

Food in Hawaii – I can’t believe I paid $20 for pancakes to go

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Food in Hawaii is expensive.  There is no way around it.  There are ways to save, but towards the end of our trip, our options became limited due to Hurricane Lane.

Why we spent $20 on Pancakes to go

Let me start with the $20 pancakes.  When everything was closing due to the hurricane, most restaurants shut down.  Even Starbucks and McDonalds were closed down.  Some of the hotel restaurants would only serve you if you were staying with them.  The only options we could find was Burger King and IHOP nearby.
 

100% Kona Coffee

IHOP had a limited menu while they were open which means all deals were gone.  One order of chicken strips and two orders of pancakes for Joni, Cheyenne and I were just shy of $60 on the pickup order.  Under normal circumstances, there are some cheaper options.
 

Food in Hawaii – Food Trucks

Food trucks are very common throughout the island.  We had grabbed food at a couple of these along with some excellent snacks.  Cheyenne fell in love with the ‘rolled ice cream.’  I preferred to stick with the ‘Hawaiian Shaved Ice.’  Don’t call it a slushie; it is so much more than that.
 
If you find yourself up on the North Shore in Haleiwa during your site seeing, make sure you stop in at Matsumoto‘s Shaved Ice.  The line is usually long, but it is so much more than a slushie.  Also, make sure to add the condensed milk as it adds such a sweet option to it.  Well worth the wait.
 

Fast Food Options

They do have fast food in Hawaii as well.  Jack in the Box, Burger King and McDonald’s were close by the hotel we stayed at and found around Waikiki.  Cheyenne and I would walk down to McDonald’s for a $1.50 ice cream cone to help us cool down.  The costs are higher than back in the 48 states, but it was cheaper than some of the sit-down restaurants.  Some of the ‘dollar menu’ items are still cheaper, so there is a lower cost alternative.
 
We did also do IHOP on the cheap for one meal also.  IHOP loves to have them monthly specials they advertise for all their locations throughout the US.  We found them to be the same cost as the ones back in Wisconsin.  By getting the pancakes that were on special at that time instead of the general menu pancakes, it was the difference between $5 for breakfast for one of us compared to $18-20.
 

Convenience Stores for Quick Food in Hawaii

Cheyenne also learned about “ABC Stores.”  They are a set of convenience stores throughout Hawaii and in Las Vegas. If you pick up snacks and munchies here and bring them to your hotel, it saves on the urge for the expensive snacks throughout the day.
 
We also brought some snacks from home in our luggage.  Granola Bars and trail mix help cut out the snacking between meals. This is a great way to pay less for food in Hawaii.
 

Local Favorites

Koko Head Cafe

Sometimes though you do have to splurge, especially when we are talking about food in Hawaii.  Cheyenne and I have found our new favorite restaurant.  Cheyenne likes to remind me that I always let her pick where to eat for her birthday and she keeps telling me now its one of the local restaurant that a friend of ours recommended to us on Ohau.
 
Sooner or later Cheyenne should come to terms that she is not going back to Hawaii for her birthday.  If you have a chance, there is a small local joint that serves breakfast and lunch called Koko Head Cafe.  We loved it so much; we had to go here twice.  Cheyenne would keep trying to steal from my plate.
 
To get an idea of the indulgence for breakfast, the meal of choice for Cheyenne was Cornflake Crusted French Toast with Billionaires Bacon, Pepper Maple Syrup and Frosted Flake Gelato.  This eating experience and the fantastic food is worth the effort to go off the beaten path.
 

MAC 24/7

If you find yourself staying close to Waikiki Beach, MAC 24/7 is within walking distance to most of the hotels in the area.  It is located in one of the Hilton Properties and featured on Man Vs. Food.  You will find some of the best pancakes for breakfast here.
 
No matter where you get food in Hawaii, we hope you have an AMAZING time! If you have or find other local places to eat or tips others can use, please comment below!

Black Friday Travel Deals

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If you are like us, you love to travel. We are always on the lookout for the best travel deals. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are some of the best times to look for bargains. There are many different Black Friday travel deals, so I will tell you about some of my favorites.
Many of the airlines and hotel companies run great cyber deals for their flights and properties.  The biggest key is to watch your email.  Make sure you have signed up for email advertisements for the hotels you are looking for.  I have a separate email address that receives these notices, so I can filter through them as needed.

Las Vegas Deals

Now you know it would be almost impossible for me to talk to you about travel deals without talking about Las Vegas. Las Vegas casinos love to offer deals around this time.

With preferring MGM Resorts, I usually try to book a large number of my stays during this period.  In 2017, most of the resorts offered reduced rates and free food/buffets daily for each visit.

This also gave me the flexibility of canceling and rebooking if I ended up with a better-personalized deal as the date got closer through my Mlife player’s account.

International Travel – Cyber Monday

The resort in Mexico that Joni and I prefer to stay at runs major deals during this time of year too.  During Cyber Monday and the days prior they will run a deal that will end up saving almost 50% on the cheapest rate that I could find during the year.  The biggest thing is with booking so far in advance; you will need to check cancellation policies or be sure of your travel dates.

Airline Black Friday Travel Deals

Airlines also run Black Friday travel deals.  My favorite airline, Southwest, also now has travel open through August 2019.  This allowed me to book my Vegas Trips through most of the summer already.  And with their no fee, cancellation or change policy, I can always modify if the number of points for the flights that are needed to drop over that period.  I prefer booking out as far in advance as the cost for those flights back on Sundays tend to go up quickly the closer you get to the travel date.
Make sure you don’t wait for your Christmas travel till now though.  The costs will already be through the roof.  The last couple years when I have traveled over the Christmas week till New Years down to Las Vegas for the UFC fights I had booked already back in February of that year due to trying to lock in the cheapest costs.

Travel Addiction Confessions You Need to Know

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Some people like to play sports for an adrenaline rush.  That is one of the reasons I go to UFC fights, after all, it’s the biggest adrenaline rush I have had without playing sports.  Over the last several months, I have looked back at my travel hacking and wondered if I do it due to the adrenaline rush or if it’s become a travel addiction. You are always looking for the next deal, the easiest way to get points.  It’s almost like any other addiction as you are looking for your next fix, best/cheapest way to get your next trip.
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Travel Addiction – Extra Miles

Over the last year, I have found I have miles for airlines that I do not know of any trips or reason to take planned to the areas that they cover.  Over the last year, I have started to use some of these off the path miles such as Alaskan Airlines to take partner flights to Las Vegas. My goals always had an endpoint, but it was more of just throwing out processes to see what would stick.
Travel Addiction

Challenge Accepted

Several years ago, someone told me “Miles will never get you a trip.  You are wasting your time…”.  So what started as something to maybe get one free Vegas Trip turned into several set goals.  The smaller of the goals was to reduce costs to flying to Las Vegas.  Back when I started, it was for people watching and the weather.  With the lack of humidity, it seems like that is the only place where my body does not hurt.  Over the years now it has turned into Las Vegas flights for UFC fights.  This little travel addiction has at least been able to pay for the airline flights each time.
Travel Addiction
The more significant challenge has been being able to provide memories.  Earlier this year I was able to fly to Hawaii with Joni and Cheyenne.  I do not know if I would be able to make this trip again due to the length of the flight.  Joni always said she wanted to go to Hawaii for our 15th wedding anniversary.  I always thought it would never happen because it would be too expensive.  “We will see…”.  That gave me three years at the time to get enough miles and hotel points for this trip.  Challenge accepted.  We were able to book the flights during our 15th year all due to miles.
Travel Addiction
Now that I have accomplished those two goals I have had a chance to sit back and look closely at my hobby.  Are there things I would do differently?  Yes.  But sometimes its the journey and the steps you have to take along the way.  Just make sure you take a step back to enjoy your life. Read our article about Why Travel? 5 Reasons You Should and you don’t let your travel habits become an actual compulsion.