Three years ago, I planned a quick 6-day Costa Rica getaway. I had been campaigning for a city council election and the idea was to celebrate a victory and reward Nicole for dozens of hours of selfless mothering while I knocked doors night after night. Nicole got her reward, but unfortunately we didn’t get to celebrate a victory – I came up 14 votes shy. (Don’t ever let anyone tell you your vote doesn’t count).
But let me tell you, the trip was salve for my soul. We’ve given you an itinerary for “Eight Great Days in Costa Rica,” and take every opportunity to urge friends and followers to plan a trip and make it happen. You see, Costa Rica has a way of permeating your mind from the moment you first experience it. On that trip we brought along our friends, Spencer and Brittney, and they were enthralled.
Jungle Villa in Costa Rica
As excited as they were with the waterfall hikes through dense jungle, the thrilling surfing waves, and the delicious food, there was something about staying in a 6 bedroom jungle estate for a fraction of what you’d expect to pay that really stuck with them.
So when later we explained the concept of using credit cards responsibly to build up a stockpile of frequent flyer miles, you can imagine that they were also similarly thrilled.
Our family trip to Colombia was an inspiration to them, and within 6 months they were booked to Uruguay with less than $300 out of pocket – thanks to loads and loads of American Airlines AAdvantage miles from the Citibank AAdvantage cards. They had a great time exploring the wonders of Uruguay and living like locals – something you can read about on their Uruguay Blog.
Now, unable to escape the Costa Rican infatuation, Spence and Brittney are embarked on another adventure – a family trip to the jungle and ocean paradise. Booking travel is always exciting… you get a little adrenaline rush as you anticipate the wonders you’ll discover – but add the element of booking flights with frequent flyer miles and you get a kind of “bank-robber-adrenaline-rush.”
That’s all great, but every once in a while, it gets even better. You know about airlines overbooking flights to account for people who don’t show up, right? And do you know about the magical “bump” fairy who sometimes visits WorldWanderlusting flyers when they’re en route to amazing destinations to give them big travel vouchers to fuel future flight fantasies? Well that’s exactly what happened to our friends Spence and Brittney. Go ahead and let your jaw drop as you read this Facebook post.
The “Bump” fairy visits!
Oh yes, that’s for real. Next year’s epic vacation costs are already covered – and they’ll get miles when they travel! I’ll admit that I have a little bit of envy. It’s a healthy envy, though, the kind that will inspire me. Now that’s nice… being inspired by the people who we inspired in the first place… we love WorldWanderlusting with you!
