My small-big success story: in NY with less than 200 euros to celebrate 40 years of friendship
Forty years of friendship makes you feel a little old. But they are also a beautiful thing and something to be proud of, [...]
Emirates
MXP
United States of America
Forty years of friendship make you feel a little old. But they are also a beautiful thing and something to be proud of, even more so because they are spent without ever losing sight of each other. An exceptional 'birthday' that it is fitting to celebrate in an exceptional way. Unforgettable.
In this article:
So, with my 'friends since the first day of ninth grade' in September 1985, Alberto and Maurizio, we set out to think about the most suitable place to go to celebrate, and it didn't take long for New York City to come up, also because Mauritius unlike me and Alberto has never been there.
"The flights! The flights!" they said, "let's book them before the prices go up too much." We jumped on Google Flights, but I I remembered that I had a bunch of Emirates Skywards with which I had taken two one-way business tickets from Milan Malpensa to New York JFK for a trip with my son that was later postponed.
So I said, "Let's go with Emirates, it's on me." also explaining to the two not-so-expert friends about planes and miles that "an economy like Emirates' you won't find anywhere else. What's more, the Airbus A380 is an exceptional aircraft, which must be tried at least once (they have never gone up there yet)."
So I retrieved on the company's website my profile and the 174,000 Skywards points I had spent (and then retrieved) on the two Business tickets. And part of that 'nest egg' turned into three round-trip tickets from Milan to New York around mid-October.
A total of 105,000, plus 363.39 to be paid in taxes (that have since increased, and by a lot, on the Milan-New York), choosing the 'Saver' fare. That divided by three makes 121.13 per person for round trip.
Since the 'Saver entitles you to one carry-on bag and one 23kg checked bag but not to free choice of seat, we also had the luxury of reserving three seats in the most forward part of the A380 Economy cabin, the one where the staircase leading to First Class is also and where Emirates is gradually installing the on Premium Economy.
'The best seats in the house,' at least for Economy, spending another 66 euros in all per person and thus flying to the Big Apple with less than 200 euros round trip all inclusive.
Now, it's not that I'm much of a frequent flyer, as the 'Barbone' Matteo Rainisio is. But this low-cost trip to the Big Apple and a round trip in business class from Milan to Johannesburg last December with Air France I was able to enjoy them thanks to the points I collected with my American Express Platinum, which I did less than two years ago on the advice of the very 'Barbone' and that allowed me, thanks to the 'Invite a Friend' option (and with everyday spending) to accumulate over 600,000 Amex points (in addition to the 180,000 received as an 'entry bonus') which I then converted the first time in Flying Blue miles And this time in Skywards.
Which allowed me to 'give' my two lifelong friends what will be the trip of a lifetime. Of course not everyone can Asking the bum for (free) advice and counseling, but now with the arrival of the TFC Training Center It will really be easier.
