Need some advice on where to go on vacation? We have 2 free airline tickets due to frequent flyer miles. Have 50,000 miles on Northwest. Flying from Detroit. Please no Vegas or Florida. Been there several times. Want to go somewhere where we can get the most value for the miles. Any advice?

ALASKA.
Just wait to go until May. It's pretty cold up there right now...or, you could go now and be in Anchorage for the Fur Rendezvous and the start of the Iditarod...

Well, one of the most expensive places to fly in and out of would be Key West but since Floridas out...not sure.

Lilley, keep in mind that standard (minimum level) award tickets are very strictly capacity controlled. I've found them easiest to use by either planning well in advance or for trips that I put together at the last minute (because additional seats may open up). The ease with which you are able to book them will depend on your destination, days of the week and dates that you want to travel.

Here's a tool you can use to find Northwest standard award level seats:

http://usr.v7.com/wpaa/

It's got some annoying pop-ups you'll have to deal with and you can't actually BOOK from the site, but you CAN find the seats you're looking for a lot more quickly and then head over to the Northwest site to actually book the tickets.

Another alternative is to book using the current "Cash and Miles" promotion:

http://www.nwa.com/features/cashnmiles.html

Just like an award ticket, you won't earn miles on your flight. The advantage is that you can capture some value for a lesser number of miles and the seats tend to be easier to come by than standard award level seats. (But if you're not planning to travel between now and late February, that's not going to work for you.)

I like the Alaska suggestion and I would also add Calgary and Vancouver. There is a rather longgg direct regional jet flight from DTW to Halifax, Nova Scotia (well worth it, if you're not too tall!) Northwest also recently instituted additional regional jet service to Ottawa. I've booked that on minimum-level awards or bump vouchers a number of times and it is a truly beautiful, walkable city. San Antonio is a nice 3-day weekend trip, as are San Francisco, San Diego and New Orleans.

Happy contrails!

I was thinking California or New Orleans.

Portland, Oregon! It's a great undiscovered travel spot. During the summer, highs average about 80 degrees. Hotels are cheap, but good. One of the most scenic coastlines in the world is two hours to the west, the beatiful Cascades only an hour to the east. It can be reached with a stopover in Minneapolis on Northwest.

A variation on the post above - what about Seattle and take a few days in Vancouver. We were underwhelmed with Portland as a vacation destination when we stopped there (on way from Seattle to San Francisco), but I think I might like to live there!

I hear very good things about Montreal.

I like the San Francisco idea. Never thought about Alaska. Key West is a good idea but I can find a cheap flight from Detroit to Florida on our charter carriers. Can we go to Alaska with 25,000 miles per person? Thanks flyboy for the Northwest website tip. I'll have to check it out. How's the weather in October or November for San Francisco? Wish we could go to Hawaii with those miles, but I need more per person

Fly into San Jose and head to Monterey, CArmel, and Big Sur. Also San Diego and Palm Springs would be good choices too.

If you really want to get to Hawaii, (believe me, it's worth it!) you could use your ff miles to LA and find a deal from there on Hawaiian or Aloha Airlines- about 300.00 pp right now, maybe cheaper depending on your time of year. Have a great vacation!

___________

"Can we go to Alaska with 25,000 miles per person?"
___________

Answer: Yes.

Thanks for the insight on Alaska. Now I like that idea about Hawaii. Flying to LA, then to Hawaii. We've been to Maui before a couple of years ago, but I really enjoyed that place. Talk about Paradise. Decisions, Decisions??

Now we are thinking about Aruba. How many miles can we use to get there? Is this a good option. Or any other ideas in the U.S with nice beaches excluding Florida.

We use our miles for Hawaii. From the east coast, that is about the biggest bang for the buck. Our family will be taking our third FF trip.

It's 35,000 miles per person to Aruba. Keep in mind though, the Caribbean and Hawaii are among the most difficult destinations to find award seats at the standard mileage level.

Lilley,
We were in the same situation earlier last year. We had a cruise to Alaska in the planning stages for July 2004 so I used our FF miles for our open jaw flight out of MPLS into Vancouver and home from Anchorage. Cost through the cruise line for airfare - about $1500 for two people. FF miles cost - NW was offering no booking fee at the time so $23.40 for taxes 75,000 miles (because I didn't book until Oct and one segment was rule buster, otherwise would have been 50,000 miles). Good luck! Planning is half the fun!!
Pam