Hi everyone~
Due to a cancelled trip to Australia (long story) that we were going to be using USAirways FF miles for, we now have enough miles (80,000 each) for 3 free domestic flights each. We are going to be using one set of tickets to go to Florida with friends.

Which will leave us with enough miles for 2 roundtrip tickets each. We would like to use them this summer (another long story). We are a 29 year old couple, and we live near Philadelphia.

We have never been to the West coast, so that was my first thought. Maybe Seattle/SF/Yosemite??? I wanted to get some ideas from people in this forum...there seems to be lots of knowledge and great ideas here.

We are a fairly active couple, and we like almost everything...outdoors/nature, cultural activities, wine, beautiful scenery, cities, husband loves baseball...
Our budget will be modest, and we have 3-4 weeks that we could travel (anytime from beginning of July to mid August).

I haven't used FF miles before, so I am not quite sure how it works. With our tickets for Australia, we were going to fly "open jaws" and were also allowed one stop-over. Has anyone done something like this with a domestic flight?

Thanks for any advice offered,
Sincerely,
Keri

I'd go to Alaska or Hawaii.

I would say that a trip to San Francisco, Napa, and Yosemite would be the best as far as combining metropolitan and beautiful natural experiences on the west coast - you'll be active while still finding time to relax. Fly into San Francisco, stay a couple of days there and soak in the city and surrounding parks just outside the city - get out to the vineyards in the Napa and Sonoma Valleys for a day, and then get into Yosemite for a few days. Some might think that you'd be spreading yourself thin, but I don't think you'll regret it.

If you're up for the long flight, I'd also choose Alaska first and Hawaii second. If you want to stay in the continental US, I'd go to Denver (assuming USAir flys there-I don't know) for the Rockies and then continue to San Francisco. From there, it's a relatively short drive to Yosemite, the redwoods north of SFO, the coastal drive from Monterey to Santa Barbara, or to the Sierra's. As an alternative, from Denver, I'd fly to LAX or San Diego to explore southern California. There are hundreds of posts on this forum discussing all of these areas.

Wow 3 to 4 weeks?! You could certainly do SF and the Wine country. Then head east to spend some time in Lake Tahoe during the best time of the the year (IMHO). Leave Tahoe and take 395 to Tioga Pass and go into Yosemite from there. Spend some time in Yosemite and head west to Monterey for a few days and then back to SF. Great loop that we've done. Makes for a great vacation with lots to do in each place. You can always cut out the Yosemite to Monterey part and head straight back to SF if you didn't want to make so many stops.

Forgive me if I'm being too basic KEC, but most people try to use ff miles for expensive tickets. That's one reason why people are suggesting Alaska & Hawaii. IMO using them for Florida from Phil (particularly if in the summer) is a waste of money. If you can do it,instead of 3 domestic flights each, I'd get 1 first class ticket each to Hawaii & stop on the west coast either coming or going which you can do at no extra charge I think. (We did this several years ago.)

Are you saying you will travel for 3-4 weeks or you have a window of opportunity to travel over a 3-4 week period?

Check with the airlines on the stopover. United stopped allowing that with ff tickets some time ago. Open jaws are okay, though.

I'd go for Alaska or the Pacific NW, myself. (I haven't been to Alaska, though, myself - yet) Oregon Coast, Mt. Rainier, Olympic Peninusula, San Juan Islands, maybe Victoria and Vancover. You have time to make a great trip of it.
I'd stick to one general area, as the geography in the west is more varied within smaller areas than the east - from coastal rainforest to glaciated peaks to arid high desert, in a relatively short distance.

Have flown open jaw with FF ticket before, but check the car rental prices. They fluctuate. Sometimes it is $200 to drive from Seattle to San Fran and drop the car, but $400 to do it the other way with drop in Seattle.

Definitely somewhere in California...San Francisco, Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, Napa are all good options and close together (only need to fly there and drive the rest).

I live in SF, and while it is an okay town, the weather in Southern California (LA/San Diego) can't be beat. The summer is not the best time to visit SF. Daytime temps are usually in the lower 60's and the fog sticks around for most of the day.

You might consider flying into San Jose, then go to Yosemite for a few days. From Yosemite you can go to Monterey and take beautiful Route 1 along the coast to LA. Route 1 from Monterey down through Big Sur and San Simeon is the most picturesque coastline of California. Lots of great museums, restaurants, and beaches in the LA area.

This itinerary will give you a combination of nature city experiences.

If you live in Philadelphia and have free US Airways tickets, consider Bermuda (if permitted), San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, or Las Vegas. Las Vagas air fares tend to be cheaper so the free ticket isn't worth as much. Go where you like to go.

In general (there are many exceptions), SF is more cosmopolitan and much colder, LA is suburban and warm, Seattle is somewhat like SF.

We were given two free tickets and we chose San Francisco (we are from N.E.) I don't think we could have used the for Hawaii or Alaska..absolutely loved S.F. We used it to visit wine country and then to Monterey and Carmel. Bermuda is great too, but you I thnk wll be having the NCL Sea going there and it would be an expensive land vacation.

I agree with others - go for distance. Check on rules - we had ff tickets on USAirways that allowed us to fly into Seattle and out of San Francisco - it was a great trip and cost of one-way car rental was not outrageous between these 2 cities. Great drive down west coast with several stops.

Hi everyone~
Thanks so much for the replies so far...they have been very helpful! I am going to do some research about all of the places mentioned, and then try to make some decisions.

To answer some questions that were asked:

- I do know that it isn't best to use FF miles for short trips (PHL - Florida), but it might be the only way that we can afford to go on that particular trip (and still be able to do one or two more trips).

- We are both teachers, so we can travel anytime between the first week of July to the middle of August. I was thinking that we could go for about 3-4 weeks total. It could also be 2 separate trips, using the 2 sets of tickets. (i.e. we could do one 3 week trip to the West, and a one week trip somewhere else).

- I am going to look into Alaska and Hawaii. At first glance, I did not see them as options for USAirways travel, but maybe one of their partners goes to those places.

Thanks to everyone for answering. More ideas would also be appreciated!

Sincerely,
Keri

I'd highly recommend going to Alaska if there is a way you can get there on miles! Also, Yosemite is very well worth it, too.

Seattle.Catch the show "JohnDoe" at 9pm ET on Fridays Fox regular TV.Its filmed there and will give you a great idea of the city.It would be a real change of scenery for you.IMHO

You should try to get the biggest bang for your buck. As said before getting to LA and California can be pretty cheap from the East Coast.

Personally, I would try to get to Yellowstone Park. I have enough miles for the 4 members of my family to get a domestic round trip. Its taken a few years of business trips away from family to accumulate and so I want to use them wisely.

I justed "priced" flights on Delta from Bos through Salt Lake City - $750 each was the cheapest. Also priced flights to SFO for the same time period - only $325. Since we want to go to a big national park (Yosemite or Yellowstone) Yellowstone seems like a better use of FF miles. Of course we have to consider that there is more variety in CA for us so it might make a nicer trip. However, Yellowstone might be a once in a lifetime thing for me and DH and might open up a new world to our kids. So lots of factors to consider.

Either way we aren't going to lose and neither will you and your spouse. Have a great trip.

United Airlines codeshares with USAir and I know they go to Hawaii.

From the description of what you like, Wine Country would be a MUST DO!!! We just got back from Napa and it was one of our best vacations yet. We were only there 2 days so next time we'll stay longer and include Sonoma too. I can recommend the Glass Mountain Inn or Petit Logis for reasonable places to stay in Napa.

Another great place you may want to look at would be Whistler (just north of Vancouver) Its known for the skiing during the winter but there's plenty to do in the summer too - horseback riding, whitewater rafting, canoeing, hiking, biking... The village is great! We would love to go every year.

Thanks everyone! This gives me lots of places/ideas to research. I checked with USAirways, and they do go to Alaska and Hawaii using their partnership with United. I am definitely interested in both of these destinations.

I am wondering if anyone has tips or thoughts about how to do any of the areas mentioned on a budget. We would like to be able to get the most for our money, and would like to stretch it so that we can do as long a trip as possible.

Are some of these places more affordable/expensive than others? Or are there cheap and expensive ways to experience all of them??? I know this seems like a stupid question, but I have just begun the research! I assume that California (especially SF) would be more expensive than other areas...but, I could be totally wrong.

We don't mind budget hotels (with a bathroom), but are not into camping.

Thanks again!