Help plan 2025 ski trip

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get a southwest credit card now. In a year all your flights to Denver will be free plus you can schlep your gear.

Or do Stowe.

Really? I don't have any awards cards and maybe should start. But, how much do you need to put on your card for this to happen? (We pay for all kids sports, camps, etc. from accounts directly .. guess we can charge instead?)

if you book way ahead you can get flights to Denver for around 30,000-40,000 points. Right now Southwest is running a promotion where you get 30,000 points for signing up plus a companion pass (so one family member flies free on same itinerary) good through 2/25/25. That is a pretty good deal. Southwest also does not limit the number of frequent flier tickets on each flight so it is pretty easy to use your miles and bags are free. Tickets for next winter won't go on sale for several months I think, so you have time to build up points.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get a southwest credit card now. In a year all your flights to Denver will be free plus you can schlep your gear.

Or do Stowe.

Really? I don't have any awards cards and maybe should start. But, how much do you need to put on your card for this to happen? (We pay for all kids sports, camps, etc. from accounts directly .. guess we can charge instead?)

People always ask this. It’s not though spending, it’s through signup bonuses. You do have to spend usually $3-6k to get the signup bonus depending on the card. Each adult can get multiple cards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get a southwest credit card now. In a year all your flights to Denver will be free plus you can schlep your gear.

Or do Stowe.

Really? I don't have any awards cards and maybe should start. But, how much do you need to put on your card for this to happen? (We pay for all kids sports, camps, etc. from accounts directly .. guess we can charge instead?)

People always ask this. It’s not though spending, it’s through signup bonuses. You do have to spend usually $3-6k to get the signup bonus depending on the card. Each adult can get multiple cards.

You can't get multiple cards on the same airline and get the bonus miles though. I cancelled my Delta card in the pandemic and when I applied for a new one 2 years later it said I wasn't eligible for the signup bonus miles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get a southwest credit card now. In a year all your flights to Denver will be free plus you can schlep your gear.

Or do Stowe.

Really? I don't have any awards cards and maybe should start. But, how much do you need to put on your card for this to happen? (We pay for all kids sports, camps, etc. from accounts directly .. guess we can charge instead?)

People always ask this. It’s not though spending, it’s through signup bonuses. You do have to spend usually $3-6k to get the signup bonus depending on the card. Each adult can get multiple cards.

Not using rewards cards is such a miss. Put your spending to good use.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just fly to Denver and drive. Much better skiing and lodging prices are similar.

OP here. I wish! But five plane tickets and a car rental will add at least $1000 to the trip, and that’s out of the budget. Thanks for all the suggestions so far!

How far are you willing to drive for a week? For me, that's like 7 hours max and anything in VT may take more like 9 or 10.

We drove from DC to the middle of Maine in 2022 for Xmas Eve-NYE week to do a bunch of skiing and snow activities with our kid. Did the drive in about 12 hours with stops for a long sitdown lunch, picking up a Whole Foods order in MA, gas/restrooms, etc. We could have done it in 9.5 hours if it was just adults/teens crushing the mileage.

No joke - I left DC at 4am and was crossing the GW Bridge in NYC at 715am. There were zero cars on the road.

[Anonymous]

We drove to Okemo a few years ago and thought it was great (though we only had a long weekend). I don't know if I'd want to stay for a full week - it was a pretty small town and the base area wasn't amazing. Again, totally serviceable and the skiing was nice.

If I had more time, I would probably pick Stowe.