January 2
A Word About MJ’s Plans for 2013
While seeing all those zeroes on my Delta Medallion page is never fun come January 1, it can also be a little exciting to think about all the places I will travel in the upcoming year. I already have trips to Las Vegas, Washington, DC, and Colorado Springs on the books, and those are just a sample of the places I’m sure I will travel to during the year. Of course, there will be a cruise, or 3 during 2013 as well, and I will fly to the ships in each case too. Here’s where I’m heading in 2013.
Settling into Atlanta – Our little 100 year old bungalow is starting to look like civilized people live here. We have a couple of rooms left to unpack, some painting to do, etc., but we are slowly but surely settling in. What does settling into our new Atlanta home have to do with travel?
Full Immersion Delta – Hey, I don’t mind telling the world that I like flying Delta. I like Delta’s product and people, both of which I think are tops among domestic US legacy airlines. We all know SkyMiles has its shortcomings when compared to other big airline programs, but it is what it is. I live in Atlanta. Delta works for me. I’ll make SkyMiles work for me too.
More Ultimate Rewards – You have to have a little backup game if SkyMiles is your primary mileage program. I love Chase Ultimate Rewards, and I will earn my Ultimate Rewards in 2013 with my Chase Sapphire Preferred and Ink Bold cards.
More Marriott Stays – Yes, I said Marriott. I haven’t been playing much with Marriott Rewards in the last few years. Starwood was, and continues to be my favorite hotel program, but a guy that has to spend more than his share of hotel nights in many of the more “authentic” locales our country has to offer needs to have some backup. Marriott fits the bill. I recently challenged back to Gold Elite status (future post forthcoming) and my Marriott stays have been nothing less than great so far. My Marriott Rewards Premier Visa will help me maintain that Gold status over the long term with 15 nights elite credit each year that I carry the card. Did I mention that it has an EMV Chip too? Oh yes, I did. 
Days at Sea – I am not just a frequent flyer. I wear my frequent floater water wings with great pride. My next cruise is already booked and I’m sure there will be another between now and then. Some things never change, and I hope my love of cruising is one of them. There may even be a cruising surprise to tell you about this year.
Building a Better MJ on Travel – I am endlessly flattered that you choose to visit MJ on Travel and I want you to keep coming back. 2013 will see some investments (time and money) in building a better blog for you. The first of those investments starts with New Media Expo this weekend!
Do you have some big plans for 2013?
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We’re going to Cabo in a few weeks, then Aruba/Curacao in May, LAX around Thanksgiving, but the trip I’m most excited about is one we are doing in September. We’ve booked a trip on Amtrak from Chicago to Seattle on the Empire Builder. Its a 2 day trip through Minn, Wis, ND, Montana, Idaho and Wash. We got a sleeper car and all meals are included. We spent 40,000 Amtrak points, which is cobbled together from a variety of sources. Since we’re going from CT, we booked a JFK-ORD flight and a SEA to JFK flight on Delta for about $300.
I have always wanted to do a cross-country train trip, sleeper car and all. Sounds awesome!
Already have two trips to San Francisco on the books, one to Vienna, one to Paris, one to Zurich. Am planning one to Rome and one to Sydney. However, Star Alliance is letting me down on Vienna and Rome and Sydney will be on miles, so am already fretting about requalifying as a UA 1K!
We have two cruises booked for 2013 – Asia (Hong Kong, Vietnam (3 ports), Bangkok, Singapore), and Norwegian Fjords. For 2014 we have B2B cruises booked – New Zealand and Australia. A total of 59 days on Celebrity for 2013-2014. Cruising is the best form of travel.
A much anticipated river cruise with Viking,the grand european tour sailing from Budapest to Amsterdam, cant wait!
@Jon, sounds fabulous!
@Liz, a river cruise is on my to-do list!
Unfortunately two young children eat into the travel dollars but so far a train journey to Washington, DC in March, a flight to Atlanta in August for a professional meeting and, if all goes as planned, Cologne and Amsterdam in October, albeit tagging along on a business trip with my wife. We are also contemplating taking the Amtrak Auto-Train on our next trip to Florida after suffering through the two day (and long ones at that) drive from New Jersey to Sarasota. Looks like it would be an interesting adventure!