Next week I’m off to New York City for a meet-up with some friends. And, thanks to airline miles and hotel points, my trip will be free! Well, not really. I do need to pay taxes and fees to redeem miles. And, I need transportation to and from each airport. And, I need to eat. And, it would be a shame to go to New York without doing some sightseeing. Yikes, this is starting to sound expensive!
To make things interesting, here’s my self-imposed challenge: I will travel to New York City and back for $19 out of pocket per day. I plan to fly in on Tuesday, meet up with friends Wednesday evening, and return home on Thursday. So, I have a self-imposed, made-up budget of $19 X 3 = $57. Is this possible?
Rules of the game
This challenge would be too easy if I didn’t first impose some rules for myself:
- Travel and dine in comfort. This means no hitchhiking, no soup kitchens, and preferably no McDonalds or Burger King if I can help it.
- Get good value from my points. It would be very easy for me to pay for anything and everything with my Sapphire Preferred or Ink Bold credit card and then use my Ultimate Rewards points to pay the ensuing credit card bill. That would only get me 1 cent per point value from my Ultimate Rewards points. That’s no good! When I spend points, I must get value equal to or better than the Fair Trading Price.
- Sightsee. I need to do something. I’m flexible here. Museums, walking tours, events, etc., all would count as far as I’m concerned.
- No help from friends. To keep the game honest, other than the meet-up dinner that is already paid for, I won’t accept meals or rides from friends (or strangers).
The beginnings of a plan (please help with suggestions!)
Here are my high-level plans so far:
Tuesday
- Drive to airport and park off-site. I can park for $8 per day with a coupon. Due to my flight schedule, I think I’ll be charged for three days, so this will take a big chunk of my budget: $24
- Snack at airport lounge. I’ve never visited the North Terminal lounge (does one even exist?), but I’m hoping that my Amex Platinum card will get me in. $0
- Fly American Airlines Detroit to LaGuardia. Using British Airways Avios I booked a flight for 9000 points + $5 in taxes. The best price Kayak could find for a nonstop flight to the New York City area was $852! So, I’m getting more than 9 cents per point value from my Avios! In case you’re wondering, the best one-stop price was $268 (even at that comparison price, I get almost 3 cents per point value which is still very good).
- From LaGuardia, I’ll need transportation to my hotel. I could take a city bus and transfer to a subway, but I’m not sure how easy that would be. Instead I’m inclined to buy a round trip Express Bus ticket for $21. Ouch.
- Dinner for free: I recently redeemed my OpenTable points for a $20 OpenTable check. This can be used to pay at any restaurant that accepts reservations through the OpenTable service. I also have $50 in restaurant.com vouchers that my wife got for free for signing up for a magazine. These vouchers usually require minimum spend greater than their face value (for example, sometimes your bill must come to at least $35 to use a $25 voucher). I’m hoping to find a restaurant where I can combine the OpenTable check with the Restaurant.com voucher in order to eat for free. I might even be able to invite a friend along! Anyone have recommendations for mid-town restaurants that are in both programs? Estimated out of pocket cost: $0
- Free hotel: I haven’t booked a hotel yet, but I have lots of points of many shapes and sizes. My goal will be to find a nice hotel in which I’ll get breakfast for free either because it is automatically included, or thanks to my elite status (Marriott Platinum, Priority Club Platinum, Hyatt Platinum, Hilton Gold, SPG Gold, Club Carlson Gold). I’d like to get free internet as well, but I can always use the data plan on my phone if needed (I have it setup to act as a hotspot). Based on past experience, I think my best bets for ensuring free breakfast (and internet) are to go with Marriott or Hilton. Estimated out of pocket cost: $0
Wednesday
- Eat breakfast at hotel. $0
- Work in the morning in the hotel. $0
- Lunch: I’ll be perfectly happy with a cheap slice of pizza at a nearby pizza joint. I tend to drink water most of the time, so lunch should be cheap. Estimated cost: $5
- Sightsee. Cost TBD
- Dinner / Meetup. Already paid for.
Thursday
- Breakfast at hotel: $0
- Ride to airport: $0 (assuming I paid for a round trip ticket on Tuesday)
- Snack at airport lounge: Again, I’m hoping that my Amex Platinum card will get me in to the AA lounge. $0
Tally
The known expenses listed above come to $55. That means that I would have only $2 left over for sightseeing, transportation within the city (I usually walk anyway), and unforeseen expenses (I can just see it now… “No, you may not carry my bag sir! I don’t have money to give you a tip!”). In New York there are plenty of free sightseeing opportunities, so I’m not too worried about that, but $2 seems like too small of a margin.
Help!
My biggest expenses will be airport parking in Detroit, and airport transfers in New York. Do you know of better options? There is a bus that can take me to and from DTW, but once I include the cost of parking near the bus station the cost comes to $24 round-trip, so that doesn’t help. And, as I said above, I believe I could take the city bus to and from LGA, but I’m a bit nervous about that since I’ve never done it before. Also, I’m not sure it would qualify for rule #1 (travel and dine in comfort). Any recommendations would be appreciated!
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[…] I used to create crazy points-related challenges. For example, I once challenged myself to do New York City for $19 per day (results here). Later, I challenged myself to earn a million points & miles in one month (due […]
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[…] Friday I described my upcoming trip to New York City and my $19 New York City challenge: I would travel on miles and points, and spend no more than $19 per day. Thanks to many helpful […]
This is a great idea, I will be watching with interest.
There are free walking tours of almost every neighborhood
http://www.freetoursbyfoot.com/new-york-tours/default.asp
The bus to subway isn’t bad, I have done it several times
Staybridge suites on west 40th has free breakfast and wifi. On the weekdays it has a cocktail hour with appetizers and it is only 25,000 PC points
Thanks! I’ve booked a free walking tour of Greenwich Village. Of course, I’ll need to keep money available for a tip.
[…] My $19 New York City challenge […]
1. Check out UBER. They run random promotions, but ride is still not very cheap after all discounts.
2. Do eat from food trucks. There are some amazing options.
3. Drop me an email and I’ll buy you a beer and a burger. Only would be fair after all the free advice you post every day.
4. Do use public transportation in NYC. You might like to walk, but some things are quite far away.
5. I’ve heard good things about Holiday Inn (Express?) on 39th street. I would try to stay away from Times Square hotels.
Tip:
New Uber users can get up to $25.
1) Sign up with a referral link (easy to find on a referral conga. This nets you $10.
2) Load DRESSFORSUCCESS into your promotion tab for another $15.
Alternatively you can sign up with “YELPSF” and start with $20.
$25 won’t get your super far in a cab, but it will turn a $40 cab ride into a $15 cab ride… and might keep you within your budget.
–Definitely bus to subway. I would take the Q33, not the M60. But we can discuss that more after you book the hotel.
–Stay in Times Square if you plan to take the subway a lot. All the lines are within an easy walk of Times Square. If you don’t plan on taking the subway, probably the 35th St. option, as it’s closer to downtown.
–There is a bar in the East Village called Alligator Lounge (or possibly Crocodile Lounge — one is in Brooklyn and the other in Manhattan). You get a free pizza with every beer. Beers run around $3, and you get a small, not that great, but perfectly serviceable pizza. And it’s weird/quirky “New York” thing to do.
–You can definitely get dumplings for less than “$5-10”. You can get eight vegetarian dumplings for $3. http://www.menupages.com/restaurants/tasty-dumpling/menu
The west side also has some hole in the wall Mexican places that will sell you a good, authentic taco for $1-2.
If you have PC points, there have often been decent redemption values in Manhattan compared to other chains.
If you were here a bit longer & wanted to maximize points over commuting time, there are even some Cat4 Marriott redemption values in Queens & NJ all with decent public transit options.
Do NOT use coins on the city bus to/from LGA if you can otherwise avoid it. Coins do not provide FREE bus to subway transfers. Multi-ride (anything greater than single ride) metro cards do provide free transfer.
To clarify, the metro card machine is INSIDE the bldg, on the lower level (to your left when exiting AA past UA baggage claim) & directly opposite the NYC M60/Q33/Q47 bus stop shelter.
For free events, check out the skint.com listing
Download the scoutmob app that often has free, instant 50% or sometimes 100% off food deals.
FYI, if your hotel award choice is driven by your hope of a filling free breakfast, think twice. afaik, the Hilton Gold won’t give you lounge access at least at the midtown 6th Ave property. Plus all they give is a free coffee chit.
Hyatt
This topic is pretty close to my heart. There is such a disconnect between traveling cheap on miles/points, especially on high-end travel, and then skimping on meals/entertainment at the destinations.
The bus/subway from JFK/LGA isn’t a good deal if you’re in a hurry, but you do get to see a lot and public transit is part of the NY experience. I’ve done it at least once for the novelty but wouldn’t do it every trip.
Also, you haven’t budgeted any money for additional cabs/subway once you’re in the city. Are you going to stay close to the hotel and walk?
Money has a way of evaporating in NYC, so your challenge won’t be easy. Good luck. Please post a report on how it works out, and have a good time!
I value your research and the budget. However, you are limiting the NY experience and not factoring in your valuable time. I hate to see you wasting your time due to the budget constraint at NY or any other places other than home. The savings are great; nonetheless, it does come with the cost.
with a little help from your friends, looks like you just might pull this off! Take the M60 bus to the subway and go to the MET for free. good luck!