Solo Dad Adventure Houston – CNB Crystal Visa Infinite Flight Discount Benefit
Over the years I have had the pleasure of spending literally years of my life on the road with my family. It has been a true blessing and is one that I continue to enjoy as often as possible. For example my wife, daughter and I spent 2 1/2 months on the road earlier this year including doing all 6 Disney resorts in 6 weeks. Lots of fun!
One type of trip I haven’t done much as of yet with my daughter has been quick solo (just me and Ellie) adventures. I did these types of trips quite often with my son as he grew up and Ellie is now old enough where I think she can handle it! 🙂 Not only are short trips with one parent good for building a relationship, but they are a ton of fun as well. With that in mind, I recently pulled the trigger on such an adventure and it was a STEAL!
Start With Amazing Airfare
Last week some really insane $88 roundtrip fares from LAS-DFW caught my eye. Yes they were basic economy, but I love Dallas and so I almost pulled the trigger. Then I found $101 roundtrip fares on United to Houston. I have long wanted to visit IAH (I have only driven through Houston or connected through HOU) and its Disney designed People Mover, so this seemed like an amazing opportunity.
But I don’t really like to pay full price for plane tickets even if they are a good deal, so I decided to juice it up. You see, I recently picked up the CNB Visa Infinite which has as one of its benefits a $100 Visa Infinite flight discount for two or more people. While this benefit doesn’t work on low cost carriers, it does work on the legacy carriers including American & United.
Using CNB Visa Infinite Discount
After logging into CNB and accessing my benefit I first let myself be tempted by those amazing American airfares to Dallas. This weekend didn’t work, but here is what the Dallas airfare looked like for two people after the CNB airfare discount. Amazing price at $37.60 roundtrip per person!
But I had decided on Houston for the reasons mentioned above (and better dates/times) so I ultimately searched for flights LAS-IAH and found the same flights I had previously located on Google Flights. While it ain’t quite $37.60 per ticket, I think you’ll agree our final price for direct flights was quite nice.
For $50.60 roundtrip Ellie and I are flying to Houston direct on United. We are on Basic Economy tickets, but that shouldn’t be too much of an issue for such a short trip. We don’t need large bags and I’m sure given her age that I’ll be able to sit next to her. The location of the seats isn’t too much of a worry to me either. It’s just not that long of a flight.
Review: The United Basic Economy Experience in the Real World! Is It Really THAT Bad?
Why Write About This?
I plan to share the details of our “adventure” to Houston, so I thought it would be nice to share some background of the trip here. I also thought this was a good demonstration of how you can make a great deal even better. $100 roundtrip to Houston is a pretty good price, although half of that is even better! Truthfully I was happy to finally get some use out of the CNB Crystal Visa Infinite flight discount benefit.
Bottom Line
Sometimes using points or miles isn’t the best way to score amazing travel deals. In this case I used a premium travel credit card feature along with rock bottom prices on basic economy fares to make a fun getaway happen at an amazing price.
I still need suggestions for things to do with Ellie in Houston. I have some things in mind, but am open to your suggestions as well! What should we do during our solo adventure to Houston? Let us know below!
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NASA and Kemah are a couple of neat spots on the southeast side of town, close to each other (but a bit of a drive from IAH). Pleasure Pier on Galveston is kinda fun, but the beach isn’t the most pristine you’ll ever see. The Galleria is one of the largest malls in America and worth a visit. The Zoo and Museum of Natural Science are also a couple of cool possible destinations.