Planning In Progress: Texas Road Trip January 2012

As I mentioned in my last post of 2011, my New Year's Resolution is that I simply want 2012 to be filled with as much spontaneous (and free) travel as possible. With that said, I will be off to Texas at the end of January with a good friend of mine. We will be using Tennessee as our half-way point/rest area, and I will be visiting a close friend who recently moved to Dallas.

Here's a glance of the route we will be taking from NY:

This is what our return route will look like:

Now on to the planning....

Day 1: NYC - Nashville, TN:

• Time Elapsed to Destination: About 13.5 hours
• Hotel: Country Inn & Suites by Carlson, Cookeville, TN
• Points Redemption Strategy: Kevin and I received a total of over 100,000 free bonus points after completing 2 stays (one for each of our Club Carlson accounts) during the Radisson Big Night Giveway promotion. You can read more about our experiences with that promotion by going here or here. Then, I signed us both up for Radisson's current "Redeem Points. Earn Points" promotion (until January 31) where you will receive 9,000 bonus points after making an award booking with points. The Country Inn & Suites by Carlson in Cookeville, TN is a "Category 1" hotel that you could book for 9,000 points per night. Essentially, I used 9,000 points to book the hotel, but since I am registered for the promotion and staying before January 31, I will be getting those 9,000 points back. We all know simple math, 9,000-9,000 = 0, and that's how many points it will cost me in the end, making this a completely free night. Score!

Day 2: Nashville, TN - Dallas, TX:

• Time Elapsed to Destination: About 12 hours
• Hotel: Radisson Hotel Dallas East
• Points Redemption Strategy: Same as above. Radisson Hotel Dallas East is also a Category 1 hotel.

Day 3: Dallas:

• Hotel: Radisson Hotel Dallas East
• Points Redemption Strategy: Same tactic as discussed above, but here's where it gets tricky, since we will be spending two nights at this hotel in Dallas, I had to make sure I booked the rooms separately: one under my Club Carlson account and one under Kevin's account on behalf of me so it will count as two separate stays, allowing us both to receive our 9,000 points back.

Day 4: Dallas-Austin, TX

• Time Elapsed to Destination: About 3.5 hours
• Hotel: Not yet decided, but I think I'm leaning towards a Wyndham Rewards property so I could get my 2nd stay in for their "Gift Me" promotion. I did price out a few hotels in Austin and they were relatively inexpensive in the $50 range.
• Points Redemption Strategy: If all goes well and I book a Wyndham Rewards property, I will have completed my 2 stays (here are the details of my first stay for this promotion), and I will be able to receive 6,500 bonus points, which is enough to redeem for a free night at their lower-level properties.

Day 5: Austin to Houston, TX:

• Time Elapsed to Destination: About 3 hours
• Hotel: Park Inn Houston North Hotel & Conference Center, TX
• Points Redemption Strategy: Same as discussed above. The Park Inn Houston North Hotel is also a Category 1 hotel.

Day 6: Houston to Knoxville, TN:

• Time Elapsed to Destination: About 15 hours
• Hotel: Country Inn & Suites By Carlson, Knoxville Airport, TN
• Points Redemption Strategy: Same as already discussed, but here it is again: Kevin and I received a total of over 100,000 free bonus points after completing 2 stays (one for each of our Club Carlson accounts) during the Radisson Big Night Giveway promotion. You can read more about our experiences with that promotion by going here or here. Then, I signed us both up for Radisson's current "Redeem Points. Earn Points" promotion (until January 31) where you will receive 9,000 bonus points after making an award booking with points. The Country Inn & Suites By Carlson, Knoxville Airport, TN is a "Category 1" hotel that you could book for 9,000 points per night. Essentially, I used 9,000 points to book the hotel, but since I am registered for the promotion, I will be getting those 9,000 points back. We all know simple math, 9,000-9,000 = 0, and that's how many points it will cost me in the end, making this a completely free night. Score!

Day 7: Knoxville to NYC:

• Time Elapsed to Destination: About 12 hours (Home Sweet Home!)

There it is! A spontaneous trip filled with loads of free hotel rooms along the way. Our only real costs will be vehicle related (gas, tolls, miles, etc.) and food (did I mention how excited I am for some good southern BBQ?). Let's just hope it doesn't snow badly here or in any area along our way when the time for our trip comes, otherwise we probably will have to postpone our travels for our safety; but with a positive outlook, I look forward to sharing our experiences [as planned] with you!

Has anyone taken a trip like this before? If so, please do share!