I've got a trip planned over Christmas to Sint Maarten. I've got the condo all booked with a timeshare we inherited (so, didn't have to pay for it haha).
We live in Corpus now so flying out of here is prohibitively expensive. I checked around SAT, AUS, DFW and then IAH...IAH was $800/pp cheaper for the flight than the others.
Since the flight is at 0530 on Saturday, we'll head from Corpus to IAH and stay at the Marriott at the airport and fly out in the morning. I had 2 e-certificates so that Friday is free and when we get back, that night is free too.
Now I've got to buy the tickets from IAH - SXM. They're $1800 (total) or 320K AA pts. I've got 330K so I'm good there, but is that a good deal (it's about $0.006/AA point). I kind of hate to completely drain all the points, too, but...
I also found a flight from CRP-IAH for $300/pp so we could save the 4 hr drive after work. I'm looking at both MR points or cash to pay for those via AMEX Travel.
My worry about using AA or MR points is if this CV bullshit spikes again next year and I have to cancel everything, will I be able to get a full refund of points (or money if I book cash through AMEX).
What do you travel experts advise?