Chicago Savings

I hate flying.  I've never hated anything more.  But I LOVE to travel.  My husband and I usually don't take vacations to relax, though, and we're generally busier on our vacations than we are at home. Our latest travels seem to have us venturing to new cities.  This probably started a few years ago when we took a group trip to Baltimore and fell in love with the idea of getting lost in a new city.  Since then, we've been to Seattle and most recently to Chicago on a suggestion from my brother and sister-in-law.  Well, Chicago didn't disappoint, and we spent 4 jam-packed days exploring everything the city has to offer.  

When we booked the trip, flights were super cheap.  We usually fly Jet Blue because the tv's on each seat are the only thing that get me on a plane.  Did I mention I loathe flying?  We were able to get 2 free nights at the Doubletree Hotel just off the Magnicient Mile using points we earned during our wedding.  Tip: If you're planning a big event at a hotel you frequent, sign up for that hotel's credit card to earn points.  We are big fans of the Marriott, so my husband has been earning points on that credit card for years, but when we decided to have our wedding at a Double Tree, I signed up for the Hilton Honors credit card.  We racked up thousands of points with all our wedding costs (food/rooms/etc.), and as a result, got 2 free nights in Chicago.

Downtown Chicago

The hubby did all the research for this trip and planned all the places for us to visit and priced everything out.  It was during this process that he discovered the City Pass.  These are available in many cities across the US and offer discounts on the area's most popular attractions.  We bought ours for $76 each and it included admission to the Shedd Aquarium, Field Museum, Skydeck, Adler Planetarium or Art Institute, and John Hancock Observatory or the Museum of Science and Industry.  The pass is valid for 9 days from the first day of use and we used it every day. The City Pass also gives you the highest level of admission at all attractions.  For example, at the Aquarium, our admittance was for the "Total Experience Pass" which is normally $34.95 a person and includes both the 4D and aquatic shows.  At the Skydeck, we were able to bypass the two-hour plus line and only had to wait about thirty minutes to get to the top.

View from the John Hancock

Savings:
Rooms: $597.78 (80,000 points)
City Pass: $47.90/$23.95 per person (This would have been more, but we ran out of time and didn't get to go to the Field Museum)
Misc: $2 (Free Coffee at John Hancock)
Total Savings: $647.88


Be well,