Planning on Points

Today I'm daring to be proactive. I'm endeavoring not to do something at the last minute. I'm actually going to plan. I know. It makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up also. I'm trying to convince myself that this is really the best course of action. Believe me, it is not easy to step out of your comfort zone like this.

My dilemma is whether or not to pay for hotels for some upcoming trips or to attempt to use my Marriott Rewards points. If I choose to pay for the hotel for a 5 day trip, I'm looking at a bill of at least $700. The only way to significantly lower the cost is to find a hotel further away from where I need to be. Also complicating the issue is whether or not to rent a car, which would be an additional expense. Ideally, I'd fly in, take a shuttle to the hotel, and then just be a foot soldier to and from where I need to be each day. See the problem? If I'm far away from the venue, then I need a car, so I'm not really saving any money by being further away.

If I had my own car, this might be doable. But then I'd have to embark on a long drive and buy gas. This far in advance, I'm fairly certain that buying gas will be much more expensive than keeping gas in the car. Okay, scratch that. I think? Yeah, scratch that. Okay...where were we? Oh yeah. I'm flying in, and trying not to rent a car. Hotel points are the next option. Somehow, this brings up the same dilemma. All of the higher category hotels (translated: requiring more points per stay) are closer to the venue. However, if I do stay further away to save on points, then I can afford a rental car, can't I? Well, no...probably not. The goal is to not spend on anything but food. Will I even have enough points by then? Right now I'd be good for about 3 nights at most point categories. Presumably, with my travel frequency, I will accumulate more points. But what if, for some reason, I don't get the opportunity to stay at a Marriott on these upcoming business trips.

This is why planning travel sucks. If I just had to go all of a sudden, I'd probably just figure it out on the fly. Oh well. I've held you captive in my thinking out loud long enough.