Good morning everyone, happy Friday! I am heading to Portland, Oregon tonight for a short weekend trip. I wanted to go over Memorial Day Weekend, but I thought about the trip too late and the prices were too high and the award availability was not available. Therefore, I am going this weekend. I like to plan 2 holidays in advance, so right now, I recommend people start making plans for Labor Day Weekend in early September. People are only thinking about Memorial Day Weekend and Fourth of July Weekend, so now is the time to start planning your Labor Day Weekend trip.
Anyway, a few months ago, I wrote about a Bad use of Alaska Airlines $99 Companion Ticket & Codeshare American Airlines / Alaska Airlines Booking with Citi Thank You Points. In that post, I showed how I booked an Alaska Airlines flight, that was a codeshare with American Airlines, with my Citi Thank You Points for 1.6 cents per point toward the paid ticket. 15,012 Citi Thank You Points is worth $240.19, which is a pretty good price for 2 one way tickets from SFO to PDX.
For our return flight, I found Alaska Airlines low-level/saver award space and called British Airways to book the flights. I used 15,000 British Airways Avios + $11.20 in taxes/fees for 2 one way flights from PDX to SFO. I don’t think the redemption value was that good, but I had a bunch of British Airways Avios sitting around, so I decided to use some of them.
For my stay, I looked on Hotel Hustle (thanks Seth!) but couldn’t find any good options in downtown Portland. Therefore, I settled on the Country Inn & Suites by Portland International Airport for 28,000 Club Carlson points per night. I really wish the Last Night Free perk was still available #sadface. This hotel offers a complimentary shuttle to/from the airport and the nearby mall with access to the MAX public transportation station.
See how close the hotel is to the airport. Ohhh ahhh!
From the MAX station, I can take the MAX Red Line to Voodoo Donuts and pick up a box of donuts before my Sunday night flight home.
The weather this weekend is not great, but I guess that is typical of Portland in May. I am bringing long pants, a sweatshirt, a waterproof jacket and a beanie. I am ready for Mother Nature – bring it on!
I don’t have anything special planned for Portland, but if you know of any rainy-weather-related activities we should do this weekend, please let me know in the comments. Have a great weekend everyone!
Hi Grant, I live in Portland and you will want to dress in layers just like the Bay Area. When the sun comes out it is much warmer and it might not rain as much as predicted. I recommend you head up to the Rose Garden (free) and wander around Washington Park. There is a great Japanese Garden (for a fee) nearby, and the zoo is near there too. If it does pour, you can go in to the Portland Art Museum and the Oregon Historical Society (both charge fees), on the Park Blocks downtown.
Another nice walk is along the waterfront (and you can make it a 3 mile loop if you cross over the bridges. The newest bridge leads to train museum too). Worst comes to worst, there are tons of coffee shops, food courts and shops/restaurants to browse in.
Thank you Laura, those are great ideas. Have a great weekend :)
Country inn and suites by the airport?!? That’s like going to Manhattan and staying in a hotel in NJ…
FYI max red and blue are changed to normal green/yellow lines downtown for some track work. Get off at 5th and burnside and walk down a few blocks.
Also; Voodoo isn’t cool and hasn’t been for some time. Check out Pips Donuts in NE or Blue Star downtown.
Haha, trust me, the Country Inn and Suites is not my first choice. Last time I was in Portland, I stayed at the Portland Hilton Exec Towers, but the award price was too high for this weekend.
Thanks for the tip on MAX changes.
I’ve been to Blue Star donuts and really liked them. My travel companion is set on Voodoo Donuts, but I think they are overhyped. I’ll see if Pips Donuts is easy to get to. Thank you :)
Rose garden and the Japanese garden are pretty! If you rent a car, mount Hood is 1 hour drive and have wineries nearby. Also on the way to Mount Hood, there are many waterfalls to see. Don’t tell people you are visiting from San Francisco, Portland people hate Bay Area techies moving up there, and made it more expensive to live. :)
Haha, I won’t mention I’m from SF, but my travel companion might be wearing her Golden State Warriors clothing :/
Take the Max to OMSI or the Zoo, walk around the Pearl District, check out Powell’s Books, go shopping at Cascade Station and Downtown (no sales tax in OR), go to the Portland Saturday (and Sun) market at Skidmore.
Thank you for the recommendations :)
Outside of SD, best beer city in US. If you want to try some of the best sours on the planet, hit cascade brewing. Super highly sought after beers. Top to bottom, they are great and unlike anything you’ve likely had before.
Thanks Mike, I’ll see if I can visit Cascade Brewery.
Hair of the Dog is also really good!