Trip motivation
In September 2019, we looked into taking a quick vacation somewhere fun. We still had Southwest companion passes and had recently seen a friend post pictures from Antelope Canyon in Page, Arizona. Using other people’s vacations to brainstorm ideas is one of our favorite ways to decide where to go on vacation. Read more about where we stayed and what activities we did in Page, AZ and Sedona, AZ.
Flight: BNA to PHX
Getting There: Nashville (BNA) to Phoenix (PHX) Wed 6:10a-7:50a (3h 40m)
Coming Back: PHX to BNA Sun 7:30p-12:45a (3h 15m)
Using Southwest Points
Ben + Jenn: $280/person RT
Carter + Ellie: Companion passes! Only taxes ($11 each)
We love flying Southwest. At this point in time, we did not have extra Chase or southwest points so we paid cash. Boo. At this point in time, we still had 2 Companion Passes so the kiddos just had to pay taxes. Overall for the 4 of us, $550 is not a bad price for us to take the nonst0p 3 hour flight. Companion passes are a perk of getting a ton of Southwest miles in a year. We had 2 in 2019 from credit card sign-ups . This is an amazing perk and we definitely took advantage of the kids flying for free when we had the pass. You can earn Southwest points from Southwest Credit Cards or by transferring Chase points using the Chase portal. See more tips on using points and miles here.
Airport Lounges and Other Perks
When traveling with layovers or to new cities, we always check the website of the airport and the priority pass lounge website prior to the trip (link here). The Chase Sapphire Reserve card (in addition to others) comes with Priority Pass access which gives you a card that gets you access to lounges at different airports. Often it is more common internationally. There is a minute suites currently at BNA airport and no lounges at PHX.
Another perk we got from several credit cards is Global entry/PreCheck. PreCheck is a program that offers faster TSA lines at airports. There are separate lines for PreCheck travelers, and you don’t have to remove shoes, laptops, liquids, etc. It is amazing and has saved us so much time and makes it SO much easier to travel with kids. For more on this benefit and how to use a credit card to receive it for free, see here.
Driving from Phoenix to Sedona, AZ and Page, AZ
We rented a car through Costco travel. We usually just pick whatever’s cheaper. We got a brand new Chevy Malibu that we proceeded to add 600 miles to driving back and forth from Utah. The car had its own Wi-Fi and we had Sirius xm which we also might splurge on next time there’s a driving heavy trip. ~2 hours to Sedona + ~3 hours to Page
Best Road Trip Stops
After we arrived in Phoenix, we drove to Page, AZ. We stopped off on the way to Page at Lumberyard Brewery in Flagstaff. On the way back, stopped at Cameron trading for Navajo tacos (There were a lot of signs advertising this. There weren’t a lot of places to stop above flagstaff)
Activities in Arizona
To read more about where we stayed and what activities we did, read our posts on Page, AZ and Sedona, AZ.
